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A review by lilifane
City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
What a surprise read. I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. It was such a quick and fun read, and I caught myself looking forward to continuing reading all the time. Almost gave it 4 stars just because of this positive reading experience.
But objectively, there are some flaws. Mainly the writing, I guess, it's not the strongest. It's on the simple side with lots of repetitions, not only certain recurring scenes and thoughts (which can be explained with the protagonist's mental state) but also words and phrases (which is a little more annoying).
My favorite part of the book was probably the anxiety representation. The protagonist has an anxiety disorder, and I think the author does a good job of showing how this can affect so many aspects of your every day life. How part of your brain knows there is probably no danger, but your body is still in hide/flight mode, and you can't do anything about it. But then maybe, in this specific world, the anxiety is actually warranted? Because there are random monster attacks, gang shootouts, people turning into literal monsters without warning, corruption so bad that you can end up in jail just because you didn't have enough money to bribe a random police officer passing you by. But then again, everyone just accepting this as normal and going about their day worked for me. I was enjoying the humor and lightheartedness of the narrative, they just took away from the atmosphere of the setting.
There were also some dialogues that felt a little forced and out of place. Yes, I do think that discussions about how media romanticizes toxic relationships is important, I just don't think the way it's done here is ideal. I really liked most of the dialogues and bonding moments between the characters, though. Was really rooting for Cy's and Ness' friendship development. And the discussion about how lonely and isolated you can feel because of trauma, trust issues and anxiety hit a little too close to home.
But objectively, there are some flaws. Mainly the writing, I guess, it's not the strongest. It's on the simple side with lots of repetitions, not only certain recurring scenes and thoughts (which can be explained with the protagonist's mental state) but also words and phrases (which is a little more annoying).
My favorite part of the book was probably the anxiety representation. The protagonist has an anxiety disorder, and I think the author does a good job of showing how this can affect so many aspects of your every day life. How part of your brain knows there is probably no danger, but your body is still in hide/flight mode, and you can't do anything about it. But then maybe, in this specific world, the anxiety is actually warranted? Because there are random monster attacks, gang shootouts, people turning into literal monsters without warning, corruption so bad that you can end up in jail just because you didn't have enough money to bribe a random police officer passing you by. But then again, everyone just accepting this as normal and going about their day worked for me. I was enjoying the humor and lightheartedness of the narrative, they just took away from the atmosphere of the setting.
There were also some dialogues that felt a little forced and out of place. Yes, I do think that discussions about how media romanticizes toxic relationships is important, I just don't think the way it's done here is ideal. I really liked most of the dialogues and bonding moments between the characters, though. Was really rooting for Cy's and Ness' friendship development. And the discussion about how lonely and isolated you can feel because of trauma, trust issues and anxiety hit a little too close to home.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Police brutality and Trafficking