You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
After years of war to unite all the districts, Sage just wants peace and quite life. Being with her neices and running a pizza shop has been her life for quite some years now, but she is living with a secret. Being part of the warrior race and her role in the war didn’t let her stay hidden for long.
When she is sold off to the royal family which then blackmails her to go after the notorious revel warlord, she learns that she is on the wrong side of the war.
She must choose a side, between a charming warlord and a naive prince she will have her loyalties split. While all she wants is to protect the city and run her pizzeria, everyone wants to use her for her cells that came from the warrior race.
Sage was a badass character with vulnerable side. She had the strength like no one but also a soft spot for the city. She has conflicting thoughts all the time, makes her more like a normal person that adapts according to their surroundings.
Daiman on the other hand is phenomenal. I couldn’t decide if I trust him till the end of the book. He was witty and finny with gorgeous looks. He was such an interesting character that I couldn’t wait to learn about him same as Sage.
I loved both books. The starting felt like I was rushed into a story without any background information but then as I read further the layers of the story begun unfolding. The characters have depth, development and mind of their own. I was not able to decide who is good or bad.
When she is sold off to the royal family which then blackmails her to go after the notorious revel warlord, she learns that she is on the wrong side of the war.
She must choose a side, between a charming warlord and a naive prince she will have her loyalties split. While all she wants is to protect the city and run her pizzeria, everyone wants to use her for her cells that came from the warrior race.
Sage was a badass character with vulnerable side. She had the strength like no one but also a soft spot for the city. She has conflicting thoughts all the time, makes her more like a normal person that adapts according to their surroundings.
Daiman on the other hand is phenomenal. I couldn’t decide if I trust him till the end of the book. He was witty and finny with gorgeous looks. He was such an interesting character that I couldn’t wait to learn about him same as Sage.
I loved both books. The starting felt like I was rushed into a story without any background information but then as I read further the layers of the story begun unfolding. The characters have depth, development and mind of their own. I was not able to decide who is good or bad.
Was a very interesting and captivating book. Kept me on my toes and invested every step of the way. Very good story building and chara ter development.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Diamond City by Astrid Cole is a fun, fast-paced sci-fi with romance and political intrigue. It really has everything you could want in a sci-fi. I loved the characters and learning about them slowly as the main character, Sage, gets to know them. Even Sage herself doesn’t reveal all of her secrets from the beginning–it’s like you’re really in her head. Every part of the story is so well thought out, and I’m excited to continue with this series!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
***ARC Review***
Triggers: This book has A LOT of trigger warnings but if you are a grimdark fan, it's not particularly bad. It's more edgy than grimdark with characters swearing a lot, making homo/transphobic remarks and a standard amount of violence. There is an attempted assualt but it's very pared down. Don't let the trigger warnings scare you, it's alright to read
World building: I enjoy a good map at the start as much as the next fantasy nerd but I'm always a bit wary of books with written information at the beginning since it suggests a lack of ability to show, not tell and/or too much complexity to the world for the author to convey properly. I think a little bit of this happened here. Astrid did a good job of describing the world we're transported to but I think there was a little too much telling compared with showing. I think there's a lot of background that I expect to be more relevant to the next books than this one. I found this a little closer to fantasy than sci-fi but I'd be interested to see where the direction goes in future books
Story: I've seen a lot of reviews saying this was convoluted. As a big fan of giant fantasy epics, I didn't find this to be so personally. There are quite a few plot threads but this is to be expected in the first book of many (I believe there will be 6 in total). That said, I didn't find the ending of this one super satisfiyng but I think Astrid is trying to get us to settle in for the long haul
Characters: I think this part is probably the part which holds most of my complaints. I found the plot engaging enough to carry on reading but I struggled with the fact that the main characters were all over 100 years but constantly acted like teenagers. Combine this with the fact that they are all war torn soldiers and their childlike reactions are confusing and jarring. I wish we got to see more of Damian being "The Warlord" as opposed to a love sick puppy to make the "morally gray man" trope hit harder. I found Sage to be badass with the chops to back it up. It's nice to hear about a FMC who actually has muscles as opposed to being a dainty little thing who just happens to be able to beat up trained soldiers. She does border on being a bit of a Mary-Sue and her personality is confusingly aggressive for someone who decided to take the pacifist route. I'd like to see a more grizzled side of her in future books but I see the potential for development.
The Romance: I love a "he falls first and hard" trope but I feel like it came in a little too fast here. I enjoyed the scenes once they were in a relationship and particularly liked Sage's struggle over whether she was just being used or not but Damian going all in so early without sufficient build up made me question the foundations the relationship was built on
Spice: Obivously, everyone's taste differs here but I'd call this a good amount of relatively vanilla spice. I don't need to be hosed down after reading but I appreciated the spicy touches nonetheless
Triggers: This book has A LOT of trigger warnings but if you are a grimdark fan, it's not particularly bad. It's more edgy than grimdark with characters swearing a lot, making homo/transphobic remarks and a standard amount of violence. There is an attempted assualt but it's very pared down. Don't let the trigger warnings scare you, it's alright to read
World building: I enjoy a good map at the start as much as the next fantasy nerd but I'm always a bit wary of books with written information at the beginning since it suggests a lack of ability to show, not tell and/or too much complexity to the world for the author to convey properly. I think a little bit of this happened here. Astrid did a good job of describing the world we're transported to but I think there was a little too much telling compared with showing. I think there's a lot of background that I expect to be more relevant to the next books than this one. I found this a little closer to fantasy than sci-fi but I'd be interested to see where the direction goes in future books
Story: I've seen a lot of reviews saying this was convoluted. As a big fan of giant fantasy epics, I didn't find this to be so personally. There are quite a few plot threads but this is to be expected in the first book of many (I believe there will be 6 in total). That said, I didn't find the ending of this one super satisfiyng but I think Astrid is trying to get us to settle in for the long haul
Characters: I think this part is probably the part which holds most of my complaints. I found the plot engaging enough to carry on reading but I struggled with the fact that the main characters were all over 100 years but constantly acted like teenagers. Combine this with the fact that they are all war torn soldiers and their childlike reactions are confusing and jarring. I wish we got to see more of Damian being "The Warlord" as opposed to a love sick puppy to make the "morally gray man" trope hit harder. I found Sage to be badass with the chops to back it up. It's nice to hear about a FMC who actually has muscles as opposed to being a dainty little thing who just happens to be able to beat up trained soldiers. She does border on being a bit of a Mary-Sue and her personality is confusingly aggressive for someone who decided to take the pacifist route. I'd like to see a more grizzled side of her in future books but I see the potential for development.
The Romance: I love a "he falls first and hard" trope but I feel like it came in a little too fast here. I enjoyed the scenes once they were in a relationship and particularly liked Sage's struggle over whether she was just being used or not but Damian going all in so early without sufficient build up made me question the foundations the relationship was built on
Spice: Obivously, everyone's taste differs here but I'd call this a good amount of relatively vanilla spice. I don't need to be hosed down after reading but I appreciated the spicy touches nonetheless
Diamond City by Astrid Cole is a Sci-fi book and it reminds and brought to me of Marissa Meyer’s vibes. You’re going to have some spicy romance, monsters and of course Sage as a bad-ass, strong heroine. In her journey to defend her city, she found Damian. Damian has an annoying personality but after a while, when the story continues, Sage can’t help but fell in love with him. I did have a harder time getting into it at first just because of a slow pace but overall it ended up being really good.
This book was a great surprise to me. When reading some of the initial reviews, I had mixed feelings but had committed to read Diamond City and so I pushed on.
And I am SOOOO glad that I did. Diamond City is a debut book by Astrid Cole, and I absolutely enjoyed all of it. The world building, the characters, and the story line kept me hooked from the beginning through the end.
The pizza loving blurb was a little odd to me and didn't fit the fantasy world setting I thought we were entering. However, it did fit the story line perfectly, and the pride that Sage took in owning her little pizza place was such a great juxtaposition for the battle she was in for.
The story has so many themes that I took away. The importance of family, which may not be blood, betrayal, love and romance, good vs evil and some surprises along the way,
This book was a joy to read, not too heavy, but significant enough to keep me.
Thank you to Astrid Cole, NetGalley and AstridCole Books for the opportunity to read this excellent debut novel. I enjoyed every minute of it!
And I am SOOOO glad that I did. Diamond City is a debut book by Astrid Cole, and I absolutely enjoyed all of it. The world building, the characters, and the story line kept me hooked from the beginning through the end.
The pizza loving blurb was a little odd to me and didn't fit the fantasy world setting I thought we were entering. However, it did fit the story line perfectly, and the pride that Sage took in owning her little pizza place was such a great juxtaposition for the battle she was in for.
The story has so many themes that I took away. The importance of family, which may not be blood, betrayal, love and romance, good vs evil and some surprises along the way,
This book was a joy to read, not too heavy, but significant enough to keep me.
Thank you to Astrid Cole, NetGalley and AstridCole Books for the opportunity to read this excellent debut novel. I enjoyed every minute of it!
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Firstly a massive massive thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this and for letting me be in your ARC team 😍 This genre isn’t my usual go to but it was such a brilliant way to be introduced to this world of books.
This book surprised me in so many ways. Given the synopsis, I was ready for a lighthearted, banter fuelled love triangle in a dystopian futuristic world. And we got that. And so. Much. More.
The world and lore is so cool and the characters all have so much depth. Sage is powerful, stands up for what she believes in and doesn’t buckle even for a man she loves.
Sage is an insanely powerful and strong independent woman, going against a lot of misogyny and horrible men who treat her as nothing more than a sex toy for the Warlord especially after their relationship grows. On numerous occasions, Sage fights back (both verbally and physically) and is very open about her sexual history to the point where it feels quite refreshing. There are also times when the Warlord wants to do more with Sage sexually, and she doesn’t buckle as she doesn’t always feel comfortable to go further which again was great to see. Especially as the Warlord doesn’t pressure her into anything more. It’s something you rarely see (that conversation where it’s a healthy relationship and the female doesn’t want to go further and the male respects that) so I really love the author for showcasing this.
The standout for me was Samson, who is a side character we meet early on and see through the story. He was so well written and so much fun that every time he was on the page I found myself laughing. The ending involving Samson was a surprise so I’m really excited to see where his story takes him.
The Warlord as a character was super interesting, with a lot more depth than I initially thought he would have. He deals with addiction and recovery and fights against the stereotypes you believe a powerful warlord to have. In terms of being a romantic interest, I felt like he was a little flat for me? He was very open about his sexuality and his sexual history (again, I love that the author spoke about what is probably considered a taboo topic so openly) but I feel like as a romantic partner for Sage he didn’t offer much? He got her to open up a little but I wasn’t super convinced by their relationship - I.e, he finds her hot, she finds him hot, close proximity means they get together. Though I am intrigued to see if he’s interested in her for her or if the rumours from the other characters are true and that he just wants her because she is a prize to be won.
The story did take a bit of time to get me hooked but once it got me, I powered through the rest of the story. There were a few bits of the lore that had me a little confused too and their explanations took a little while to happen so I felt a bit lost at times but the book was so fun that I ended up not being fussed and just went with the flow
The world and lore is so cool and the characters all have so much depth. Sage is powerful, stands up for what she believes in and doesn’t buckle even for a man she loves.
Sage is an insanely powerful and strong independent woman, going against a lot of misogyny and horrible men who treat her as nothing more than a sex toy for the Warlord especially after their relationship grows. On numerous occasions, Sage fights back (both verbally and physically) and is very open about her sexual history to the point where it feels quite refreshing. There are also times when the Warlord wants to do more with Sage sexually, and she doesn’t buckle as she doesn’t always feel comfortable to go further which again was great to see. Especially as the Warlord doesn’t pressure her into anything more. It’s something you rarely see (that conversation where it’s a healthy relationship and the female doesn’t want to go further and the male respects that) so I really love the author for showcasing this.
The standout for me was Samson, who is a side character we meet early on and see through the story. He was so well written and so much fun that every time he was on the page I found myself laughing. The ending involving Samson was a surprise so I’m really excited to see where his story takes him.
The Warlord as a character was super interesting, with a lot more depth than I initially thought he would have. He deals with addiction and recovery and fights against the stereotypes you believe a powerful warlord to have. In terms of being a romantic interest, I felt like he was a little flat for me? He was very open about his sexuality and his sexual history (again, I love that the author spoke about what is probably considered a taboo topic so openly) but I feel like as a romantic partner for Sage he didn’t offer much? He got her to open up a little but I wasn’t super convinced by their relationship - I.e, he finds her hot, she finds him hot, close proximity means they get together. Though I am intrigued to see if he’s interested in her for her or if the rumours from the other characters are true and that he just wants her because she is a prize to be won.
The story did take a bit of time to get me hooked but once it got me, I powered through the rest of the story. There were a few bits of the lore that had me a little confused too and their explanations took a little while to happen so I felt a bit lost at times but the book was so fun that I ended up not being fussed and just went with the flow
Overall, book 1 is a brilliant introduction to the world of enhanced humans and hybrids fighting against the system with fun dialogue and a world that opens up the deeper you go. I’m so excited to see where the series goes
Do you like sci-fi? Do you like romance? Do you like them both especially when they are in the same book? If you answered yes to any of the questions about, you need to run (not walk) to go read this book.
I loved every second of this book! I have never been into sci-fi books, let alone sci-fi romances, but this book changed my mind. You literally get everything with this book: Strong FMC, Morally Grey MMC, action, romance, secrets, and betrayal. Like, what more do you need in a book?
This book ripped my heart out and got me so emotional (and I rarely get emotional when it comes to books). My jaw dropped a few times. And you know a book is going to be good when you find yourself yelling at it (I caught myself yelling at my kindle a few time).
This is book one in what is going to be a 6 book series. Book 3 comes out in October so you still have time to catch up!
I loved every second of this book! I have never been into sci-fi books, let alone sci-fi romances, but this book changed my mind. You literally get everything with this book: Strong FMC, Morally Grey MMC, action, romance, secrets, and betrayal. Like, what more do you need in a book?
This book ripped my heart out and got me so emotional (and I rarely get emotional when it comes to books). My jaw dropped a few times. And you know a book is going to be good when you find yourself yelling at it (I caught myself yelling at my kindle a few time).
This is book one in what is going to be a 6 book series. Book 3 comes out in October so you still have time to catch up!
