Reviews - The City Beautiful

480 reviews for:

The City Beautiful

Aden Polydoros

4.19 AVERAGE

aromarrie's review against another edition

5.0

dark reflective tense medium-paced

fakepumpkins's review

4.5

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

javalibrarian's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Content Warnings

jessaboohoo's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This honestly might be my favorite book of 2021 and I don’t say that lightly. This deals with some incredibly difficult topics that are as relevant today as they were in 1893.

Content Warnings

revenantcowboy's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

lilatov's review against another edition

4.0

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

laejone's review

5.0

dark mysterious medium-paced

Content Warnings

hrk's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-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

bloomingeyes's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-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

What a spectacular read!! I through this book in three days. One of my best reads of 2021. The characters are gripping, the prose drips with atmosphere, and the plot moves at a steady clip.

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional tense slow-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

As the author mentions in the note at the end of the book, there are very few historical fiction books with Jewish characters that aren't about the Holocaust. This book is incredibly atmospheric and unapologetically Jewish, as the main character, Alter, speaks little English and uses a lot of Jewish terms and mythology. I was fascinated by all of it, knowing very little about Jewish mythology, and the glossary in the back was incredibly helpful.

I will say, the story itself is overall on the slower side, which allows Polydoros to build the suspense. Just when you think you have the mystery figured out, something else happens to turn it on its head. You can feel the gothic fantasy vibes throughout, and overall, these elements are well incorporated throughout.

The only thing that wasn't super believable for me was the romance itself, which might relate back to the historical period it's written in. For me, I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between Alter and his main love interest, and I think I wanted a bit more. Again, this is probably historically accurate, but I wasn't as invested in the romance as I wanted to be.

Overall, fans of gothic historical fantasy with thriller vibes will definitely enjoy this book. A great addition to YA Lit!

Content Warnings

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