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micaela_ru's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Savage City is an engaging story, if not a bit underdeveloped. Either way, it is always refreshing to see Black women as the MCs in adult fantasy novels (especially when the author is also Black). The first two chapters were off to a rocky start, things were hard to follow at first; it evens out pretty fast. The writing is straightforward and simplistic, which isn't a bad thing. I think the story does a good job in providing worldbuilding details as needed and I never felt overwhelmed with it. What I did feel overwhelmed with was so many bland background characters who didn't have anything distinctive about them, and so they were forgettable. To be honest, the secondary main character Ryin is also forgettable. Talia, the primary MC, was flat. She is kind of adrift in a plot and doesn't really take much action of her own that's meaningful to the plot's development. Things just happen to her. And she's a bit one-dimensional.
While I did enjoy this story overall, I do have some minor gripes like the development of the romantic subplot (it was supportive and non-toxic, which I appreciate, but I didn't really believe they were in love). There were a few other moments in the story that I felt were glossed over and maybe needed to be developed more. The ending felt a bit rushed. Sometimes the dialogue felt overly formal and stiff, even for the main character, who is from our Earth in modern times.
Speaking of worldbuilding, I can't quite understand why there are royals in an alternate world that seems to be post-apocalyptic modern Earth set in the United States. This isn't something that is addressed, but I did wonder why they would resort to kings and queens in a place with a history like the U.S. And if this alternate Earth had a different history, that wasn't addressed so the readers are left to wonder. Not necessarily a bad thing, just something that caught my attention.
Also of note: I did also listen to the audiobook of this series while reading along, but I stopped listening to the audiobook because I felt the performances of the readers - particularly the voice of Ryin - was stilted and made reading unenjoyable. I think for this book if you're debating between audiobook and ebook, maybe pass on the audiobook!
Either way, I enjoyed reading it and am looking forward to the sequel.
Trigger content warnings: brief mentions of a bad car accident and then another mention of a pedestrian being struck and killed by a car; slavery, torture, violence, sexual content (between consenting adults), imprisonment.
I received the audiobook and ebook versions in advance in exchange for my honest review via Netgalley.
While I did enjoy this story overall, I do have some minor gripes like the development of the romantic subplot (it was supportive and non-toxic, which I appreciate, but I didn't really believe they were in love). There were a few other moments in the story that I felt were glossed over and maybe needed to be developed more. The ending felt a bit rushed. Sometimes the dialogue felt overly formal and stiff, even for the main character, who is from our Earth in modern times.
Speaking of worldbuilding, I can't quite understand why there are royals in an alternate world that seems to be post-apocalyptic modern Earth set in the United States. This isn't something that is addressed, but I did wonder why they would resort to kings and queens in a place with a history like the U.S. And if this alternate Earth had a different history, that wasn't addressed so the readers are left to wonder. Not necessarily a bad thing, just something that caught my attention.
Also of note: I did also listen to the audiobook of this series while reading along, but I stopped listening to the audiobook because I felt the performances of the readers - particularly the voice of Ryin - was stilted and made reading unenjoyable. I think for this book if you're debating between audiobook and ebook, maybe pass on the audiobook!
Either way, I enjoyed reading it and am looking forward to the sequel.
Trigger content warnings: brief mentions of a bad car accident and then another mention of a pedestrian being struck and killed by a car; slavery, torture, violence, sexual content (between consenting adults), imprisonment.
I received the audiobook and ebook versions in advance in exchange for my honest review via Netgalley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Classism, Slavery, and War
Moderate: Torture, Car accident, Abandonment, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Child death, and Emotional abuse
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