Reviews with content warning for Death - City of Shattered Light

Reviews tagging 'Death'

City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn

9 reviews

maxcooper's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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theaceofpages's review

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It was okay. I absolutely loved the premise (when I saw it I knew I had to read it) and very much enjoyed the world building. The actual story and writing, however, fell a little flat. It took me quite some time to actually get invested in the story (although the start was exciting) and then it only managed to hold my attention in waves. I enjoyed the middle the most and the ending is interesting, but I haven't decided if I'm going to read the second book yet. This book wasn't as gay as I was expecting it to be (I know it's bi representation and all bi relationships are equally valid, but I thought I'd still mention it since some people are specifically interested in wlw relationships and might be a little disappointed. Maybe it picks up in the second book?)

While my rating might not be the highest, I know others will love it so don't let my experience put you off if this sounds like your kind of book.

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lizreads05's review

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

( I listened to the audio book of this so i will also be talking about to narrator's performance)
THIS BOOK!!!! I loved this book the writing was immersive and the story really sucked in in the description of the world really made to feel like you were their the characters were lovable (well most of them anyway) it safe to say Riven is my favorite based on the fact the i spent most of this book thirsting over her. I can't wait for the sequel because I need more of this story and characters.
THE NARRATION if you know me it no secret the I love Sarah Beth Pfeifer's work and her narration of this book is no different it was great her voice is beautiful and was perfect for the story and the Talent she has for giving each charter a unique voice is amazing and really helped immerse me into the book the combination of her voice and the writing really made the reading experience amazing and I just loved the reading experience 10 times more because of it

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mar's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

i Do Not want to be mean. but this is the most forgettable book i've read in ages. also absolutely baffled as to why in the m/f/f love triangle the m/f side gets like Infinitely more scenes+development when the f/f side is the Endgame Pairing™️ we're supposed to be rooting for???? hello?????? i don't even mean this in a "it should've been gayer" way i mean it in "it's a bad writing choice" way kjcnvkbj

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nerdysread's review

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

First of all. Thank you NetGalley and Flux for the digital arc of the book.

This is a great story. First there’s a lot of action. Since chapter one. The characters? They have flaws, and they’re human. And it’s sapphic, and there’s a love triangle without a love triangle… hard to explain

But for the story? Picture a rich heiress running away to save her sister and having to work with a crew of outlaws in a city that would eat her if she was alone. Picture a badass chief that is a better shooter than Lucky Luck. A team that’s clearly a family. Some lgbtq+ characters. Also a rich man who destroys life and unleash a vicious virus in a world of tech.

So you kinda have the story. But it’s better than it sounds. And I think I would totally read a volume two. I don’t want to get rid of the characters. And the feelings I had while reading this book.

So yeah, 400 pages of pure goodness

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melaniereadsbooks's review

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adventurous tense fast-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

4.5

Thank you to Netgalley and Flux Books for an arc of this book!

Asa has lived a cushy life--but everything changes for her when her father's experiments put her sister in danger. Meanwhile, Riven is scraping by--and needs a big bounty to save her and her crew. When Asa runs away to save her sister, she teams up with Riven's crew--and the stakes might be bigger than they expect.

I loved this book! After about 5 chapters the action starts going hard and doesn't stop for the rest of the book. So much happens with these disaster girls and their friends! I loved the plot and the world building with the space and the tech that are included. I couldn't believe how it ended! I need the sequel asap.

I loved watching the relationship between these characters build throughout the book. This romance is definitely a slow-burn, but it is worth it! Loved this!

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caseythereader's review

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? No

4.0

Thanks to Flux Books for the free advance copy of this book.

- CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT is chock full of action, adventure, romance, and queerness: what more could you want from your sci-fi novels?!
- Truly though, this one is a great ride. I loved the world of this book and Asa and Riven are both excellent hardheaded protagonists with hearts of gold.
- You know I'm a sucker for queer found family crews doing heists, and this is all that and then some. Love triangle! Chronic illness! Cybernetically enhanced bounty hunters! Rogue AI! A variety of queer identities and no homophobia! Evil technology conglomerate! Oh wow, this turned into a QUEER SCREAMING review, huh?!

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foreverinastory's review

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adventurous emotional tense 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

5.0

Loved this so much!! The action and characters were incredible. There better be a sequel! *Cries*

Rep: Chronically ill bisexual female MC, BIPOC (Asian coded, most likely Filipina) bisexual female MC, achillean BIPOC male side characters, side character with cybernetic implants, queer normative world.

CWs: Alcohol consumption, blood, body horror (forced cybernetic implants), chronic illness, cursing, death, gaslighting, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, medical content, medical trauma, terminal illness, violence. Moderate: suicidal thoughts, gore, kidnapping.

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abbysneddon's review

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adventurous dark emotional fast-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

4.0

Thank you to netgalley and Flux for the ARC!! All opinions are entirely my own.

Okay, I see you technology based, sci fi, interplanetary future. I’m here for you. What I’m NOT here for is the cybernetic body modifications. Blades grafted into bone? Mind links to wires? No thanks.

In this sci-fi, sapphic YA, we follow both Asa and Riven as they attempt to carve out their futures, Asa, as the heir to her father’s experimental tech industry, and Riven, as matriarch in a glorious crime syndicate. When an experiment involving Asa’s abused older sister, Kaya, goes terribly wrong and is corrupted by a malevolent virus infecting tech everywhere, the fates of the two girls become gloriously entwined in this colorful, violent novel.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it. Despite having solid motivations, I never felt compelled to care very much about Asa saving her sister, nor did I feel sympathetic toward Riven’s backstory as one is very much supposed to.

A diverse cast of characters sparkled on the page, which was great to see and read. I’d definitely die for Diego and Samir. This book was billed as a sapphic story though, and the sapphic relationship took up very little of the book (around 20ish percent.) Both of the main girls are bisexual which is amazing, and I love that it was never questioned if one was bi when they were both in relationships with men, but I would have liked to know their m/f relationships took up as much page time as they did.

All in all, I’d sincerely recommend this. It was fun to read and kept me interested enough to get to the end (and holy SHIT that epilogue) but as always in my life, I expected more girls kissing and more of a reason for them to tempt fate a billion times.

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