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maregred's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, and Fire/Fire injury
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The City of Dusk is an intricate political fantasy where four warring aristocratic families try to curry favor with the king and leverage their unique god-given magic for power and influence. Our main characters are the heirs and spares of these illustrious families, born into a world that is fading at an accelerated rate, cut off from the other realms and their magic. With all four families eyeing the crown, the youngest generation has more on their minds. Separately and together, they have ideas for how to save their world. But there is much they don't know about magic, about each other, and about other powerful forces on the move, all who would use them as pawns in a terrifying, high-stakes game.
What I enjoyed most about this book were the twists and turns, the queer cast, and the reflections on power and privilege. While the relationships were a bit surface level and trope-y for my tastes (especially the romantic plots were predictable and rushed), the political power games were fascinating and kept many surprises until the very end. In terms of queer representation, there are both sapphic and mlm romances brewing among the main cast at the end of this first installment, and an important side character is a trans girl. There is also an established sapphic couple as one of the main character's mom and stepmom. It seems to be a queer-norm society. I appreciated how the characters struggle throughout the book to come to terms with their own power in a magical and political sense. They have to consider their duty, the future of their world, and what role they should play in it. They also have to consider what greater powers are meddling in their lives and those of everyone, powers that perhaps shouldn't be revered once viewed in a more honest light.
Beyond relationships that took a back seat to plot, the main deterrent keeping me from being fully immersed in this story was the drawn-out pacing. I lost motivation at several points throughout because I felt sluggish moving through the plot. I think it's always a risk having a book this long, and it takes a special connection between reader and book to keep interest up throughout. That didn't happen for me here, but I still found a lot to admire and enjoy.
What I enjoyed most about this book were the twists and turns, the queer cast, and the reflections on power and privilege. While the relationships were a bit surface level and trope-y for my tastes (especially the romantic plots were predictable and rushed), the political power games were fascinating and kept many surprises until the very end. In terms of queer representation, there are both sapphic and mlm romances brewing among the main cast at the end of this first installment, and an important side character is a trans girl. There is also an established sapphic couple as one of the main character's mom and stepmom. It seems to be a queer-norm society. I appreciated how the characters struggle throughout the book to come to terms with their own power in a magical and political sense. They have to consider their duty, the future of their world, and what role they should play in it. They also have to consider what greater powers are meddling in their lives and those of everyone, powers that perhaps shouldn't be revered once viewed in a more honest light.
Beyond relationships that took a back seat to plot, the main deterrent keeping me from being fully immersed in this story was the drawn-out pacing. I lost motivation at several points throughout because I felt sluggish moving through the plot. I think it's always a risk having a book this long, and it takes a special connection between reader and book to keep interest up throughout. That didn't happen for me here, but I still found a lot to admire and enjoy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Gore, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Blood, Classism, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Animal death, and Confinement
caseythereader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Thanks to Orbit Books for the free copy of this book.
- Y'all, I loved THE CITY OF DUSK! I was nervous because it's been awhile since I've read a 500+ page fantasy novel and my concentration has been shot recently, but I could not put it down.
- The world of this book is quite complex, and only keeps gaining layers as the heirs learn more about themselves, history is uncovered, people are double crossed, and more, so do know that going in.
- Each of the heirs was messy and headstrong in their own ways, and I loved and rooted for them all, even when they were at odds with each other.
- This is also a lowkey queernorm world. Everyone was at least a little queer, but it doesn't matter to anyone and it's great.
- All that said, I do think this will probably be a divisive book, given that it's so long and complicated, possibly a bit overstuffed, and yes, some plot developments do get confusing at times. I'm all in, though.
- Y'all, I loved THE CITY OF DUSK! I was nervous because it's been awhile since I've read a 500+ page fantasy novel and my concentration has been shot recently, but I could not put it down.
- The world of this book is quite complex, and only keeps gaining layers as the heirs learn more about themselves, history is uncovered, people are double crossed, and more, so do know that going in.
- Each of the heirs was messy and headstrong in their own ways, and I loved and rooted for them all, even when they were at odds with each other.
- This is also a lowkey queernorm world. Everyone was at least a little queer, but it doesn't matter to anyone and it's great.
- All that said, I do think this will probably be a divisive book, given that it's so long and complicated, possibly a bit overstuffed, and yes, some plot developments do get confusing at times. I'm all in, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Grief, Kidnapping, Child death, Death, Gore, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
bookwormbullet's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
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