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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
iforgotilivedhere's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Death, Abandonment, Body horror, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
luckykosmos's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reading this one was a doozy, because the things I didn't like, I hated, but the things I liked, I adored. The biggest detractor was the pacing - skimming over the other reviews, some said it was too fast, some said it was too slow, but really it was very uneven. The world is beautifully imagined, but the lore is a slog to get through in the first third, because there's so much of it. Now that it's established, I'm hoping book 2 can hit the ground running, but this is a book that would have benefited from in-world lore inserts (textbooks excerpts or letters, for example) between chapters, just so less needed to be explained.
On the other hand, I loved the character. The whole last third of the book was a doozy and kept me company during a bad bout of insomnia. For the size of the cast by the end, all of the main and most of the secondary characters had distinct personalities and motivations, and the way Sim wove them together in the last act was masterful. My one exception is Fin - I like his place in the larger plot, but not really where he belongs in Nikolas' story. This might be personal preference, but the amount witheld made it hard to grow attached to him the way I did with, for example, Cosima or Jas, who play similar roles.
I settled on a 4 because, while the issues I had did take me out of the experience and went on for a solid chunk of a long book, I think those won't be an issue in book 2 (at least to the same degree), and I really do adore this cast.
On the other hand, I loved the character. The whole last third of the book was a doozy and kept me company during a bad bout of insomnia. For the size of the cast by the end, all of the main and most of the secondary characters had distinct personalities and motivations, and the way Sim wove them together in the last act was masterful. My one exception is
I settled on a 4 because, while the issues I had did take me out of the experience and went on for a solid chunk of a long book, I think those won't be an issue in book 2 (at least to the same degree), and I really do adore this cast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Cannibalism, and Child death
Minor: Self harm
i_write_on_occasion's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The book has interesting ideas, but a poor execution. The pacing is far too slow to keep interest and the characters are difficult to connect with
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, and Gore
Minor: Animal death, Child death, and Death of parent
booksthatburn's review
This has a lot of story elements I’d normally like, but for some reason it’s just not working for me. I gave it a month and it started to feel like a chore.
I think I’m having trouble because of the size of the cast. It starts out with four main characters (with one more important one who isn’t a POV character) and then adds another one. They’re all in the same city and there’s a degree of redundancy as one character learns something and then one or two others figure it out separately. Whatever the reason, I’m not enjoying it and I’m stopping.
I think I’m having trouble because of the size of the cast. It starts out with four main characters (with one more important one who isn’t a POV character) and then adds another one. They’re all in the same city and there’s a degree of redundancy as one character learns something and then one or two others figure it out separately. Whatever the reason, I’m not enjoying it and I’m stopping.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Racism, Blood, Xenophobia, Animal death, Kidnapping, Violence, Medical content, Chronic illness, and Death
Minor: Child death, Self harm, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Alcohol
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Vomit
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
midnightgremlin's review
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
Easily one of my favourite reads of 2022!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
'The City of Dusk' by Tara Sim is an engaging fantasy novel with great worldbuilding, political intrigue, and necromancy.
The story follows the heirs of four houses who each have their own powers and complicated relationships with one another. Taesia and her brother are dealing with discoveries and possible consequences. Angelica is dealing with learning the proper way to call forth her powers. Nik is hefting his family's expectations and a new responsibility. Risha is struggling to keep the others from coming to blows. With the tenuous relationships between their city and the gods in disarray and the question of succession causing friction between the houses, each of the heirs seek ways to save their city and keep their house afloat.
This story has a slow start but I think that really benefited the characters. Sim gives each character plenty of time within the story so that I felt I had a good grasp on each of the characters and their relationships before the full meat of the plot began to unfurl. The characters and relationships are the heart of this story and so it works really well to cement them strongly at the beginning. For readers looking for more excitement and plot, it definitely appears but only after we have a good understanding of the characters. By weaving in the worldbuilding with the characters, which is aided by them each being heir to different houses and having their own powers, we get to understand the world in a way that felt natural and not forced. There is a solid base layer of understanding that Sim continues to build on throughout the story, especially as characters begin to uncover previously unknown pieces of their world.
A lot is set up in this first book and it's clear that the story is headed for even more intense places (which is saying a lot as this book delves into many different topics). I'm excited to see where Sim takes the characters next and to learn even more about the world.
The story follows the heirs of four houses who each have their own powers and complicated relationships with one another. Taesia and her brother are dealing with discoveries and possible consequences. Angelica is dealing with learning the proper way to call forth her powers. Nik is hefting his family's expectations and a new responsibility. Risha is struggling to keep the others from coming to blows. With the tenuous relationships between their city and the gods in disarray and the question of succession causing friction between the houses, each of the heirs seek ways to save their city and keep their house afloat.
This story has a slow start but I think that really benefited the characters. Sim gives each character plenty of time within the story so that I felt I had a good grasp on each of the characters and their relationships before the full meat of the plot began to unfurl. The characters and relationships are the heart of this story and so it works really well to cement them strongly at the beginning. For readers looking for more excitement and plot, it definitely appears but only after we have a good understanding of the characters. By weaving in the worldbuilding with the characters, which is aided by them each being heir to different houses and having their own powers, we get to understand the world in a way that felt natural and not forced. There is a solid base layer of understanding that Sim continues to build on throughout the story, especially as characters begin to uncover previously unknown pieces of their world.
A lot is set up in this first book and it's clear that the story is headed for even more intense places (which is saying a lot as this book delves into many different topics). I'm excited to see where Sim takes the characters next and to learn even more about the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
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
a_modernstoryteller's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Addiction, Murder, Death of parent, Self harm, and War
Minor: Ableism