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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
City of Gods and Monsters (House of Devils #1)
By Kayla Edwards
A ruthless city, a reluctant human, and a devil who learns how to love
In City of Gods and Monsters, Kayla Edwards drops you into Angelthene, a metropolis where immortals rule and humans survive by keeping their heads down. Loren Calla is one of those humans, ordinary on paper and anything but in practice. When her best friend is abducted and the city’s most feared Darkslayer, Darien Cassel, is hired to hunt her, protection and pursuit become the same road. What follows is a gritty, fast paced urban fantasy that marries high stakes mystery with a slow burn romance that actually earns its heat.
Angelthene feels lived in. Magic threads through infrastructure, politics, and social hierarchies, and the book lets you learn it in context rather than through info dumps. From seedy clubs and the fighting Pit to the locked halls of Angelthene Academy, the city reveals itself in layers while the plot pushes forward. The mystery around the Phoenix Head Society and the Arcanum Well is engaging and well seeded with foreshadowing. Small details matter. Magpies that shriek before disaster, a half dead houseplant becoming a clue, and recurring symbols that resurface at crucial moments. These touches make the reveals feel inevitable rather than convenient.
The character work is the book’s heartbeat. Loren is vulnerable and stubborn in ways that make sense for a human in a predator’s city. She is emotional without being reckless, and her choices are grounded in fear, love, and a deep need for control she has rarely had. Darien is both blade and bruise. Possessive and protective, vicious when he must be, yet unfailingly gentle with the people he claims. His Surges read like panic attacks and his self loathing sits right on the page. Their dynamic begins as a transaction and shifts into a partnership built on care, honest communication, and earned trust. Around them, the Seven Devils are not just set dressing. They add humor, loyalty, and found family warmth that counters the city’s brutality.
Edwards writes in a dual first person that keeps the action visceral and the intimacy close. The writing is vivid and immersive, pulling you straight into the grit of the city and the intensity of the characters’ emotions without ever feeling overdone. The pacing holds even across a long page count, and the final act pays off both the clues and the tension. The book asks questions about power, choice, and the cost of immortality while still delivering knife fights, banter, and a romance that simmers until it scorches. I was invested in the mystery, gutted by the losses, and satisfied by the way love and sacrifice reframe what winning looks like in a city built on violence.
For readers who love:
- New adult urban fantasy with grit and glow
- Slow burn romance with real communication and serious chemistry
- Bodyguard and forced proximity vibes
- Found family and strong female friendships
- Sunshine grumpy energy with touch her and you die protection
- Immersive worldbuilding with witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and hellsehers
- High tension mystery, cult secrets, and meaningful foreshadowing
- Chronic illness and anxiety representation woven into the character, not tacked on
Rating: ★★★★½
Final Verdict:
City of Gods and Monsters delivers a sharp, atmospheric urban fantasy wrapped around a tender, hard won love story. Come for the Devils and the danger, stay for Loren and Darien choosing each other in a city that would rather break them. Highly recommended, especially if Crescent City sits on your favorites shelf.
Content warnings: graphic violence, mature language, drug abuse, sexual content, suicide, torture, murder, loss of life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual harassment
*please note that I am a vibe/mood reader.*
Too many plot holes for me, like the dog is staying in the shop? Who is taking him to pee? That bugs me. Too insta-trust as well. Marketed like it’ll be at least a little bit enemies to lovers but there was about a page of that and then he just takes her home with him? Nah. I might try again later when I’m in a different mood lol.
Too many plot holes for me, like the dog is staying in the shop? Who is taking him to pee? That bugs me. Too insta-trust as well. Marketed like it’ll be at least a little bit enemies to lovers but there was about a page of that and then he just takes her home with him? Nah. I might try again later when I’m in a different mood lol.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
So so boring. I listened to this on audiobook. Nothing happened for so long and even whatever happened towards the end is not good enough for me to continue with this series. Maybe the narrator for Loren's voice didn't do it for me, but Loren's voice was whiny, and her character weak. so happy to be done.
The teenaged horniness is on my last nerve, I cannot stand Loren and don’t care enough to figure out what happens with her in 700 pages.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
I don’t knowwwwwww
I really loved the tension and slow burn between the two main characters but I felt like it came at the expense of the plot/other characters? The world and the story was good but why did everyone have like 3 names, it made it sooo hard to follow who was who!! And I felt like we did not get enough of the other devils or Lorens 2 besties - like the whole first half of the book is that Sabrine is missing but when she’s found it’s like okay cool here’s one chapter for it and then she’s forgotten again?? And why did Loren care more about a street than if her own sister was dead at the end?? It kind of gave me the ick when she’d call the devils her family when I feel like we barely know anything about them and Loren barely interacts with them - they have no page time and it made me not really care about them
I really loved the tension and slow burn between the two main characters but I felt like it came at the expense of the plot/other characters? The world and the story was good but why did everyone have like 3 names, it made it sooo hard to follow who was who!! And I felt like we did not get enough of the other devils or Lorens 2 besties - like the whole first half of the book is that Sabrine is missing but when she’s found it’s like okay cool here’s one chapter for it and then she’s forgotten again?? And why did Loren care more about a street than if her own sister was dead at the end?? It kind of gave me the ick when she’d call the devils her family when I feel like we barely know anything about them and Loren barely interacts with them - they have no page time and it made me not really care about them
The story is good but I just wasn't wowed.
Loren is pretty annoying. I know she's young but damn, talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Darian has his annoying moments too tho. I need space, get away, let me be broody. I get that's the point but I usually like my broody characters. He wasn't a win for me and I'm kinda shocked by that bc of all the Darien Cassel love in the book community.
The familiars were cool. I love the idea of an ethereal animal bonding and I love the part where she gets hers.
I'll read book two.
Loren is pretty annoying. I know she's young but damn, talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Darian has his annoying moments too tho. I need space, get away, let me be broody. I get that's the point but I usually like my broody characters. He wasn't a win for me and I'm kinda shocked by that bc of all the Darien Cassel love in the book community.
The familiars were cool. I love the idea of an ethereal animal bonding and I love the part where she gets hers.
I'll read book two.
dark
emotional
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
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes