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disnelyse's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I liked the story, but felt that it was lacking... that it could have been expanded upon and that there could have been more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Child death
Minor: Bullying, Gun violence, and Confinement
eliza_jo's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The premise of City of Villains has tons of potential, but the work is marred by a problematic execution that prevents it from delivering on the promise of its concept.
As I read this story, I wondered if it was meant to be a graphic novel or include illustrations. Although some of the descriptive elements improve throughout the story, they’re pretty thin at the start of the story. Suppose a story’s set in a contemporary, well-known location. In that case, the description may not be paramount, but this is a work that centers on the Scar, a neighborhood populated by Legacies. Legacies are people who were born with magic or descendants of those who once had magic. Most events in the story occur in the Scar, although the protagonist works in Midcity. These fictitious locales are anchored against real places, such as California, but it’s unclear where they are, and a lot of the details required to have a sense of the setting are missing. Since I received an ARC from the publisher and the book hasn’t been released yet, I can’t present exact quotes, but one illustration of the lack of description occurs when the protagonist describes being in the kind of hallway you might see in an office building. There’s no reference to colors or materials. Whether the walls were white, gray, or beige is unknown, and there’s no reference to the type of flooring. While we don’t always need all of those details, details are lacking in several key locations throughout the work.
I do want to stress that I love the concept. I have no issue with the idea of someone with an investigative gift who’s interning with the police while still in high school. As always, a premise sinks or swims based on how well the author sells it.
However, there are several investigative issues within the book that gave me mixed feelings about this. Ultimately, the work fell short due to inconsistencies and logic flaws, which I discuss in greater detail in my review at Sci Fi & Scary.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Violence
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