A review by dhee_reads
City of Lies by Sam Hawke

5.0

One of my unexpected faves. This plays with seige plot archetype really well by juggling a crumbling gov and mystery with possible culprit still at play. Tain, Kalina and Jov really are amazing leads. The bk is dual pov between Kalina and Jov--siblings. Although Tain doesn't have pov but he is big part of the bk. Our crew are on an uphill battle to protect each other and their city as all hell breaks loose. All our characters are funny, moving and heroic. Tack on the high dangers and how in the dark they are while also contending with their own fears, insecurities and growing hopes and ambition. This trio takes everything in, and they actually learn, and listen. My fav parts of this bk is how Hawke continues engaging meaningfully with Dafari. Ofc friendships. A story that focuses on friendships is so rare. It was so sweet and mushy.

Not Real Cons: I don't want to change this. I just want to encourage reading this with breaks. I was exhausted (in a good way) by 60% mark. Our casts is thrown into prob after prob with no rest time. But the plot throughout the 60% mark and on is still excellent. It's just I was tired for them. It's an onslaught. They got 2 minutes of peace. That came way later in the book. It was onto more chaos. I emphasize I loved everything. Not a real con. Just read with breaks.

The only real con is I am not a fan on Kalina unrequited love with internal monologue. She is better than this.