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A review by vailynst
Shadow City by Diana Pharaoh Francis
3.0
The world as we know it has gone insane with an eruption of Wild Magic. Except for a few that are left untouched, everything alters into something beautiful, monstrous, unimaginable and divine. Max is a Shadowblade of Horngate Coven. She is a warrior of the night that strives with all of her might to keep what she loves safe. Alexander is another Shadowblade who has joined Horngate and the love they share is wildly passionate & new. Without a word, Max vanishes with the demi-god nicknamed Scooter and leaves behind heartache in Horngate. To help Scooter, Max is brought to the brink of death over and over again until she masters the skill to walk the abyss.
Kudos on making Giselle more likeable and showing character growth. That's great! However, I don't see how the "Challenge Battle" with familiar Horngate warriors is what the story really needs. All those pages on planning the fight and then vaguely listing how the fight's fought. Blah blah blah
The comic verbal play between Thor and Oz is hilarious!
The way the bad guys died? Mostly lame-balls.
Moving on to the good bits. Even though it seems like a dumb idea to throw the only answer to your problem to the brink of death to find the key, it's well played. Scooter isn't human and there's no reason to really expect him to act as one.
Chadare is amazing and I would love to see what else can happen there.
The "dogs" are very cool and I hope there's more back story to them.
I'm not sure how I feel about Niko being brought back from death to die later in the story. Doesn't make a lot of sense.
The Horngate story line with the Fury is great! Very satisfying! I wonder if the Hag is coming into play at any point?
The small development in Max's skills is intriguing. The way Alexander bonded with his wild Prime is also very cool. I really enjoy the characters growing, the changes good or bad, and how approachable they are whether they play a human or other.
Max's adventure as she tries to get back Scooter's heart is what I enjoyed. It's interesting, engaging and kept me captivated. In comparison, the "big battle" is a let down.
I'm holding no expectations of the next book. I want to go into it with an open mind and see where the story will take me. I enjoyed this novel but I feel a bit let down by it. Thus far, Crimson Wind is my favorite!
Spoiler
Let's get the GRRRR out of the way first! I'm reading the book and cruising along. There's about quarter of the story to go and then plot line explodes into a pile of crap! The challenge fight feels like an ill timed filler that took me out of the story. It had some promise but fails to deliver.Kudos on making Giselle more likeable and showing character growth. That's great! However, I don't see how the "Challenge Battle" with familiar Horngate warriors is what the story really needs. All those pages on planning the fight and then vaguely listing how the fight's fought. Blah blah blah
The comic verbal play between Thor and Oz is hilarious!
The way the bad guys died? Mostly lame-balls.
Moving on to the good bits. Even though it seems like a dumb idea to throw the only answer to your problem to the brink of death to find the key, it's well played. Scooter isn't human and there's no reason to really expect him to act as one.
Chadare is amazing and I would love to see what else can happen there.
The "dogs" are very cool and I hope there's more back story to them.
I'm not sure how I feel about Niko being brought back from death to die later in the story. Doesn't make a lot of sense.
The Horngate story line with the Fury is great! Very satisfying! I wonder if the Hag is coming into play at any point?
The small development in Max's skills is intriguing. The way Alexander bonded with his wild Prime is also very cool. I really enjoy the characters growing, the changes good or bad, and how approachable they are whether they play a human or other.
Max's adventure as she tries to get back Scooter's heart is what I enjoyed. It's interesting, engaging and kept me captivated. In comparison, the "big battle" is a let down.
I'm holding no expectations of the next book. I want to go into it with an open mind and see where the story will take me. I enjoyed this novel but I feel a bit let down by it. Thus far, Crimson Wind is my favorite!