inkedwxtchreads 's review for:

City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards

5.0

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Wow, I like this A LOT more than I was anticipating based on how divisive it seems to be. Especially since people who like it later didn’t really like it from the first book. But see as I liked the first book this much, we can only go up from here right? 

I don’t always love urban fantasy or romance but honestly this really hit for me. I find I usually like them more when they’re urban but still are very clearly not operating on the same rules as our real world. Vs some urban fantasy that adopts too many realistic parallels. This was perfectly what I wanted. It felt like here…. But so much better. 

The world building if you couldn’t tell, was something that I really loved. I love all the different paranormal beings, the way they operate, seeing how rules and laws work for them, and just all of it. The deeper it got the more invested I was. 

But on top of that, I absolutely adored Loren, despite some people really not liking her. And how truly realistic she felt for the position she was in. A lot of the time when you get seemingly mortal characters everyone automatically assumes they need to be lethal and skilled in some way. And Loren is not that, not to say she isn’t a baddie in her own way. She comes through, but she struggles. And I love that. 

I’m not saying I wouldn’t like to see her become something more, because I would. But for now I appreciate this journey! 

And the found family! So many good side characters in here! So many good animal companions too. I can’t wait to see how they grow. 

The romance I wasn’t sure about but I really think Darien has made up my mind. I absolutely love him. I mean who doesn’t love a man who isn’t afraid to get his hands bloody right? It’s also refreshing to basically see a “he falls first” sort of story, because imo it was so clear that he did, although it happens easily, it’s still refreshing from the typical enemies/reluctant storylines we get.

The plot was good and I really liked seeing a bit of the underbelly/darker side of this world. I found it to be unique. Paranormal fight rings, magical drugs, demons, etc. all things I love to see in urban fantasy. 

All that to confirm that this indeed made me sob multiple times. There’s at least two hard hitting, horribly but also beautifully emotional scenes in here that hit me so deeply I was genuinely shocked that they did. It convinced me that I am truly, In love with these characters and this story because that reaction was STRONGK. 

However I do have to tell you one was something bad happening to an animal. However I also want to encourage you to still read it because that animal got hurt being loyal and just a straight up badass. And it’s worth it, because there is happiness at the end of that scenario! 

But yep, I’m excited to see where this journey takes me. This is my new obsession. You heard it here first!