Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Review: The City of Dusk by Tara Sim

The City of Dusk
(The Dark Gods #1)
Publication Date: March 22, 2022
Paperback, 576 pages, Orbit
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ+
Set in a gorgeous world of bone and shadow magic, of vengeful gods and defiant chosen ones, The City of Dusk is the first in a dark epic fantasy trilogy that follows the four heirs of four noble houses—each gifted with a divine power—as they form a tenuous alliance to keep their kingdom from descending into a realm-shattering war.

The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir.

But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once vibrant and thriving city. And without it, all the realms are dying.

Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs—Risha, a necromancer struggling to keep the peace; Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with rebellion in her heart; and Nik, a soldier who struggles to see the light— will sacrifice everything to save the city.

But their defiance will cost them dearly.

My Review

Political families with ancestral magical gifts from the literal gods? With death, life, darkness, and light powers? Umm... Yes, please. Let me just sign away my paycheck over to Barnes & Noble because I am hooked on this new fantasy trilogy, and I need book two as soon as possible.

The City of Dusk is just what fantasy readers need. It's a political intrigue, battle of the gods with demons and monsters to boot! It has the dark and gritty quality of a grim-dark without being so dark and gritty that it scares away the tamer fantasy reader. It also has multi-POVs to see the different perspectives of the world, but not an overwhelming amount like some sprawling epics. It also has a great and diverse world with diverse characters (normalizing gay relationships in SFF fake worlds shouldn't be that hard, but some authors seem to have issues with it). And, most importantly, The City of Dusk has crossover appeal for YA fantasy readers who are too intimidated to delve into some denser works, like Martin or Sanderson. It's a great read for people like me, who has only recently started to dive into those larger tomes. A three-book series is much less intimidating.

I will say that going into this book, you are going to want to read the synopsis first. DO NOT GO IN BLIND. You need to have some idea of who the major players are. I went in blind, hoping not to spoil anything for myself, but I was unnecessarily confused for the first 10% of the story, which could've been avoided if I had just read the synopsis. There are a lot of characters and a lot of new gods and places, so having the synopsis in the back of your mind as you go in will definitely help. Other than some confusion in the beginning and ending when $hit was going down and too much was happening for my little brain to easily follow, this book was AMAZING!

I especially love the characters! Well, all except one, but I'll circle back to her. Of the four main characters, Taesia, Nik, and Risha are my favorites. The dark, light, and death powers. So cool. I kind of just want an entire book dedicated to their family histories. Taesia is a bada$$, Nik is a cinnamon roll, and Risha has some cool powers and some cool secrets. Their individiual trauma and family drama made from some great reading, but put together, these godly heirs are just trying to do their best in a messed up situation. As for the other main character, Angelica, I still liked her at times, until she went a little off the rails. But she does have some cute interactions with a certain thief. And yes, you heard that right, there's romance in this book! It isn't the forefront of the story, but it's there, and I am dying to see that relationship drama play out within this godly showdown.

Overall, The City of Dusk is a must read for fans of mischievous deities, otherworldly powers, and young heirs trying to fix impossible messes. So basically, if you like George R.R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, Jennifer L. Armentrout, or even Avatar: The Last Airbender, you should 100% read The City of Dusk. It's dark, it's fun, and it's chock-full of crazy twists and turns.


*Note: I received a NetGalley ARC of this book to review from the publisher. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

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