You know how they say a city has a soul? Well that's the whole concept of this book - New York is about to be "born" and the five boroughs take on the guise of people who must band together and fight against a big old bad! A mash up of sci-fi and horror which had me gripped and the book gives a fantastic social commentary on race/politics/bigotry. I believe there is more to come from this series and I will definitely be reading them!

I think I might be in the minority when I say that this book just wasn't for me. I found the plot interesting with the idea that cities have souls etc but the running train of thought throughout the book was just too difficult to follow, possibly due to the several point of views you're given which makes it harder to keep track of things. The pace of the novel was too slow for my liking and I almost gve up at 40% but I hate not finishing books so I ploughed through. Not sure I'll be picking this one up again which is a shame because I like the authors other works.
Don't get me wrong, it addresses some important issues within and the writing is well done but I couldn't get into it and relate with any characters enough to love it.

With Thanks to N. K Jemisin and Orbit for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book.

4*

I have never encountered an author like Jemisin before, the talent and ability to write at the highest levels and still not have any 2 series/stand-alones be even vaguely similar is a real unique skill.

This story is based in the concept that cities can and want to be born, and for us its New York's turn to do so. Stuffed full of Jemisin's signature impressive worldbuiling, complexed and believable characters and intriguing plotlines you'd be forgiven for missing the obvious social commentary. What I love most about this book is I love the anger, the exasperation and tiredness that seeps through every page. To every racist, sexist, homophobic bigot in the world this book is a massive fuck you, such a loud powerful one that I hope it achieves it's purpose and knocks them back a peg or two.

There's a lot to be said for books that are "love letters to x" however this was much more my style, an unapologetic commentary on what humanity doesn't need.

I read 45% of this book before my access to it expired - however of this 45% I very much enjoyed the book, so much so that I went out to purchase it myself in order to get to finish it off! Very enjoyable read and extremely interesting plot don't think I've ever read anything quite like it before. The author has such a wonderful way with the written word that just transports you.

I have not completed this book so have not went on to share my full review on socials as of yet. However I have purchased the book and aim to do so in time. Currently as it stands at 45% reading I would happily give this a 3.5 star.

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

My first N. K. Jemisin book and I can only really describe it as wonderfully whacky.

The City We Became is more or less a story about the 5 boroughs of New York being personified to fight off an eldritch being that is hellbent on destroying the city. How cool of a concept is that?!
It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea as it is a little strange and slow going and took me a lot longer to get through that I expected but I did enjoy it.

Jemisin’s writing is absolutely fantastic. The atmosphere created immerses you right in, from the creeping elements of Eldritch/Lovecraftian horror to the rich descriptions of the life, diverse cultures and stereotypes of New York that meticulously shape both the setting and the characters that embody it. One downside though is that as someone who has never seen or experienced the city in person, I did feel like I couldn’t fully appreciate every aspect of the book.

The storyline gave me major comic book vibes – The Wicked and the Divine or Watchmen were some that came to my mind - with how it focuses on a bunch of individuals being reluctantly bestowed powers and coming together to save a city. So although the written novel form worked well to vividly portray all of this in lieu of a comic strip, I can’t help but think it could have worked even better in graphic novel form – it would have particularly helped with the pacing.

The ending was also quite abrupt and hence gave the overall feeling of a prequel novel setting up a bigger story. All that aside however, it was still an impressive work of fiction as well as an immense homage to the city of New York and I can definitely see why Jemisin is such a big name in modern sci-fi and fantasy. I look forward to the sequel and picking up her other work.
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars

Okay, hear me out: N.K. Jemisin is one of the greatest writers – I was going to say ‘living’ writers, or ‘of our generation’, but nope. One of the greatest writers, living or dead. The way she writes speculative fiction, her world building, her characters, everything gels together so perfectly on the page that her books go beyond five stars. This is the fifth book I’ve read from Jemisin – I started with the Broken Earth trilogy, read How Long ‘til Black Future Month? then was lucky enough to snag a copy of this from NetGalley. And it has in no way changed my mind.

Thing is, Jemisin knows her shit. She knows the history of the genres she’s writing in, the issues and problems, as well as the ways in which they can and have been reclaimed, and somehow manages to bring together SFF and Horror in her own unique brand. I could write a whole essay on why her work is so great, but I will focus in on The City We Became for this review.

If you’ve read the short story collection, you know the opening to this story, as it’s told in “The City Born Great”. But the direction the novel takes towards the end is completely different. The City We Became starts from the idea that every great city has a soul. It can take many, many years for the city to be ‘born’, and it’s usually a difficult, dangerous process. Most cities have one soul. New York has six. Each has an avatar, and as these avatars are ‘activated’, they discover the danger to New York hasn’t gone away.

There’s so much Jemisin packs and unpacks in this book. It’s a powerful journey, one that takes a critical but loving look at the city and its broughs, represented through the various characters. Jemisin holds a mirror up to the city, showing every aspect; the artistry, the power, the grasp for money, the diversity, the gentrification. The characters are wonderfully written, from the grad student who gets off the train in Manhattan and completely forgets who he is, to the ignorant, naïve girl on Staten Island who believes too much in the words her father parrots.

There are jabs at Lovecraft, at the twisted, fucked up way he saw the world, and love letters to the wonder of the city. Jemisin doesn’t pull any punches, but she gives space for us to really connect with each and every point of view character. Evil takes the form of a white woman and a corporation seemingly determined to squash everything unique about the city, especially in the Bronx and Brooklyn. But each character is informed not just by the way they inhabit the city’s souls, but their own personal lived experiences, too.

I’ve read a lot of excellent books this year, but this, so far, tops the list, and it’s going to take something truly amazing to knock it off its perch. If you haven’t read it yet, you’re really missing out. Combining Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror, Jemisin manages to exceed already high expectations.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy. I found this a little frustrating - at the same time both creative and laboured. As a Brit I might be missing out on some of the New York nuances.

I love this authors previous series, the fifth season. I guess I had high hopes that this would be as good, however I just couldn't get into it. The story didn't take hold of me and sometimes it felt like a chore to read. It was a bit confusing at the start and I had to re-read sections to make sure I had taken thing in. Not my cup of tea im sorry.

The City We Became was a slow starter for me, not for any reason other than there is A LOT of world-building. But after you get used to the descriptive style of writing the book really starts to flow.

A very interesting story with political rhetoric relevant to today's society and its challenges. I would recommend this book if you enjoy complex world-building and in-depth magic systems!

As New York City came to life five individuals inside of it were tasked with keeping it safe. Threats from without and within thwarted the longevity of the now sentient city, as well as the lives of its caretakers.

I loved the concept of the different sentient cities, with the assorted individuals enacting their varied roles within it. Jemisin showed great skill in bringing New York City to life, even before it actually became a living, breathing entity. The setting was rich in detail and every sense was evoked in conjuring its streets. The figures who roamed inside of it were also sketched with the same skill. I expected nothing less from this author, but I loved the diversity of those who featured here!

I also appreciated how this book exposed social issues rife within in the city. Each individual had their own trials to face on the streets - both personal, societal, and in order to save the city. The judgement of others, due to skin colour, social situation, identity, orientation, or background weighed as heavily on their shoulders as they new orders they were tasked with. This combination of real-world and fictional issues continued throughout, making this a novel as unique as it was accurate, and as wild and action-packed as it was reflective and thoughtful.

This is a tricky one for me to review. It took me a very long time to get through and I kept losing interest in it. However, at the same time, there were parts of the book that were impossible to put down and I blew through them. So I think my biggest issue was how inconsistent this book was for me. Parts of it were incredible and others were just dull.

The concept of this novel is so inventive and the worldbuilding was incredible, I just connect overly well to the story itself or to the characters. I felt there were almost too many characters to focus on and keep track of although on their own they were all fascinating individuals.

Overall I think this is a unique, interesting fantasy novel, it just wasn't for me.

This book is a hard one to rate - at least for me.
I love books with diversity, being a marginalised person myself - so I was really looking forward to read it.
The diversity in this book is done well. Without a question.
But I just couldn’t get into the writing style. Not one bit. Slow and long dialogues, which didn’t have any appeal for me. And besides New York City as an entity all the characters fell pretty flat for me. Some were even not at all likeable.
Maybe people with a strong connection to NYC might love it, but for me it was only an okay, which took me ages, because I was not engaged in any of it.

This was such a weirdly fascinating book. It is without a doubt that N.K Jemisin is a brilliant author. Her ideas are extremely unique and yet very grounded in reality. Her stories are thought provoking to say the least. With this book in particular, I think she does a fantastic job of blending the fantasy elements with the very real social issues which are prevalent in the world currently. In fact, the whole book is a metaphor to the many issues which is plaguing our world from racism to cultural appropriation to homophobia.

But central to the plot is New York itself. The main plot and this is were the fantasy elements comes into play is that, New York City and its different boroughs are being born but for it to complete the birth process and reach stability, all the boroughs of New York and their avatars must come together and support the primary NY avatar. It also means that different people from different backgrounds and cultures must come and work together to help the city as a whole. But, this is also the time when NYC is most vulnerable and is therefore being constantly attacked by another city from a different dimension by fanning the discords between different factions of people living in NYC.

I honestly, really enjoyed the concept and the theme of the story. The writing is very accessible and while sometimes I was confused about the mechanism of the fantasy elements, I never found it to be disengaging. The pacing is a bit slow in the beginning but eventually picks up, however, I truly feel that the ending could have been somewhat more explosive. I didn't dislike it but it isn't very memorable either.

Similarly, I thought the themes of the story sometimes impeded the development of characters. There are a lot of social commentary in the book which honestly took away page time from the characters. As a result some of the characters felt very bland and I couldn't care enough for them.

Overall, I enjoyed reading it - its an important book but I also think you really need to be in a mood to read this book as some of the issues being discussed are quite heavy. I am probably going to continue with the series and see how it unfolds.

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group U.K./Orbit for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The City We Became’ by N. K. Jemisin in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in N. K. Jemisin’s Great Cities Trilogy, combining urban fantasy, science fiction, and horror. It was originally published in the U.K. in March 2020. This digital review copy was made available to promote its paperback edition released on 29 July 2021.

I will admit that it took me a little while to get into the story though once I did I was completely blown away. This is a novel that celebrates the rich history and cultural diversity of New York City. There is also a Lovecraftian element to the narrative that I really appreciated, including Jemisin’s subversion of HPL’s well documented racism.

The characters were well developed and I found their transformation into fledgling avatars of the city’s boroughs very compelling. In addition, Jemisin powerfully evoked the streets of New York City so that I felt as though I was actually there. It was very vivid, enhanced by my combining reading with its unabridged audiobook edition for an immersive experience.

I have been meaning for some time to read her Broken Earth trilogy and having such a positive experience with ‘The City We Became’, I want to ensure that I do so very soon. I also will be waiting for news of Book 2 in the Great Cities Trilogy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I haven't yet read Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy but it's now shot straight up my list. I loved this book. It reminded me a lot of Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders series in that Jemisin has taken something you think of as inanimate and given it life. I'm not a New Yorker but the depictions of the different boroughs seemed spot on, and I cannot wait to see where the story goes in the next book. Jemisin is one of the most exciting voices in modern fantasy.

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of The City We became. The premise of this story is a group of people who each embody a borough of new york city whilst trying to protect it, which sounds fascinating and is one of the main reasons why i wanted to pick it up. I havent read anything by this author before so i was new to her writing style.

The plot was slow in places and fast paced in others but it was well written and i liked the characters.

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin is a fantasy book where five New Yorkers have to come together to protect their city as they become the city.

They have to protect it against another thing that wants to destroy New York as it has destroyed other cities. 

You get a tour of New York, and characteristics of different districts within New York, all with our heroes being under threat.

I really enjoyed this story.  It's fast paced, funny, sad and well written!  This is the first in a trilogy, so I'm looking forward to the next one!

 The City We Became  was published on 29th July 2021 and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

You can follow N. K. Jemisin on  Twitter  and her  website .

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Little, Brown UK .

Reading this book has been quite the experience.

First of all, I've personally never read anything that resembles this book. The way it is written and the concept of it was a challenge for me, and I appreciate being challenged. I loved reading something fresh. For a writer to do this, find a way to tackle themes in a completely new way - that takes guts and talent. As I am writing this review, I realise how difficult it will be to explain this book. Seriously, it's not that I haven't tried, highlighted parts in the book, and thought about it. It's just one of those books that you need to read and experience for yourself to understand, because a simple review won't do it justice.

But let me try and explain this book. We're in New York City. New York has five boroughs. Each borough has its own avatar. Plus there is the primary avatar of New York. They are all suddenly born as boroughs, although they have existed as humans all their lives. They have feelings, thoughts, lives as people but as cities as well, and this is all intertwined on a very deep level. They are trying to figure out what it means to be an avatar, and doing all of that while defending New York that's being attacked by a city from another dimension. Basically, we are in the midst of an inter dimensional war.

As far as characters themselves are concerned, I enjoyed reading about Bronca the most. Unfortunately, didn't really connect to Queens, I felt she was just a side-character that didn't really add much value to the book.

What I appreciated is the commentary that this book is. It uses these characters/avatars to demonstrate deeper issues, like capitalism, consumerism, racism... Everything from how the characters talk and think, to how they communicate with each other is a big metaphor for something bigger.

If you have a book club - CHOOSE THIS BOOK. There' so much to dissect and talk about here.

I'm giving this book a four because it felt like the plot was on standby. It was too slow at times. Another reason is that the ending kind of fell flat. I didn't feel any sort of 'feck yeah' moment, for the lack of better words. I felt like the slow and tamed, simmering tension that I felt throughout the book just faded away. No explosion, no kaboom.

Other than that, I appreciate this book for what it is. An authentic concept that serves as commentary on a very real world out there. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. I am very grateful!

Just didn’t really marry with the author’s voice in this book and found that I couldn’t get into it.

A fantasy like no other, in turns confusing and exhilarating.
In The City We Became we are asked to imagine a world under threat from a supernatural entity which invades its target, sucking the life out of it, consuming its essence and then taking its place in a new world. This could be seen as a metaphor for so many things, and though it did have me scratching my head a little initially I found myself engrossed in the fight.
These kinds of attacks have been going on for years. Nobody remembers the successful attacks as the city that is lost becomes nothing but a story. But this time is different because the city under attack is New York.
In this world, New York can be saved. It can be saved by the physical manifestations of the city - people who represent a borough of New York - working together to save the place they love.
When I started reading I really was not sure what to make of it. Manny, our first character introduced, remembers nothing of his life and can’t really place what’s happening to him. Though this makes it hard to gauge what’s happening, I felt it meant we learnt about the scenario as Manny did. Not really knowing New York I wouldn’t like to say whether the author has painted an accurate picture of these districts and cities, but it was a refreshing concept and highly entertaining.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this before publication.