Sadly this book didn't work for me and I didn't finish it. As I liked the author's other novels, I might try it again later and I'll update this review if that's the case.

The prologue hooked me instantly and is beautfuly writen, theres are spots of this kind of writing in the rest of the book but not all the way through. It is a great book with an interesting story that i couldnt put down, the plot was a little bit predictable which personaly i didnt mind, and the pace can be a little slow in places, but those are the only down sides. Cant wait for the second book :)

3.5 stars

The City of Dusk is a big book, particularly when you consider it’s just book 1 in the Dark Gods series, and it did feel like it took effort to finish it. The world building and concept is interesting, although took me a little while to get my head around, but it really takes up a lot of this book, there’s so much back of forth focused around the main 4 characters, the 4 realms, the 4 gods. Pacing, complexity and length aside, Taesia is the best part of this book, she reminded me very much of Mia Corvere, she’s unpredictable, chaotic and driven by a love for her family and I would read more from this series purely for her because she is so fantastic!! The other characters; Risha, Nik and Angelica are just there really, they didn’t leave me with any lasting feeling, they don’t feel particularly complex and I didn’t really feel like i knew them. That said, the conclusion to this book is action packed and creates some fantastic visuals during the battle. I’m hoping the next instalment, now that the world building has been carried out, hits the ground running and really fleshes out the remaining characters.

Overall I did enjoy this book and can see real potential going forwards. Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review

The City of Dusk is something I was quite looking forward to, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations.
Many Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overview:
Set in a world where the four realms- light, death, light and dark- all converge in a place called the city of dusk. Each world has a god and an heir but the gods have withdrawn their favour leaving all the realms dying.
The four Heirs will sacrifice everything to save the city- but the defiance may cost them dearly.

Review:
Plot- overall it was pretty straightforward and honestly I guessed quite a lot of the story and what was coming. It didn’t really add anything new to the genre and is a pretty generic fantasy story. The thing that increased its mark here was the writing style- which kept me engaged enough to finish the story and was very well done. I feel like for this alone it will attract many loyal readers and followers- but for me it’s not enough and I had to force myself to get through the story and it took me longer than it normally would to read. It may be down as an Adult fantasy but it’s more like a YA/Adult cross between i.e. New adult.
One thing I will mention as a positive- great Queer rep and a world where homophobia doesn’t exist? Very happy reader and it was great to see.

Pacing wise, the story started slightly slower which is why it took me a while to focus on this and was extremely heavy on the world-building which made it feel like a slog at times.

World building- This was done pretty well, but nothing really stood out as fantastic however it was extremely heavy at the beginning and made it slightly busy.

Characters- This was the big reason I struggled. I love character development and emotionally charged/ books led by characters and this was so heavy on the fantasy and magic world building side this got left in the dust a bit. I was not invested in any of the four leads (if you can call them that as they are all fairly equally represented). Generally, they were all well introduced and initial development were fine but then the world-building took over. Please bear in mind this is book 1 in a series- it doesn’t need to have a full book of close to purely world-building and this put me off.

Final Thoughts,
If heavy-world building and a beautiful writing style is your thing you will adore this- and I can understand why people love it. Personally it wasn’t for me and I will probably not continue the series.

I found this initially very difficult to get into. There's a lot of elaborate world building and backstory thrown at the reader. If I'd picked it up in a bookshop and skim read the start I wouldn't have bought the book. But I pushed on and it did get much better. It's actually a really lovely story,

This is a difficult one to review because there were lots of things I liked about it but they didn't quite add up to a successful whole.

The worldbuilding was detailed and imaginative, but almost to the point where it was difficult to keep track of. The elaborate magic and political systems felt like they came at the expense of a sense of place and setting, as though the focus was on the more technical details of how everything worked together instead of on how that translated to the reader's experience. I loved the idea of gods who while powerful and clearly more-than-human were petty, power-hungry individuals that had their own agendas and were willing to use their human followers to meet their own ends, but I felt like that side of the story took too long to emerge and didn't gel with the human characters' stories until too close to the end.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of, which isn't uncommon for epic fantasy, but with so many and frequent viewpoint changes it was not a smooth reading experience. Some of the characters felt like ones I could have loved if we had been given enough time to really get to know them. Taesia in particular had the makings of a morally grey anti-hero type and I hope that she gets more page time to explore that in the sequels because it's still frustratingly rare for female characters to get to really own that dark, dubious type of role. Nikolas was a cinnamon roll but again needed more page time to feel really three-dimensional, and none of the others really grabbed me. I did enjoy the way they each had their own aims and goals which didn't align neatly and weren't so easily put aside for the sake of the plot.

Overall, I wish it hadn't taken so long for the book to really feel like it got going, because it definitely ended stronger as the various plot lines started to come together and it could have been so good.

This book was everything I wanted and more. I was in a bit of a reading slump and this pulled me out of it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Welcome to the city of Nexus, ruled by King Ferdinand and home to four noble houses with each family hoping and plotting for their heir to be named Ferdinand’s successor.

We have House Mardova who are Elementalists and as their name suggests, can manipulate the elements. Their heir is Angelica.

House Cyr are Lumins with the power to wield light into weapons and objects. Their heir is Nikolas.

House Lastrider are shades with the gift of manipulating shadows, memories and dreams. Their heir is Dante.

House Vakara with the power of Necromancy. This house has the ability to manipulate bones, speak to the dead and can guide spirits. Their heir is Risha.

Naturally there is tension between the houses, with some vying for power more than others and when things start to go wrong. These tensions rise further.

Betrayal and poor timing leads one of the house heirs Dante to be replaced by his sister Taesia. Not expecting to carry the burden of heir, Taesia is put into a position she would very much like to be relieved of.

Being accused of conjuration, a forbidden magic. It’s up to Taesia to clear both her brother’s and her families name.

More instances break out as conjuration is used more and more and the houses are at each other’s throats.

Angelica struggles to channel her power without an instrument and the other heirs are feeling the pressure of a dying world as their sacred Godsnight approaches with a potential solution to undo a sealing and connect their worlds again and bring their home back to life.

I adored the characters in this, the four (five) heirs are wonderfully written and I couldn’t help but be drawn to Taesia. She is wild, dark and understands what needs to be done. Angelica is a little unlikable but that is until you understand her. Nikolas is adorable and a little naive and Risha is the grounding force of the heirs. She is pragmatic and sees the bigger picture. It’s also worth noting that another character Julian is also amazing, so interesting with his internal fight with himself and his own strange ability to understand animals/beasts.

This whole story is about balance and power. The heirs are being manipulated by the king, by their families, by the houses and most importantly, by their gods.

Pawns in a much grander plan that started long before they were born, they have no choice but to play their part and hope that they can find a solution without destroying each other.

This is a fantastic start to a new trilogy and from the ending of this book, I am desperate to find out what happens next.

It’s dark, full of fantasy and you can really sink your teeth into

This book had such great potential. It's got such an interesting concept and it started out very well, but I guess it lost it's way after a few chapters. It didn't interest me enough to continue reading after a point and I ended up DNFing this.

It's a very interesting plot, though, so I might pick this up again in the future because I still have hopes for it, but as of now, it's not for me.

I really loved this book. I loved all the characters, they were the perfect combination of good and evil. Being an Indian, I loved that it had Indian culture references and characters.

The only thing that troubled me was that the book felt so long. It took me a lot of time to finish the book. There was a lot of things going on, even though everything came together seamlessly it still felt heavy and a little bit dragged. That's all.

I love the story. It is so interesting and atmospheric.

I was really looking forward to this book and although i enjoyed it there were parts which were a little slow. The different points of view were a little confusing and it did feel more YA the adult. Overall an ok read

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of this book. The premise was really interesting, it had a fantastic combination of mystery, magic and darkness. There are many developments and plot twists woven in the story and between character point of views which were captivating and surprising but, possibly a little too much?

What we learn in the first half of the book is that there are; four realms, four gods, four houses and four heirs. I found the author did an amazing job of balancing each POV and interlinking each characters storyline with one another. It was interesting to learn each heirs history and powers depending on their lineage. The magic system was complex and beautifully explained through imagery and the characters themselves. I liked how each heir could deeply connect with their powers on a spiritual and physical level, making them more real/relatable to the reader.

Now learning about the history, politics and magic of this world was definitely what had me engaged during the first half, as well as the murder mystery element that is presented early on. What I found after that point was that the story began to slow down in pace and honestly drag itself to the end. I think this might be because there were so many different POV’s and after a while it got a little confusing as to who’s story you were following.

What kept me reading were Taeisa and Risha’s
POV’s. I found they kept you on the path and direction the story was headed. The others I found a lot of information dumping which I understand is necessary to the story but could have been handlers differently?

Overall, I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️.
The ending has held my interest and I look forward to seeing what happens in book two.

pacing can be slow however the book has really great characters. I love the dynamics between certain pairs and their banter is also witty and well-written. a little too long for a first fantasy book imo. overall great read.

A rather generic fantasy that read more like a YA novel than an adult novel.

I appreciated that most of the characters were queer.

The plot was relatively predictable and the characters were pretty archetypal.

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't outstanding either.

The City of Dusk is one of those books with tons of potential, yet not quite hitting the landing.
It’s an interesting, sprawling world, following the descendants from different houses with each a different patron god granting them magic.
The writing style is simple and easy to follow, giving this book good cross-over potential for YA readers who want to try out an adult fantasy.
However, while I thought it was interesting, it took me ages to finish the story. The book is way too long. The tension gets lost in meandering descriptions. Because of the many POV characters, it’s very difficult to connect to them, and everything together it was quite difficult to feel invested in the story. Things started to come together by the final few chapters, and I did enjoy the final twists and double-crossings. While I didn’t love this book, I do think it did set up some interesting things for the sequel.

Tara Sim’s novels are some of my favourites of all time! Last year, I discovered the Timekeeper series, and fell in love with her whimsical prose. When I heard that she was writing an adult, queer fantasy, I immediately added it to my Goodreads, and have been so excited to read it!

I really have to be in the mood for fantasy to get into it. The alternating POVs was a little bit of a struggle, but once I got used to the characters, I really started to enjoy the plot. The world-building was superb. Tara Sim has such lush, beautiful writing. The world is immersive, and I saw completely hooked. I do typically struggle with longer books, and this one took me a while to get through. Angelica was really the reason I stayed. I just loved her so much.

I will say that the tone felt more YA than adult. I hope that in the next books, the adult aspect is pushed more. It would make it a total five star series for me if that happens! Overall, I would definitely recommend this, and I'm looking forward to the next book!

The City of Dusk by Tara Sim is one of those books where I'm really not sure how to feel about them. I was super excited for it, and then it took me forever to read it (literally, I kept reading a few chapters, putting it down, and then coming back to it, I think it took me a couple of months!). This is the first in an adult epic fantasy from an author who previously wrote YA - and a lot of people have been saying that they think it reads as YA still. I don't agree with this. The main characters are adults. They're not teens. They may be young, but they're not literal kids, and it doesn't read like YA in terms of pacing either - which, to me, was a good thing. It is a story that works better for adults, and the crossover audience aging out of YA (aka those of us who still love YA even though we've technically outgrown it years ago). However, it is too long. Tension isn't consistent, and so the book feels very meandering, which I think contributed to me putting it aside again and again. It seemed like the author was still trying to find her stride in this new series and world, and while I'm intrigued enough to want to read the next book, I think this one may have needed another round or two of polishing to truly shine.

The City of Dusk is the first book in the Dark Gods series. While I enjoyed this book overall, I did think it was a little long - I think it could have condensed down a fair amount. It dragged for me quite often. The plot was a little predictable at times but it is still enjoyable to read. The world building is interesting but nothing that particularly stands out for me. Overall this was good but I definitely had a few issues with it.

I was so excited about this book and its premise, especially being adult dark fantasy; but unfortunately it was not for me. There were so many characters and POVs and I struggled feeling connected to the characters. It felt it dragged a bit, and despite the interesting concept & world building, I just couldn’t feel invested in it. Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book, I’m sure there will be others who’ll enjoy it

3.5 stars

>Once I got into it, THE CITY OF DUSK was a fun read, but it did take an awfully long time to get into.

I think the reason it took so long to get into was just the scale of the book meant that the opening was full of disparate parts that I struggled to connect up. It felt like trying to keep too many separate stories straight (not to mention the sheer number of characters and places) in my mind, while not quite seeing how they came together.

There are a lot of POV characters in this book - I think I counted seven in all. Some are more important than others. For example, there's like five short chapters from "the mysterious villain." There's also a character who starts narrating in section two, and one character who felt introduced as big at the start, then dropped out for almost the entire book. Not to mention all the others drop in and out continuously.

This large, dropping-in-and-out cast did make it pretty hard to get a grip on them all, as it was so much information to be bombarded with, and then sporadic disappearances meant they weren't present so slipped from mind. Once they returned, I had to shift back through lots of other stuff to recall who they were and what their goals were.

Once I reached about the halfway point, I felt like I'd finally wrangled my way to an understanding of the characters. From there, I did enjoy the book, all the twists and turns and double crossings made for a lot of fun moments (and building stakes.) The plot can best be described as "things aren't great, here's an idea to fix it - oops, that isn't going to work but we don't seem to have any even semi-decent options and none of us really trust each other either."

Also these are characters who I really would say are "morally grey" (and many are on the very dark grey end of that scale.) PLUS it's also a "dark fantasy" that truly feels like it lives up to that, rather than just being an aesthetic. I am <em>so</em> picky about those two designator, because it feels like most books that are called that are in it just for an "aesthetic", rather than having main characters who actually do highly questionable things with very flexible morals. But THE CITY OF DUSK doesn't feel like it's pulling back from those items, and is certainly more than just "aesthetically dark."

The ending is nicely epic - big, multi-component battle with some interesting character endings, leaving some in very perilous situations that should be fun to see develop in the next book.

Surprisingly enough, I didn’t enjoy The City of Dusk as much as I thought I would. But it definitely had some amazing aspects, I might have found a new favourite character and I’m also weirdly hung up on the story.

I ENJOYED

I really enjoyed the characters. I loved all of the protagonists. I didn’t necessarily like them all, but I loved reading about them because each one was written really well with good backstories. Each one had their faults and problems to deal with, but they also worked as a group. I enjoyed their dynamics a lot and how they change throughout the story and depending on their actions, how the others’ views actually change.
The Lastriders especially were my favourites. I love the whole family, but I really need to shout my love for Taesia into the void for a minute. The “shadow-wielding rogue” from the synopsis really hits the nail on the head. Taesia has her opinions and sentiments and while the might change due to new discoveries, she always is herself and throughout the book, becomes herself even more. She’s probably not the smartest candle on the cake, but she fights for what she believes in and she does so with her whole heart and all of her strength. If I had to describe her, it would probably be something like “pretty gremlin smashing your window with a sword at 3am”.
When I tell you I love this absolutely unhinged woman with a cool magic sword, I’m not lying. She’s a fantastic character and I could read about her meting out justice on her own for days without end.
That said, I also enjoyed reading about the other characters. Not as much maybe. I liked how Risha already seemed to know herself well, was usually the calm one and knew her place in life. Angelica was just trying to find her place and to master her powers and understand them and herself. She was quite unhinged as well and I really enjoyed how differently she could act, depending on the person she interacted with. Nik was always the least favourite, the unwanted heir losing his abilities. He fights for his rightful place in the world, making space for himself, sometimes in unconventional ways. All of their destinies interwoven and the group forced to work together was really interesting to read about.
I liked the different types of magic and abilities and that even if you’re not born into one of the Houses with the biggest magical abilities, you can still learn some things. There are different magical systems depending on the world you come from.

I DID NOT ENJOY

I had some trouble with the world building and understanding each world’s different aspects and how they work together and exist next to each other. They are closed off but I couldn’t really wrap my mind around how they function and co-exist.
Another thing I had some problems with was the pacing. Especially at the beginning, it is quite slow. It picks up pace from time to time and especially towards the end, but it is rather slow. There is a high attention to details but I felt like I could have done without some of them. Some chapters also didn’t add that much to the story and I found myself pausing the book from time to time because I got a bit bored.

OVERALL

I liked The City of Dusk even though it was a bit too long in my opinion. The story could have easily been two books already, there is just so much info on world building and characters that it is honestly mind-blowing. I still enjoyed reading it and I especially loved some of the characters and despite the pacing and world building troubles I had, I would still recommend this to everyone who likes dark fantasy novels with a bit of blood and gore and complex characters!