When I opened my Fairyloot adult book box of April 2022, I was immediately drawn to the beautiful design of the featured book, The City of Dusk by Tara Sim (unboxing). In the end, it took me way longer than expected to finish this book (more than a month!), but nevertheless, I greatly enjoyed reading it!
The City of Dusk
The City of Dusk takes place in a world abandoned by its old Gods. Each year the portals between the realms remain shut, more of their world is dying. Although the Gods seem to have turned their back on Vitae, their blood and magic lives on in the four noble houses: House Mardova, wielders of elemental magic and descendants of Deia; House Cyr, descendants of Phos who can control light; House Lastrider, shades and descendant of Nyx; and House Vakara, necromancers who are descendants of Thana.
As if things are not bad enough as they are, the city of Nexus suddenly finds itself confronted with rebels using forbidden magic to summon demons. It’s time for each of the heirs of the noble houses to decide: will they unite their forces to defeat the conjurers and open the realms, or should they continue to work individually to become next-in-line to the throne?
Interesting but a tad complex
You might have spotted it already, but this was not an easy story. While I was fascinated by the characters as of the beginning, I had some difficulty to get all the Gods, houses, realms, powers etc. straight in my head. The worldbuilding is amazing, but I’m not convinced we needed this much details. For example, there’s an important festival that has different names in each of the realms. Logic, of course, but things like that do not make the life of a reader easier.
This book is Tara Sim’s adult debut and I would indeed not categorise this as Young Adult. Not that it is explicit regarding violence (okay, a bit) or sexual content, but more because of its complexity. Due to the age of the main characters and the themes addressed, I would personally categorise it as New Adult literature, though.
I greatly appreciated the magic system described in this book. It’s complex, sure, but it also feels very well thought-out and comprehensive. I especially loved the bone magic, necromancy, and shadow wielding. OK, I now realise I might be rather dark :p The concept of the astralam also fascinated me:
It was a wolflike beast, its fur long and bristling, its eyes pure, milky white. A constellation burned bright on its brow, with sharp lines around its body indicating an ethereal glow. The page’s header called it an astralam. Wayward stars broken off from their constellations, fallen to earth and turned to creatures imbued with cosmic power.
Isn’t that an amazing idea? I tried googling it, but I didn’t find any other references, so I suppose it must be an original idea?
Furthermore, I loved these characters intensely. They are all relatable in their hopes, fears, and flaws. I especially liked the Lastrider heir and his sisters. For example, we get introduced to the eldest sister with the following sentence (which is also the start of chapter one, by the way):
Taesia Lastrider had never considered herself a good person, nor did she have any intention of becoming one.
Now, THAT’s an introduction :p loved her immediately.
While the novel in general gave me quite a bit of Dark Academia vibes, the interactions between the heirs reminded me a lot of W.I.T.C.H., strangely enough. Angelica totally looks like Cornelia in my head, although I’m not one hundred percent sure why :p I also really appreciated the diversity of characters as different sexual preferences and gender identities were included.
I loved that this book switches between different point of views (POV). That way, you really get to know the heirs, as well as some other characters. Sometimes, the POV switches within one chapter though. That’s not something that I’ve encountered before, and I cannot say I’m a fan. I prefer one POV per chapter.
In general, the book also reminded me of Game of Thrones. I guess that’s not really surprising, seeing that part of the story is in essence also a game of thrones. It did feel a bit too extended at some places though. I sometimes got lost in the details of the different story lines, and it took a tad too long to all come together. There’s simply so much going on in parallel, which is likely the main reason why it took me so long to finish this book.
Last but not least, I noted down so many beautiful quotations while reading (which I usually struggle to do). Some of them broke my heart, so I thought I would share some of the best ones with you here:
Grief was not a simple thing. It crushed and gnawed, turning you to gristle between its teeth. When it eventually spat you out, it left you broken down and stripped into layers, left you to carefully rebuild what had survived and discard what no longer fit.
“Sometimes – ” Nikolas’s voice came out scratchy, raw. “Sometimes I get this feeling. It’s terrible and irrational, but I…sometimes I wish I’d never been born. That I could have done everyone a favor by not existing and creating more problems. To not have to bother with the responsibility I’ve never been able to fulfill.”
That last quotation hit home so hard I nearly cried.
In summary, I loved the worldbuilding, characters, and unexpected plot twists very much. I ended up subtracting one gemstone because I really struggled to read it due to its complexity: three out of five gemstones!
Age Category: New Adult, but also suitable for young adults and adults.
Representation: F/F relationship, transgender supporting character, mental health
Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)
Warnings for parental death and parental abuse.As you know, I try to learn a new word each time I read a book. This time, it’s “bezel“, which is apparently “a wider, and usually thicker, section of the hoop of a ring, which may contain a flat surface, or a gem.” So now I know a word in English that I have no idea how to translate to my mother language Dutch :p useful..
Do you want to discover more?
If my review inspired you to pick up the book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads or at the below online stores.
Amazon.nl: Hardcover edition
Amazon.nl: Paperback edition
My edition is the one by Fairyloot and it’s simply stunning. It has an exclusive cover, sprayed edges, illustrations on the endpapers and foil embossing, a ribbon bookmark, and is signed by the author. You can find a picture in my unboxing. Isn’t it the most perfect thing you’ve ever seen? As it was part of Fairyloot‘s Adult subscription box, it’s not possible at the moment to buy it directly from them. However, resell prices are rather reasonable, so you should be able to find one for about €40.
Similar to this
The City of Dusk is the first book in The Dark Gods Series. Book two, The Midnight Kingdom, is expected to be published in June 2023.
Tara Sim also published the Scavenge the Stars duology, which is a young adult fantasy about a girl on a debtor ship. It’s a gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Christo and Owlcrate featured a signed edition of book one.
If you are into books about an unlikely band of allies on a mission, and you aren’t scared off by a little complexity, then I would highly recommend the Sands of Arawiya duology by Hafsah Faizal. Book one, We Hunt the Flame, introduces us to a young woman risking her life by dressing as a man and hunting in a cursed forest to feed her village, and a prince, haunted by his own past. My review of this jewel can be found here.
The story also reminded me of both features books of the Illumicrate January 2022 box (unboxing): This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi, and The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman. Although these are both young adult books, they have some similar characters and themes. You can find my reviews here (This Woven Kingdom) and here (The Ivory Key).
Recap: The City of Dusk
In the following section, you’ll find a recap that you can use to prepare for the next book when it is published. Of course, this is by definition full of spoilers, so it is hidden behind a spoiler tag. Enter at your own risk!
Want a recap before starting the next part? (click here, contains spoilers)
World: : Five connected realms, of which one has been forgotten by history. Each of the realms has one main God. When the war between the Gods started, the realms were sealed, trapping everyone in the one where they currently were. The story takes place in the city Nexus in Vitae. The energy in Vitae is draining, however, and the realm will soon die if the portals are not opened.
Main characters: Each of the Gods have human descendants who can wield a specific magical power.
Realm – House – God – Power – Main character
Vitae – Mardova – Deia – Elementalists – Angelica
Solara- Cyr – Phos – Light (lumin) – Nikolas
Noctus- Lastrider- Nyx- Shade – Dante (heir) and his sister Taesia
Mortri – Vakara – Thana – Necromancy – Risha
Angelica doesn’t have a good relationship with the other heirs. She’s mainly focused on her family’s ambition to become heir to the throne. She struggles controlling her powers and requires musical instruments. She likes women.
Nikolas is considered too weak by his father, who preferred his younger brother. Nikolas feels guilty for his brother’s death and his mother’s subsequent depression. His god refused to bless him. He used to be Taesia’s boyfriend but they drifted apart due to Taesia’s reckless actions to save her brother. He has now become close to Fin, who he believed to be a servant at the palace but who is actually the crown prince (who the world did not know existed).
Taesia and Dante are trying to overthrow the king and install a democracy. This is mainly driven by Dante’s idealism and Taesia’s support for her older brother. When Dante is thrown into jail as a suspected murderer, Taesia does everything within her power to free him. As this even leads to several murders, Taesia loses her relationship with Nikolas and her friendship with Risha. She gets closer to a hunter called Julian though, who wields an unknown magic (connected to the fifth realm): he can speak to beasts.
Risha’s mother has arranged a suitable match for her. What she doesn’t know is that the boy she picked, Jas, is actually the leader of a rebel group using illegal magic. Risha’s desperately trying to find a way into Mortri to help spirits pass on.
Plot: At the end of the novel, it is revealed that the King was not trying to determine which of the Heirs should become his own heir. He already has a son and aims to destroy all the houses. The Gods have plans of their own, however, and come to fight for control over the realms during the epic battle at the end of the novel. They control their heirs, but somehow, portals are opened and Risha and Jas are tossed into Mortri. Nikolas, Fin, Taesia and Julian end up in Noctus. Nikolas’ younger brother, Rian, turns out to be still alive and a puppet to the God Phos.