City of Dusk by Tara Sim Review

Title: City of Dusk

Author: Tara Sim

Genre: Adult Fantasy

Publisher: Hodder&Stoughton

Pages: 576

Release Date: 22 March 2022

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Today I’m sharing my review of City of Dusk by Tara Sim, the first book in a lush new fantasy from the author of Scavenge The Stars and The Time Keeper Trilogy.

I was fully immersed in the world building —of shadow magic and vengeful gods not to mention the phenomenal action scenes we‘re treated too! it you enjoy fantasy a little dark and thoroughly action-packed then you should definitely pick this one up.

Synopsis

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But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once vibrant and thriving city.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.

Review

I really enjoyed the lush, intricately detailed world-building and magic system with each of the four heirs (and their family’s house) descended from and connected to the powers of a specific god. I liked the concept of each god being linked to a different world as opposed to being apart of the same pantheon and their rivalries/issues with each other transferring to their descendants, it really added dimension to the plot.

There are several POV characters which I felt were really well written. They all have differing opinions and motivations which was really interesting to see how their though processes/ motivations and ethical opinions changed and developed as the plot progressed. I also like the vulnerability we get to experience through each of them—they may descend from gods but they’re all still fallible in some some way.

I have to say of all the heirs, Taesia was probably my favourite, she’s impulsive most of the time but her dedication and loyalty to her brother was incredibly endearing. She’s also the most morally grey of the bunch (though all of the POVs we encounter are fairly grey on the morality front) and I was fascinated by how she navigates her conflicting opinions and actions. But, mostly I absolutely loved her powers (as a descendant of Nyx the God of darkness, she has the ability to control shadows.)

The pace was okay but given how many POV characters we get, I did feel that the pace was a little slower than I would’ve liked but the almost non stop action and court intrigue (which really starts to pick up about a 25% in) did more than make up for it. Not to mention the exquisitely crafted, multi-layered plot and expert level scheming that occurs, as each heir vies for the throne.

I definitely found this a bit of a rollercoaster but the action and plot twists were exceptionally good—I honestly hadn’t expected almost any of the shocking , plot-twisty and deviously entertaining revelations. This was actually the first book by Tara Sim I’ve ever read and I’m certain it won’t be the last!

So if you love dark, epically magical fantasy that’s beautifully written and queer normative (in the best way) then I absolutely urge you to give this a read!

Also thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the e-arc.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

About The Author

Tara Sim is a YA and adult fantasy author found in the wilds of the Bay Area, California. When she's not writing about magic, murder, and mayhem, she drinks tea and wrangles cats.

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