The City of Dusk was one of my highly anticipated reads of this year, and no one is more disappointed than me that this didn't work for me.

At a glance, this book has everything that I like - necromancy, magic, Indian-inspired, and a badass cover. The book started out great as well, and the first chapter had me hooked. But slowly I found myself finding reasons not to pick up the book every day after work and I could see myself putting it down more often. I found issues with the pacing and the world-building was really confusing even until the very end. I'm usually a very fast reader, but this took me ages to get through.
My favourite part of the book were the little joys of finding tidbits of Indian culture and characters wearing ethnic clothing. I only wish I had enjoyed the story more.
I really tried hard to love this, but sadly it wasn't for me.

https://lynns-books.com/2022/03/28/the-city-of-dusk-the-dark-gods-1-by-tara-sim/
2.5 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Slow pacing and overly long

City of Dusk is a book that I wanted to love, a dark adult fantasy with fascinating worldbuilding and noble houses whose heirs are descendents of the Gods. Unfortunately, I think my expectations going into this one may have muddied the water a little, I was so excited to pick it up and as with most of my reads these days I went into this one with very little knowledge beforehand so the fall from ‘up on a pedestal’ to ‘considering not finishing the book at all’ felt like a long way down In fact I left off writing this review for a few days to give my mind time to absorb what I’ve read but in actual fact the delayed period in between completion and now has probably only served to heighten my confusion and mixed feelings.

This is a story of four heirs, all potentially in line to become the next ruler and therefore in competition with each other. At the same time, the world on which they live is starting to suffer all sorts of shortages. 500 years ago the ‘Sealing’ took place, closing off the city from the other godly realms leaving them unable to trade, etc. On top of the political vying between the four noble houses there are a number of strange occurences that are causing huge problems. A group of Conjurors are undertaking practices that have been banned for many years and as a result the world is suffering from the repercussions. The four heirs tentatively team up to try and figure out how to open up the realms again.

So, we have four realms, life, death, light and dark. Each realm has a God and each God is represented by a noble house (the nobles actually descend from the Gods), each house has an heir with their own particular brand of magic. There is Risha, a necromancer descended from the God of death, Angelica, an elementalist who really struggles with her ability to wield magic, Taesia, not actually the heir to her noble house but who has strong magic and can wield shadow magic with skill and Nik, from the house of light who also struggles to fulfil his role having had to step into the shoes of his older brother who died in a tragic accident.

There are a number of povs represented during the story. For me, I felt it was a little too much and although I understand the desire to give readers a bird’s eye view of what’s going on it also sometimes results in rather shallow characters and a certain level of repetition. Taesia is focused on more than the other characters and as a result her arc is a little stronger although at the same time it feels rushed in certain respects.

My main issues are a bit complicated. I liked the style of writing and yet I felt the story dragged its feet and for the actual length of the book I felt everything was a little vague, to such an extent that I find myself with more questions than answers about the world, the Sealing, the noble houses and the Conjurors. The characters themselves felt really young and this gave the story a YA feel to me rather than a dark adult fantasy but having said that I can’t recall is this was marketed as YA or adult. The world itself lacks the complexity that you would expect from adult fantasy and yet at the same time it’s frustratingly confused. The realms, for example, all now sealed with the Gods prevented from any interaction and yet all the noble houses are shut in this one realm? Why? Perhaps I missed something with that particular question but it is puzzling me. There’s mention of the City suffering from shortages but the timeframe doesn’t add up – I think the shortages would have been a lot more obvious a lot sooner. I was puzzled why the King and the noble houses rely so heavily on the heirs – I mean are there no advisors in this world, why aren’t the people with experience actually helping to solve some of the problems, why is a young, untested man put in charger of a major investigation (unless to see him fail)? It all feels a little bit skimmed over. I’m not going to go any further, basically, I think I’ve gone into over-critical mode.

To be fair to the author, as mentioned above, I like the style of writing however this felt like it was more aimed at a YA audience and whilst I do read the occasional YA they tend to be few and far between and I often find myself slightly irritated by the surface level of information.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I am quite disappointed with this book. I felt that this story had a lot of potential, but it felt extra long and had too many pages. It has odd pacing as sometimes I felt I was intrigued by the story, but then nothing happened, and by then, I was no longer curious about what was happening. I liked that this book has multiple povs, but I did not feel a connection with most of the characters. Moreover, the characters are in their 20s, but most of the time, they act like teenagers. I also feel like there isn't enough character development by the end of the book. However, I enjoyed the book's last few pages and how it ended.

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for the digital copy.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

There is so much to hook you in about The City of Dusk from the blurb, and I had a feeling that it would appeal to my love of dark fantasy. It did not disappoint.

I loved the distinctive voices and compelling personalities of the four main POV heirs (as well as some extra intriguing POVs). They were fleshed out, flawed, conflicted, vulnerable and delightfully morally grey. I adored how much we got to know about these different magical Houses.

The plot is engrossing, with twists and revelations I didn’t predict. There was a slow easing into the story (and requires sticking with because it’s worth it), but then the pacing picked up and kept me hooked. For my personal tastes, it was a tad long and I did find that my attention waned at some points.

Although it’s an immersive fantasy, there were moments of worldbuilding when there was a lot of information and other times when elements, such as the magic system, that could have been expanded and required a little more information to feel grounded. However, learning about the rich history of the world and the different Houses was so fun and cool.

The City of Dusk is a great start to this fantasy series with compelling characters, political intrigue and an engaging plot. I’m eagerly anticipating the sequel.

What a fun book!

Four gods, Four realms, and four heirs!
This book was such a wild ride! Tara Sim's writing is so lush and immersive, I fell so deeply in love with the writing. The world building was gorgeous, and I loved reading about the history of the city, where essentially the four realms converge. The four heirs were really interesting characters. Each of them were distinct, and important to the plot of the story. So many twists and turns, and the pacing was so good that I sped through this one!

Highly recommend if you're looking for a compelling fantasy that you can get lost in. And look at that COVER! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc!!

This was richly dark world with a great cast of characters. A morally grey, dark and ominous plot line. So good!!

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. This will have no bearing on my opinion. All views are my own.
The City of Dusk is a fantastic, dark, adult fantasy novel, with a cast of queer characters and an interesting magic system. This was something I was really in the mood for, and it didn’t disappoint. I’m not sure I agree with people saying that it’s more YA, because I didn’t feel that at all – I have nothing against YA, but it rarely works for me, and this did. That said, I would say that it fell more in the new adult genre.

I’ve read Tara Sim’s work before and really enjoyed it, and this was no exception. I enjoy her writing style, and this was beautiful in places. I thought the world was well-developed and, although the magic system wasn’t anything unique, it was well-crafted here and felt different. There were aspects to the magic and the world I really liked – the familiars, the Solarans and the Noctans – and I hope we learn more about these in the sequel.

The plot was strong and there were a few excellent twists, even if the villains weren’t hiding too far in the shadows. Although it was a delicious slow burn for the first few chapters, the pace really picked up in the last 20% or so, and I ripped through large sections quickly.
What I really enjoyed, though, was the characters. They all felt very different, their conflicts very real, and I appreciate that a lot of them were queer. I’m much keener on queer-norm worlds these days, and it always earns a bit of goodwill from me. I liked the distinct relationships between each of them, and how they developed or fell apart, as the case may be, and I’m eager to see how the twists at the end play out in the next book.

Definitely looking forward to continuing with this one!

Years ago the Four Realms were all linked, allowing travel between and cities that flourished. But then the God's withdrew their favour and now the Realms are dying. For each God there is an heir, and they are not willing to sit aside & watch their world burn to the ground, but working together after years of animosity isn't easy, and each have their own end goals they want to achieve in the process. However, there is a darker force at work, someone who has waited years to see the world they envisioned come to life, and they will stop at nothing to achieve it. Taesia, Nik, Angelica and Risha will have to put their feelings aside if they are to save their Realm, and all the people who reside in it.

The City of Dusk was on hell of an epic fantasy filled with political intrigue, plot twists and some brilliantly written characters. The story is told from the POV's of the four Heirs: Taesia, Nik, Angelica and Risha, as well as a few others dotted throughout who add to the intrigue and overall mystery of the story. Taesia, my fave, is heir to house Lastrider and has the ability to effect shadows, Nik is heir to House Cyr, the polar opposite of Taesia who has power over light, Angelica is heir to House Mardova who has control over the elements & Risha is heir to house Vakara who's power is necromancy. One thing I loved about these characters, and essentially their defining feature, is that they are all incredibly vulnerable, whether it's never being able to live up to your family's expectations, or understanding that you have to become something dark to get the job done. All of our heirs are initially willing to work together, however tenuous the relationships may be, to solve their problem, but politics and family end up in the way, almost pitting them against one another, ensuring they all make some truly terrible decisions & put their world at risk.

As well as our four MC's we have a few more POV's who I can't really mention because of spoilers, but they do play a rather large part in the story, be it foreshadowing, or simply giving us another point of view into current events. But Sim doesn't just stop there, we get deep dives into every single magical family, learning their ins and outs, how different family members can use different variants of the powers, as well as a lot of political players thanks to the King having a large part to play. Each character is easily identifiable, and although there a rather large bunch, I never felt overwhelmed and certainly never struggled keeping them all straight in my head.

If you like your books chunky and filled with in depth looks at the magic system, world building and politics then this may be the book for you. Essentially, their world has four Gods that represent light, dark, life and death, and they each ruled one of the four realms. Their powers are gifted to the four noble houses Lastrider, Cyr, Mardova & Vakara passing from heir to heir, and while people from each of the realms have access to the power of their God, it is only the houses above who are fully able to wield their powers. Thanks to the multiple POV's we get a true deep dive into the different magics, learning the limits to them all as well as their strengths & weaknesses. We also get familiars! Both house Lastrider and House Cyr are able to create familiars from their powers who are able able to be used as pretty effective weapons in a fight.

Politics wise, we start the book realising that the current King has no heir and so has announced he will be choosing from one of the magical bloodlines, something that pit's house against house. Sim also shows how thanks to the current King's rule and the effects of the Realm's being cut off, each heir has more than there own family to think of and try and protect. When the Realms were cut off there were people who were unable to return home, essentially refugee's and the King treated them as such. They live on the outskirts, never treated as full citizens, and our Houses have to feed and look after them. She shows the reality of being magical in a realm that is lead by a non magical King, his fear of them, believing them to house rebel factions, and willingness to blame them for things that occur can easily be paralleled into the world today, and make you wholly more invested in the characters plans, desperately wanting these people to travel to a home some have never seen.

If there's one thing Tara Sim excels at it's her descriptions of anything physical, be it battle's or simply describing a characters movement, she writes it so well that it almost plays as a movie in your head whilst reading. It's almost cinematic in it's descriptions and this is a story that I would love to see make the move to the big screen. I did feel like the pacing was off in parts which really slowed the story down, but thanks to the plot twists, as well as Sim's descriptive writing you never really loose focus from the main story line. I lived for the parts of the book where our characters powers were being used, which is luckily quite a lot, and enjoyed seeing them progress in learning how to use them.

The City of Dusk is filled to the brim with magic, politics, world building and romance. Sim has created a world like no other and brings it to life with her effortless prose and descriptive writing. When I say this book ends with a bang, I certainly wouldn't be lying, and i'm incredibly eager to see where the story will go in the second book.

The City of Dusk is the first gripping book in a fantasy trilogy by Tara Sim. I liked the characters that I found intriguing and relatable and the plot is very well-written and addictive.

In the City of Dusk there are four powerful families. For each family there is a god and an heir, one of which will take the throne. The four heirs, Taesia, Risha, Nikolas, and Angelica, have formed some sort of alliance to restore the balance to the realms and prevent them from dying, even if the cost might be too high.

I am not going to lie, the book is long and the pace sometimes is too slow, but I really enjoyed reading The City of Dusk. The world-building is incredible and complex: magic, vengeful gods, realms, the Sealing, four families in competition for the crown… I was hooked!

There are many characters in this book and, at the beginning, I may have mixed up a few, but they are really interesting and well-developed. The story is told from the perspectives of the heirs and they are very different characters. Some are ambitious, some are looking for revenge, others want to do what’s right, and others want just to keep their loved ones safe. However, when it’s clear that their world is dying and they could be the only ones to be able to save it, they team up, no matter the cost.

The City of Dusk is a story I highly recommend. There is magic, political intrigue, rebellion and revenge and I can’t wait to see what the author has planned for the next book!

Thanks for Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton and Tara Sim for an advanced copy of The City of Dusk in exchange for an honest review.

I quite liked this one, it had good worldbuilding and characters that held my interest and I would probably re-read it in the future. Wanting a re-read is always a good sign for me that I enjoyed a book!

I do love multiple points of view, especially in fantasy since it will let you be immersed with each character and the world itself.

The first part of the story is very interesting to me, slowly introducing the characters and the different magic but as the story goes on, the story gets dragging and too slow.

As you read and read through the chapters, I get uninterested in the characters. I thought the magic system is cool but the characters are too childish or this is just what I perceive since some of the dialogs are too cheesy and young adult-ish.

I don't feel the dark and grim vibe but instead a lack luster world of 4 heirs with 4 different powers and one enemy.

3/5

I don’t know what it is about this book, but I just could not really get into the story.
I couldn’t really grasp how the magic worked or why the heirs needed to fix their city.
It just wasn’t a match for me.

*4.5 Stars*

The City if Dusk is the first book in The Dark Gods series, and I could try and summarize this but I won't because I didn't know anything when I started it and I think that might be the best way to read this.

I really enjoyed this. I liked the characters and all the different points of view. I thought they all really complimented each other well and while I didn't feel the same way about all the characters, I did really appreciate how interesting and complex they all were.
The book was a bit long for me, but I listened to its audiobook in a day so I felt like it went by pretty fast. It was truly filled with twists and turns which truly helped keeping me entertained throughout the book.
The ending was particularly filled with them and left me with my jaw on the floor, I had not seen any of it coming at all.
I also really appreciated the rep, several of the main characters were just so casually LGBTQIAP+ and I loved it.
There was many different storylines throughout this story and while I was more interested by some over others, I still found them all really well thought through and woven.
I also enjoyed how the relationships changed throughout the book, I found it interesting and it makes me even more excited for the next books in this series.
The only reason this isn't a full five-star book for me, is that I did get a little lost at times, I couldn't always replace some secondary characters and overall, I still felt like the book was a bit too long.

All in all, I enjoyed this a lot, mostly thanks to the various and layered characters but also the plot and its twists. It made me want to read and reread all of Tara Sim's work!

In a land of shadow and bone and bloodline magic, there are four noble houses, each with their own kind of power, their own god and their own heir. The gods have forsaken them, spirits cannot move on, bodies disappear or are reanimated, their world is slowly dying. The heirs come together to save the world but their sacrifice may cost them everything.

It begins with a prologue that instills intrigue which chases you through the length of the book. The worldbuilding is impressive and sucks you in. Wonderful descriptions that touch all the senses, consisting of the necessary details - many unexpected- needed to succeed in planting the author's vision in our head. If you love a lot of embellishments this is certainly your jam. The actions scenes are done quite well, nailbiting and breath-stealing.

An intricate and fascinating magic system with many different aspects. As the plot unfolds, sod does your understanding of the different abilities between the houses and how they work. This is certainly a story where you have to pay close attention. The book is quite busy, maybe too busy at times, making it in some instances a bit confusing.

The multiple POVs are juggled nicely. I really like the cheekiness that some of the protagonists presented, especially Taesia who made me chuckle often. Delving into the emotions of the characters with a flourish, wording them with solemnity and respect, often heartwrenching as you start to care for the characters.

Riddled with political machinations as there are constant plays for power, even for the throne. Revelations that surprise you and give you aha! moments, pushing the plot forward, in an unpredictable way. I guessed one of the big reveals about a certain someone, but it was still great when it happened, with all its implications.

This story is about seeking approval from others, duty and being your true self. It questions the line between right and wrong, if it is defined or can morally grey areas be acceptable too?

Dark and beautiful, the author captures a simultaneous strict and floaty tone to the narrative, displaying an undercurrent of power. After many twists and turns, we are brought to a fulfilling and intense 'final battle' so exciting you think you will not bear it. A battle that was an amazing feat executed amazingly by the author. This was a successful and utterly engaging beginning to a new series.

A lot of mixed feelings on this one. I don’t want to start off by just stating the negatives because the story is enjoyable overall and I was quite immersed in the ending. But boy was this long. There were certain times when I was immersed in the story, and other times I just couldn’t wait to finish the book.

I have nothing to complain about the writing, it was pretty easy to follow and the magic system & world were interesting overall. The world building could’ve been a bit better. I quite enjoyed the different povs and following the different characters, I enjoyed some certain characters more than others but that is to be expected when you have a good amount of povs in a story. I was also waiting on some huge plot twists during the story, since I saw some reviews beforehand but I didn’t gasp out loud or anything. I must say however that the ending might have saved the story overall and made me interested in reading the sequel.

I’ve also seen this being marketed as Adult but in my opinion this falls more within the YA genre.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton for the digital copy!

It's a good start for a new series and I was fascinated by the magical system and the world building.
It's got the potential to become an epic dark fantasy series even if there's some issue in this first installment.
There's not a lot of action and the plot is quite static as it took a long time before it moved on. As it's a very complex world I assume the author wanted to deliver a detailed introduction to this world and these characters.
The characters are interesting, each of them represent a different god and each of thm has something that can help the quest to succeed even if they've got different agenda.
I think they will evolve in the next book.
That said I enjoyed the story and find it gripping and fascinating.
I can't wait to read the next story.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Many thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an eARC of this book! I was interested in The City of Dusk after loving one of the author’s earlier books, Timekeeper, and I am happy for the opportunity to read her newest release in advance.

This book is about a world cut off from its neighboring three realms. Every realm has a god and their descendants all live together in the city of Nexus, the so-called City of Dusk and the place that used to be the gateway to the other realms. Now having barriers instead of the portals, the world slowly loses its vitality and might soon wither away into nothingness. This is what the four heirs of their gods want to prevent, although it seems like the only way to open the barriers is with the use of forbidden magic.

I did like most parts of the book but I still had my difficulties with it. It took me a long time to really understand the complicated worldbuilding and to really get to know the characters. Usually, I am a fan of less exposure and more figuring things out as I go. Here, however, there are many different magic systems and political intricacies represented by all those characters and it was hard to keep track. The resulting atmosphere of this multicultural and magical city was still very intriguing, though.

It took quite some time to really start liking the characters. I think the problem here, too, is that there are just so many. Not only do the four protagonists narrate from their POV, we also have a brother, a hunter, and a mysterious boy telling the story. That’s why, by the time I felt like I finally had a grasp on all characters, more than half of the book was already over. The characters themselves are interesting and complex, though, which I enjoyed. It was worth it going through all those chapters and trying to get to know everyone at once. While they felt a bit younger than they apparently are (most of them acted more like teenagers), it does make sense since they all grew up sheltered in a noble family. My favorite part of the cast is the diversity in personalities and personal values. Their interactions and dynamics with each other really helped in keeping me interested.

The plot itself and the growing suspense are also well crafted. There are many secrets, past tragedies and new intrigues that have to be uncovered. Even though the beginning of the book feels almost unbearably slow, there is always something interesting going on. Though yet again, there were so many plot threads that I struggled a bit with the ending, when everything comes together and blows up. The finale is full of action and surprises, which helped, even though I didn’t completely understand everything that was going on. My guess is that some things were purposefully left without explanation, to be revealed in the sequel.

In the end, I think this book is definitely worth reading. It is perfect for anyone who likes slower build-ups to an epic conclusion, and anyone who appreciates multi-layered worldbuilding. Most of my own problems stem from the fact that I’m usually more of an action-reader, but I still enjoyed this book. The ending is quite open and certainly enough to have me curious for what follows. I recommend it to anyone in the mood for a dark, epic fantasy series with a large cast and an even larger world!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

Unfortunately, despite the premise sounding absolutely perfect for me, this book wasn't what I wanted. I didn't end up finishing this story as the characters didn't speak to me despite the world being vividly described. Tara Sim is an author I've heard a lot about and her ideas here were strong but her characters weren't.

BOOK REVIEW: The City of Dusk by Tara Sim

2 Stars

I am so sad that this book didn't work for me as I was really looking forward to it and hoped for a new fantasy world to love.

The City of Dusk is based around a city that has lost the favour of it's Gods who 500 years ago shut it away from the rest of the universe. Because of this the city is dying, crops are failing and life is at risk. The nobles are split into 4 families who have different powers: light, shadow, necromancy and elemental magic. The story is about the noble heirs and their journey to try and save the city.
This plot sounded great as I love magical stories with a side of political intigue. Unfortunately it wasn't as I hoped it would be and I found the story to be rather dull. For half the book very little happens, there was a lot of worldbuilding but some of this didn't really make sense and so at the start it made a complex story even harder to get to grips with. For instance I didn't understand why after 500 years of being shut off from trade routes etc, it is only now that their world is perishing and also why no one but 4 young adults (who read more like teenagers) have the will to try and do anything to stop the destruction. It did not make sense at all!
I love books with multiple points of view but this didn't really work for me because I found the characters to be rather dull and I just couldn't connect with them as they didn't have enough personality. In fact, I only really enjoyed one of the points of view (Taesia) as she had some fire in her and added a little much needed humour.
If this wasn't gifted to me by the publisher, I wouldn't have finished it. I have given it 2 stars as some of the writing was good and the last 40 or so pages gave some excitement but for me it was too little too late.

Please note that I was #gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me an E-ARC of The City of Dusk.
I've never read anything by Tara Sim before and with the synopsis, I was really intrigued and excited to read The City of Dusk; however, I struggled with the multiple POVs, and it didn't grip my attention as much as I would have liked. I felt it was very much YA and not adult as marketed. But saying that I liked the world building and characters backgrounds. But overall, I found the pace too slow.