This is a delightful follow-up to the first book. I continue to be impressed at Shvarts' ability to inject the comedic without trivializing the plot or characters.

I loved the first book but I really wasn’t able to get into this one. I do hope to give it another try on the future.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

A great follow up to THE ROYAL BASTARDS. Always a fan of Andrew's prose and worldbuilding. Definitely recommend for readers looking for modern voice in a fantasy setting.

I...sadly ended up giving up on this book after about 20%. It didn't hook me as much as the first book did, and I REALLY did enjoy Royal Bastards. Royal Bastards was like the perfect YA book - it felt right for it's age. But something about the second book fell flat for mer. I might blame it on the fact I waited 2 years to read the sequel without re-reading the first one, so I no longer felt connected to the characters or the plot.

I do think fans of game of thrones would enjoy this series however, as it gives me that same level of darkness and differences in kingdoms/characters.

One day I think I'll get back to this book, but for now, it just was not for me.

I have tried to read this book multiple times, I even own the physical copy, and I just cannot get into it.

The ending made the slow start worth it. I appreciated all the twists and turns but thought it lacked a bit of character development that would have made it a 5 star book.

Book two in the Royal Bastards series picks up where the first book ends. Tilla, Lyriana, and Zell are now living in the capital of Lightspire. Tilla and Lyriana are going to University and Zell is part of the city guard. Lyriana is lost without Jax, and is taking a lot of chances. Tilla knows something is wrong and is worried about Zell's disappearances. As the war continues, Tilla wants to know how her father's armies can beat the Mages who are supposed to be invincible. What she discovers is horrifying and puts them all at risk. Once again, the band of Bastards and their new friends are on the run.

I liked that the world building continued in this book, and a lot of the questions that I had left over from the first book were answered in this one. I enjoyed learning more about the magic and how it worked, as well as how it could be corrupted. The one thing that makes me a bit squeamish are the graphic and gory fight scenes. I know they are a large part of the story, so I am okay with them being there, but that is my one disappointment. The beginning of the book was a bit slow compared to the first book, but the second half of this book was action packed. Believe it or not, there are a lot of values and political ideas discussed and demonstrated in this book. Tilla keeps track of any deaths by her hand as she does not want to become callused. There is a lot of the plot dealing with classes, financial equality and fairness to all citizens. I like this part of the story, but it is not preachy, it fits in very well with the story. I enjoyed this one as much as I did the first one. If you plan to pick these books up, you MUST read them in order.

An epic continuation of the Royal Bastards series. I absolutely loved book one, so I was really looking forward to this read. So many twists and turns .... and I am so mad about that ending, but it only makes me look forward to the next instalment !

Slow to get started with everyone in Lightspire living somewhat normal lives, but the story picks up as shit hits the fan. I'm somewhere between two and three stars on this one, because it's entertaining for the most part but I'm not invested.

Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to read this ARC prior to the book's publication, but we did end up buying it for our library collection.

I loved this first installment and I can’t wait to read the rest. A like a good cast of strong characters. They each had their own voices but there wasn’t one I wanted to succeed more than the others. Great read!

After reading Royal Bastards I immediately emailed to be asked to be on City of Bastards review list because I loved it so much. I just felt like I had to know what happened – and this was at a time where a lot of the books I was reading weren’t making me feel this way.

Lightspire was main setting of this book – much different from the nomadic travelling of the first. World building was written well to make Lightspire out to be a beautiful, elegant, and magical city. You could imagine an almost elvish style kingdom at times – and it fits well in common fantasy places. This meant we’d left the ‘adventuring’ in the first book – which meant less exploration of the wider world. But despite this, the world building was just as good as the first book, just more in depth than expansive over different areas.

I felt that the magic was fleshed out in a lot more detail in City of Bastards. The first book was more action/adventure as they try to get to Lightspire, but once they got there – it seemed to shift magic fantasy into a higher gear.

The books have some great themes of each of our main characters needing to grow into adults who make their own decisions. There’s snippets of innocence and naivety from characters, and then tough lessons for them to learn – which is perfect for the older audiences of ‘YA’, whilst also being relevant to adults reading too.

There’s also some tough themes which need trigger warnings such as suicide. Good pacing throughout and it started getting more tense towards the end as even more action scenes were happening.

I’d say it’s more for people who enjoy world building, a bit of politics and schemes happening in the shadows. This is purely because it’s not as action packed as Royal Bastards.

The second book also left off making me want more – and so I am excited to read the third book too.

Positives
Magic system
Good pacing
Negatives
Only in Lightspire

Andrew is a masterful storyteller in person so if you have a chance to see an event with him, go. Unfortunately I have learned that high and epic fantasy doesn’t resonate with me. This is a case of it’s not you, it’s me.

I absolutely loved the first book in the series but I found the second book lacking. I just don't think the writing was as good.

I was a huge fan of the first novel in this series, so I was really looking forward to reading City of Bastards. All of my favorite characters were back, but this time we were transported to a new world in the City of Lightspire. I loved the world building in this novel and could picture the city perfectly. It was such a fun setting and it made me really wish I was in the world with the characters. I really enjoyed Tilla's character in this novel and her always spunky attitude was back, but it was a little dampened by trying to fit into a new city. That added an extra level to her character and I enjoyed the added complexity.

This novel was a lot of fun, fast paced, and full of twists and turns. I would highly recommend reading this novel if you enjoyed the first in the series or if you enjoy YA Fantasy novels. I would definitely read the first novel prior to picking this one up because you may be a little lost if you don't read it first. Thank you to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for sending this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Rating 3.5/5

I loved this second novel from Andrew. It begins shortly after it’s predecessor ended and quickly dives into this world world and all it’s characters. It’s a fun adventure read that is great for both boys and girls.

I love th Royal Bastards Books! Fun and high energy, I recommend these books for fans of action-packed thrill rides. I’m not a huge fan of fantasy books, but City of Bastards (and the first book in the series, Royal Bastards) feel different. They are more action and less fantasy. More coming-of-age journey and less dragon. Highly recommend.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssss this book was so good. Like tame Game of Thrones, and thats not an insult. Its a good thing.

So I started reading this in June and didn't finish it until December.
Yep. It took me quite some time to get through this book. First let me say that I absolutely loved the first book so I was ready for that sequel and to continue on with these characters. But it just dragged for most of the story. It did finally pick up and become really interesting during the last 15% of the book. I wasn't interested in the plot and the characters just felt different. It was just okay. I think the first book could have been a stand alone but I still plan on continuing with the series.