Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.
I love me a female assassin and was super excited about the premise of Diamond City by Francesca Flores. Sadly, it didn’t live up to the expectations for me. Although I enjoyed the world building, the intense depictions of class inequality and religious persecution, I had a tough time with some of the character development and pacing.
Diamond City is a YA urban fantasy about a young kid-turned assassin after her parents are murdered when she was 8 years old. She is taken in by a wealthy young man who is building his own empire. He trains her to not only be the best assassin but to be smart. We meet Aina, the assassin, at age 18. Her boss has tasked her with the hardest assassination every attempted and when things go wrong, she is forced to team up with her enemy to fight her boss…
I found Aina difficult to get behind. I love a morally grey character who is struggling to do what’s best for her but as a highly trained assassin I found some of her decision to not only be stupid but flat out ridiculous. She’s supposed to be intelligent enough to have survived in this war-torn world, but she makes some reckless decisions that I just found frustrating. Which led me to think, how has this girl survived.
My other problem was not so much with the MC but with the love square that is introduced. Aina is in love with her boss but she doesn’t realize is. He is abusive and toxic which is as old as time and I’d love to meet a female character who falls for the bad boy who doesn’t abuse her. Find me those characters please. On top of her boss, she also has feelings for a couple other characters. She’s young and still figuring herself out but in a book I want a better idea of who the love interest is. That can change but give me more than a tease of three different people.
In the end the premise interested me and although I enjoyed the idea of an assassination going wrong and the MC having to find new allies to survive, the story overall fell flat for me. I’m sure many will love the world that Francesca Flores build and Aina but sadly I may not be one of them.

Honestly, I think the cover does a bit of a disservice to the book. It suggest that it’s more urban fantasy/Ocean’s 11-ish than the more straight-up fantasy it is.

“Congratulations, Aina. You’re the best Blade in Kosín, and when I watch you cut holes in people, I think I hear angels singing.”


After the murder of her parents, Aina’s survived by becoming one of the best assassins in Kosín. Driven to prove herself to the boss of their tradehouse, Kohl, who’s trained her personally, she’s eager to take on the latest assignment – killing a Steel, one of the business magnates who runs the city. An assassination gone wrong gutters all her dreams, however, and her only hope at reclaiming her place is by finishing the job, even if it means tricking her target’s younger brother into helping her. Nothing goes as planned, however, and she’s forced to confront her assumptions about herself, her friends, and her life.

“All these years, I’ve been saying I’m not afraid anymore, but I still am. I say that I know how to defend myself and that I’ll be safe, but that’s not actually doing anything about the terrible things going on here. That’s hiding, and letting it all happen because it’s too frightening to try to stop it. But now I want to end the things that scare me.”


It’s hard not to compare this book to other YA fantasy heists, like Six of Crows, though I think the comparison is a little faulty. The book is told solely from Aina’s point of view, and while she does assemble a team, the focus is more on her journey, on finding a purpose for herself, whether she’s an invincible Blade or a vulnerable street girl. I absolutely loved Aina, flaws and all, and it hurt so much to see how she was forced to grow and change over the course of the book. I liked that, at her core, she had good intentions, even if the way she went about them was often completely wrong. I thought her motivations – getting back in Kohl’s good graces, avoiding ending up back on the streets – were strong and I really understood why she made the choices she did. Aina’s bi, though her love “interests,” though they never really get beyond brushing limbs at the most, are all male in the book. While I’m a big romance fan, I’m not so much a fan of love triangles, and though I recognize it was perfectly reasonable for Aina to be confused and have feelings for multiple people, it’s a pet peeve for me.

“It’s easy to get anyone to do something if you put enough money in front of them.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Must be nice to buy solutions to your problems.”
“Must be nice to threaten your problems,” Ryuu countered with a raised eyebrow.”


The snappy dialog really stood out for me, as did the side characters. I especially loved Teo, Aina’s gunslinger friend. Ryuu, the young Steel who ends up bankrolling Aina’s mission to “save” his brother, was also fun, though at times he felt a bit preachy. My main issue was with the flashbacks. The setting would change between one paragraph to the next without warning, sometimes going back to the previous day or even years ago, and each time it happened it was confusing and completely jarred me out of the narrative.

While this is obviously the first in the series, there’s a satisfying closure to the main plot. Overall, I’d give this 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 due to the flashbacks. I’m interested enough in Aina’s story – I want to see what she’ll do now that she has a real mission! – that I’ll probably pick up the next book. Recommended for anyone looking for a kickass heroine who learns to break the system and finds a family in the process!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Man, I dig a morally ambiguous lead character as much as the next person (V. E. Schwab's Villains series, the badass coven of Hannah Capin's upcoming Foul Is Fair) but this was waaaaay not that. Aina Solis is an orphan whose parents were killed for practicing their pacifist religion in Kosin, the titular Diamond City. After years of living on the streets and sniffing glue, she's recruited by the Blood King, Kohl Pavel, to became a member of his crew, more specifically an assassin known as a Blade. Fast forward six years and Aina has become Kohl's right hand. He promises her permission to open her own tradehouse (basically, her own gang) if she completes one last lucrative job for him: assassinate Kouta Hirai, one of the richest men in the city.

Naturally, things go wrong, and Aina soon finds herself discarded and worse by the man she's always looked to as a role model and object of affection. Determined to prove herself to him, she enters into a treacherous alliance with Ryuu, Kouta's youngest brother, to fulfill her mission and regain Kohl's trust and the future he's promised her.

I mean, if this is meant to be a book about not trusting people who promise you whatever you want in some hazy future so long as you accept abuse in the present, then I guess it's job well done (tho it legit boggles my mind that she thinks he's going to allow her to set up a rival shop in the same city. Maybe in another city, but in the same one? There's just no way.) And there are moments of reflection that are truly insightful, into the welter of teenage emotion and romance and class consciousness. But oof, the lack of rigor that went into building, well, everything else.

First, Aina is a terrible assassin. She's hyped up as this super badass but all you see in this book is her botching mission after mission while Kohl's often conflicting advice plays in her head. But she's given incredibly stupid opponents to make her look better, like the guy who comes looking for her in the bar. No way in hell would a guy who runs a gambling den a) do his own dirty work, especially if b) he doesn't even know how to use the gun he's waving around. We keep being told she's awesome despite evidence to the contrary, which is just as annoying as her constant musing over whether her "life is sacred" parents would be proud of her work as an assassin. I'm gonna guess that's a hard no, Aina!

And she wears a scarf that she constantly dyes in the blood of her victims like that isn't super disgusting, both stink- and hideous brown-grey color-wise. She wanders around in it and no one gags and points at her all "wtf?!" Instead, she actually gets compliments over the color, which is mind-boggling to anyone who's ever had to stress over period stains. Actually, a lot of the attitude to dress here makes no goddamn sense, as she pretty much swans around in the same outfit whether crawling through sewers or attending a high-class ball, all in the same night, and no one fucking says anything! The world-building details also make no goddamn sense, especially in the technology: photography is rare but used for cleaning crew ID (but not security guard ID?!) and plastics are used primarily to make the bags that addicts use to sniff glue. Oh, <i>and she can dodge bullets</i>. No bog-standard human, no matter what setting, can dodge bullets, not without some sort of physical augmentation. The world-building is entirely one of convenience for the protagonist's journey, and it makes me livid. Just because it's a fantasy novel doesn't mean the laws of logic don't apply.

Also? I found Aina's sense of tribalism incredibly off-putting. She kills dozens of people, innocent or otherwise, in this book but the only time she shows mercy is when her intended victim either shares a background or religion with her. That is literally as gross as a mass shooter not wanting to hurt someone because they're also white.

Diamond City tries for edgy but just ends up flat and unbelievable, to the point of ludicrous. The writing itself isn't terrible, and there are some decent ideas in there, but someone really needs to hold Francesca Flores to a minimum standard of sense-making.

Although the concept sounded right up my alley, with a mix between Six of Crows and Jade city, the book itself turned out to be too cliché for my taste. I love tropes when they are done well, but in Diamond city I found very few memorable moments. I found myself getting easily bored in the action scenes, which is never a good sign, and the plot was unoriginal. Too many flashbacks, unbelievable alliances, and a worldbuilding that told too much and showed too little were my main problems.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An intriguing concept of diamonds being a source of magic that has now been forbidden. The backdrop being a industrial city with an interesting political system. There are elements of magic, conspiracy, murder and revenge but they don't alway flow together in a cohesive way.

Overall, I liked the concept and found the flow to be face paced enough to keep me wanting to know what happened next. I would recommend this for those that love YA and are looking for a new author/series that will hopefully develop more in the next book.

Magic and diamonds are closely connected and forbidden to the extent you could be put to death if you’re not supposed to have them. Our main character/assassin/Aina has no qualms about selling them especially since her life is already in constant danger. She is a tortured character and constantly struggles with who she is. I liked that part because her main conflict is should she go deeper into the assassin’s world or forge her own path.

This is light on romance (even though attraction is noted several times) and heavy on action. Get ready for Aina’s life to be turned upside down as she figures out who she can really trust.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a struggle for me. What started off as a potentially fun assassin/heist book, turned into a poorly developed world with morally-grey characters that were unlikable and lacked being sympathetic. The book is called Diamond City. Diamonds are considered highly illegal and there's a black market trade just for them. People are executed just for having diamonds. But the reader never learns why they are so important and valuable.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. The description was so promising: Magic, murder, conspiracy... What I actually read was a frail attempt at a redo of Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass. With weak world-building, ridiculous backstories, and a highly unsympathetic main character, I really disliked this book.

What I Was Mixed About:
Abusive Relationships:

The main character is an orphan who is taken in by an older teen who promises to protect her if she becomes his assassin (remind you of another book?). He alternately praises her, and hits her. At the beginning of the book, she can't see that this is abusive, and is even attracted to him! I found this very disturbing.

I did like that this is eventually acknowledged as unhealthy. The book also shows how complex these situations can be. If one is in the middle of an abusive relationship, it can be hard to even recognize it. One might feel that they deserve to be treated badly. Ultimately, I couldn't judge her for getting sucked into a toxic situation.

Pacing:

While I thought there were some truly exciting action sequences, there were also times when the exposition got in the way of the story. There is one particular action scene at the end of the book that is full of tension and explosions. And then, in the middle of the scene, the action comes to a screeching halt in order to explain the big reveal.

There was should be no need to explain anything at that point. Clues should have been sprinkled throughout the book so that when we find out the big secret, the reader thinks, "Oh, I should have realized this!"

What I Didn't Like:
World-Building:

One of the fun aspects of reading about a magical world is learning I how the magic works. Apparently, some people can use diamonds to use magic. But how they do it (or why they needed diamonds, in particular) was never fully revealed. There's not even much of an explanation of what the capabilities of the magic are. This was really frustrating as a reader.

Also, the magic doesn't really play an important role in the overall plot of the book. None of the main characters can use magic. And the plot is driven more from a massive conspiracy, rather than anything magical.

Cringe-worthy Backstories:
Aina meets Ryuu, a wealthy orphan who's brother is her target. Ryuu explains how their parents died and Ryuu's brother had to take over the family empire...at TEN YEARS OLD!

No Moral high ground:
Of course, any book about assassins will be filled with murders. But usually, the main character has some sense of guilt about killing others. But Aina seems to accept her mentor Kohl's ridiculous reasoning about killing. Don't blame the assassin, they are just the weapon. Blame the person who ordered the assassination. Shouldn't we blame both? Saying that they are just doing their job is a moral cop out. It doesn't erase a person's culpability.

Eventually, Aina begins to understand that killing is wrong. She even says, that life is precious. But then, in the next chapter, she is back to killing random people without a second thought!!! What???

When a character has a moral epiphany, they can't then backslide without consequences! In this case, the consequence was me losing any warmth for the main character.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.

Ok. Well, this book was not what I hoped it would be. However, it had a premise that was interesting. To be honest, I enjoy a good coup or revolution, but the characters simply weren't compelling enough to entirely care. The issue for me was Aina's relationship with Kohl. I get that he "saved" her and was her boss, but it was just uncomfortable. In general, there were a lot of places I wish were clarified- the relegious practices and splits, the sale of jewels, the political angles. I felt like there were places things could have been fleshed out, or characters fleshed out, but it didn't happen the way I want. It wasn't a terrible book, but it wasn't one I couldn't put down and walk away from.

Diamond City was a jewel! This YA fantasy is multi-layered and deals with several kinds of magic, grief, revenge, romantic attraction, although nothing is ever acted upon - not even a kiss. I thought Ms. Flores did a great job with the world building and character development. For me, that can be a downfall in the fantasy genre if it isn't done well. If it drags on too long, you lose my attention or if you rush through it, there isn't enough detail. I think it's a fine line to do it with just the right amount of description.

I found Diamond City to be action packed from beginning to end. Life has been anything but kind to the main character, Aina. She was orphaned at a young age and is working as an assassin in order to survive herself. It seems as if every time it looks as if she might get ahead, something else happens and she is back where she started from again.

This book is the first in a new series. Fortunately, even though you can tell the story is left unfinished, it is not a cliffhanger type ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Aina is a girl who just can't get a break. Her parents are dead, she has nowhere to live, and the air she breathes is thick with the smoke of industry. Lucky (or is it?) for her, one day a man gives her a chance to make something of herself, though getting there means treading on the dreams of others as a blood-fueled assassin. Then, it all comes tumbling down as a job goes horribly wrong and Aina winds up with a target on her own back.

Diamond City is a story of a girl who wants to rise above her circumstances, but the economic and cultural system she lives with aims to keep her running in place, or failing that, to stab her in the back. It is a story of an elite class, a shady religion, and a seedy underbelly churning about in the same hazy city, a city full of magic, intrigue, and enough black market diamonds to make any girl happy. Aina is a girl you want to root for, even when she makes mistakes, can't escape her past, and especially when her path is marked by betrayal. Given time, maybe she can stay alive, make some good money, and get the guy, but until then she'd better hope she can disappear into the shadows and find (and make!) her mark in Diamond City.

Featuring the journey of a fierce heroine in the magical yet vicious world of Kosín, Francesca Flores’ fantasy debut novel, Diamond City, is going to blow your mind with its action-packed story, fast-paced plot, and scene-stealing characters. Being the first book in a series, Diamond City follows the story of Aina Solís and her dangerous quests as an assassin along with some unlikely allies that she never expected to have. Confused between paying back her gratitude and unravelling the ultimate truth, she must fight and survive in a game that she accidentally started.

After her parents are executed for a religion that they believed in, Aina must do everything to survive in the harsh and dangerous street life. Being a street rat at the age of 12, she went through the shivering of night and the suffering of hunger. However, her life took a turn when a mysterious man saved her life at the very last minute from a bomb. After being given everything that she thinks she wants, Aina is now an assassin and works for the man that saved her life. She works through murder after murder, and everything seems to go okay. But when an assigned murder goes wrong, she has to unravel the truth about the man she works for, unexpectedly works with the enemy but most importantly, she has to figure out how to break herself free. 

Told in an alternate timeline, we get to see Aina's past and how it unravels and shapes her into the way she is today.  

I couldn't deny the charms in Diamond City's prologue that instantly grasped my whole attention. It was short and straight to the point, yet it gave me chills, and ultimately, pulled me into the deep of Kosín's slums. Being introduced to our heroine at the age of 12 and witnessing how her life took a sharp turn in a spare few seconds, I was more than invested to explore her journey. It was one of those prologues that makes me think about it over and over again because the scene was absolutely intense, smart, and struck my mind in the best way possible.

This story relies heavily on its character, but it especially relies on Aina as the main lead as we got to witness her internal monologues in facing dilemmas in her confined life. Trapped between two opposite sides, Aina’s journey in this story was intense and very much relatable, as often at times the truth is not simply black or white. Flores eloquently elaborate Aina’s difficult position and I completely adore her multidimensional character. 

Though it was a very much character-driven story, Flores also went beyond with its worldbuilding, including the harsh street life in Kosín's slums, the endless tunnels, the magical diamonds, the intriguing belief system, and of course, the fierce competition between gangs that hated each others guts. I absolutely adore this universe because although I was struggling a bit to dive deeper into it and try to grasp the whole concept of how this world works, I can tell you that it was written after a tremendous amount of research and hard work. I feel like this is the case of me instead of the book itself, as I couldn't wait to reread this gem in the future and try to understand it better.

My one last favourite aspect of Diamond City is Flores' impressive skill in describing and narrating this fast-paced fantasy, leaving us with more than enough outstanding quotes that reflect our cruel reality.

In conclusion, Diamond City is a fierce fantasy featuring a fierce heroine living in a fierce universe where everyone hides everything and danger always creep around the corner.

Book Talk 1/24/2020: Francesca Fiores’ Diamond City (Book 1)
Traci Kenworth

Diamond City by Francesca Fiores. Jan. 28, 2020. Wednesday Books. YA Thriller genre.
Amazon blurb: "A thrilling adventure, through a vibrant city as alive as any character, about a girl willing to do anything to better her circumstances. " – Emily A. Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints
Good things don't happen to girls who come from nothing...unless they risk everything.
Fierce and ambitious, Aina Solís as sharp as her blade and as mysterious as the blood magic she protects. After the murder of her parents, Aina takes a job as an assassin to survive and finds a new family in those like her: the unwanted and forgotten.
Her boss is brutal and cold, with a questionable sense of morality, but he provides a place for people with nowhere else to go. And makes sure they stay there.
DIAMOND CITY: built by magic, ruled by tyrants, and in desperate need of saving. It is a world full of dark forces and hidden agendas, old rivalries and lethal new enemies.
To claim a future for herself in a world that doesn't want her to survive, Aina will have to win a game of murder and conspiracy―and risk losing everything.
Full of action, romance and dark magic, book one of Francesca Flores' breathtaking fantasy duology will leave readers eager for more!

My Review: Aina grows up under the protection of Kohl after the deaths of her parents. She does everything he expects of her, grateful to him for pulling her from the streets. When he offers her a chance to open her own business with his blessing, she jumps at it. But is there more to the offer than she knows? After word reaches Kohl that her targets lives, she’s thrown to the wolves and must fight to survive with the help of a friend and the brother of the man she was hired to kill. Will anyone survive the city?
It was a really cool story and I enjoyed getting to know the characters of Aina, Marcus, and Rhuu. The journey through the city was pulse-pounding and everything under the sun is thrown against the trio.

To be honest, when I saw this cover I decided to read this book. It gave me the impression of adventure, sci-fi and a girl in between. I really like how all the colors blend together. Also the left part of the diamond looks really fascinating.


The writing style was fluent and easy to read. The book was written from the view of the author, but mostly the view of Aina was focused.

In the first chapter we meet Aina as a little girl. I liked her at that moment. Thereafter, is a little time jump to a quite grown-up Aina, which is working as an assassin. It was not so easy to like her then. However, during the story I got to know her better and I loved to watch her develop and change to a better self. She had a bad childhood and prooved in the end, what can be accomplished nevertheless.
Teo was a really nice guy and it would always be great to have him as a friend. He is always there for the people, who matter to him. Further it was nice to see how he was clinging to his hopes and believes.
Ryuu was also a nice character, which I liked from the beginning. He was a good example to show, that not all Steels need to be bad or emotionless. It was really nice to also have a different view on this world. Furthermore, the relationship to his brother and their family-history was described really nice and gave a good impression, why Ryuu became, who he is.
To my shame, I was not such a big Raurie-fan. I didn't dislike her, but I also didn't got warm with her a lot.
However, I liked the big friendship which somehow - really somehow, because it just happend and I didn't see that coming - developed between this four. It was nice to see that in this brutal world, where everyone seemed quite alone.

When I started the book I was not really sure, what storyline I should expect. For sure, I read the short-plot, but I honestly had no certain expectations. For some reason - probably my cover-fantasy - I expected something like a dystopy or something with sci-fi. In some parts it was for sure dystopian, but not so much, that I would count it as dystopy. I rather see it as a story in a foreign world, which could have also played somewhere in our past. The topics vary a lot. It includes the conflicts with religion and growing industrialization. The life of a assassin vs. the idea of valueing in life.
I liked this parts in the story, where you got to think and decide for yourself, what you would do in that situation and how oneself would decide to live.

The end of the story is a little bit open and I would have really liked to read some more pages, how things turned out for Aina. Nevertheless, it was a hopefull ending.


Fazit:
Nice story, with a lot of philosophical questions, a lot of emotions and of course also some nice action-scenes - I give the book 4 out of 5 stars :)

City by Francesca Flores was an amazing story! I loved the plot and the entire cast of characters especially the main character!

In a post-civil war city where religion is dangerous, possessing raw diamonds can get you executed, and criminals roam the streets freely, who can you trust?

Aina is a blade, a hired assassin, who has worked for The Blood King since he found her passed out in a tavern from sniffing glue in her early teens. Orphaned at a young age after having watched her parents murdered for their religious beliefs, she never really hoped to make anything of herself before The Blood King, Kohl, found her and trained her to be one of his blades. Now, six years later, he has given her the biggest job of her life, one that may give her the chance to secure a future outside of the Dom where she can run her own trade house.

Aina has been given the opportunity of a lifetime, even if her target is a member of one of the richest families is the city. But Aina is undoubtedly one of the best blades in the city. However, when something goes dreadfully wrong and she finds herself outside of the protection of The Blood King, she is given only one chance to make it right before the city eats her alive. Who can she turn to in a city that now has a price on her head and enemies around every corner?

I enjoyed Diamond City. I pictured the city in tiers with a piratical edge. The world building was well done, the characters well rounded, and the cast was probably one of the most diverse I’ve ever experienced in a YA novel. There were twists, turns, and surprises all over the place. Was it a little predictable? For some people it might be, but for me, the various plotlines that were braided together left a lot of mystery and by the end I was kicking myself for not putting it all together.

The issues that the characters face are also very relatable. Loss, addiction, and being unable to know who to trust as well as cleansing yourself of toxic relationships are all very relatable concepts. I didn’t relate that well with Aina as she was very self-serving at times, but she grew as a person throughout the book and I would really like to see where the the author takes her character arc. I did love Teo, Kyuu and Raurie, and I loved the descriptions of Tannis and Jane, I felt like they were the best described. However, the relationships that Aina has with each character could probably be fleshed out a little more, and perhaps they will be. This is one of those books that doesn’t feel like a stand-alone. Matter of fact, the action picked up a lot in the last 40% of the book. The end felt a little too rushed for that and things were only as tied up as a first book in a series would allow.

Overall, I think it was worth a read. I feel like the world is alone is worth it. The author does an amazing job building the world itself and the structural/social hierarchy. I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

OMG I adored it! Aina is phenomenal! I the world building is exceptional! I could literally see myself there. I couldn't ask for more! I absolutely found a new favorite! Definitely check this out!

This summary gave me all the Six of Crow vibes, so of course I was going to read this book. The tropes are sort of similar, but instead of a heist, this is a well-planned assassin attempt where things obviously keep going wrong, because how boring would it be if people died when you told them to, am I right?

Diamond City is a fast-paced, action-packed urban fantasy about a woman who came from nothing and is now trying to carve her way in a world that consistently reminds her that girls like her never win.

I mean, this book had me at female assassin. Everything after that was like the icing on the top of an awesome, stabby cake. While there were times it felt like the story dragged a bit, for the most part, it yanked me right along, wanting to know what was going to happen next, and I couldn’t help but fall for these characters.

My Thoughts:

- This book is packed with every bit of action you would expect from a book about an assassin. Strap in, because this one’s a ride. There’s some harrowing fight scenes, some near misses, some amazing feats. Is it particularly believable? No. But, I mean, assassins. I still had fun going along for the ride with Aina, taking down people and creeping through the city. There’s all sorts of subverted expectations, murder, mayhem, teaming up and taking down. This book is essentially one big heist trope with rival gangs trying to take each other out. Except instead of a heist, it’s a rescue/assassination attempt, and we get to ride along with this group of people who would really rather not together, thanks. Unwilling teammates is pretty much one of my favorite tropes ever.

- Aina made for a really interesting protagonist, who was sometimes hard to root for, but also pretty easy to empathize with. It was this really weird juxtaposition. Yeah, okay, slaughtering random people is probably wrong and definitely not recommended and likely to lead to trouble. Probably not something you should root for. Or so I’ve been told. But the journey Aina took to become an assassin, the history that landed her on that path, and her ultimate goal were all things that had me solidly rooting for her anyway. Just also maybe for a lower body count sometimes, too. When you come from nowhere, you expect nothing. When you’re a nobody, it’s hard to become a somebody. So Aina’s struggle to do just that really endeared me to her all the more. People love rooting for the underdog, right? And Aina’s, not exactly running scared with her tail between her legs. She’s taking charge and … taking lives? Yeah, that, too. She’s spunky and determined and doing what she needs to stay alive while dreaming bigger than she has any right to dream, and I loved that about her character.

- This cast of secondary characters was just so much fun and full of personality. They each had their own personalities, of course, no two alike, and they definitely felt like they embodied popular tropes to me. By all rights, these tropes should’ve annoyed me, but they just … didn’t. Ryuu was a big fluffy marshmallow and deserves to be protected and petted and hugged. And Teo? I fell in love with him the moment we met. They were all just so easy to love, because their motives and desires were simple and things that most people want. It boiled down to being easy to empathize with, while still enjoying the different things the characters had to offer.

- There’s such an interesting dynamic between Aina and Kohl, and I have feels about it, darn it. What those feels are, I’m not quite sure, because they’re all complicated and confusing and squicky. From the moment Kohl is introduced, I knew I’d love his character, problematic aspects and all. The thing I loved most about these characters is that they’re clearly equals … except Aina doesn’t know it yet, and Kohl does. I like power dynamics. What can I say? The grittier and more convoluted, the better. I’m actually really looking forward to where this ends up leading and what this means for the characters because oh, what a dark and messy web we weave.

- I feel like there’s something more going on with Kohl, and I absolutely love it, because I want to hate him so much, but I’m just so freaking curious about him. I think we’re meant to hate him, but I just … don’t. I want to understand him. I want to know his history, his motivation, his intentions. I find his character absolutely fascinating. Especially since he’s obviously holding back, and what sort of ruthless character would do that, hm?

Sticking Points:

- There are a lot of flashbacks in the story, but unfortunately, there was a lack of proper transition between the flashbacks and present. We’re sitting in the present, chugging along, and suddenly Aina is reminded of something in her past, and boom, we’re there, and then equally as suddenly, we’re just … not. I got a little whiplash going back and forth, and I wish there had been some better demarcation so maybe I wouldn’t have spent so much time trying to follow and getting lost. Bearing in mind, though, this is an eARC, so there’s a possibility that this might be cleared up in the official release.

- I’m all for soft magic, but the magic system here is a little too vague for me, personally. Wielders of magic have to be Inosen, which are followers of a particular religion, and they wield diamonds to channel their magic. Blood is also involved. Only diamonds, though. No other gems work. And oh, diamonds (and the magic, also) are banned. Why any of this is a thing, I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine. I loved the idea of this magic and really wanted to get behind it, but I just … couldn’t. I needed something more to make sense of all these seemingly random, arbitrary restrictions on magic. I just wanted something more concrete about the diamonds and the magic.

- Aina’s character development felt like it stagnated for a while during the middle, to the point where it became repetitive. At first, I liked her determination. Who doesn’t appreciate a female assassin who comes from nothing and tries to prove she’s worth something? But for pretty much the entire middle of the book, it was just unwavering. Every chapter ended with a reaffirmation of what she “had to do.” Yes, okay, I know, buuuut could you not? The more this was repeated, the less sympathetic I felt toward her character, and she just started to annoy me. Which is a shame, because I really did feel for her. Yes, it was part of her arc and growth, but there was so much time spent on not arcing or growing that it became repetitive and then happened all at once.

Really fun read - the story was presented as high stakes from the beginning as the main character weaved throughout the plot. The world building was pretty well developed and easy to follow but still complex which is always a plus with fantasy.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publishers on Netgalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own.




Book: Diamond City




Author: Francesca Flores




Book Series: Diamond City Book 1




Rating: 3/5




Publication Date: January 28, 2020




Genre: YA Fantasy




Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, some language, abuse TW)




Publisher: Wednesday Books




Pages: 400




Amazon Link




Synopsis: Good things don't happen to girls who come from nothing...unless they risk everything.

Fierce and ambitious, Aina Solís as sharp as her blade and as mysterious as the blood magic she protects. After the murder of her parents, Aina takes a job as an assassin to survive and finds a new family in those like her: the unwanted and forgotten.

Her boss is brutal and cold, with a questionable sense of morality, but he provides a place for people with nowhere else to go. And makes sure they stay there.

DIAMOND CITY: built by magic, ruled by tyrants, and in desperate need of saving. It is a world full of dark forces and hidden agendas, old rivalries and lethal new enemies.

To claim a future for herself in a world that doesn't want her to survive, Aina will have to win a game of murder and conspiracy—and risk losing everything.

Full of action, romance and dark magic, book one of Francesca Flores' breathtaking fantasy duology will leave readers eager for more!




Review: For the most part, this was a great book. The world building was great, the writing was well done, and the characters were very well developed. The pacing was also on point throughout most of the novel.




However, I had a couple of issues. The book had a LOT of info dumps. Like, sometimes pages of info dumps after info dumps. I felt really bogged down while reading it, almost like I was reading two different books at once. The other issue I have is the issue of abuse. I don’t mind abuse portrayed in novels and I don’t mind when main characters suffer through it. I do mind when the characters are hit by someone and then proceed to state how much they love them. Like… NO! That’s not the message you want to send to younger kids. Love does not beat! And I just didn’t feel like that message came through strong enough. Lastly, I didn’t think this book was heist-y enough for my tastes. Just my personal preferences. Other than those things, this was a great book!




Verdict: A pretty good heist!