Definitely the type of fantasy novel I've been needing to read for a long time. Im not a huge romance reader; I prefer my fantasy reads to have more of an action vibe to it. Through some solid dynamic frienships in there, and I'm sold.

What's not to like about this book?

First of, the world building is not that great but it does have a certian vibe to it. I liked how nitty gritty it was, i just wished it was explained a bit more in detail.

That was my only complaint about this book.


Now on the things I LOVED.

First and foremost, Aina. I cannot stop gushing about how much I love this badass assassin. She comes from a rough background but she does not let that stop her. Instead, She lets it fuel her to complete her missions.

Teo. Sweet Teo. He's Aina's best friend and he's down to aide her through whatever she's going through. Plus, he isn't afraid to kick some ass alongside her.


Ryuu was a character I had to grow to like. At first I thought he was spineless and kind of spoiled with his richness. But after learning more about his background, I really started to admire who he was and what he had gone through.

Kohl is a villain I love to hate. He's an evil, conniving bastard but there's also flashes of humanity in him, especially when it comes to Aina. Can't wait to hopefully learn more about him in the next book.

Tbh, I just truly enjoyed this book. The fighting scenes (and there were A LOT) were superbly written, all the characters were really fleshed out, and I loved the religious aspect with the Mothers in the novel as well. If you read ONE fantasy book in 2020, make sure it's this one

Many people know that I'm always trying to find more Latinx fantasy novels, as I feel that there aren't as many as there should be.

I'm super happy to say that Diamond City didn't disappoint! This was an extremely diverse book, but not adding in diversity for diversity points. It felt extremely realistic in the creation, characterization, and personalities of the characters, namely Aina and Ryuu. This book has assassins, forbidden magic (blood magic at that), religious commentary, and some of the most heart-wrenching and brutal depictions of poverty and repression that I've read recently. The writing was very well done, as it truly made you gather in all the details that we were being given as well as not giving everything away.

The plot itself was more complex than I believed it to be at first. I expected this to be a straightforward novel about escape and revenge, but there's SO much more going on! We go into politics, freedom of religion, repression, love, hate, family.... The list can go on, but it's not overwhelming in the slightest. We get just enough in order to feel the weight that our cast of characters experience, and it makes the ride so much more enjoyable. While there are a few snags in terms of pacing, everything is steady for the most part as we try to reach our end goal.

Characters are absolutely amazing! I want to say that nearly every character in here has substantial growth, but Aina is the one who develops the most. She has people coming into her life who go against her expectations, and she has to relearn that maybe the world isn't as black and white as she believes. Ryuu is a character I loved from when we were first intoduced, and unfortunately I can't say much about him without giving much away. Actually, it seems I can't say much about OUR ENTIRE CAST without giving away crucial plot points and developments. Just take my word that the characters in here are truly wonderful, and I hope you fall in love with them as much as I did.

This book is pretty damn close to a full 5/5 for me, but I give it a 4.75/5 mostly due to some of the pacing snags and wanting further development on a few things. Honestly though, it's mostly just me being nitpicky. I think this is a BEAUTIFUL debut novel, and I seriously hope this book gains more attention as we get closer to publication.

Expectations were high, here is a Latinx fantasy novel with an author with same last name as myself, I NEEDED to live vicariously through this story.

Thank the goddess it lived up to every bit of it! Ania Solis is a heroine you are constantly pulling for. Fast paced and wicked sharp- Diamond City will blow your socks off!

DIAMOND CITY is the debut novel of Francesca Flores. It's a hard-hitting novel with assassins, religion, banned magic, wars, and brutal poverty. Aina wants to claw her way out of poverty-striven streets to make a name for herself in a legion of assassins. When tasked with assassinating a Steel (an industrialist), she makes the mistake of showing leniency to her target's brother thereby turning her, a predator, into prey. This was definitely a page-turner for me. I had to see what happens in the end and I wasn't disappointed. Aina's nerve and guts threaded itself through every word, line, and chapter, permeating the entire plot.

Morally gray characters forced to deal with morality dilemmas is my literary kink.

I have to know what happens next.

Diamond City by Francesca Flores, 400 pages.
Wednesday Books (Macmillian), 2020. $19.
Language: PG13 (12 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Aina kills for one of the most feared men in the city, but she knows she’s close to becoming his equal and someone who is feared for her own reputation, not her employer’s. This job is her ticket out. Killing one more person should be easy, but, as Aina thinks she’s stepping closer to her dream, she discovers that she’s been living in a nightmare.
If you pick this book up, you better have time to read it all the way through -- there are no good stopping points in Aina’s fast-paced story. Though a couple inconsistencies pulled me out the story briefly, I was enjoying myself enough to move on and lose myself again in the world Flores built. As Aina struggles with self-worth and finding purpose in life, readers can work through these issues with her, reflecting similar ponderings in their own lives. While this message is an undertone to the story, I found myself reading simply for the pleasure of a thrilling read with surprises I couldn’t predict. The mature content rating is for innuendo and mentions of sex; the violence rating is for murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book in the near future with an honest rating and review.

This book was incredible! This book is a book that I can see myself reading again and again. Diamond City kept me at the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this book!

Huge Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity!

I’ve actually tried three separate times to get into DIAMOND CITY and each time I couldn’t get past the 25% mark. I don’t know if it is me. I like Aina and the side characters that I had met so far, but I feel like for the point it was at DIAMOND CITY was lacking something. I hope to revisit this world one day and be able to get emotionally invested in the story as I hoped to be, but for right now this one wasn’t me.

(I gave it three stars because I did like the characters and the author’s writing style)

**Will be posted on my blog site http://pastmidnight.home.blog on Sept. 15, 2019**

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

I am a sucker for female assassins and here we have Aina Solis, a Blade, who works for the Blood King. Aina kills whoever the Blood King tells her to kill and her specialty is with knives. She has a history with the Blood King, Kohl, who runs the city with his motley crew of spies and assassins. Kohl molded Aina into the killer that she is, but is that all she is?

Aina is a survivor in Sumerand, a kingdom torn apart by war, rebuilt with industrialization controlled by the Steels. The world building is interesting. There is conflict between the Steels (industrialists) versus the Inosen, a sect of religious followers that believe in using magic from long ago. But in a kingdom where Steels rule, magic use is outlawed so it creates secret worship places and a black market for raw diamonds used for magic use. So far the book talks mostly about how the magic can be used to track people and also do healing spells.

Kohl presents Aina with a big contract hit, to take out one of the most untouchable and wealthiest Steel in Sumerand. The money she can make from the hit can bring her dreams to fruition – but what happens when everything goes wrong? Here is when I kept on reading, because Aina’s world starts to crumble and she’s trying to survive again. I wonder if she could do it and if she could get out of this book alive! Seriously at some parts, I was like, oh she’s dead – she’s so going to die! 🤭

There is an interesting relationship brewing in this story between Aina and the brother of the man she’s supposed to kill. I wasn’t sure this would work out for either of them and it was even somewhat sort of unbelievable how Ryuu handles the events that take place. I don’t think I’d be as forgiving as he is! Like…really?! 🤔 She also has a best friend in this story, Teo, who’s luck is as bad as Aina’s but he’s a really good friend. And around these men she finally makes some female friends too – because seriously, she needed that too.

The story is violent with lots of action, blood spilling, body counts and fighting, which I enjoyed because I love female assassins kicking butt. But there is also the issue of Aina’s past drug use and her unhealthy relationship with Kohl. I think it’s believable that it’s hard for her to break away from Kohl, because he manipulated her to get what he could from her. It was frustrating to see her waver though, stay strong Aina! But Aina, poor girl, she just seriously needs a break! I want to see her just take back herself and her power!

Overall, this story sucked me in and it’s a fantastic debut. I look forward to reading the sequel just to see if Aina can redeem herself and kick more butt.

I’m still burning too many calories by going back and forth between 3 to 4 stars, pros and cons waltzes in the moonlight on my over imaginative and sensible mind but I decided to stay at 4 even there were so many dislikable relationship forms and unexplained background stories in this book, I mostly enjoyed it!

Buckle up and enjoy Aina’s exciting, fast paced, thrilling action story. She not the dreamy badass heroine in tough girl pants, even she is ruthless killer, she has still big issues on her head to define herself and adopt in the world she was living. She wants equality and people’s respect. It is so reasonable when we take a close look to her abusive and struggling relationship with Kohl. (Truly I was not a big fan of him. He is not terrifying enough or charismatic enough to be afraid of! He seemed like flawed and mostly one of the most annoying characters!)

I still had hard times to believe Aina’s companionship with Ryuu, too. There were too many alarm bells ringing in unison to warn her not to trust him completely. But I have to admit I liked the parts I read about their partnership and their interactions.

The book contains too many hard issues to absorb starting from Aina’s abusive relationship, drug addiction, inequality, poverty, abandonment. It’s not heart and flowers reading but thankfully I had no intention to choose something soft and sweet.

This is not going to take a place at my list as one of my best fantasy books but I still enjoyed its fast pacing, supportive characters, story’s improvement, gripping development. I still want to read the next installment.

Thanks to NetGalley, Wednesday Books for sharing this ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review. It was joyful, entertaining ride for me!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the e-ARC. This was one of my most anticipated releases for Jan 2020 and it didn't disappoint! Anything with assassins, magic, and a strong heroine and you have the makings of an amazing book! Not only that the characters dimensions, the plot, writing style, world, it all worked for me. I was very impressed by this and loved everything about it! Will read more from this author in the future!🙌

Fast paced action from start to finish.

An insightful story on toxic relationships and the hold someone can have on another. I really enjoyed that despite the fact that Aina was depicted as a strong character it also showed that you can be strong but also susceptible to manipulation.

Diamond City gives you fast paced action, it gives you internal struggles, conflicting emotions, strained relationships, wavering beliefs.

I truly enjoyed the diversity of the characters. I feel a little more could have been done with regards to character relations as to why the 4 stars. But overall a rich world, with layers of misdirection and turmoil.

I can't wait to see where Aina's story will take her.

This fast-paced and engrossing novel features a powerful protagonist struggles to keep her head above water in a cycle of homelessness and poverty. Readers will certainly root for Aina and see themselves in her struggles. This amazing YA expertly tackles prevalent, real-world issues within a fantasy setting. Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers of this book for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. There were a few inconsistencies and things that didn't quite make sense. Like a gun firing on the balcony of a crowded ballroom without anyone noticing or caring to investigate. That seems a little unlikely with many guards around. There also were a couple contradictions with her back story and the present. Nothing major so I just brushed them off as mild annoyances.

I wish the synopsis had been a little more vague. Somehow not revealing that Aina fails in her attempt to kill her mark. It felt a little less suspenseful going in knowing the outcome. Obviously that failure is what caused her world to turn upside down so I can see why they added it but I still think it would have been better going in blind.

The majority of the book was pretty fast paced. There were several back story drop ins but they were short and purposeful.

Kohl did not seem all that intimidating, for a man that "everyone fears" he fell a little flat to me. The other main characters I thought were pretty well developed and likeable.

I wouldn't say this book is fantastic and I certainly wouldn't compare it in any way to Bardugo who, in my opinion, is in a league of her own. But I did enjoy it enough to read it fairly quickly and I am looking forward to the next installment.

Aina is a fierce, dynamic character sure to invoke intrigue into the minds of many! This story is fast-paced and action packed while following a dynamic plot line full of adventure, mystery and intrigue. I loved it and look forward to future installments with the characters. It is always refreshing to enjoy a juicy story that keeps moving along with characters that keep your interest! Well done!

A world with magic, which when used could either save you or get you killed, is rocked by a pervasive network of secrets, profit, and blackmail in Diamond City by Francesca Flores.

After being orphaned at a young age as a result of the kingdom's crusade against blood magic, Aina Solís had learned how to survive living on the streets. A chance meeting with a man when she was twelve took her off the streets and began her training to become a skilled assassin with a blade. When provided an opportunity for the most lucrative, yet dangerous, job of her career, Aina accepts, believing this will be her opportunity to finally establish herself apart from her savior boss, the Blood King. Hired to kill a wealthy industrialist, Aina plans her attack and executes, but later learns that her rare moment of kindness toward the target's brother will cost her far more than the pay she was promised. In trying to rectify the error that left her mark alive and put a target on her own back, Aina asks an important question of who wanted her mark dead, leading to a startling discovery of a conspiracy that could forever change her city.

Written in a manner that captures and maintains your attention, this story intricately weaves a variety of intense societal factors, including violence, drug addiction, and religious freedoms, as well as action-filled events together to form a cohesive whole around a morally and emotionally complex protagonist with trust issues. I appreciated how the topic of relationships, particularly those of a more romantic nature, were presented and handled throughout the narrative - it wasn't the primary focus but added some humanizing touches while realistically portraying these dynamics. Though the motivation driving Aina forward to be better than the Blood King was initially presented relatively well but trailed off in consistency and strength, making it seem like less of a driving force behind her otherwise purposeful actions.

Overall, I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

A street rat just a few years ago, Aina is now the right-hand Blade of the Blood King, the scariest crime boss in the city. Her dream is to head her own tradehouse, and her boss promises her that she'll finally be free to do it after completing just one last big job for him. Nothing can go wrong, right? Of course, when all does go wrong, Aina's dream, her current position, and even the entire existing order of the city of Kosin threatens to topple.

I found myself more engrossed in Aina's story and eager to see how it would end. You'll probably enjoy this if you're a fan of dark YA with strong but imperfect female protagonists but don’t require a huge romantic subplot component. I really liked that-- romance shouldn't have to be the driving force in enjoyable YA; there are many other important human relationships to explore.

Diamond City tackles some hard topics, which extends the story beyond what could initially feel like a bit of a formulaic structure of a hired killer gradually discovering her humanity. And I mean hard topics-- savage religious oppression, poverty, abusive relationships, drug use, what family means, and more. (Comparatively little is shown "on screen" but there is a fair amount of violence.). The best/worst part for me was definitely the relationship between Kohl and Aina-- it was complex, abusive, disturbing, and clearly the main relationship driver in Aina's life. I hope any potential future volumes tackle this more.

I didn't feel completely sold on two elements that are important to the plot:
-believing Aina's goal of being the equal or better of the Blood King and being able to look down on everyone else (""She would be the one everyone feared, the girl who made politicians, slavers, gang bosses, and mercenaries tremble."). It's established early and the major motivation for Aina for most of the book, and it just didn't ring true as a driving force. Maybe it's my exposure to the genre and knowing that this was going to change.
-Ryuu's capacity to believe and work with Aina. This was nearly saintly in nature. I think Aina, with her experiences, would be even more reluctant to work with and trust Ryuu. I really liked their connection but really wanted more support for it.

This book was received as an ARC from St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Right from the cover I knew this book was going to be a different story than any other book of this caliber. Diamond City tells the story of twelve-year-old Ania who is a slave under her boss Kohl who is recruited to become one of the most lethal assassins in all of Sumerand and with her first assignment gone wrong and the Kouta the victim escaping, she is determined to find Kouta with risking asking the question of who wants Kouta dead and why? This book is filled with suspense, thrill and excitement that will leave you at the edge of your seat with such a shocking twist that will leave you breathless.

We will consider adding this title to YFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I feel like Diamond City started out strong with an amazing first chapter but then it started going downhill immediately proceeding it. I think it was trying too hard to be like Throne of Glass and Six of Crows. I've also seen it compared to some other books but those I two I have read personally and saw similarities from. I ended up skimming a lot to get to the end. I love morally grey characters and stories but this one just didn't work for me. I think others who love fantasy will probably enjoy.

***Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy.***

A phenomenal debut featuring a cutthroat heroine and a nail-biting conspiracy that will leave you on the edge of your seat! The writing flows like water and the characters are multilayered. I loved every bit of this gritty gem of a book!