I wasn’t sure what I was expecting with this but it wasn’t really for me, I found it a little odd but can see why others would enjoy it.

The first thing that this story will remind you of is Zootopia. This is something that the blurb itself proclaims. If you did not like the movie or any of its ilk, this might not be the book for you. The one place it diverges from the generalization is where it provides a spiritual/mythological concept for why the animals are the way they are and leading such evolved lives.
We are introduced to a city where a panda has gone missing, he is one of the police, so a lot of chaos has been left in the wake of his disappearance. Our lead duo is a penguin and a monkey who is forced to work together. As they trudge around the city, we get to know the inner workings and logic of the world we are visiting. Sometimes the lingo or the setup seemed a little forced but worked most of the time. There are many subplots in the narrative, and I must admit that the only thing that worked for me was the extra-central plot, which was not so much a twist as a gradual reveal.
I liked the overall effect, and some of the scenes were vivid and had me thinking about them. I even liked the drawings interspersed between the chapters, which helped me better understand the meanings of what the author wanted to convey when he described the animals of the story.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A quirky story, similar to zootropica movie or Disney. Great for animal lovers. The writing is good and engaging.
A good read.

Pretty good and certainly different. Lot of humor, unpredictable., and mostly engaging. Recommended for those seeking something a bit different and light.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

If a gimmick works, I'll love it. I'm think of Savages by Don Winslow with a few words on a page and font changes throughout, it worked well for that story. But animals in an adult noir thriller just didn't work for me.

Like, having animals didn't add to the story. The actual story isn't bad, sorta "Chinatown" without the emotional impact that makes it a classic. But with a gimmick that adds zero value to the actual story.

Having random asides to explain what some of the animals are was distracting; I mean really, people don't know what a lemur is? Penguin "shakes hands" with a monkey, but then the hippo has a "hoof of a hand"... are these animals with hands, or just animals with voice boxes?

A law in this world says predator's can't eat animals that talk, so a fox trying to eat a pig is arrested... but a penguin can eat mackerel... because they can't talk, alright, got it. Because that makes exactly no sense, because I don't remember what the predator's eat. I just don't remember that being explained.

And all the cops are pigs, because humor.

**I received a copy of the book from NetGalley and Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was intrigued by this- the blurb sounded fun, a hard-boiled noir but with anthropomorphic animals. It earned some wonderful reviews, one person even likening it to Chinatown, and to add to that, the cover art is fantastic. So I had really hoped to enjoy it.
I... didn't, really. The general idea was great, but the story was thin and the writing was not good. I'm not sure if it was even edited. It was riddled with small, silly errors (your instead of you're, writing LeRoy and then Leroy, forgetting commas, dropping words and letters, lots of missing or misplaced apostrophes, weird use of italics, double !!, weird word choices like "triplet of beavers," "feathery duster" "sinks too much coffee" etc.). It was distracting. I didn't enjoy that it was written in the present tense Also, the author wrote out accents, which is a pet peeve of mine. And the broken English used by the Japanese character was maybe not in the best taste?
The author was overly descriptive, and explained things that did not need explaining, regularly describing what each animal was, stating the characteristics of a chimp versus an ape, or what a pelican looks like, and why they have a throat pouch. It was a lot, and it was wholly unnecessary.

Basically, it was a struggle for me to finish because I did not enjoy the writing style at all.

It's a witty, well written and highly enjoyable story.
It was a bit bewildering at the beginning but when you get used to the world building you're hooked.
I liked the style of writing and the humor. The character development is good and liked how the story was told.
It's recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Clever and funny, this book is surprisingly challenging in a good way. It makes you think about relationships, about different perspectives and even about what things could be if they were...different. It’s a hard book to review because it is beyond any single genre. Yes, it’s a bit weird, but most people will love the humour, the characters and the surprisingly clear storyline which is the core bringing the whole thing together.

I was given a free copy of this book by NetGalley in return for my honest review.
This book was wacky and witty, but just not for me. The City That Barks and Roars is like a film noir version of Zootopia, and while it was clever and well written with a solid plot, I had a hard time engaging with it. It’s hard to pin down - I did enjoy it, and on paper it’s a lot of things I really love, but the POV made it feel a little choppy (going for an old Hollywood narrator feel maybe) and perhaps a little campy. While it didn’t end up being what I expected or hitting quite the right note, it was still a worthwhile read that I think will be a hit with the right audience. 3/5 stars.