Thankyou to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Dystopian books, but this one just didn't hit the mark for me. I feel like this book is written more for younger teens and I prefer tales written for older teens. The characters were not special and didn't stand out for me. I did love the world building but it wasn't enough to keep me interested.

Overall, this book wasn't for me.

I usually enjoy dystopian type books. However I just didn't connect with this one. I feel it may be my fault as I
may not be in the intended age group ,for me the writing seems quite young, and maybe intended for a younger reader, If so I hope they enjoy it more than I did.

2.5 stars
I am a well-known lover of dystopian novels, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I thought the concept was interesting (seeing the story being told from the point of view of a Guard as opposed to a Citizen), and the writing was fine. But there is zero world building or background given in the story. This left me with a tremendous amount of questions and zero answers. I can deal with a certain lack of world building if things are told clearly in the story, but that wasn’t the case here. My biggest problem with the story was Scarlett herself. To give you an idea of what happens here, basically imagine a random high school freshman or sophomore pulled out of class one day, handed a badge and a gun, and being told “now you’re a cop“. She’s unsure about basically everything, and she keeps questioning everything in a world where the Government clearly wants you to do as you’re told and shut up. And yet everyone thinks she is hard-working and trustworthy. It just doesn’t jive.

Thank you to NetGalley & Xpresso Book Tours for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I have to wonder if this will be a series because of the way it ended. I feel like there should be more. I liked the characters and the world that the author has created. Dystopian novels are my go to these days and this one was right up my ally.

I received this ebook ARC of In the Shadow of The Cities in return for a honest review. Thank you to the publisher for trusting me with this task.

Scarlett is a Green Level trainee who works for the Government that protects the interest of the Cities. While out with her companion, a mysterious man approaches her and says that she will shoot her friend. After this incident, the companion, a male named Rhys, he is promoted to abruptly promoted to a Blue. Shortly after, Scarlett is called in to complete a mission with Blues, including Rhys, despite only be a level Green Trainee. This means that she will venture into the unknown cities to keep the government's peace. During this time, she tries to juggle her new found responsibilities with her loss of trust in not only her friend, but the government that serve to protect the citizens.

In The Shadow of the Cities fits the dystopian criteria well, but creating a relatable protagonist who begins to mentally challenge the world around her. The novel is well paced, and includes plenty of action and events that leave the reader invested in what will happen next.

I give this novel a 3.5/5. Though I enjoyed the plot of the novel and the character development of the protagonist, the abrupt ended of the novel left more to be desired. I feel as though there were questions that I expected to be answered, and felt that there was not an appropriate resolution to the main story arc.

This novel takes a much loved genre and tosses it on it's head in a way, which is sure to create more than a little food for thought while letting action thrive.

Scarlett has been trained her entire life for the most honorable position she knows: to be a guard. The society counts on her and her fellow trainees to protect everything their society holds dear and keep them safe. When she's thrust pre-maturely into the city streets to perform tasks, and that without the complete training she should have received, questions naturally arise. Still, even with tons to learn, she knows what her job is. But those she protects as thankful or helpful as they should be, and she's not sure why.

The blurb on this one caught my attention. Set in a dystopian society, this one swings the center away from those living in it or working with it, to those guarding it. And that, with all their heart and conviction. I had dreams of something along the lines...very vaguely, though...of Nakita (since there's obvious, major theme difference...but still). The book didn't really head in any direction like that, but I wasn't disappointed, either.

Scarlett is a young girl and has a lot to learn about the real world. Her world is correct when considering how she was raised, but this one throws her out of her box and into an unknown one, which is different than she thought it'd be. It's intriguing to see things from her viewpoint as she copes and tries to wrap her head around what's happening. Thank makes room for inner-thoughts, which is normal in a YA read. But she also starts out with an immaturity I didn't expect and made me stumble a bit. Luckily, there's a huge character arc in this one, and it sets her up wonderfully for the series.

As far as action, pacing and such...I expected a little more on this front but it was an intriguing read, anyway. I see this book more as the beginning to a series, and it drops off with the desire to see what happens next. Everything is laid-out so that the future tale holds tons of promise. I'm hoping it delivers and will keep an eye on this one.

I received an ARC through Netgalley and enjoyed this one.

Imagine a young adult dystopian novel written from the perspective of the nameless, faceless government guard. Don’t they see the evil they are protecting? Do they even care? What a great premise for a new series.

Scarlett is a novice guard, new to the city after years in the training center but unprepared for realities of life outside of school. While some plot lines aren’t fully realized and many of the characters one one dimensional, there is a story worth reading and strong female lead character worth caring about. Ms. Solorzano does an admirable job of allowing the reader to share in Scarlett’s confusion about all the is changing around her.

Overall, I give the premise 5 big stars but execution a 3 for a rating of 4 stars. I’m interested to see what happens to Scarlett and where the author takes the series from here.

My thanks to Net Galley, Morgan James Fiction and Ms. Solorzano for the opportunity to read an advance copy of In the Shadow of the Cities in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I've tried downloading this to my Kindle a few times and the formatting is still messed up. All through the book, there are random letters and parts of words missing. It's not hard to figure out what is missing but it's giving me a headache and making the experience unenjoyable. I will wait for publication and try the book again.

Thank you Morgan James Fiction and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

The first time I came by this book it was on Netgalley and I looked it right up on Goodreads to put it on my shelve but Goodreads didn’t had the book on their website. I therefore add this book on Goodreads so other people could get to know about it.

Morgan James Fiction gave me the opportunity to read the e-arc of this book for an honest review and I would like to thank them for it. I saw there were no other reviews so I guess I’m the first one.

The description of this book and the cover, to be honest, got my attention right when I saw it on NetGalley and I decided to dive right in this book and world when I got the e-arc.

While the idea of this book is interesting, reading it from the point of view of the guardians instead of the civilians, this book didn’t work for me. The story was rambling and the writing style appeared young for me, which made it hard for me to feel any connection with the personages.

I know this is a debut and I think the writer has potentiality so I’m looking forward to other books she will write.