Space heist!! Full of action with amazing characters and all the wild adventures. I love a group of very different characters getting together to form a chaotic gang. It results in fun galore but also lots of action with them having a lot to do. Never a boring page this was fantastic.

Purchased the ebook for my library because I knew it was an interesting enough premise to get readers, but the characters were underdeveloped and a bit all over the place. Did not purchase the physical book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐

Not my usual style of book but I loved the cover and the premise so that was my reason for requesting.

The beginning of the book is really engaging, the characters are quickly well established and are easy to distinguish. Riven was obviously my fav because she is an absolute badass. The juxtaposition of the two main characters, Riven and Asa, is really interesting because of their many differences. Unfortunately the romance aspects of the book didn't really feel that organic to me, especially towards the end, I felt it could have been built up a lot more throughout the book.

Plot-wise, it is pacey and we are introduced to lots of fear-inducing characters and bad guys to heighten the stakes even more, creating a lot of tension to pull you through the book.

I would recommend for Sci-Fi fans. The world building is very cool and very interesting, the settings are probably one of my favourite things about this book!

This book was just sadly not for me! I was hoping for something different but it turned out to be something I was not expecting, which is okay and I'm sure someone else would love it!

I was seeing a lot of positive stuff about this book, so I was super excited when I was able to get access to it on here. I was immediately intrigued by the description and very excited to read it. I don't always love sci-fi, but this was really good.

*More in-depth review to come*

Amazing debut! This being a ya, sapphic sci-fi, was all I needed to be excited to read. The futuristic world was so easy to get into. The sci-fi scenes were written well and very entertaining. I would say that the characters need a little more work.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

(i received this e-arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

a high octane thrill ride with a sapphic romance that i rooted for throughout.

I haven't read sci-fi in a while, and I'm so glad I decided to change that by reading City of Shattered Light. This book was so much fun! It's fast paced, has a large cast of characters and crime, so it's exactly the sort of thing I love.

Riven was a little prickly at first, but I grew to love her as a character pretty quickly, and really loved her strength. She's been through a lot, and uncovering her past alongside Asa helped me to fully appreciate her. As for Asa, she's made some terrible decisions, but means well and genuinely wants to change for the better. I think she's had one of the more realistic character arcs out of the novels I've read recently, and I'm excited to see how it continues in book 2. Also, having an almost entirely queer cast of characters was just *chef's kiss*

While I thought that Riven and Asa worked well together, I did think that the romance fell a bit flat because there was so much happening. If the love triangle had been excluded (it was completely pointless), there would've been more time to develop it out more, which I'd have preferred. Getting to know the rest of the cast more wouldn't have hurt either. I felt like we only ever really got to know Ty well, and I genuinely would've loved to see more of Samir, Diego and Kaya. Having a little more of a description and explanation about the anteleons, bruttores and (especially) the Etri wouldn't have hurt either.

That's not to say that Winn's writing was bad - just inexperienced. I'm really looking forward to how it evolves, especially because I enjoyed other parts of it so much. Winn's writing had some absolutely gorgeous descriptions, and was genuinely funny throughout the novel, balancing out the intense plot. She described emotions so well, and really breathed life into Requiem. The city had a personality of its own, and getting to see it's beauty and dark underbelly at the same time was so much fun.

Overall, City of Shattered Light is a solid debut, and an action-packed sci-fi adventure. It read fast, and had an interesting plot. The ending wasn't quite a cliffhanger, but I'm dying to see what happens to the crew in book 2 now.

Honestly not a book for me. I liked some part of the book the writing was great and I could see people really liking this book.

City of Shattered Light is queer sci-fi done right. and ticks every box you could for such a book. I highly recommend you check it out for the amazing characters and well written plot.

I started this book with high hopes. I wanted to like it more than I did, but it just didn't capture me.

City of Shattered Light is a YA sci-fi novel, following a runaway heiress, Asa, who wants to save her test-subject sister and Riven, a gunslinging smuggler who needs a bounty to secure her place in one of the city’s matriarchal crime syndicates. A runaway rich girl is just the bounty Riven needs, unitl a tech-corrupting A.I. monster locks the city down and begins pursuing them.

This book was fantastic and I enjoyed it form page one. It’s a great space adventure filled with lots of action and lovable cast of characters with strong character development.

If you are like me and love reading books with found family, heists, action packed plot, enemies to friends to lovers, diverse cast of characters then I highly recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an impressive read. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. The characters were really well developed, the setting was immersive. Couldn’t put down.

This one wasn't for me, but I don't think it's a bad read. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and cyberpunk themes. I felt it was super engaging and the pacing was spot on, however I didn't connect with any of the characters and the romance fell flat for me

I am very sad to say I do not think this books was for me. It was just very forgettable and not really interesting. This was also targeted as a sapphic romance when it really isn’t. For that reason I do not think I will continue with the series.

Thank you netgalley for the arc!

<i>"Right now, she was part of one of the galaxy’s biggest crime syndicates—a thief, a runaway, a liar. She was a nobody. And she fit right in." </i>
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My Rating : 3.75/5 🌟🌟🌟✨
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Thank you Netgalley & BFF for the gifted arc copy!
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✅ Space Heist adventure
✅ Clueless teenagers
✅ Found family
✅ Amazon world and visual while reading
✅ Fights and Some mayhem
✅ I ship everyone with everybody lol
✅ Family drama and secret identity
✅ Cliffhanger that'll end you
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If these don't convince you to read the book, then this will..
✅ Queer rep. That's it.
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I absolutely loved the way the story was written. It hooked my attention from the start and it was engaging as well as interesting. The band of misfits fit so well together and their relationship with each other was so good !! I agree the story is a bit cliche, but you don't feel the monotony of it. All the back and forth, past trauma, current adventure, missing people, willing sacrifices, this book is a rollercoaster of emotions.
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That being said, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the story, I wish something were done differently. The father/daughter dynamic was expected, buy a POV from the father would have made it so much more. And while I enjoyed the ending, I wish it was done a bit less chaotic? So much was happening, and lots of emotions were running wild and it didn't sink in what actually happened till I finished it. But if you don't mind these, this is a great Sci-Fi adventure book with great characters and amazing world !
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*First Reaction*
no... No... NOOOOOO
I don't want this ending @clairewinnauthor 😭😭😭 Please don't make my baby sufferrrr... I need the next book asap okay??? This is not good for my heart..
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Omg the first half of this book was a bit slow paced, and I switched to audiobook because I kept getting distracted reading the ebook. Then things happened, and the characters all did things I was so proud of, and THEN THE ENDING HAPPENED!! Whyyy.. WHYYY??? Riven and Asa were a great pair, but my poor Tai 😭😭😭 I absolutely loved the second half of the book! It was fast paced, lots of action, difficult decisions, trust and moments!!
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Tags : YA Sci-Fi adventure/ Found Family/ Heist

I absolutely loved this book! It was such a captivating read! I couldn’t stop reading! I loved the characters and the story! Highly recommend!

(Content warnings: gun violence, death, chronic illness)

I do not want to be mean but this is the most forgettable book I've read in ages. The characters are flat paper cutouts with little to no depth beyond stuff like "the spunky rebel girl" or "the cute innocent guy"; their relationships were boring at best and made no sense at worst; both main antagonists are so one-dimensional they seem cartoonish (which was particularly infuriating because the "AI" villain had SO much potential to be a complicated, fascinating and sympathetic character); the pacing is weird, the plot has little going for it, and the few interesting concepts in the book were barely explored. Also, there's m/f and f/f love triangle, and I'm absolutely baffled as to why the m/f side gets like infinitely more development than the f/f side, when the f/f pairing is the one we're supposed to be rooting for/the endgame pairing? hello???
To be fair, the setting was pretty cool (though it was a pretty standard "dark cyberpunk city"), and some of the action scenes were fun. That's about it tbh.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC)

This book had a really interesting premise and I really looked forward to the representation of a sapphic relationship. However, both of the characters were dull and unlikable. Additionally, the inclusion of a non-queer love triangle really soured the experience. Unfortunately I wouldn't recommend this to anyone actually wanting a good queer book.