This book was just okay. The best thing about it was the cute cover and title but the MC was really hard for me to care about. I just couldn't connect with her for some reason and I didn't feel like I was rooting for her at all. Overall, this is a cute book but I feel like it didnt live up to its full potential.

Read this if you’re looking for a queer sci-fi story with found family, gun slinging, a sapphic slow burn and lovable characters! I wasn’t prepared for how much I was going to love this squad, or how incredible Claire’s writing was going to be!.

From the very start, I was hooked by Claire's world building and character introductions. This is a story that sinks its hooks deep from the beginning, and won't let you go at any point. It's a book you won't be able to put down!

I loved the originality of the characters, the complex, detailed, yet not overwhelming world building, and the swoon-worthy romance. The action never slows down, and Claire's writing makes you feel like you're racing alongside Riven and the squad down the mean streets of Requiem.

Went into City of Shattered Light not knowing what to expect. Science Fiction isn’t my go-to genre so City of Shattered Light is a little out of my comfort zone. Regardless. Claire Winn managed to establish the world-building nicely without flooding the pages with technical sci-fi jargon. Set in space, the crew will travel through the darkest places in Requiem. In the meantime, an AI is spreading a virus throughout the only home that Riven knows and the quarantine is threatening the livelihood of all citizens. If nobody was to do anything, Riven will not have a home anymore.

Riven Hawthorne wants to work her way up Requiem’s underworld hierarchy. As a gunslinger and smuggler, Riven often stares danger in the face. In the city of shattered light, taking risks is the only way one can surpass others. The leader of her small crew, Riven learns to put the safety of her friends first but also knows when she would have to push the boundaries. Although she’s the boss, listening to her crew’s opinions, even if it defies her own, shows that Riven has a good head on her shoulders. Claire Winn described the fighting scenes really well. I could imagine Riven with her two guns, Blackjack and Verdugo, which helped out of situations quickly since they aren’t created with any electrical element like the rest of the guns in the market now.

Heiress to a powerful tech empire, all Asa Almeida wanted was to prove her worth to her father. However, she soon discovers the bizarre and horrifying experiment that her father had approved in his company. When her father uploaded her sister’s mind to an experimental brain, the organ will be used in further testing for reprogramming in Project Winterdark. Worry grew as Asa realises her father will not stop even if it meant sacrificing Kaya. Running away with the capsule was the only thing Asa can do.

An accidental stop at the dark underbelly of Requiem will prove to be tough as Asa grew up in a safer and more prosperous place, Cortellion. Since she has lived in comfort her whole life, Asa can be a little too trusting about people. Soon though, she will learn the dangers of that. Despite her naivety, Asa’s bravery and determination in saving her sister force her to make critical decisions and become more confident of her own skills as a brilliant mechanist.

City of Shattered Light was easy to read. Claire Winn established the relationships amongst the crew nicely. Although there was a love triangle, it was really subtle. I liked that the characters mainly focused on the mission at hand, and staying alive, rather than dealing with romantic problems, especially when the book is already relatively short.

The cliffhanger ending hints at a continuation after City of Shattered Light. If the standalone actually becomes a duology or even series, I’ll be happy to pick it up. The dynamic between the characters was fun and I think different worlds could be explored.

A futuristic world. A heist gone wrong. A sister to save. On a colonised moon somewhere in the galaxy, Riven’s crew needs to pay a debt to the underworld power. Meanwhile, Asa must leave behind her home as the daughter of a tech giant, in an attempt to save her sister from a terrible fate. When during a heist, Riven encounters a rival thief, Asa, they make a deal to benefit each other—Asa can give the crew all the money they need to pay off their debt, and the crew can help Asa rescue her sister.

Pour in a found family dynamic traversing an adorable, diverse group of rogues, a neon-drenched world set off Earth, sisterly love that transcends space, a sapphic relationship navigating a bisexual love traingle, action-filled adventure, high stakes, and a humorous undertone. Clearly, this debut has a lot of potential and it definitely proves its place in the cyberpunk subgenre of the young adult demographic. But when the plot outweighs characterisation, so much that you keep longing to know more about the secondary personalities and are only met by a fast-paced main relationship, you can’t help but saddeningly deduct some points.

Regardless, City of Shattered Light stands strong on an original plot, a sci-fi futuristic world painted with vivid and colourful strokes, and depicting the ruthless chaos of criminals against the backdrop of this dangerous world. The main characters easily impress as Riven angrily wields guns and Asa shows strength past her insecurities. While this debut wasn’t everything I wished for, it certainly was most—badass, bold, and brilliant.

Let's start with WOW the art in this book is magical. I have seen some pictures online so I did my research and it is just beautiful,

You will see mixed reviews on this book, but I do find when it comes to sci-fi books then they can be very mixed. So don't let that put you off, grab this book when you can.

Cyberpunk meets final fantasy meets league of legends arcane = amazing.

Fast pace, dystopia, lesbian love, betrayal, colourful great characters. I mean are you sold yet.

I don't want to say too much about this book as you have a lot going on, in regards to different areas, people Also I don't want to spoil the book, just get this book and you will be surprised.

Thank you for a wonderful read, I rated it 4 stars due to some of the character personalities where i thought they could have a bit more.

Thank you netgalley for the book for an honest review

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!


I’m severely disappointed. And I was really, really excited for this. Based on the synopsis and gorgeous cover, this book was going to be full of incredible characters, a sapphic romance, a vivid cyperpunk world, cutthroat criminals, found family, and rich descriptions that brought the story to life. If you were expecting that, you’re going to be disappointed.


To start, the characters made absolutely no sense. They were bland, unoriginal, and if there was anything going for them, it was shoved in your face * cough * Riven. Their motivations were pretty much nonexistent, and anything that was said or that would begin to take place eventually contradicted itself. For example, Ty. He and Asa kiss a few chapters before, and then he sacrifices himself for no reason and when he does that, he tells her that she and Riven were made for each other or that they “deserve each other” or something along those lines. Either that marks a serious problem in his relationship with Asa, or his character is inconsistent. I also didn’t feel remotely sad when he died, and it’s because he wasn’t developed enough, I think.


I wish Asa had more personality or defining traits. She didn’t seem realistic or three-dimensional, and since I had no attachment to her, I couldn’t care less about what happened to her. She didn’t make me feel anything at all. She was kind of just there, and that’s a problem for a main character. All I remember about her is that she’s soft and naive and somehow, a bunch of supposedly vicious criminals were willing to risk their lives for her.


Riven, on the other hand, annoyed me immensely. She tried so hard to be badass and literally didn’t do anything to prove it. She had two guns that she named–yes, she named them–and rarely used. I’m not saying that she needed to kill more people in order to make her a better character, but she went around pointing her guns a lot and not actually using them, so they must’ve been empty threats. She was all bark and no bite. Riven was basically Trying to Act Mysterious and Edgy but Failing Miserably™ the entire time. Her dialogue felt stilted, and her motivations were unclear. Everything about her character was like “look at me but don’t look at me! I’m cOoL and DaRk and I’ve experienced ~trauma~ but don’t ask me about it, just let me sulk in peace!” I wanted to like her, but I was constantly irritated instead.

I also wish we’d gotten to see more of the other characters. I couldn’t picture the ragtag squad I was supposed to be rooting for. I felt completely disconnected from the world and the story. I can’t place my finger on what it was in particular, probably a combination of everything, but I felt like I was spectating instead of completely immersed within the book.


The worldbuilding definitely needed more depth, and that contributed to the lacking sense I felt while reading. We got small glimpses of the gleaming cities and dangerous streets, but it wasn’t enough to bring it to life on the page. I understand that it wasn’t supposed to be focused on worldbuilding anyways, but I feel like I might’ve enjoyed this more if there had been more of an atmosphere to go off of. It's sci-fi, so I usually prefer more description over less, but that may just be me. What was the culture like? Politics? History? It needed more.


The writing could use improvement as well. There were several grammar or spelling mistakes from what I remember, and it didn’t describe the setting or convey the characters’ inner thoughts enough. The action scenes were infrequent, despite the synopsis, and I was sometimes confused as to what was happening while reading them. The plot was okay, unique, but I couldn’t feel the stakes.


My main problem with this book was the nonexistent sapphic romance. I went into this specifically wanting to read something sapphic, but no, we got two characters with absolutely zero chemistry and an extra love triangle thrown in because why not! The worst part was that it wasn’t even a sapphic love triangle. Some of the problem is probably my expectations and high standards for the book, but did we need the love triangle? It was completely unnecessary, and it took away from the story as a whole. Those words could’ve been used building some semblance of chemistry between the two main characters.


I’m frustrated at both the book and myself for my high expectations.


1.5 stars.

♤ review: the story reloves around Riven and Asa, Riven pretty much all she wants to do is climb her way up the Requiem's underworld while Asa is runaway heiress who runs away because her father uploads her sister's brain for experiments, but her ship crashes and lands in the worst place possible, Requiem. I gotta say the writing was easy to get through, and I don't think i had any troubles unlike other sci fic books! Next, the plot is kinda like a heist but much more, it involves super interesting stuff! It was fun read, where the author explores the characters to their potential. The twists had me, and i truly wanted to read more of these characters and settings (specially the action scenes).

*Thanks to tbr beyond tours & author for free copy*

City of Shattered Light is perfect for fans of Illuminae, the Starbound Trilogy, Ready Player One, and The Ones We’re Meant to Find. It features something of a heist across the galaxy, a bisexual love triangle, and a problematic bounty hunter who sounds super cool even though she’s a total villain. The cover alone was enough to draw me in, beautifully colored

I am a huge fan of the bisexual love triangle. Both main characters are bisexual and there are to gay side characters, as well as other queer characters. The book is very fast paced, jumping forward from event to event, very quickly at times. Where other books might have switched points of view or dithered a bit more to build suspense, City of Shattered Light leaps forward, from action filled scene to action filled scene. All the characters could use more development, more of an in depth dive into their pasts. As this is the first in a series, the future books may well dive into that past.

The settings are incredibly well described, as are the characters, their outfits and general appearances. The colors and mechanisms of how the world works are easy to picture, and very immersive. I had some trouble understanding how the Etri brains work, and just what happened to Kaya. Though Morphett is the minor villain, and Asa’s father is the mega villain, Morphett gets more page time, with very little threat from Asa’s father himself, though his bounty hangs over Asa’s head the entire book. I find it unlikely that he wouldn’t have a tracker on her person or her tech and be able to track her down in about .2 seconds.

As is the problem in any action movie or book, the characters recover far too quickly from devastating injuries. There is some mention of pain or blood but it doesn’t prevent the character from achieving their goals. None of the characters have accelerated healing.

Desite some minor flaws, I am ecstatic at the queer representation and storytelling, as well as the beautiful descriptions! I eagerly await the next installment in this series because the cliffhanger was something else.

a YA, sapphic, sci-fi novel. what more could i ask for? riven and asa's relationship had me feeling so many emotions--like a legitimate rollercoaster, and with the found family and heists, it reminded me a lot of Six of Crows, but with tech, and as a STEM nerd, i really appreciated that. the worldbuilding of Requiem and rich conversations between the main characters and the supporting ones truly made me feel like i was in their world. also, CHAPTER TITLES!! there's something about chapter titles in a book that makes it so much more enjoyable and entertaining to read. as far as "criticism" goes, my only comment would be: there's a book 2, right, because there's no way it ends like that for there to be just a standalone.

The cover is stunning! I loved the fast-paced action-packed story. I loved the dynamic between characters. I loved the cyberpunk world.

Please note that my super slow reading of this is in no way a reflection of the quality of the book. The book is hella good - I'm just a super slow reader when it comes to ebooks...
Really though, this is very very good. Although, as a book that was promoted as sapphic, I felt like there wasn't really enough romance... Don't get me wrong, the romance and pining and stuff is still there, I just wish there had been more of it...
Still, the main plot with the whole rabid AI thing is so cool and I loved it.
4.5 out of 5.0 stars

City of Shattered Light was an interesting read. The plot was original and complex. I love that it is fast-paced and as the story moves forward the plot becomes more and more perplexing. The plot twists had me at the edge of my seat.

The writing is good. It is immersive. The view of the futuristic world was vivid. I haven't read a lot of sci-fi but I enjoyed this one.

The characters were well written, however, I had some difficulty connecting with them at first but later I was able to easily relate to them.

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This book was good, kinda average. It has a great ensemble cast, but an underdeveloped plotline. I think it is a standalone but it definitely needs a sequel based on where it ended. I wouldn't read the sequel though, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

Great bisexual representation though!

I really enjoyed this sci-fi read with LGBT+ leads! I loved all of the science and action included. The world felt so full and developed, but not all of the characters had that same treatment. This was also advertised to me as a sapphic read, however, that doesn't really cover the breadth of all of the relationship dynamics included. Overall, it was great with lots of twists and turns.

Techy lesbians fighting evil science fiction AI villains? Absolutely sold. I loved this! The main characters were super badass, the world was interesting and complex, the cover is gorgeous, the chemistry between the two characters was so magnetic, and it was SO GAY! Need to read more from Claire Winn.

This book had a lot of potential, and it could have been an immediate favorite, but there were a few things that kept me from fully loving it. I didn't really feel any connection with any of the characters, and none of them were particular favorites, though there were things about each of them that made me really <i>want</i> to like them. Riven was interesting with her life of crime and her past love, and everything she's been through, how it's hardened her, and how she's supposedly starting to let her walls down for someone new (though, is she really? i don't really know). Asa was probably the most interesting with her fight to save her sister and how she was on the run from her father, how she had to let go of everything she had thought she knew. She and Kaya had a bit of a Gamora/Nebula relationship, and I can't wait to see how things go for the two of them, because I really loved the love between them them. Ty was a sweetheart, and I really adored him, but I didn't understand the inclusion of the unnecessary love triangle with him liking Asa and her splitting her time between developing feels for him and Riven. This story would have worked a lot between without that, because it just felt like a waste of time, and there was no chemistry there--not like there was between Asa and Riven with their banter and butting heads. I just need Ty to be okay, he's my sweetie. Samir and Diego were grand, and I honestly wouldn't mind just focusing in on them and their story, how they met, how Diego went out of his way for Samir in a way he never would for anyone else.

Overall, this was an interesting world, and the plot had me engaged with how much action and high stakes we had, but the characters fell a little flat, and I wanted more from them, more depth, and more to their bonds to each other. I am excited for the next book and can't wait to see how things go for these kids.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
'City of Shattered Light' is a YA dystopian fiction book about Asa Almeida, the main character of the book. She's the heiress to a powerful tech empire. She wants to prove herself, and to save her sister from reprogramming.
When her ship lands in Requiem, the only thing that will be of help for her sister will be to join Riven Hawthorne's crew and herself.
A spreading virus, expanding like gunpowder. Secrets shattering among the pages. A girl fighting for her life and for her sister's. Enemies to lovers slowly learning from each other, taking its time to reveal their true feelings, and thoughts about each other. Space, planets.

I found this book so immersive, it locks you in the story with all its characters. I absolutely found that the characters, especially Asa, Ty and Riven, were so easy to love, and were so well written. At least, for me.
Asa and Riven's chemistry was like a flame starting to spread from the bottom, waiting to burst into the most beautiful and incredible fire I have ever seen. Their chemistry is beyond words.
The bond between Asa and her sister makes me feel so emotional, I can't believe how well written the author wrote the bond between them. This is one of my favourite things of this book.
I highly recommend you this book! Just read it if you love science fiction-dystopian books. You'll love it!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a heist, guns, a love triangle, a sprinkling of enemies-to-lovers (if you squint), and action galore. It's energetic and draws us into a cyberpunk-type world with futuristic tech and dangerous viruses.

When Asa's father uses her sister in a new experiment, she decides he's crossed the line and flees her home on Cortellion. Finding herself on Requiem, she enlists Riven and her crew to help her get to each and save her sister.

Asa is the heir to Alameda Industries; wealthy and smart, her life is one of luxury and privilege. She's never wanted for anything and is closely involved in the new technology that her father's company is building.

By contrast, Riven and her crew take on illegal jobs just to get by in Requiem, a cut-throat city run by a group of matriarchs. Riven is a sharpshooter with a sharp tongue; she cares only for her crew and trusts no-one else. Everything Riven does is for the sake of survival.

As they plan a heist and figure out how to get Asa safely off Requiem, Riven and Asa start to grow closer. Ironically, though, Asa is also interested in Ty, the medic in the crew, who is Riven's antithesis. Where Riven is cold, calculating, and violence-orientated, Ty is gentle and kind and refuses to kill others, focusing instead on saving people.

I didn't feel any great connection with Riven or Asa, but Ty was actually my favourite character. I know we're meant to like Riven because she's a badass, but I preferred Ty's occasional humour and genuine desire to help people. Having said that, I did enjoy Riven and Asa's blossoming romance towards the end, and I don't think the love triangle became too cliched (mainly because I was wondering if Ty was going to betray them at several points, which would have been a <i>great</i> twist).

My main issue with the story was pacing. The first half of the book is paced very slowly and we get quite a lot of info-dumping in each chapter. Riven's dialogue feels unoriginal and placed (like she's watched Die Hard one too many times and has taken all her lines from that) and the plot feels unclear (the virus also isn't fully explained).

But in the second half of the novel, it's like we're reading a completely different novel. We get more character depth and backstories, we get a good old fashioned betrayal, we get mortal peril, the dialogue improves, and the pacing picks up.

So it's a tale of two halves really. I found first half of the book uninspiring, but I enjoyed the second half much more and I'm glad I persevered otherwise I wouldn't have got to the best scenes. As well as a sapphic romance, this book has a bi MC, a gay romance, and a non-binary character.

Content warnings for blood and gore, murder, violence, death of a family member (through a flashback), torture/bodily harm.

3.5/5🌟
City of Shattered Light is a cyberpunk debut novel with immersive world-building, a fast-paced plot, and action-packed.

What I like:
- sapphic, heist, cyberpunk, betrayals
- well-written and easy to get into
- interesting plot, loads of actions that feels movie-like

What I did not like:
- I did not care enough for the characters. They feel underdeveloped
- the characters are young adults but with the baggage they have, they're more like in their mid-20s

4.5*
Incredibly well written, the City of Shattered Light a treat to all YA readers. Its immersive, fast paced amd the three dimensional characters can have you switching allegiances as often as possible.

There's nothing new about The City of Shattered Light. Its the gang against the evil guys story but the execution of the idea is incredible. Riven and Asa are both characters with very distinct voices and very complex motivations and backstories. The stakes only get higher the more you read into the book and aesthetically, the book is a gem. With costume parties, beautiful cities in space, space ships and heists, it keeps you reading. I loved the queernorm and the writing style is very engaging and easy.

But a few issues that made me redact a star are that the final arc felt rushed and I would have loved to have more Riven and Asa moments in because their chemistry is sizzling. Towards the end of the book, I feel that the characters make some choices that are plot serving too.

But The City of Shattered Light is an incredible debut and Claire Winn is definitely an author I'll be watching.

Disclaimer- I received a free E ARC in exchange for an honest review from the publisher.