I really love City of Shattered Light, it’s a nice young adult.
What I liked the most was the world building, which I found genius and really interesting to read about.
Would a 100% recommend!

3.5 stars

I enjoyed reading this book quite a bit. There is good representation- multiple ethnicities, both main characters are bi & a gay side character. Now to be honest it’s not really breaking any new ground. It’s a fairly typical ragtag underdog team trying to save the world. But it’s well written and a fun read.

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

This book was incredible! 802 pages of fast-paced, thrilling adventures on foreign planets with amazing characters. The two main characters are Asa and Riven who are both strong, badass female protagonists who follow the captor-captive trope and have an enemies-to-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers dynamic. This book was so good and definitely one of my new favorite books.

I had high hopes for this book because urban fantasy + sapphics hello??? Unfortunately I had to dnf at 40% because I was bored out of my mind

Thanks to Netgalley and North Star Editions/Flux for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved City of Shattered Light.
It takes place in the future. The human race has explored the universe and has settled down on different planets. Technology has evolved and it's now possible for humans to combine human and machines.. Asa is the heiress of a tech empire and a mech. But after her father uploads her sisters brain into an artificial brain she decides to run off in order to save her sister. Riven who's a gunslinger and her crew of misfits are in trouble. They need money. And so it happens that they steal the cargo from a rival criminal. This cargo appears to be Asa.
At the same time a mysterious cyber virus spreads in Requiem. To stop this (and get money) Asa and Riven have to work together. And maybe they also learn to trust eachother.
I loved the dynamic of the crew of the Boomslang. And the relationship between Asa and the others. And how they work together to stop this mysterious threat. It's a perfect read for everyone who loves science fiction books with robots, cyborgs and a queer cast.

A solid sci-fi read!

Asa is set to become the heiress of her father’s tech empire, a role she was raised for. But when Asa’s father risks her sister’s life to further his own experiments, she runs away to Requiem. Enter: Riven, head of one of the most ragtag yet deadly gangs in Requiem. When Asa crash lands on the planet, they team up on an impossible mission to save Asa’s sister and the entire city.

The best point of this book by far was Requiem. I got so lost in the Neon descriptions, and despite its reputation as a deadly and sinister city, I really wanted it to be real. Winn did an awesome job of bringing to life the deadly and seductive vibe of the world. That being said, I’ve found one of my sci-fi pet peeves is the overuse of new and tech names for things, ESPECIALLY when they’re hyphenated. I don’t think it’s necessary to give everything a cute little name. Like the atmo-dome could’ve just been the dome or the carbon-fiber hulls of ships could’ve just been the hulls or the holoscreens could’ve been the screens. It’s fine to have a little tech lingo, but I found it kinda overpowering here.

The characters were pretty okay. I think Kaya would have been my favorite, so it was unfortunate that she wasn’t present in most of the book. I honestly can’t pinpoint much in the way of positives or negatives about any of them. They were just kinda -there-. The relationships, however, I did have an issue with. I really don’t get why Asa was soooo into Riven, and especially not why she continuously treated Ty like a stand-in when he was by far the nicest of the crew. Usually I’m one hundred percent rooting for the wlw couple, but in this one I actually didn’t think the character’s made sense together, which was disappointing.

In terms of plot, it was, again, your average sci-fi. It was pretty easy to guess the initial and final twists, and how everything would resolve. Despite this, it was still an enjoyable read. I wouldn’t say it was anything too new or exciting in terms of the storyline, but the writing was very atmospheric and paced well.

Overall I’d recommend to people who want fall into a vivid, but pretty standard, sci-fi book!

Pacing: medium-fast
Intended audience: YA
Content warnings: parental abuse, mentions of relationship abuse, murder, blood

This is a story of family, friendship, betrayal and redemption. A fast paced Sci-fi romp with flawed heroes that you want to win. An entertaining read that holds your attention to the end.

What a pleasant surprise! I’m very pleased by this book and didn’t really know what to expect but I’m happy that I requested this book from Netgalley.

Asa Almeida is an heiress to a tech company but her father has experimented on his sister, Kaya, and uploaded her into an experimental brain. Asa flees with Kaya and finds her way to Requiem, a tech filled and brutal city. Riven Hawthorne is a gun slinging outlaw who wants to find her place at the top of Requiem. Two are unlikely allies but need to work together stop a deadly virus from destroying the city of shattered light.

I requested this book on Netgalley because the plot sounded so interesting. I didn’t expect to get so involved with the story and characters. All of a sudden I realized I cared about what happens to Asa and Kaya, Riven, Ty and the entire Bloomslang gang. The plot was a little predictable but still enjoyable. Action scenes were great. Nice flowing writing. Great ending. The romance wasn’t exactly what I expected. I assumed Asa and Riven would be together but, not going to lie, I actually liked Asa and Ty together more so. Still by the end Asa and Riven were more of an item but I expected and hoped for a bit more sparks between them throughout the book, just not the last part of the book.

I’m hoping for another book but if you like a sci-fi adventure with a great cast of misfits and outlaws, check this book out.

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Wow. I normally don't read much science fiction, but this book convinced me that I have to read more, especially if Claire Winn is writing it. City of Shattered Light is a cyberpunk YA science fiction novel that is fast-paced, immersive, and queer as hell! The characters are unforgettable and distinct although introduced rather quickly in the first few chapters. But it was not difficult at all to separate them. And they were all incredibly layered with their personal flaws and strengths. The banter and dialogue was amazing as well. The secondary characters were just as precious as the main two characters (Asa and Riven) and I hope to see more of them in upcoming sequels.

The setting and plot is incredible, unlike anything I have ever read before, and the speed at which the plot thickens and turns had me turning the pages so quickly just to find out what happens next that I had to force myself to slow down. Let me tell you that the disappointing factor is that the book ENDED. PLEASE GIVE ME MORE! There is a twist that I actually saw coming that was so obviously predictable but it didn't take away from the shininess that is City of Shattered Light as a whole. If you love found family and heist tropes into one as well reluctant acquaintances/allies to lovers and all of that happening IN SPACE ON SPACESHIPS, AND sapphic and gay couples, this is the one for you.

And yes, this book will be part of a series and an event that happens at the end of the book clearly indicated such while tugging at my heart strings and making eager grabby hands for the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

City of Shattered Light begins with action and basically never stops. If you have been looking for a YA SF which delivers gun fights, heists, and more, then this is for you. Not to mention that sister stories will always get me - even if for the most part one of the sisters is, um, occupied. While I was certainly swept away in the action, I feel like it was harder for me to get emotionally connected to the characters. There's not a lot of time for internal introspection - look there's a lot of running - and I wish I had felt the danger more in the pit of my stomach.

You know that need to keep reading because you aren't sure if your favorite will make it out? That feeling. That being said, City of Shattered Light was still incredibly entertaining to read. Especially because Winn is so good at creating this realistic and eerily scary, kinda, world. This world where the (mis)use of technology is chilling. Where Asa has to go against this mindset of technology and advancement at all cost. At the same time, I enjoyed the crew dynamic - even if I wanted to get to know the cast members more.

City of Shattered Light is Claire Winn’s debut novel, a pretty exciting and promising debut. It’s longer than many books I’ve read lately but I read it in a couple of days, I didn’t want to put it down.

Asanna Almeida is the heir to her father’s tech company. All she’s ever known is her sheltered life on Cortellion with her beloved sister Kaya. When it becomes clear that her father is pushing the experiments on Kaya’s brain too far, the sisters plan their escape. On Cortellion’s moon Requiem, Riven Hawthorne is a smuggler trying to build up a reputation so she can protect her crew. The (former) rich girl and the outlaw and her friends join forces when a murderous A.I. creates chaos all around them.

It took a few pages to get used to this world but it was surprisingly easy. Claire Winn drops the reader in the middle of the action right from the start and never lets go, not giving her characters or the readers much time to catch their breath. One of the chapters is titled “Prison, Again”, and it’s a good summary of everything Asa, Riven, and the crew go through while trying to save Kaya and the people of Requiem. Whenever they think they finally made it, something happens to hold them back.

I have conflicting feelings about this book, though mostly positive ones. I enjoyed reading it, letting myself get carried away in a breathless adventure. As I wrote above, I read it pretty quickly yet felt it dragging a little at times. I liked the characters, even if Riven isn’t completely consistent and the rest of the crew – except sweet Ty, who is close to being a third MC – could be more developed. Also, I’m not sure why they’re all so young. The main characters are seventeen and eighteen. It doesn’t feel right all the time, there are moments in the story where it seemed they should have been closer to twenty-five. It doesn’t really matter but I wonder why the author chose to write them so young. It seems really gory for a YA novel.

That said, I liked the deeper questions the story asks: Who can you trust? Is it wrong to be trusting? Are you responsible for a terrible event your work made possible if you didn’t know anything about it? It’s all about lessons learned and growing as a individual and as part of a team.

Since City of Shattered Light (I like this title a lot) is a YA novel, the romance – a bisexual love triangle – is there but on the light side. It’s not the main focus of the action, which is saving Asa’s sister and the world at the same time.

The epilogue leaves the door open to a sequel, and I’m looking forward to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and North Star Editions for sending me an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Actual rating: 3.75

City of Shattered Light is a Ya fantasy sci-fi following outlaw Riven Hawthorne ad Heiress Asana Almeida. Whilst I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would, I still enjoyed it and it was quite good.

I loved the world building and the world. It was a tiny bit confusing, but not too confusing to the point where I had to stop and think or re-read certain points.

The actual story focused on Asa and Riven. This meant that their characters were well developed. However, because of this, the side characters suffered. They felt very flat and like we didn't know much about them bar the odd info dump. There are most definitely queer characters in this book - the book's synopsis makes it seem like a Sapphic sci-fi romance. However, upon reading I found a love triangle (m/f/f) with very little development of the f/f relationship until about 90% in and more action than romance. That being said, I loved both relationships and the bi-rep. A character I would have loved to see more was Morphett. I feel it would have made the story more exciting as it seemed like she had been forgotten by most of the characters. Maybe if there's another book, Morphett will be in it more alongside more development of the f/f relationship.

One of the characters has a terminal illness and sadly, this felt like it was forgotten about most of the book. It was only really bought up to follow the story. I would have loved to see it addressed more. Maybe it will be addressed in any future books, but for this one, it just wasn't done well.

Structure wise, there were a few inconsistences. It's supposed to be told from the perspectives of Asa and Riven but it was hard to tell when it switched. It's told in third person but I personally think it would have been better if it was told in first person.

All in all, it was a really good book, I just hoped I liked it more. That being said, I will definitely read a sequel

City of Shattered Light is a YA scifi novel from debut author Claire Winn, and it's clearly the first in a series (whether that be a duology, trilogy, or something else, I don't know). The story features a pair of point of view characters from divergent backgrounds - tech empire heiress (and hacker/tech expert) Asa and gunslinging smuggler Riven - and smashes them together in a story dealing with families (both blood and found families), AIs, aliens, crime lords, and questions about dreams and trust.

It's also a story with a bunch of tropes that result in plot turns and twists often being a bit predictable, which does prevent this from really being a big winner....but still, the writing never drags, the characters are solid and enjoyable, and I never really wanted to put it down. So yeah, this is a solid debut, even if it never quite hits that next level to make it an outstanding one.


----------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-------------------------------------------------------
17 year old Asa Almeida is publicly the heiress to her father's rich tech empire....but her father barely lets her in to the company secrets about its technology projects, and fails to ever give her respect....and she has it better than her older sister Kaya, whose mind is key to their new "Winterdark Project". But when Kaya asks Asa for help getting away from their father, she balks....only for her father to upload Kaya's mind to an experimental alien brain as part of a process of getting rid of Kaya for good. Desperate to make up for her cowardice, Asa flees with her sister's digitized mind...only to wind up in the crosshairs of a deadly bounty hunter on the outlaw planet of Requiem.

Riven Hawthorne, gunslinging smuggler on the streets of Requiem, cares only about two things - 1. making a name for herself and her crew, so that she's remembered after she's gone and 2. protecting Ty, the brother of the man she loved. But when a mission goes bad thanks to the interference with a notorious bounty hunter, she and her team find themselves hunted by a matriarch of Requiem's underground, and their only shot of surviving is to get money fast...like by robbing that same bounty hunter. But what Riven doesn't count on is the bounty being not some criminal....but Asa.

For Asa, Riven's interference might just allow her the chance to survive and escape with her sister to safety...except Riven has a grudge against her father and the project Asa clearly didn't know enough about, meaning Asa doesn't dare divulge her true identity. And then there's the nasty computer virus, which acts almost like an artificial intelligence, that is causing disruptions throughout Requiem, and seems to be hunting after her....and the remains of Kaya that she carries. For Asa and Riven to survive, they'll need to find a way to work together, despite their secrets, or else they might not last long enough to get off the planet...
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City of Shattered Light is told in a pretty classic YA manner - featuring two point of view characters from contrasting worlds from whose perspective the story alternates between (although the book doesn't alternate every chapter). Unsurprisingly also, the two heroines wind up being attracted to each other - although both are bisexual and Asa features another love interest as well (and the story surprisingly doesn't turn into either a love triangle or polyamory, since Asa doesn't really have time to contrast the two possibilities - as the two characters get to know each other more and more...and as secrets are revealed. The general setting of the world is pretty standard honestly - you have a rich overclass living on their own part of this galaxy, with the lower class and often criminal planet of Requiem ruled by a criminal Duchess thanks to some collaborating Feds (think Nar Shaddaa from old Star Wars canon).

But Winn makes this work thanks to her two characters being very well done - plus one really well done secondary character. Riven is a really fun gunslinger - utterly reckless and desperate to both protect Ty and make a name for herself before she dies from the disease she suffers from, she's foul mouthed and willing to do almost anything to get what she wants...which makes her unpredictable and fun to follow and root for. And her caring for her team as a found family is very well done. Asa is similarly well done for the most part (one exception below), as the privileged girl in the underworld for the first time who has to use her skills to help the team, and finds herself getting more and more brave by necessity even as she is so scared. She's quick thinking with her mechanical and programming skills, and she learns to be a bit ruthless on her own....but only when necessary as opposed to Riven's willingness to do so as a first resort. And secondary character Ty, as the boy who doesn't want to kill anyone (and so he goes for chokeholds) who wants to save Riven and finds himself smitten with Asa is a really strong secondary character.

And these characters, plus two other members of the team and Riven's pet AI, form a nice group as the plot never basically lets up from action sequence to action sequence, with small bits of rest in between as the party finds themselves caught between various factions throughout. It makes the plot have a really nice pace that makes it easy to go through quite quickly, and the action sequences and other parts of the plot (such as the romantic attraction) work generally pretty well.

That said, there are a few hangups. Again some of the plot twists are incredibly predictable, which will make you groan when they turn out exactly as you'd have thought pages and pages beforehand. The drama milked from Asa hiding her identity from Riven is a bit cliche, although how Riven winds up repaying that "betrayal" did surprise. More annoyingly, the plot relies upon Asa being a skilled mechanic and tech person who somehow apparently never used that skill to look into her dad's affairs before the book's plot, despite her prior frustration with being locked out of them, which leads to her having a level of ignorance about it all that is just kind of unbelievable given how smart she is throughout this novel. It's a bit baffling really.

Overall though, this is a solid novel, and it ends on a not too surprising but still interesting cliffhanger - with a satisfying ending before that point to boot. I might come back for the sequel.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads this year in YA. The cover is beautiful, for starters, and it caught my eye and reeled me in to an amazing whirlwind of a story. I love the way the author chose to write it, and it was done beautifully. Easily top 20 reads of the year ( I read around 100 books a year so this baby was definitely a keeper!)

Enjoyment: 3.5/5
Execution: 4.0/5
Overall rating: 3.75/5

City of Shattered Light is a fast paced sapphic sci-fi adventure in a unique world. Asanna (Asa) is on the run from her manipulative tech genius father with a bounty on her head after he uploads her sister’s mind into an experimental AI brain. She lands on Requiem, where she comes in contact with Riven, a conwoman who reluctantly teams up with Asa to save the world from a deadly computer virus. The reader is plunged into action from the first chapter and while it was a little hard to keep up with the nonstop action, Winn does a great job of world building without overloading. The setting is absolutely fascinating and I’d love to see this visually, especially given how stunning that cover art is (seriously, look at it!!). Winn’s writing is a lot of fun to read, and is wonderfully descriptive and vibrant.

The story is told from dual third person POV, Riven and Asa, and they’re both really interesting mirror opposites. I’m a sucker for all things queer found family and I really enjoyed the ensemble scenes. There were a lot of characters introduced in the first few pages, which was a bit overwhelming, but the main side characters are endearing. I would love to see more of them in the future/possible sequel! This book also features a love triangle, which admittedly I’m not a fan of, and I would have liked more development of the main/endgame (for this book at least) couple. I’m definitely a character and emotion driven reader, so there were definitely parts that made me (vaguely gestures), but whew, what a ride!

Overall, this was a great debut and I look forward to reading more from Winn in the future! Thank you to Flux and TBR and Beyond Tours for the e-ARC

A runaway teen tech heiress crashes onto Requiem, a city of outlaws, with her sister's mind in her backpack. Asa just wants to make it to her sister's body in time to save her. With a giant bounty on her head, she has to work with a smuggler named Riven to get out of the city and away from the sinister A.I. after her. But Asa and Riven may not be on the same side.

City of Shattered Light is packed with action that I could not get enough of. I loved reading about an awesome female gunslinger for once. Riven was the perfect amount of flawed and cocky, making her an instant favorite. As a scientist myself, I identified more with Asa's way if thinking. Both girls were in terrible situations, making their story that much more intriguing. Any book with a gang of rowdy teens ropes me in, so I am in desperate need for a second book to see what the aftermath is. I did find Riven's need to be remembered frustrating at times since she didn't seem to care what she sacrificed to get there, but it fit so well with her character. For me, this was a 4/5.

If you like gun toting girls, an A.I. worthy of nightmares, or have been craving a slowburn sapphic sci-fi read, this is the one for you.

I received a digital copy of this book free from NetGalley and North Star Editions in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoy a space romp, and was pretty excited to get into this one! I'll tell you my gripe early, since it came pretty early: I had some trouble getting into it, at the start. We're sort of thrown right into the action, and I was lacking the world building to make it make sense, at least in the beginning. But as I got into the story, things picked up quite significantly, and I ended up really enjoying it.

The main characters were both delightful, tough in their own ways, and willing to do just about anything to achieve their goals. I read quite a few reviews that stated that the side characters were underdeveloped, which yeah, I concur. But what we do see of them, I loved, if that helps. I also enjoyed how delightfully messed up the actual plot of Asa's family was. I mean, stealing people's minds is pretty intense! And of course, there is nothing like a space adventure/"fleeing the baddies" story to bring the excitement!

Once we got to know the worlds more, I was so intrigued! They were very well done, and learning about the various space settings became half the fun of reading, frankly. I also really enjoyed how the characters all had to navigate relationships among themselves, and learn how to come to terms with some of the awful stuff that they've gone through.

Bottom Line: Space adventures are fun. Space adventures with a good plot and characters are even more fun. This book is the latter.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: City of Shattered Light

Author: Claire Winn

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3.5/5

Diversity: M/M romance side characters, bisexual foster child MC, bisexual MC

Recommended For...: young adult readers, science fiction, heist

Publication Date: October 19, 2021

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Recommended Age: 13+ (sexual innuendos, violence, gore, death, language, romance)

Explanation of CWs: Some sexual innuendos are here and there. The book is full of gore and violence. There are a few “bad” words used here and there. The romance is sweet, but small.

Publisher: Flux

Pages: 400

Synopsis: As darkness closes in on the city of shattered light, an heiress and an outlaw must decide whether to fend for themselves or fight for each other.

As heiress to a powerful tech empire, seventeen-year-old Asa Almeida strives to prove she's more than her manipulative father's shadow. But when he uploads her rebellious sister’s mind to an experimental brain, Asa will do anything to save her sister from reprogramming—including fleeing her predetermined future with her sister’s digitized mind in tow. With a bounty on her head and a rogue A.I. hunting her, Asa’s getaway ship crash-lands in the worst possible place: the neon-drenched outlaw paradise, Requiem.

Gun-slinging smuggler Riven Hawthorne is determined to claw her way up Requiem’s underworld hierarchy. A runaway rich girl is exactly the bounty Riven needs—until a nasty computer virus spreads in Asa’s wake, causing a citywide blackout and tech quarantine. To get the payout for Asa and save Requiem from the monster in its circuits, Riven must team up with her captive.

Riven breaks skulls the way Asa breaks circuits, but their opponent is unlike anything they’ve ever seen. The A.I. exploits the girls’ darkest memories and deepest secrets, threatening to shatter the fragile alliance they’re both depending on. As one of Requiem’s 154-hour nights grows darker, the girls must decide whether to fend for themselves or fight for each other before Riven’s city and Asa’s sister are snuffed out forever.

Review: For the most part I liked the book. It had good action and character development. I appreciated the bisexual rep, even though I wanted more of it in the book and had to wait until 40% in to get to the rep. The book was well plotted and I loved how well timed this book was in the wake of kidney-gate in the book community (joking, there is organ selling/kidnapping in this book). The book also did well to switch gender norms. The two leads were the captain and the mechanic respectively and those are roles that media typically shows men in. The book also let a man get kidnapped multiple times, making him the damsel in distress instead of the female identifying people.

The only issues I had with this book is that the book had an incredibly slow and confusing start. The book takes a bit to explain what’s going on and it felt like I spent most of the book playing catch up. The world building could have been better as well.

Verdict: It was good.

This book was so much fun!

A runaway heiress is forced to join forces with a group of outlaws in order to save her sister. All while being chased by a rogue AI and the people want to collect the bounty on her head.

I loved the setting of this book! I need more sci-fi like this in my life! And I loved the characters! One of the complaints that I typically have with books feature the found family trope, is that certain members of the “family” are really underdeveloped and as result don’t really feel like they are part of the “family”. This book did NOT have that issue. I though that it did a great job of developing everyone.

I also really liked the romance.

So, like, there’s going to be a sequel right?

And if you want proof of how much I enjoyed this, I went and preordered a physical copy about fifteen minutes after I finished it.

Overall, I will probably be screaming about this book to anyone who will listen.

Thank you to Netgally and Flux for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a honest review .

This is a cyberpunk, heist book with all the cuddliness of found family plus a sapphic romance.

This book was so fun! It was action-packed, and set in a world unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I loved the friendships between Riven and her crew and each character felt distinct in their personalities. I also really liked that they all behaved like real people, if you know what I mean. That means they didn’t automatically make the best decisions or treat each other fairly, they were inconsistent and they made mistakes.

I can’t say that I cared for the love triangle, but I don’t like those in general. In this case, it specifically didn’t make sense because all three participants were in the same crew, which strikes me as rife for a whole lotta awkwardness. I also felt that the pacing was a little off, which made it hard to stay invested in the storyline.

But overall, it was a quick and enjoyable read set in a unique world. The story ended on a cliffhanger so I’ll definitely need to know what happens next! I’m also going to file this one under gorgeous book covers because that artwork is absolutely stunning.