DNF a NetGalley eARC @ 27%
Content warnings: murder, gore

Everything that doesn't work with this book can be summarized in this exchange:

"What are you thinking about, Jules?"
He picked up his spoon and turned to his dessert. "Nothing, Ma."


In that entire chapter, there are plenty of opportunity for Jules (Julian) to tell the reader how they are feeling, how the hunt went, how he feels going to an infirmary. But not. And it's emblematic of why it's taken me so long to read so little of this "epic" fantasy.

There are a lot of ideas. There are a lot of characters. There is no depth. I cannot tell you a single interior thing about any of the half-dozen point of view characters in this book. It feels like reading a script with set-dressing, with none of the interior character work that makes fantasy such a delight to read. I've seen the author talk about how much violence there is in the book, and violence does not an adult book make. The characters have clear world stakes, but no personal stakes beyond how it affects their role within the plot.

Perhaps this changes further down the line, but it's so bare that I am not interested in continuing this book, let alone the rest of the series.

I tried to finish this book three different times. It falls into the category of "great concept, poor execution".

While I loved so many things about this book, the pacing was too slow and world building was to grand for the story. I found myself lost and confused so much. There were so many types of magic and families to keep track of, and then trying to know how they all related to each other.

I really wanted to love this book. It had some great diversity, along with a really interesting idea, but in the end it just couldn't keep me hooked.

This is one of my favourite fantasy books that I have ever read. Tara did an amazing job keeping all these characters unique where my brain didn't want to explode as I read it like it usually does when there are so many characters to keep track of. I am itching so hard for the next book and can't wait to see where these characters go with the insane events that are happening to each of them.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I admit some of it was predictable, but not in a way it ruined the story. I liked the different point of views and how different each character was. I liked the different magic and I liked how it re enforced the gods being terrible. I cannot wait for the next book, and I hope the next book delves more deeper in to each character.

I was really looking forward to this because I've previously read one of Tara Sim's books and really enjoyed it, but this book was just too long for me. I was very interested in the world and the lore but by the halfway point, I found myself continuously checking how much more I had left. I plan on rereading it when the rest of the series is out to see if my feelings have changed, but for now it's not a favorite.

I wanted to love this book. The premise sounded like something I would absolutely love with dark magic, court politics, and multiple POVs. Unfortunately, The City of Dusk failed to catch my interest and I spent the whole book waiting to start loving it.

The main failing for me was the characters. The only one I actually cared about was Taesia. Angelica's chapters broke my engagement every single time because she was so annoying. The characters are really one-dimensional and seem inspired by cliche high school stereotypes. They have their single personality trait and then their single character flaw.

For an adult fantasy, this book read really, really young. This was mainly because the characters all read like teenagers. There needed to be a few more mature acting characters to balance out the naive, childish stubbornness that dominated this book.

The book is also way too long, especially for the first book in a series. After a very interesting prologue the beginning is incredibly slow as we spend too much time getting introduced to the incredibly wide cast of characters. In my opinion, a lot of the pacing issues would have been solved with a smaller cast of characters. I understand the desire to have POVs from every house but including them all from the very beginning clogged up the story. I would have rather limited the POVs to a few of the houses and then slowly introduced the other heirs over the course of the series. Dante and Taesia already dominate the story and the author should have leaned into that. I liked Dante's chapters but I don't think even he needed his own POV.

I loved the world and the magic system. The City of Dusk has some incredibly unique elements that kept me going. If I hear amazing things about the sequel I will give this series another try. But tragically this book did not live up to its potential.

This was my first read by this author. I loved the incorporation of so many aspects, politics, magic, cultural, diverse characters, and an enticing plot. it did start a bit slow, took me a while to get into it but I ended up enjoying it! I cant wait to give more books by this author a shot .

A gripping story that will have you in the edge of your seat. Twists and turns that will blindside you. Phenomenal character development and world building. With 4 main characters and plenty of great side characters there's not a dull moment to be found. The plot was tense and epic. The ending was a cliffhanger for sure. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series.

This book is an incredible journey of EPIC proportions. The world building, characters, and magic system was absolutely incredible! I can’t wait to see where this story goes!

I really enjoyed a lot of this book, but the writing is a bit uneven. I will always root for books with queer characters, dark fantasy, and a charismatic group of main characters- I just think maybe this book needed a stronger edit. I'll continue to follow!

ALSO- this cover is incredible so major kudos to the designer.

Thanks so much for the review copy!

This is a great book with great characters. It kept me guessing and I definitely couldn’t put it down during the last third of the book. The relationships and how all four main characters work together was the best part!

City of Dusk was such a lush, fresh fantasy that I completely devoured! I really enjoy reading about dark fantasies rooted in shadows and secrecy, and this book had plenty of that and then some!

It took me so long to finish this book that I truly can’t figure out what I feel about it. The world building seemed cool, I liked some of the characters, I appreciate that it has quite a few queer characters - but ultimately it was a bit too slow and I felt like not much happened for most of the book. I don’t know if I’ll continue this series but I’ll definitely pick up the author’s next new series.

I DNFed. It was unfortunately too slow for my liking. 30% in, it still feels like an unnecessary introduction to the world and characters that are hard to distinguish. I’m sad a bit because this was one of my most anticipated reads this year. Hopefully when I decide to come back to it, I would appreciate it more.

The City of Dusk has a very interesting premise with The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir. Well the gods are not nice and pulled away and now the city is dying. The four heirs are out to try and bring back the city. Unfortunately this is a DNF for me, I am always sad when I don't connect with a book and I feel bad as the authors always spend so much time and effort but sometimes the books just don't vibe and this one is one of those for me. I'm sure others out there will find it more to their liking.

A realm cut off from magic and the Gods who can gift it is the setting of this debut novel in a new fantasy series. Four houses descended from Gods of neighboring realms are faced with a choice when magic begins waining. Will they unseal the locks put in place by their ancestors to open the flow, or could a more sinister plot be hiding behind it all? When murders achieved by conjuring demons cause panic and finger pointing amoung the houses can the heirs come together or will everything, including their realm, fall apart?

I can't praise this book enough. It was LONG and at times predictable but so worth it. Tasia's arc in particular was so much fun to watch uncoil. She is so morally grey she flirts with being morally black. He relationship with all the other houses and their heirs took so many u turns and off road adventures that she just kept you on your toes. The Pantheon of Gods was beyond words. The realms and their rulers bestowing power upon these descendents was enjoyable, especially as the reveals begin to unravel. Every piece of this novel was important, causing it to exceed page counts I normally look for but I'm so thankful I was approved for this title. Bring on book 2!!!!

Whew! She is one CHONKY book! 5 stars and eager for book 2! Recommended for fans of the Ashlords duology or those who want a fresh take on a Pantheon of Gods. As far as an age range goes I would say 12+ as there is a little romance but nothing unstable for preteens or teens. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The City of Dusk! The world-building was extensive yet really well integrated and easy to understand. It also played a great balance of being both character driven in some ways and very plot driven in others. I absolutely loved all of the "heirs," there wasn't a single character that was written well.

For a decent part of the book I did find myself wondering how this would become a series, but the end certainly left me wanting the next book!

I loved the way so many different kinds of relationships were portrayed in this book, from romantic (with varying sexualities), friendships, family, and rivals. Nothing about the character building fell flat for me!

I enjoyed the diversity and representation in this book as well as the different POVs. The book did feel like a familiar fantasy, but it was done differently and done well. This was full of complex characters and amazing writing. I think this is Tara Sim's best book yet.

DNF @ 19%

I've tried so many times to continue this book, and it's just not working for me. I can't get into it. I'm hopeful that I'd enjoy it again at a later time, though. The world was incredibly interesting!

This book was soooo long and drawn out. I really am surprised that I made it through the whole thing. Characters were annoying and I really couldn't care less about their plight in the book. Didn't get much detail on the city/ world either. It just seems like an awful lot of pages for not feeling like much happened.