First off…

A dystopian, paranormal, urban fantasy was not at all what I was expecting from this book, but that is exactly what I got. If you have read any of my reviews, at this point you know that I don’t believe in reading book descriptions. I either read books based off of another person’s recommendation, because I think the cover looks cool, or because the Queen Bee tells me to (and I would trust her with my life at this point). I will occasionally read small portions of the back of the book, but only in moments of pure desperation. I like to go in completely blind and confused, and this book is a fantastic example of why I do this. I immediately knew I’d like it based off of the cover, but I can honestly say that if I had read the description first, I may not have read it at all.

I really enjoyed Hunger Games and Divergent back in the day, but I’m not sure it would be something I would pick up currently. I could see myself rereading them, but I don’t think I would read either of them for the first time now. So, this booking seeming to be kind of like those would have thrown me off a little, so I am glad I didn’t let that happen.

Let’s get into it…

This is how I pictured the city
Talia dies and finds herself in a world that looks like hers, surrounded by a few familiar faces, but everything else is wrong. The city is destroyed, people are turning into animals, and everyone thinks she is a princess. It seems like no matter where she turns or what she does, she is messing something up. But eventually things start to come together, and she gets her bearings in this world. I loved watching her try to find the answers to her questions and watch her and Ryin find a way to work together. I liked the romance aspect, and I feel like it added a layer to the story that helped it move forward, but I wish there had been more of a slow development to it, considering Ryin didn’t even know who Talia really was for most of the book.

I really liked the magic system in this book, but I wish Talia had been a slightly stronger character. She did a good job of confronting her trauma, but I wish she had been more of a fighter once she realized what was really going on. She was put in a really tough place, having to pretend to be someone she wasn’t in order to survive, but she let a lot of people do her fighting for a little too long.

In the end…
I loved the concept behind this book, though it did feel very similar to several things I have come across before. I felt like it still held its own and did have some unique parts. It kept me guessing at every turn, and I found myself not wanting to put it down. My one issue with books like this is the amount of world building that has to happen in such little time. I find myself having trouble keeping the facts and terminology straight. Nevertheless, it was still wildly interesting.


This was the first book in a series, and the second book has already been announced. I am not sure if it will just be a duology, or if there will be more, but I am honestly not sure I would continue reading this series or not at this moment. The book didn’t end on a huge cliffhanger, and I don’t know if I am invested enough to continue… I guess I will have to wait and see!

Narration
I really enjoyed both Caroline Sorunke and Nathan Lang as the narrators for this book! I thought they both did a great job and really helped Talia and Ryin come to life. I do wish there had been a little more emotion form Caroline during moments of intensity for Talia, but overall, she did a great job.

It started out with an interesting premise but it never quite reached a compelling climax. We never learned enough about Serena or Talia, we never understand the true plan or purpose of the coup…among many other examples of missed opportunities. The narration was underwhelming and lacked emotion.

The Savage City
The Bliss Wars #1
L. Penelope
Talia’s life was not easy. Her father was neglectful and uncaring. When she was in an accident, she thought her father would come but he didn’t. She didn’t survive. Heaven or hell was not her fate; she was transferred to a different realm; it is still San Francisco but different, it is filled with shifter clans called the Nimali and the Fai. They are at war. The Nimali believe Talia is their missing princess. The dragon king looks just like her father except in this world he loves her, covers her with warmth and pampers her. In this world she is important to someone, her father. He has little tolerance for others. Talia feigns amnesia in an effort to survive in this strange world. In this world the planet has drastically changed due to some event. There are three types of people, humans, Nimali and the Fai. The Nimali are capable of shifting into their animal form and the Fai can control the fundamental nature of animals but do not shift. The two factions are warring over a mineral called Bliss.
Ryin is a Fai warrior held captive and treated as a slave. He sees changes in the princess since her return. He is forced to be her constant companion and healer. Ryin plots the downfall of his enemy and realizes the princess may be the tool to bring down the Nimali. The slave and princess are strongly attracted to each other and fall in love.
I have mixed feelings about this tale.
Things I liked:
The connection between Talia and Ryin.
The connection between Talia and the King’s adopted son.
The magic.
The messages buried deep within the story. (Respect and Equality.)
What I didn’t like:
Talia and Ryin’s romance was rushed and forced.
Talia and Ryin were intimate much too early in the story.
This tale seems too immature for young adults in their 20s and yet too much sex for middle schoolers.
The first chapter was difficult to follow.
The characters were flat and needed farther development.
Talia and Ryin were one dimensional.
The plot is underdeveloped.
Too many background characters that lend little value.
Some of the language was inappropriate for middle schoolers and some was too immature for young adults.

This book had great potential but fell short of what it could have been. This book wasn’t terrible it just needs more development.

I did not want this to end! Talia was a smart character and I can’t wait to see what happens between her and Rian as the story progresses.

“ Death is only the beginning of survival … “

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc !!!

A fantastical story that reflects on what happens after life, when Talia, the protagonist, dies she not only does not fully die, but she is in the body of a princess in a world where dragons and shifters are a thing.

When listening to the audiobook at first I was so confused I didn’t know if I could keep going, but of course I did, and oh was it worth it.

I found myself completely hooked after the fourth chapter, the dual POV had me waiting respectively to find out what the other character was thinking about what was going on.

Talia or should I say princess Selina is herself in the middle of a political war where the Nimali, creatures who shift into animal form and the Fai who channel the essence of the animal. Politics are a big part of the story and L. Penelope did a great job describing the whole thing while keeping you interested.

With magic, dragons and a bit of romance, “Savage City” is a solid start for Penelope’s series. The characters are great, the world building is GREAT and the plot is good. Definitely will be recommending and waiting for the next book in the series !!

Savage City bends the borders of fantasy, by inviting in the messy concept of alternate realities and the multiverse. The story follows Talia and Ryin through a battle of and for souls.

I loved the chemistry, the fae-daemon issues, the forbidden love, the madness! This was a very enjoyable book. Most certainly a rollercoaster, but really good. I did initially choose this book because I fancied the cover, however, I was drawn to the storyline, almost immediately. It was also incredibly diverse, which made the book all the better.

Personally, I found that the world-building at the beginning was a bit too long and a bit too confusing, however, considering that this is the start of a series, I wouldn't necessarily say that this is bad. My main issue was that I was still questioning what was going on when I was about 40% through, which made me loose some interest in the book.

(Top marks for including the time in the book.)

Another aspect that I must highlight: I've read this book as an Audiobook. I have to say that I think the narration was excellent. I loved the dual pov actually spoken by two different people.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for providing me with this Audiobook.

Thank you to the publisher, OrangeSky Audio, for providing me with an audiobook through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

🌟🌟🌟🌟
📚 - Adult Fantasy/Post-Apocalyptic
🎧 - 9hrs 4min
📖 - 272 pages

After the first two-ish chapters, Savage City was fast-paced and kept me interested. This book is pretty small by my standards, coming in at under 300 pages, but I feel like the author did a great job world-building and giving the characters life. I liked the unique magic of the Fai & Nimali and the process of obtaining their magic. Most of all though, I loved how the author wrote the antagonist. Human emotions are complex, and their portrayal felt real and lived.
The voice actors for this book spoke a little slow for my taste, so I listened at 1.25x speed.

Trigger Warnings for the book:
Brief mentions of a car accident; injury via another car accident; slavery; violence; torture; imprisonment; sexual content between consenting adults.

A cool new world/concept for a series. Talia dies and goes to an alternate world, where two clans are at war. It is the same Earth, but also different. With a magic system - shifter magic, where people can use animal essence/power or transform to animal forms. Talia is mistaken for one of the clan's princess, and she feigns amnesia to figure out how to get out of where she is.

It was a very detailed world and magic building. It explained so much, and in so much detail, it almost felt too tedious. I did enjoy the story and the characters and their struggles. The two narrator audio did a really great job to create an interesting and engaging story.

Savage City was an enjoyable fantasy drama that felt reminiscent of books that were published in the wake of the success of books like The Hunger Games and Twilight. The writing for the majority of the book had all the classic stylistic markers of a dystopian YA novel (which I admittedly do enjoy!): a world torn apart, people divided into factions or castes, a hero that never wanted to be the hero, and a little dash of magic of course. Given that, I was definitely shocked when this book had a very NOT YA scene in the final act with characters that, in my opinion, hadn't shown enough interest in one another to warrant that kind of a scene. The romance felt underdeveloped, and I think this is due to the rather complex world building, combined with the need to explain all of that world building to both the main character and the reader. Speaking of world building, I found the Bliss-infused alternate San Francisco that L Penelope created very intriguing and was quite curious about many elements of this world. That being said, some of my questions went unanswered for so long that it made it quite difficult to make sense of what I was reading and enjoy it. The biggest example of this was not explaining the difference between Fai and Nimali until over a third of the way through the book. Having read my fair share of fantasy stories, I could make an educated guess about what Fai were, but it was extremely unclear if Nimali were a subset of Fai, the opposite of Fai, or something non-magical entirely. Not having these terms clearly defined was very distracting and confusing to me as a reader, but once they were clearly explained, I was able to much better enjoy and make sense of the rest of the story. Also worth noting, I listened to the audiobook of Savage City and I thought both Voice Performers did an excellent job.

Overall, although it took a little while for me to really get into this book, I enjoyed Savage City by the end and likely will read the next book in the series when it comes out. It's flaws aren't due to lack of interesting characters or world building, but more with pacing. This, I imagine, will be less of a problem as the series progresses.

This is a great portal/urban fantasy and overall I liked it and would recommend it for fantasy romance fans. Talia wakes up after dying in a world like her own but not. She is mistaken as the Fae princess that went missing. I will say I think it was so short that some things like the romance felt a little rushed and we didn’t get a lot of backstory or answers. This is a series so maybe that will be addressed in future books.

I was really surprised by this book. I went into it thinking that it will just be a fun quick listen and boy was I wrong. It was so good and I loved the family dynamic. I was scared the whole time for the main character. The book had me hooked from the beginning. I loved the concept of it being like a parallel world and such. It was so intriguing. I liked all of the powers as well. I hope their is a next book. That being said the book was a good listen. I loved the audio book.
One thing that was a little difficult for me to get through at first was the male voice actor. Now I am not sure as to what was it that I felt off with, his voice was just not what I though matched with Ryin. the more I got through the book though I did end up liking it. Maybe because the VA was still getting into the grove for the character but in the end it was all good.
The characters are all loveable actually and the author does a great job of helping you feel for the characters and their hardships. It was fun of adventure, it was fast paced, and you really got pulled into the story. I am giving it 4/5 stars because there was just something missing in the end. I might change my mind the longer I think about it but as of right now it will be 4 stars.
A huge thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Quick Summary: What a crazy, fantastic ride!

My Review: Savage City by L. Penelope was unusually thrilling, fantastically bizarre, and totally what I needed. As I listened to this story, I couldn't help thinking about Dead Again, My Name is Memory and the Vega Jane series. Totally weird, right? I think it was largely because of the reincarnation - time travel - sci-fantasy angle mixed with the strange location tapestry. All I know is that this story started at a peculiar and totally unexpected place and came alive from there.

+++ (Positives):
- I loved the cover 100%. I was drawn to it for many reasons. The contrast between light and dark, the visual stance and appearance of the protagonist, and the title itself - they were all mesmerizing.
- The descriptions of the clothing were done so well. (Although some readers may find the subject of garments baffling, I find that it adds something to the characters. It gives me an idea of who they are and what their preferences may be. Also, it allows me to see how they might view other characters.)
- The past to present references allowed me to appreciate each character. I particularly liked how the author communicated differences with the father figure of the protagonist.
- I was clearly able to see the group dynamics at play. This was done well, in my opinion. I could easily see that a lack of morality existed. I also got to witness the prejudice that was very evident.
- I really liked the chemistry between the male and female leads. Even before anything was acted upon, I kept thinking of forbidden love. (Cheesy, right.)

My Final Say: I intentionally chose not to mention any negatives with this story; that's not always the case. In this instance, however, I felt that the author did a tremendous job with setting up her series. It was refreshingly different, but in a way, it was also incredibly familiar. It was haunting. The feeling that I got from listening to this book is the same feeling that I got after watching Dead Again and after I listened to My Name is Memory, as well as the Vega Jane books. (And they are some of my favorites!) I think this series may be heading in the direction of favorites. We shall see. Bring on book 2.

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: YA/A

An audio copy of this title was made available via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The words I have expressed are my own. I was not influenced in any way by the author or publisher.

* My review is live on Goodreads.

Savage City follows our MC Talia who dies but wakes up on a different Earth within the multiverse wherein she faces eminent danger in a world with dragons?! Talia fortunately looks identical to the missing princess of this Earth where she learns that there are three different types of beings: humans, Nimali, and the Fai. Talia quickly learns that she must convince everyone that she is actually the princess, including her father look alike who is the dragon king, in order to survive this new hell.

This story is a fantastic start to The Bliss Wars series. The worldbuilding, lore, and magic system are all incredible. You have Nimali who can shift into animal form to become fierce warriors (dragons included!) and the Fai who can channel the essence of animals but who don’t actually shift. There’s a hierarchy within this world, and I enjoyed learning the politics and inner workings especially when contrasted to Talia’s experiences of her Earth.

The pacing of this book was spot on. Lots of action and me constantly being on my toes to find out what was going to happen next.

The dual audiobook narrators really nailed this performance and made this story a fully immersible experience for me, so I highly recommend it!

Have you ever wondered what happens when you die? Where you / your soul goes? Other than the mythical heaven or hell? - As an over-thinker, I have wondered a lot about this!! But if there is an afterlife that is similar to the world Penelope has created in Savage City, it’ll be interesting 😉

First chapter starts off with a tragic death of Talia, our lone protagonist. She’s confused as to where she is moving on to -an alternate universe- with different beings the Fai and the Nimali shifter clans who are at war with each other. Our confused Talia knows that only lying can keep her “alive” in whatever this place is.

The story is magical and thrilling! The author has tried to introduce a lot of ideas into the story and it showed. This is one of the fantasy books that doesn’t bombard the reader with world building without point. It has the right amount and most of it is told from Talia’s perspective, a human pov which makes us visualise better. The story is also told in m povs other than Talia which explains the cause of war and such! It was exciting. Like I said Penelope has created an interesting afterlife world (except for the war and blood of-course). I didn’t care much for anyone except for Talia, but if you are a reader who likes to relate with the characters in the book, you ~might~ find this less exciting.

I read this book via audio, and the narrator did a great job with modifying their voice according to the characters and it was easy to follow.

Thank you Orange Sky Audio, the author and TLC book tours for the ALC via Netgalley.

This audio book was so different from the fantasy that I usually read. I really really liked this world and the difficulties between the two different cultures. Talia was a really strong female lead and I loved that people still took her seriously even when they found out who she was.

The book gave me some of The Host vibes by Stephenie Meyer (I liked that one) which I wasn’t expecting. It was a nice combination of SyFy and Fantasy magic. The love story was told well and I really felt the connection between Talia and Ryin.

Im interested to see what happens as the series continues!

Spice: 🌶 🌶/5

Read this if you like:
🔥 The Host meets Transformers
🔥 Bodyguard Romance
🔥 Body Swap

The beginning of this was a touch confusing for me, the opening few scenes anyway. But I enjoyed it after that! I really love when fantasy authors do the majority of their world-building seamlessly, as part of the conversation and the characters’ first hand experiences, and L. Penelope achieved this easily. I felt connected to the characters, and I will continue the series for sure. The audiobook narrators are excellent!

I genuinely enjoyed the concept and plot of this book. It was easy to get lost in the narrative because it was action-packed, but even with so much going on, the ideas didn’t feel too heavy as the story went on. Talia comes from the same “Earth” as ours and is brought into a parallel world when she dies. Everyone in the new world mistakes her for the lost princess after she awakens. I imagine this other earth as post-apocalyptic San Francisco diversified with folklore and magic. There is one point where Talia jokes that’s she’s expecting zombies to appear at any moment. Lol… Anyway, she meets Chad (a stepbrother) and Ryin (a healer) as soon as she awakens, and they both play a big role in her development as the war between the Namali and the Fai goes on.

The story is broken into Talia’s and Ryin’s POVs, and each chapter continues from where the other left off. I listened to the audiobook version and have to say that I liked both narrators. Caroline Sorunke and Nathan Lang each portrayed their character’s personalities well. This new world is perfectly “savage” and people go through a trial to gain their Daemon (sort of like an animal spirit). I want to say more but I’d be giving away the details! I liked L. Penelope’s writing style and how she made most things come full circle in the end. There is an epilogue that lends itself to a new adventure, and I’m hoping that the next story will build upon what’s been created in Savage City. I can’t wait to read the next one.

Thanks to #NetGalley & OrangeSky Audio for providing a digital copy for review. All opinions are my own.

3.75 stars rounded out to 4 on Goodreads!

I really enjoyed the characters, the magic, and the damons! It was really good and kept me thoroughly entertained! I really enjoyed reading about Talia and Ryan's relationship as well.

Unfortunately this title got archived a couple of days after I received it. I'll add this review so it registers, I'm a bit sad because I was looking forward to this audiobook. It is on audible, so I'll listen to it there.

I was so excited to start this book because everything about this story intrigued me. There is a Cinderella-esk feel to the plight of a girl with a stepmother who only cared for her two daughters and was forced to cater to their whims, but that is where the comparison ends.

Thank you to the wonderful L. Penelope, Heartspell Media, & NetGalley for the ARC audio. I enjoyed every moment.

This thrilling story starts out with the death of our main character Talia who is unfortunately hit by a vehicle one day after being forced to catch public transit to get to work because her deadbeat father didn't fix the piece of junk vehicle he promised her he'd get fixed. When she passes into what comes after, she wakes in San Francisco but in a parallel multi-verse scenario where powerful races of shifters (the Nimali) and Fai exist and are made more powerful by daemons.
The two races are at war over a magical substance and have two totally different ideas about how it should be used. The Nimali princess has gone missing and when Talia shows up, she looks like an identical match for the princess. Not only that, but the king (the princess's father) is an exact match for her father from her world. Only, this version of her father is a doting man who loves her without fail. Regardless of his cruelty to everyone else, he loves her. Even a boy she knows as dead in her world, is there and he saves her life.
Some of the Fai are slaves to the Nimali and lead a poor existence that’s made worse by the loss of 1/3 of their soul. But Talia has plans to free them all and keep the man she loves.
This book gave me all the feels and left me with so much excitement for what comes next. I saw on Amazon that book two "Beastly Kingdom" is expected. I will be buying this book in hard copy and the next when it comes out.
For someone (me) who doesn't give 5 star reviews out often, this is the second in a row.

Make sure to add this one to your To Read lists and buy with enthusiasm.