What a way to start out 2023! While urban fantasy and vampires aren’t typically my favorite things, I wholeheartedly enjoyed City of Nightmares by Rebecca Shaeffer!

The story follows Ness, a 19-year-old self-proclaimed coward, which is not a great thing to be in a world where people turn into their worst nightmares when they dream. Trying to avoid being kicked out of her current residence, Ness ends up being involved in a life-threatening conspiracy theory with Cy, a nightmare-turned vampire.

I will start off by saying that I had high expectations for this book since it was compared to Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. Although I wouldn’t quite say that it achieves the genius that Taylor does, it was a fantastic story! I would certainly recommend it, especially for people who enjoy fantasy, but maybe don’t read a lot of urban fantasy.

One aspect of the novel that I appreciated was Ness’s character development. She starts off as a bit immature, and for that reason, I think this book fits in the YA category, despite her age. Ness is a coward, and she’s not afraid to admit that. Part of what I loved about her was her authenticity. Why are all our protagonists fearless, strong people? The way that Ness embraced her cowardness, but also grew as a person was realistic and added a lot of depth to her story.

Additionally, there wasn’t necessarily romance in the book, but it definitely hinted at it. I’m excited to see what Shaeffer does with the next book in this series, as I’m hoping Ness and Cy develop a romantic relationship. The way we see their friendship progress over the course of this book was fun, and added a lot of tension to the novel. I liked that Ness starts off distrusting Cy, but the two are kind of thrown together through circumstances.

Finally, perhaps my favorite part of the book was the fantastical elements. The premise behind the story, that people turn into nightmares when they dream, was intriguing, and I think the author took that to interesting and unique places.

As a whole, I will certainly be adding City of Nightmares to my collection, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Overall

If that title doesn’t immediately grab your attention, this may not be the book for you. As soon as I read the title, I knew I had to read the book. I mean, to be fair, a city of nightmares sounds like the perfect locale for me. (Be forewarned: I am definitely taking it over, so best get in my good graces now!) Then, when I read the description and realized it was literally a city of nightmares, that people changed as they slept, that sealed the deal. It’s just the sort of deliciously dark book I’ve been craving lately.

City of Nightmares is a foray into a dark, dystopian world filled of nightmares . . . literally. Yet, in a world where everything seems out to get you, the truth may just be the scariest thing of all.

I absolutely could not put this book down once I started it. Read it in a day, in fact. The beginning starts with a bang, and it’s clear, right from the very start, what sort of world this is. The sort that most people wouldn’t want to touch with a 10-foot pole. Granted, I’m not most people and I would absolutely love to visit this place. Well . . . love may be a strong word. But still. I cannot wait for the next book in the duology, especially after the way this ended! Not a cliffhanger by any means, but definitely in a way that made me not ready to leave the world yet.

My Thoughts

- This world is dark and not for the feint of heart. Be forewarned. You’ll find no heroes here. To be fair, if there ever had ever been heroes living in Newham, I’m sure the city has long since stomped them out by now. It is a city by nightmares and for nightmares . . . and sometimes monsters look oddly human. I mean, they can’t all be man-eating dinosaurs, after all. Newham is the sort of dark, dystopian city where crime, corruption, and death is just a natural part of daily life and to be expected. No one bats their eyes. Why would they? The people in this city have become acclimatized to the horror of life in Newham. Luckily for us readers, we have not. Probably. I mean, I suppose I can’t speak for everyone. That means there’s almost a small thrill in discovering just how deep the level of depravity can get amongst the population of Newham. No? Just me? When you think you’ve seen your worst, think again. There’s always a new nightmare lurking around the corner.

- Enter our main character, Ness, who is suffering from understandable chronic PTSD after witnessing her sister transform into a Nightmare and devour their father. Pretty sure that’s enough to scar anyone for life (as if living in a city of nightmares wasn’t enough on its own). Though not all nightmares are terrifying murder machines (some are just out there trying to live their best lives), Ness’ PTSD doesn’t discriminate. Proximity to any nightmare sends her spiraling into a panic attack. Not the easiest thing to handle in a city like Newham, as one might imagine. My favorite thing about Ness’s character is that her fears and reactions seem so ridiculous to the other residents of Newham, but they’re perfectly reasonable to the innocent reader that stumbles into her story. It makes for a really interesting juxtaposition, one that challenges Ness’s assumptions as well as the reader’s. Ness’s whole character journey is about overcoming her fear, but that’s a lot easier said than done in a city of nightmares. Just saying.

- A setting as ridiculous and unexpected as Newham is absolutely perfect for a plot as complicated, twisty, and unexpected as this one, which had me rapidly turning pages wanting to find out what was going to happen next! One of the most brilliant things that Schaeffer is able to capitalize on in this book is the absurdity of a city where people could literally become their worst nightmares anytime they dreamed. The setting partners perfectly with the tongue-in-cheek wit and dark humor exhibited by the characters and narrative. Because make no mistake, these characters are mouthy and sarcastic. Would you really expect anything less in a city like Newham? The banter between these characters absolutely cracks me up, and the writing voice is engaging and relatable. It made it really easy to get into the story and live there.

- Even though, from what I’ve talked about, City of Nightmares sounds really dark (and in a lot of ways it is), there are a lot of lighter undercurrents and very uplifting themes. I know it sounds a little unintuitive, especially given the setting and description, but that’s part of what makes the story so great! Ness’s journey, for example. Her fear is totally justified, and I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone in real life who would consider it unreasonable. But Ness isn’t alone in this world, and her friends are trying to teach her that she doesn’t need to be afraid all the time and that she is strong enough to face her fears, which is a lovely message. I know it sounds a little unintuitive, especially given the setting and description, but that’s part of what makes the story so great! Ness’s journey, for example. Her fear is totally justified, and I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone in real life who would consider it unreasonable. But Ness isn’t alone in this world, and her friends are trying to teach her that she doesn’t need to be afraid all the time and that she is strong enough to face her fears, which is a lovely message.

A big thanks to Net Galley for the ARC ebook. City of Nightmares is full of anarchy and disturbing characters. It was a bit much for me, but I think some of my students would really enjoy the creativity in this book. I did get a little bored with the story and the characters. I think this genre just isn’t my jam. I would definitely recommend this book to teens who enjoy Marvel and DC.

Schaeffer is not necessarily new to me but she's been one I've had on my radar since last year for the release of City of Nigtmares. I could not stop reading for so many reasons...

Murder? Yes.
Monsters? Yes.
Nightmares that turn you into murdering monsters? Hell yes!

It definitely lives up to its synopsis too. A mixture of Gotham City meets Strange the Dreamer with a frustratingly but so darn relatable cowardly main character and her growing band of unique friends. I am honestly having a hard time on where to begin.

From start to finish, I was hooked. Ness lives in Newham, one of the most corrupt and violent cities around. The cops accept the best bribes for underhanded deeds, gangs run rampant, monsters terrorize the streets and human trafficking seems to be the least of everyone's worries. Safety is a pipe dream and getting in with the Friends of the Restful Soul seems to be the safest long-term option for her. Little does she realize how deep the corruption in her town goes and just how far the most unlikely person will go to get rid of someone too close to the truth. Even if they are slightly oblivious at first.

I love the weird and unusual and this book was right up my alley with atmospheric gotham-esque world building vibes, vivid prose and detailed descriptives of monsters, gore and violence (be still my dark heart). Plus the character depth not only builds a backstory you don't see coming but pulls a major character growth plot from coward to coping. I say coping because Ness suffers from what I would label as PTSD and high level anxiety attacks due to fear. It's a realistic and relatable growth too. Even if some of her actions drove me nuts at times.

There is also themes that are touched on like poitical corruption, the power of media, facing fears, the wrongness of romanticism of vampires and so much more. There are some areas that had a little mental repetition but its trivial when compared to the whole narrative that crashes together in an excellent ending. I cannot wait for the sequel!

Thank you Clarion Books for the gifted digital copy! All thoughts are my own.

Favorite Quotes:

“Our greatest fears are warped reflections of our greatest desires,” he explains.

“Everyone wants to be strong enough to defeat the things they’re afraid of.”

"But the only monster here is my fear. The only one being toxic is this terror in my mind warping my perception of reality."

I received this ARC only a few days before the release. But it was a quick, easy read and i finished it right away.

I give this 5 stars for the craziness and entertainment of this story. I’m pretty sure the author came up with it in her own nightmares one night. Maybe it’s a recurring nightmare; one she can’t escape.

Ok, so go look up the Movie Monsters vs Aliens. It came out in 2009 so not sure how many of you know about it (although it does have Reece Witherspoon in it). I have older kids so I was forced to watch this movie (multiple times).

So this story is like a mix of the crime of Gotham City (Batman), the Monsters or “Nightmares” from Monsters vs Aliens, and the Metahumans and crime lords of Flash and Arrow on the CW.

Yes, it’s that chaotic.

In this world, if you dream during your sleep, you will turn into a nightmare. They pump drugs into the public water, but they also have pills to take that will prevent you from dreaming when you sleep. But if you forget to take them and dream about turning into a roach, bam, you are a huge bug that tries to eat everyone.

So the MC watches her sister turn into this huge spider who proceeds to eat her father and 1 other person. It’s gory and she is traumatized and consumed with her fear of Nightmares.

She can’t hold a job and is about to be homeless when an accident happens that kills hundreds of people. But she survives. And now someone is trying to knock her off.

This is laugh-out-loud funny in many places. It’s gory and might actually trigger some of your own phobias. But I absolutely loved it! It was a very quick read; I was only given the ARC a few days ago and was able to read it over a few evenings.

Tropes:
No romance. Found family, morally grey MC, paranormal, crime lords, corrupt government, child trafficking, murder/gore, fear, anxiety, consistency.

I will post this review in its entirety after Harper Collins reaches an agreement with the union. You can (and should, because it is an awesome book!) support this author with a purchase.

I look forward to discussing this book more once the HC strike comes to some kind of conclusion. When that happens, I'll be sure to give my full thoughts on my channel.

City of Nightmares is a fantastic and wild ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end and then you’ll need the next. I enjoyed the world building so much, the plot, the sub-plot, the twists and turns are all fantastic, everything feels so fresh, unique and interesting. I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys paranormal or urban fantasy.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in return for an honest opinion

Imagine a wimp dropped into a dark, dreary, crime-infested world like Gotham. Except in this world, you may become your worst nightmare. Like a GIANT MAN-EATING SPIDER.

After Chapter 1, I thought for sure I was going to hate this, but here we are with me sort of loving this.

I loved the chaotic world and the magic system where anything goes. I loved that the protagonist was a nobody. She wasn't a badass, she didn't have a hidden talent, and she wasn't the chosen one. She had to work for her character growth, and I appreciated it.

The only thing that stopped this from being a 5-star read was that there were parts that I felt were overly repetitive. As though the author didn't trust me to remember something from a few chapters before.

There were also a few incidents of soapboxing, and while I felt like it fit the narrative and I agreed with the author's point of view, it was fairly noticeable, and I'm sure some readers will dislike these parts.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins Children's Books, and Clarion Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Solid 3.5
This was a little too YA for me. I found the wiring style too much like a train of thought and the descriptions for characters were one note. I think there’s a ton of potential and I’ll continue reading to find out the truth about nightmares.

Newham is a city where no one sleeps, as dreaming can lead to waking up as someone's worst fear. Ness' sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered people, so she will do anything to avoid becoming another victim. She hides with the Friends of the Restful Soul but must prove herself worthy of belonging to the organization. The job goes disastrously wrong, leaving her and a Nightmare as the only survivors. The two must return to Newham and uncover the truth behind the attack, no matter the cost.

Ness is afraid of everything, and Newham isn't exactly the kind of place that inspires a sense of safety. On top of the fact that people can turn into their worst nightmares without dream suppressing medicine, corruption runs rampant. The mayoral race commonly includes the assassination of rival candidates. Police take bribes and regularly threatens the people. Rival gangs also have their territory wars in the streets. Ness feels safe in her tiny room with the Friends of the Restful Soul, which is the only incorruptible place she knows. She has a best friend who's fearless, a sharp contrast to her fearful nature. Ness isn't very good at most jobs, so she hopes to do a mail run to avoid getting thrown out of the order. She is forced to face her fears at many points throughout the novel, confronting the thought that all Nightmares are inherently evil.

I really enjoyed the world-building here and the gradual way we move beyond Newham's borders. We see the varying levels of corruption, how many people are actually consumed by their fears, and Ness slowly realizes how constrained her life was. She was repeatedly pushed out of her comfort zone, which led to her not just reacting, but planning her next step. As much as she still has concerns, she finds a reasonable balance between logic and fear. I loved how natural that growth was, and how she never once became someone she wasn't. This was such a fun book to read, I would love to see a dozen sequels in this world.

I received an ARC of City of Nightmares from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not sure how to talk about City of Nightmares. It wasn't that I necessarily disliked it, but some things continually drew me out of the story and caused me to rate it as low as I did.

Let me begin by saying that I thought the story was unique and exciting. I loved the idea of people becoming their nightmares. It made me think about what I would end up as, and considering the super weird nightmares I usually have, probably something crazy. I also liked how dark and, honestly, depressing the setting was. Everything and everybody was corrupt, and no one was hiding it. It was a known fact, and good people were few and far between. It made for a curious mix of good people doing bad things because that's the world they live in. It makes for very morally ambiguous characters, which are always fun.

However.

I had such a hard time reading this. As much as I loved the premise, that was the only thing that kept me going. I was so curious to learn more about this world and the nightmares that I powered through. I still don't know much about how these things came about. There wasn't any world-building beyond what the main character knew. Yes, it makes sense that we don't know more than our main character, but there were points when she could've learned more that were written off as, "I'm not the smartest, so them explaining all of this to me isn't very helpful because I can't make sense of it." So since our main character can't make sense of it, it was either glossed over to the point that I can't make sense of it either or bypassed entirely. It was honestly very frustrating.

Not to mention that the writing felt very simple to me. Almost all the descriptions were in a group of three, like "tall, white, with curly hair." That's it. None of the characters were particularly memorable because that's all the description we would get, just all-around very basic descriptions of everything, not just the characters. And on top of that, I have no idea what the plot was. There were just so many different plot points that I kept getting lost in what the end goal was. And to be honest, even after reaching the book's end, I'm still unsure what the end goal was. I don't know what the problem we were trying to solve was. No idea.

Lately, I feel that many of my issues with books are coming down to the execution, and City of Nightmares falls into that category. As much as I wanted to love it, this book wasn't for me.

I am always a sucker for YA fantasy, and here’s a new series coming out today from a talented author who likes to mix fantasy with horror; I mean her other series is called 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴!

You ready for THIS premise?! Beware of sleep…nightmares may ensure and when you wake up, you have BECOME that nightmare. Yup, like if you’re terrified of spiders, you might wake to find yourself a giant spider. Or a vampire. Or a worm.

The world building is creative - creepy city, crime is rampant, and desperation fills everyone’s lives. If you forget your sleeping medicine, big OOPS.

Characters are compelling, with a complicated female lead (sister became a nightmare and died, after killing their father - I told you this was DARK), a friend/love interest who IS a nightmare, and a badass best friend who wants to fight the nightmares.

The rest of a good series is always the answer to the question: Will I be compelled to grab the second book?! In this case, my answer is a resounding YES.

City of Nightmares was a fast-paced, thrilling read that kept me constantly guessing. I thought the idea of nightmares coming to life after dreaming was such a cool concept, and one that was expertly explored. As someone who had a lot of nightmares as a kid, this book was both fascinating and kind of terrifying, because I’m pretty sure I even had a nightmare about my nightmares coming to life at one point!

This book begins quite unassuming. The reader follows Ness, a terrified girl who wants nothing more than to feel safe and secure. Unfortunately for Ness, safety is just an illusion in the corrupt and dark city of Newham, and she soon finds herself caught in a conspiracy that would see her dead. I really enjoyed how the book started almost quietly—introducing us to Newham and all its horrors, while still shielding us from some of the grimmer parts of the city. Gradually, though, and almost imperceptibly, the stakes were raised so high that it became impossible for us or for Ness to ignore. Each chapter increased the anticipation that little bit more, so skillfully I didn’t always notice until I felt suffocated by the suspense.

I was never quite sure where it was headed, but I always knew each piece of information being introduced was going to be important at some point, which it most certainly was. Aptly, the entire story felt like a spider weaving its web until the entire city of Newham and all of its plot points were trapped and connected by this web. Even though a lot of questions were answered, there’s still so much to be uncovered, and I already cannot wait until the next book comes out!

Something I especially enjoyed about City of Nightmares was the protagonist’s personality. Unlike many other MCs in YA fiction, Ness was terrified of almost everything, and very rarely willing to put herself on the line to face those fears. It was rather refreshing to see and set up some interesting plot points. Additionally, her personality made for an excellent character arc that was done believably. I enjoyed being in her thoughts, and I’m excited to see what adventures she gets up to in the sequel.

Another aspect to commend is the relationships. While there’s a hint of romance between Ness and Cy, most of the story is focused on friendship and building that foundation, which I love to see! Neither Ness nor Cy was in the position to begin a relationship, so I loved the fact it focused on developing their interactions as friends. Ness is also best friends with Priya, someone completely opposite in personality to Ness. Even so, they compliment each other well. Their friendship was already established before the book began, but that didn’t keep the author from exploring it further and expanding the dynamic.

From start to finish, City of Nightmares was a wild ride that constantly kept me on my toes. I highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys paranormal or urban fantasy with a little bit of a spook factor.

2023 is off with a bang! Rebecca Schaeffer is a new to me author and I’m just going to say I am beyond impressed and could not put City of Nightmares the first book in the City Of Nightmares Duology down. Not only was it completely different and surprising, I loved the main broken character and her journey to put herself back together as she learns the world around her is not what she thought it was.

Ness lives in a corrupt and crazy city where literal nightmares roam the streets. In Ness’s world if you go to sleep and have a nightmare, you become that nightmare in life when you wake up. Some of them look mostly like regular people, just with red skin and horns, others, well let’s just say others don’t look human at all. Ness knows this well since her sister, the one protector she has ever really had succumbed to that fate.

My sister’s worst nightmare was a giant, man-eating spider. I know because that’s what she turned into when she went to sleep for the last time.

Ness’s new home is with a group called Friends of the Restful Soul, everyone else in the city thinks it is a cult but to Ness it is the place where she is laying low with all of her fears and hiding in a room most of the time curled up on a bed just wishing the world outside away. When Ness’s place at the could be cult’s sanctuary is threatened, she is willing to go outside the current jobs she has been doing there in hopes of making herself useful so she doesn’t get sent away. That is when everything goes wrong and Ness learns that the life she held onto for safety was probably just a big lie, as she tries to find out why now someone is trying to kill her.

The world here is creepy, strange, brutal at times and just so weird. This is one of the few books where I didn’t see many of the twists coming and was surprised every time. It is a dark tale and the city has horrors people have just learned to live with are mind boggling but humans can get used to anything we are just resilient that way.

Of course the Mayor has a pet pterodactyl that randomly eats citizens. At this point, I don’t even consider this an odd thing to happen in Newham.

Ness is afraid of so many things, but it is satisfying to see her work through her fear of all Nightmares as she works with Cy, a vampire boy, to find out why there was an explosion meant to kill everyone on the boat they were on. Cy seems like a good enough guy but he is a vampire, and everything Ness knows about vampires make her not trust him. But being short on friends, he is her best bet to stay alive, that is, if Cy doesn’t decide she is snackable.

Honestly I enjoyed the world, the plot, the sub-plot, the twists and turns and the reason everyone in the world could turn into a nightmare when they dream. It was all unique and interesting and I am so excited to see what happens in the wrap up to this duology. Rebecca Schaefer has won me over with this book and I’m excited to check out her other series that looks just a dark and twisted.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great unique read with a relatable main character! Read it!

Absolutely loved the premise of this book. It immediately captured my attention and kept it for every single page. Great characters and the pacing was perfect

What a fun, adventurous tale! Loved this new idea of a Nightmare city and a main character that is very in tune with her own fears. We usually get a person, who is not scared of anything and jumps into dangerous situations without thought. And here we have a girl that gets crippled by her fears, and literary runs or hides from everything. It was refreshing, at times funny, and oh so personable. In reality, would you be the one to swing a heavy item at a big baddy, or would you run for your life if you'd come into contact with one?

Loved that this book wasn't focused on romance, as that's a very big norm in YA fantasies. This one is about friendships, and why we choose friends we do. What does such a relationship provide to each party. It made me think about my own friendships and how I feel around those people. I think this is such a great theme to explore, especially for younger readers. Now this does not mean, that sex, etc isn't mentioned in this book. It is just not the focus.

It was a story full of adventure, hypocrisy, corruption, and everything bad that could be part of a city full of evil people and Nightmares. It had a bit of humor, a lot of friendship, and an ending that left me wanting for the next book.

3/5

A decent read but left me wanting more. City of Nightmares never quite lived up to its full potential. The writing style is a bit inconsistent at the beginning but becomes more readable as the book goes on. Its an interesting concept that has been executed well enough and is entertaining at the end of the day but still slow in places.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

In a world filled with literal nightmares, one woman dares to be afraid of all of them. This book was weird. Like I'm having trouble putting my thoughts into words because I feel like everything I really want to say about it would include some sort of spoiler.

Ness clearly has PTSD from her sister turning into a Nightmare and eating their father. She seeks refuge with The Friends of the Restful Soul (she swears they're not a cult) after her aunt dies, because they offer free therapy that she'd been taking advantage of already. But like you get what you pay for, right? It's also the only way she can keep a roof over her head because the entire world scares her half to death.

This book had so many twists and turns in the story that it really felt unrealistic, except the set-up for this world made it realistic for the story, if that makes any sense. And I can honestly say I did not see half of those twists coming, but I'm not necessarily sure that's a good thing.

The character growth I saw in this book felt kind of cookie cutter and rushed to me. I liked the end result, but the path to get there left so much to be desired and just felt like it happened all at once.

I realize this review seems pretty negative, but my overall experience with the book wasn't. I wanted to keep reading and I was anxious to see what happened next. It's just talking about the things I really liked about the book would absolutely spoil parts of it and I'm not trying to do that to you.

Overall I give this book 4.2 out of 5 stars and definitely look forward to reading the next one in the series whenever it may come out.