I absolutely loved this! My only complaint is that I wish this was longer because of how much I loved Lark and Azmar.

The world building was phenomenal and utterly unique. I loved the idea behind the city of Cagmar from its monsters in the deep to the workings of the city, for example the caste rankings.

I honestly loved all the main characters in the book with Azmar and Lark being my favorites. But I absolutely loved Unach and her relationship with Lark.

The book was nicely fast paced and helped me out of my reading slump. As I read this book I would look at how many pages I had left wishing there were more. I’m assuming it’s probably just a standalone but I really hope we get more of Azmar and Lark’s story. I absolutely loved it.

The ending was phenomenal, literal goosebumps when I realized what Lark was doing. This was my first book I’ve read by this author and I plan to read whatever else she’s written. I highly recommend this book! Definitely a favorite of mine this year.

The book follows Lark, a girl who is on the run from her abusive father. But Lark isn't an ordinary girl, she has a power that make her feared and not accepted by the people around her. With her only hope remained, she then went to the city inhabited by the Trolls, Cagmar. She's trying as hard as she can so that she can be accepted in Cagmar.

First of all, it's my first trollxhuman book so I wasn't expecting something big bcs I'm afraid I wouldn't like it. Tbh I expecting a thrilling adventure in the city of Trolls, but I've got more than I expected so I was glad to know. The world building isn't so complex and the trollis' hierarcy is easy to understand. At first the pace maybe so slow it almost caught me in stuck but as the story goes on it's getting more and more fun.

Lark is a brave but she sometimes made rush decision, despite of that she has a loyalty toward her "new family" and she's always trying to be kind even to the one who hurt and despise her. Azmar is the green flag mmc, he is so kind, humble, and caring. And I think Unach is the most realistic one and I love her. The romance between a trollxhuman isn't as bad as I think. It still does give me a heart-fluttering.

Yet there are things that I wish would be explained in more detail but they are not explained because this is a standalone book, so I can understand why not everything is explained here. Overall it's an enjoyable and easy to read book, The message of the story is beautiful too.

Thanks NetGalley, 47North, and Charlie N. Holmberg for the e-ARC in exchange of my honest review!

I'm going to be honest, I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. In the time between requesting and actually reading this book, I had a mood change and really wasn't up for this book. But netgalley only holds books for so long, so I had to read it before it experienced.

But man am I really happy I did. This book was really good and really fast paced, I loved the characters (well, maybe not Lark that much) and the world-building in this story. It definitely felt like a story I haven't read before.

My only real issue with this book is that I just wish we got more of an ending. It felt like the author was on some fort of page limit and had to cram the resolution into the last like 5 pages of the novel. On goodreads I literally wrote in my final update before finishing the book that we were on the last chapter, but there still wasn't a resolution and it was starting to make me nervous.

Also, it almost felt like it was set up to be a queer love story, since Lark was getting fairly close with Unach, but all of a sudden we basically stopped seeing Unach except when it helped advance the plot or introduce tension. And, on the topic of Unach, I wish we got more of Lark actually being a monster slayer with her and Troff and the other Montra trollis. Like yea, she used her powers/ability/curse plenty, but it was rarely actually on monsters, which is the whole reason she was allowed to stay in Cagmar. The slayer shifts also really drastically decreased once Azmar was in the picture, and I just don't like that that part of the plot fell to the wayside in favour of romance.

Overall, I did really like this book and will likely check out this author's other stories, I just think that towards the end it got a little...sloppy.

This is a nice cozy fantasy (IMO). I liked the FMC and the love interest but felt like the plot pacing was a little bit off. I also would have liked the ending to wrap things up a bit better, so I’m not sure if that means there will be a second installment in this world? Overall, I enjoyed The Hanging City and thought it was a quick, easy, cozy read.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

'The Hanging City' has a good premise - a woman with magic seeking acceptance in a trollis city when ostracized by her own people. But the book does not really deliver on its potential, to me personally.

There is some world-building lore at the beginning, but the rest of the book leaves many questions unanswered. Similarly, the characters were interesting at the beginning, but they soon became one-dimensional without a discernable character arc. The pacing of the book is slow and not much really happens given the length of the book.

The writing is Charlie N. Holmberg's usual straightforward, but it doesn't seem to work as well for this book as the story itself and the characters lack complexity. I did enjoy some of her other recent books however and might pick up a book in another series by her.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers 47North and Charlie N. Holmberg for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Half a star for the premise and the whole book; Zero stars for the characters; Zero stars for the story; Half a star for the world-building; Zero stars for the writing - 1 star in total].

I loved this book—I didn’t want to put it down, and now I’m so sad that I finished it. Honestly, it exceeded my expectations in so many ways, and as someone who has said many times that I’m not a high fantasy person, Charlie Holmberg, you may have single-handedly changed that.

I don’t know if I just wasn’t paying enough attention when I picked this one up, but I didn’t expect a romance—I expected an adventure, and I got both. In the best way. I really felt captivated by the story. I didn’t anticipate when the plot would twist or turn or speed up or slow down, but at every point, it felt exactly right. The story led me through many emotions—fear, excitement, contentment, anger, relief…and so many others—without feeling any emotional whiplash. It was all well-paced and excellently expressed.

Azmar is my new book boyfriend, and honestly, one of my favorite characters I’ve seen this year. He is the whole package, and I’m 100% in love with him. I loved every second of his presence in the story and I still want more of him.

Lark was a powerful protagonist, and I deeply enjoyed her growth arc. If there’s one thing that made me hesitate about giving 5 stars, it was Lark’s naive positivity in the first 25% of the book. Maybe I’m just cynical, but it felt so unrelatable that she was even a little bit skeptical about trusting new people when she came to Cagmar. Her outlook made a lot more sense as the story progressed, but I didn’t appreciate it in the first quarter of the story. I felt that she should be more…seasoned…by what she had experienced. Again, that could just be my cynicism talking.

The world building in this book is amazing. And that means something coming from me—I have tried high fantasy multiple times, and no other author has made me feel this immersed in a complex world and society without confusing me and forcing me to reference diagrams and lists. Maybe for someone who reads a lot of high fantasy this would be overly simplified, but I found it to be accessible, memorable, and so dynamic.

There’s more I could say—especially about Azmar—but overall, I loved this book and already want to read it again. Bravo, Charlie Holmberg. This one is brilliant.

"The Hanging City" by Charlie N. Holmberg is a strong addition to her collection of imaginative tales. Holmberg's ability to craft unique worlds shines brightly, and the concept of a city suspended in the sky is both captivating and original. While the pacing occasionally stumbles, the story consistently delivers moments of excitement and wonder. The characters, though in need of a bit more depth, are still endearing and relatable, making it easy to invest in their journey. The plot, though it meanders at times, retains its charm and intrigue throughout. Overall, "The Hanging City" is a delightful read, earning a solid four-star rating.

Fantastic world building, such so that it sucks you in and you can’t get out. Great story, great characters and overall great book.

I received an advanced reader’s copy from netgalley in exchange for my honest reviews- the opinions are all my own.
I just discovered this author last year with the Keeper of Enchanted Rooms. So far I’ve liked everything I’ve read of hers and this was no different.
For me, this one started out a little slow- but then once she was finding place within the Trollis city, I loved it and couldn’t put it down. At the core it’s a story about found family focusing on the things they have in common over the things that separate them. Here’s a human girl (Lark) who has seen abuse at the hand of her father, she is searching for sanctuary- to find place, to belong and be accepted. Then the trollis community with it’s caste system and strange laws she finds family and belonging and friendship. Something worth fighting for. I love that she found sisterhood with Unack, and acceptance/friendship with Perg and Azmar
I’d recommend this book

“The Hanging City” by Charlie N. Holmberg is about Lark, a girl running from her abusive father for seven years. Lark possesses a unique and chilling ability—she can make others feel indescribable fear. Determined to find a sanctuary where she can finally put down roots and call it home, she embarks on a risky journey to Cagmar, the city of the Trollis. Cagmar, inhabited by the bloodthirsty Trollis known for their hostility towards humans, seems like an unlikely refuge, but Lark is willing to take her chances. Once she persuades them to let her stay, she finds herself at the lowest rung of the city's caste system—a human in a city that treats them as cheap labor and slaves. As Lark navigates this challenging new world, she forms bonds with both humans and Trollis, some of which may go beyond mere friendship. What will Lark do to defend this new home of her? And will it be worth it?

"The Hanging City" has a take on the traditional troll narrative, kept me curious about what lies ahead. It's a perfect choice for young teens, featuring a light and relatable romance that's suitable for its target audience. One standout feature of the book is its perspective from the bottom of the caste system, providing an intriguing and different viewpoint. I found myself eagerly turning the pages, eager to discover how Lark's journey would unfold. I wholeheartedly give it 5 out of 5 stars."

3 Stars
One Liner: Got its moments; a mixed read

Lark has been on the run for seven years, trying to escape the men her father sends for her. There is no place left except Cagmar, the city of trolls. Trolls and humans have been enemies forever, but Lark is desperate. If nothing, her skill could be useful in convincing the trolls to let her live with them.
While Lark does get a chance, she also ends up in a tricky position. She makes enemies with a powerful troll who hates humankind. But she also makes friends and finds love. However, Lark cannot move on until she faces her past.
The story comes in the first-person POV of Lark.

My Thoughts:
After enjoying the first two books of the Whimbrel House Series, I was excited to read a standalone by the author. The cover and the premise are alluring, too!
The story begins with a prologue, introducing the MC in her younger days and setting the stage for her adventures six years later. The world-building starts with a bang. Imagine a city under the bridge with complex lifts, cramped apartments, and dark spaces. The complex caste system was also interesting.
We also see the MC’s special ability and get a teaser about her past. As the story progresses, the teaser turns into repetition. While new information is revealed, it comes with a lot of repetitive statements. In fact, the entire book is so full of repetition that it could have easily been 40 pages shorter.
Even the world-building takes a hit. There seems to be a lot of information, but very little is useful. Lark cooks so many times, yet we hardly know what she cooks except ‘meat’, which could be any meat! She nibbles on some fruit disks, but there isn’t much info about those either.
The first quarter is quite interesting, while the second has a lot of going around in circles with some love and romance thrown in. The priorities shift to romance and continue this way. I’m glad I could guess who the love interest would be. Could have been awkward otherwise. Also, I have a few doubts about erm… based on the descriptions.
The narration is slow-paced, which I expected. However, it doesn’t gain momentum even in the second half. Instead, the pacing is slow throughout, and things happen fast in the end, with a lot of detail left out.
Even with Lark being the narrator, I couldn’t empathize much with her. In fact, I liked Azmar more (makes sense in a way) and even Unach. Still, it would have been nice to connect with Lark a little more, given that she goes through so much. The rest of the characters are pretty much flat.
The last quarter started out great, and I was excited for the big face-off between Lark and her Daddy Dangerous (the villain). We see him for a while (not enough personality, duh!), but then… that’s it. I don’t want to reveal spoilers, but it was disappointing.
The most important scene happens off the page because the POV comes in Lark’s first person, and her current obsession is her love interest. Moreover, our MC keeps pushing herself to her limits, which means she faints quite a few times. It’s a convenient plot device but shouldn’t be overused.
The book’s priorities may have shifted midway through. I thought it would be about Lark facing her past and having a future. While she does face her past, there isn’t much (psychological) healing as such. Things wrap up real soon (though we already wasted too much time in repetition).
And that ending… I can see the appeal, but this book could have benefitted from an epilogue, no matter how unrealistic the situation. Also, the decision is quite risky, and we are almost where we began, but with a plus one. Will there be a book two? Doesn’t seem possible, but who knows!
The author’s note explains that she wrote 2/3rds of the story in 2019 before working on another series and got back to finish this recently. That explains why the book suffers from these issues. Her writing style and preferences (very likely) changed during this period. So the theme shifted from a ‘coming of age escape/ revenge plot’ to a ‘love story with some drama’. The number of buts in the review should give you an idea about how the book promises potential and doesn't deliver.

To summarize, The Hanging City is a decent fantasy romance and a standalone with an open ending (some readers will love it). It’s got its moments and can be a light read despite the darkish contents.
Thank you, NetGalley and 47North, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This fantasy romance left me feeling very uncomfortable at numerous times.
I was exited to see a book that could turn the human domination trope around, show the humans as the monsters... and maybe it is what it was trying to do? No idea really, this certainly wasn't a "I am Legend". I was keen to read a story that promotes connection amongst everyone and the strength and power of love and that proclaims that "together we are better".
But instead, this novel suffers from a serious case of "this is not slavery because we're not calling it slavery". And everyone is ok with THIS form of slavery... in fact everything in the book is made to accomodate the cast system, adapt to it, and no, the castless are not slaves, not at all, not even if they are not allowed to hold money or own things, and work tirelessly after hours to serve the people above them, no no no, they're just servants... sic
After rereading Uncle Tom's Cabin recently as an adult, that hit especially hard.
Modern slavery is still very much an issue today and making light of it, even disguised under "fantasy" masks is upsetting.
The novel read like a book case study of Stockholm syndrome... very uncomfortable stuff.

I truly thought that I was going to like this more than I did. I don't think it's a bad book, and it didn't fill me with rage, which is a plus, but I guess I should file this one in Not For Me.

The story has a strong opening, with an instant hook and some immediate world-building, as Lark enters Cagmar, the titular "hanging city" of trolls. We quickly meet some of the characters, and all have good first impressions as far as characters go - by which I mean, not that they're all good people (erm, good trolls), but they all have personalities. Which seems like a low bar, but really, I did like the blueprints of all the characters. I just didn't find the characters got much deeper, which was disappointing, and so my final impression was that they were all pretty flat.

The plot is basically that Lark tries to prove herself to the trolls, and also tries to overcome her non-troll demons. There's a lot of kind of slice of life stuff, which I actually like, but if you're looking for jam-packed action, this probably isn't the right choice. I think that the fact that it wasn't super plot-heavy is a bit of a breath of fresh air, because it would have been easy to go another direction of writing with this story.

All in all, this had good bones to it, and I'm not, like, offended that other people enjoyed it - I'm happy about that, because a book with this pretty of a cover deserves to have people love it and put it on their shelves! I think my main qualms can be summed up thusly: 1) it seemed really young to me, and 2) it was more of a romance than I'd bargained for.

I think this is marketed as Adult, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong and this was YA. I feel like I've said this a few times this year, but the issue isn't that I dislike YA, it's that I'd like to go into a story with appropriate expectations and this was just. Not that. I would qualify this as well-written YA, mind you, but also, had it been marketed as a YA troll romance, I . . . would not have read this.

And that segues me quite nicely into my other second qualm: the romance! The fact that I can't remember the male MC's name right now is going to belay my next point but he was probably the most interesting character. But that could not even come close to saving the romance for me, and this book felt more like a romance book with a good dose of fantasy than the latter, so once again, I feel like this is an issue that could have been lessened if the marketing was more accurate, perhaps.

<i>Thank you to the publisher, 47North, and to NetGalley for the ARC.</i>

LOVED, such a fun read with dynamic characters. I loved the world that was created and I hope there’s another coming. Will be purchasing!

There are two things to know about me: one, I rarely read a book blurb more than once (sometimes not at all if it’s an auto buy author), and two, I firmly believe that every single book @cnholmberg writes will deeply resonate with me (so far, this is 100% true). The Hanging City was one of my most anticipated releases of this year and I’m absolutely appalled at myself for taking so long to start it. It was INCREDIBLE. Like I said, I never once read the blurb and I went into this completely blind, without a single expectation, and I was absolutely blown away. There are monsters, magic, trolls, action, journeys of self-love, and the most heart warming romance. I could not get enough. My only complaint is that there isn’t MORE because I could read a whole series about these characters and this world. I will never stop screaming about how much I love The Hanging City!

Spice Rating: 🌶️ (on screen, but not explicit)

Bland and predictable. There were so many opportunities to break out of the expectations of tropes, it just felt like reading one long stereotype.

This book gave me similar vibes to Legends and Lattes, just with higher stakes!

the world that charlie n. holmberg built was very intriguing! her writing was easy to follow, and i enjoyed following lark on her journey and personal development within the trollis city of Cagmar.

Unfortunately, the romance was a little lacking for me (maybe I'm just not a monster romance girlie), and the pacing of the plot progression was a little off at times. also, the ending left me feeling just a little bit too unsatisfied.

It shall be known that Charlie Holmberg is one of my all time favorite authors. I love her world building and her writing style. But there will always be a book or two that won't hit that 5 star mark for me. And this was one of them. However, I still REALLY enjoyed this book but it just wasn't a favorite of her of mine. This book reminds me a lot of Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet where it's more of an obscure story that drifts more away from the magic world building but still contains that fantasy style world.

In order to escape her abusive father, Lark decides to run away and seeks refuge in the city of Cagmar, where the trolls reside. In this world, things were made in two - and on land, it was Humans and Trolls. This story was absolutely unique. The whole build of it, I have never read anything like it before. The pacing was fast and the story was engaging but it lacked that magical feeling I usually get from Holmberg's books. I think that's why this one didn't resonate as perfect with me. It's still a story where I needed to know what happened next. And then we got our satisfying ending after all the trouble the main characters went through.

I'll just say, I love Lark. I don't think there's been a main character that Holmberg has written that I haven't absolutely adored. Her magic was interesting and it definitely gave her so much personality. Lark tries to be kind hearted and live her life. After the type of life her Father made her live, she just wants to do her job and not be bothered. But of course, it isn't that easy. I really enjoyed her relationship with Unach. Unach was such a fun character and I adored her. Then there is Perg who is kind of an outcast since he's half troll and half human. Lark takes a liking to him almost immediately since she sees a lot of herself in him. Then Azmar, Unach's sister, was such an interesting character. Definitely not like the other Trolls, he seems to be a bit more understanding. I will say, I thought the love interest was going to go another way but it did not. But it worked and I'm glad it went the way it did.

Overall, The Hanging City by Charlie N Holmberg was another great addition to her collection, even though it's not one of my favorites. I feel even guilty giving it 4 stars! However, I still really enjoyed this book and the story it told. It tells a story of a person not giving up on who they want to be even if outside influences control them. To love who you want to love because of who they are, and not what they look like. This story was pitched as a Troll Romance with a little bit of Fantasy Magic - and that is exactly what was delivered.

I was really quite excited for this read upon reading the description.... Upon starting it, it was a very slow read... I was not able to finish this book sadly. I gave it many go's...