4/5 ⭐️
1/5 🌶️

This book had me wanting to journey to my very own troll (trollis) kingdom!

Although I think this book markets itself as an adult fantasy I felt it read more as a young adult fantasy, but this did not stop me enjoying every moment of it! The story centres around a young woman, Lark, who has a mysterious and dark power which she struggles with, as we follow her journey through Cagmar, home to the trolls, while an outside threat from her past threatens everything she is working towards.

I was so fascinated by the world this author created and enjoyed that it fell together so seamlessly. Larks character surprised me as she was so sweet and genuine, and to see a character who is so kind to everyone despite the trauma she had faced, made me really invested in story. The characters in the book were so lovable and I could have just stayed in their world so much longer.

My only wish would be that the book has been longer so that the end 30% of the book could have been fleshed out more and so that it didn’t feel so rushed. It was definitely a story where you could have done with another 100 pages to get it perfect.

I would recommend this book to any fantasy lovers out there who are looking for a quick and fun read, as I honestly could not put this down!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Holmberg is quickly becoming one of my favourite fantasy authors. Even though I just recently stumbled upon her, I have come to associate her name with quality, quirkiness and heart. A perfect combination in my mind.

The Hanging City is such a unique fantasy story. I found it a bit slow and hard to wrap my mind around at first, but the map in the beginning of the city was so helpful. Our main character is a human girl on the run, and the last place she can turn is the legendary and mysterious city of trolls (the bridge city). I love how the trolls caste system, naming system, etc were so original and fresh, among many fantasy books that repeat the same elements and tropes.

"The Hanging City" is the first book that I have read by Charlie N. Holmberg.

I like the opening quarter of the book a lot. That said, it seemed slow paced. The writer is good at describing a place and creating interest in it. I liked that aspect of it and almost wished it was just a book of an archaeologist looking for a lost city, but this is fantasy so it was more than that.

The main character of Lark is hit-and-miss. She has legitimate issues but her actions can be frustrating. I don't mind unlikable characters or unreliable narrators but I don't think Lark was meant to be either of those things in the story.

I didn't mind the ending. It was left a bit open-ended but I'm okay with that. The ambiguity, even with an HEA of sorts, fit the character.

WOW WOW WOW This is what you call worldbuilding -The Hanging City by Charlie N. Holmberg


Mankind is dwindling in a world where is hardly any water available. (due to a devastating war, environmental problems??? Too far in the past to be mentioned) On the arid land some small human settlements try to survive. Lark a young woman has fled those settlements and is now standing at the entrance to a large bridge that spans a deep and dark canyon and is the route towards the ruined city of the humans of old. But when she tries to cross the bridge she is captured by the mortal enemies of mankind the trolls who have build a city hanging under the bridge as a kind of giant waspsnest.

Lark however has a secret weapon what made the Troll council decide to spare her. Also the trolls are hindered by the drought but as they can tap into the river they can survive as long as they can fight the monsters lurking in the canyon. But they cannot travel to other troll towns anymore. The trollis as is their own name for their species is a martial society but not that different from humans apart from size and skincolour. They seem more civilised in a medieval Japanese way.

Lark is desperate to find a family to call her own and tries her best to fit in.

The author is extremely good in worldbuilding. You feel like seeing the novel as if it is a movie.

There is one BUT: the ending. I can see the point the writer is making but one would expect a different reaction because of all the work done.

Definitely a 5+ star.

I really enjoyed the authors writing style. Everything was described with immaculate detail, allowing the reader to be transported to Cagmar. I loved how the back story to Lark was explained and how the trauma of her past affects her currently. The world building was clear and easily understood. The romance was beautiful and heart warming. I found myself not super into the plot but that was just personal preference. Overall I found the book to be a rewarding read.

Lark is running out of options. After escaping an unloving family as a child, Lark has been on the search for a new place to belong. For seven years she’s gone from town to town, and each time she thinks she’s found acceptance, her ability to project fear into others causes her newfound community to exile her. Desperate for love and a home, Lark seeks out Cagmar, a city of trolls that hangs underneath the Empyrean bridge.

Since humans and trolls are sworn enemies, Lark is only accepted into the city after demonstrating her ability to instill fear to the highest-ranking trolls. The troll civilization is based on a strict hierarchy, with humans below even the lowest caste in the system. Trolls value the ability to fight, and as such, Lark is put on monster-hunting duty, much to the confusion of the strong, brave trolls who have earned that position. But Lark is determined to do what it takes to make it in this society. Just as Lark starts to find acceptance, friendship, and possibly love, a war with the humans comes that will test her loyalties. Can she use her powers to help her newfound tribe without scaring everyone off? What is she willing to risk to have the family she’s always wanted?

I just love this author! Her creativity is unparalleled, and her world building is brilliant. The reader really feels for Lark – her longing for somewhere to belong is heartbreaking. I admired Lark’s ability to create relationships with others no matter their social standing, species, or demeanor. I did feel like the war aspect was a bit rushed, but overall I was satisfied with the way the story ended. I’m hoping there is more in store for Lark in the future!

The Hanging City is the newest book by Charlie N. Holmberg, the author of The Paper Magician and Star Mother. An adult fantasy romance, The Hanging City tells the story of a young human with the power to wield fear. After being used by her domineering father to control and terrify others, she flees and begins her hunt to find the woman who told her future when she was 14. Along the way, she begins to go by the name Lark, and tries to find a home in numerous human settlements. Without fail, when she eventually reveals her power, the humans around her reject her as a witch and she becomes a vagrant once more. Without options remaining, Lark arrives at a bridge that is rumored to hide the city of Cagmar - the largest known settlement of trollis (trolls). Using the magic words she learned from a traveling storyteller years earlier, Lark gains an audience with the high council of trollis and convinces them to let her, a lowly human, join them and use her powers of fear against the monsters that haunt the canyon the city is built into. In her new role as monster hunter, Lark is placed to live with a trollis named Unach and her brother Azmar. She also meets and befriends other humans in Cagmar and a half-human-half-trollis named Perg.

What unfolds is a story with rich world-building. I could almost picture the city of Cagmar and I loved the development of the complex social and political structure of the trollis that lived there. The romance element was lovely and I enjoyed the friendships built across difference. With that being said, the ending was a little bit rushed for me and I was disappointed by every character with power - human and trollis. There was a lot of cruelty and bigotry that unfortunately could not be overcome. I wish that the ending for Lark had been different, but I enjoyed the story immensely.

Summary: The Hanging City is a closed-door fantasy romance that has a trollis MMC and a human FMC. The world-building is rich and beautiful. This read like a combination of The Hollow Kingdom and Radiance. A lovely read for fall or late summer!

Thanks so much to Charlie N. Holmberg and 47North for this ARC through NetGalley. The Hanging City is available as of August 1st, 2023, and is on Kindle Unlimited!

The cover made me select this book, me love a nice cover, and the plot seemed interesting. The story grabbed me and I finished quite fast.

4 stars
~ I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own ~

So the main character here is from a first person POV which normally I’m not a huge fan of but it worked to the flow of the novel. It might have just been me, but I couldn’t get over the absolute fear the lead has with her power that her mother gave her. Essentially it makes any animal, beast, troll, etc. immobile with fear. However, she acts miffed all the time from fear of her father finding her and using her. This book just didn’t grab me like I hoped! I can’t say it was bad, that’s not it. I just couldn’t believe the relationship between Asmar and the lead either. I think others may enjoy it, but the trolls being the main component was just meh….overall.

This book was out of my fantasy comfort zone. Usually I go for fairies and witches, yet I really loved "The Hanging City". I particularly enjoyed how the trolls were portrayed as intelligent, civilized, and with a complex social and political structure. These trolls are far from the green, grunting monsters presented in most fantasy.

Charlie N. Holmberg did a great job of slowly revealing how this world worked, as well as the mystery of Lark's past and power. Overall it was well paced storytelling, aside from the ending, which felt very sudden.

I remember reading The Paper Magician years and years ago, and absolutely loving it. I had no idea she was available in Australia until I saw this on Netgalley and checked with our supplier. Back when I first read Holmberg, her work was only available as ebooks on Amazon. Holmberg needs a lot more love and attention here in Aus, so I'm looking forward to getting this (and maybe a few others) for the bookshop.

Who would I sell this to?
People who loved Holly Black, and are well accustomed to a bit of human/mythological creature love.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and 47North for the ARC of The Hanging City.

Charlie N. Holmberg once again flexes her worldbuilding skills in The Hanging City, this time with humans and trollis and other monsters living in a landscape of drought and fighting for survival both against the elements and each other. .Having read Holmberg's Keeper of Enchanted Rooms last year, there is a very large range of creativity in her plots, her worlds, and her character formulation. Having now read two of her books, I can say I never know what to expect from her plotlines -- up until about 92% of the way through The Hanging City I was convinced a cliffhanger was coming because I couldn't foresee any other ending. That, on its own, is a fun and unexpected surprise - and I do think she has left a lot of interesting questions about this world that would benefit from more storytelling without disrupting the already told story of Lark.

In its own way, I feel like The Hanging City has a similar element of plotting to Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree or maybe Becky Chambers' Wayfarer series in that you're on a journey and there is a feel good ending - but the characters are not on drastic missions or adventures -- they're generally going about their normal lives. Maybe that's a long way of just saying: the plot stakes in those series and in The Hanging City feel low - they're about heart. That sort of story is a newer one I've been reading lately and that's a nice way to experience a genre as compared to one where the drama is constant and unrelenting.

In the case of the Hanging City, until 30% of the way through the book I felt like Lark was just navigating her own life, at 50% the midpoint wasn't about a battle or larger picture development, but about more daily life and romance, and at about 80% I all of a sudden was caught up in a war that led to a strong conclusion. Because of the lower stakes it did take me a moment to fully lean into the war at the end and all of a sudden worry about a cliffhanger - and I was invested into the story at that point which would have been what this entire review would have become.

My only setback with the book was the genre categorization of The Hanging City. It is a bit off the mark to qualify as general fiction (adult). I think some relationships and related struggles (Lark to her power, and with her father, Azmar, and Tayler) felt surface-level to me, so I had a hard time seeing her as a multidimensional character and understanding her needs/fears/connections/conversations within a lower stakes plot. It also may have kept things feeling lower stakes than intended. I think this would definitely be at the level of young adult for readers, and that younger readers may take more from this than adults - I just needed a bit more depth and had a bit of difficulty relating with Lark as a 20-year-old woman who is asking multiple people to be her friend.

All in all, Charlie N. Holmberg continues to share her creative voice and bring us to new and exciting places with each novel. I look forward to seeing how her writing continues to evolve.

There are always hits and misses when you encounter an author you haven't yet read. In this case, it was such a hit! I loved this story, the premise was different which is a plus and the story progressed at just the right pace for me. This was something new and fresh for me, and I am so happy to have discovered it.
I wouldn't mind getting a second book to see more of their story :)

3 stars

I got this one because some friends read it and liked it but unfortunately it didn't work for me.
Yes, the story had potential, but the execution was a bit messy.
The beginning and the last 20% were engaging, but the middle was boring. Also, there was little to no world building, and I didn't find our heroine interesting enough.
Still, even with those issues, it was an enjoyable read overall, and the romance, albeit weird, it was also very sweet.
If you're interested in this, i suggest then give it a chance.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

For a young woman who wields the power of fear, humanity’s greatest enemy is her only hope in a new fairy-tale adventure by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.

This was really fun. Not what I expected, but I enjoyed myself.

This story was definitely a JOURNEY!

I opened this book with no idea about the plot, as I just chose it because of how beautiful the cover was, and damn, was I surprised with what I found.

"The Hanging City" is a fresh and sweet romance/fantasy novel, and probably one of the most subtle enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity tropes I've seen in a while. The two main characters are woven into a beautiful and very slow-burn love story that had me giggling and kicking my feet in the air. Their relationship was by far my favorite part of this book.

I need to say, nonetheless, that Lark was a character I just couldn't bond with and that felt a bit flat at times. She reminded me of the cliché protagonist who is both weak and strong, in need of protection yet not very smart at times. This irritated me a little bit because, compared to Azmar ―who was complex, driven, rich, and deep― she just fell flat and failed to endear me.

Besides that, I would say that this novel was a breath of fresh air and a beautiful love story I would recommend to anyone looking for a lighthearted and cozy romance.

* 4.5 stars *
Thank you NetGalley and 47North for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
The Hanging City by Charlie N Holmberg focuses on a human woman named Lark who finds her way to a city of trolls after being cast away from the places she has previously known. She has the power to thrust fear onto others which allows her sanctuary in the city. Through it all she makes friends, and finds love all while being targeted by human despising troll.
The plot was fast paced and got right into the adventurous spirit of the story. The main characters were unique in the personalities and connections. I felt this story could have been longer to be able to flesh out the character interactions more. The love story seemed a little rushed for me and that is why it only gets 4.5 stars instead of the full 5 from me.
The world building shows a large city with it's own political and social systems that were interesting to learn about and to see them play out. They have to survive in a brutal climate and learned to take care of themselves. The environment can be confusing sometimes but it only helps to immerse you with the character, learning the city as she does.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any fantasy fan who enjoys political intrigue, found family and a hint of magic. I have loved everything I have read from this author. I am excited to see what they come up with next!

3.5/5 Stars
This was my first Charlie N Holmberg book. I enjoyed it a lot, and it was a pretty fast paced read for me. It's fantasy, with a pretty much closed door romance tucked inside.
Lark's unique ability to spread fear to other beings has been abused by her father since she was a child. On the run since age 12, 19 year old Lark has looked for a home and safe haven in other human townships. She is always run off, or narrowly escapes attacks, when she inevitably uses her gift to defend herself. As her last option, Lark approaches the Trollis city of Cagmar, a hanging city, suspended from a fabled human bridge. Accepted grudgingly there, because of her fear ability, Lark begins again to put down roots. But the prejudices of both humans and trollis throw obstacles in her path again and again. Will she find the belonging and family promised to her by the stars?

Lark's abilities with fear is a power I haven't encountered with any frequency in all my fantasy reading. Holmberg's use of the fight or flight reaction in connection with this power was clever and easy to understand. It's use in several different contexts kept it interesting throughout the book.

Cagmar is a place I would like to visit! I loved the inclusion of engineering as the profession of one of the main trollis, and the real world problems explored in the construction and expansion of the city to accommodate the needs of the population.

The hierarchies and complexities of trollis society were well explained, but the consequences for acting out of these hierarchies seemed to be beatings and being thrown off the bridge. Not a lot more than that, for such a complex society.

I felt a little led by the nose when it came to the possibility of a shared relationship between a trollis and a human. Lark learns the existence of a human/trollis hybrid. Then that it was a trollis mother, human father...not exactly what would be her experience. Then Lark learns the existence of another hybrid. This time, a human mother and trollis father...she could have a family with a trollis! Add that this other hybrid is accepted in the human township, where the first one we meet is an outcast in Cagmar...And we've set up the viability of the relationship between Lark and her Trollis.

When it comes to the romance, I wish there had been more reveal of feelings throughout the book. Maybe there was and it was too subtle for me. A lot of it that I could detect felt like Lark finally being treated decently for once in her life. Lark treats and talks about Perg and Azmar with almost uniform similarity until the final third of the book. That doesn't mean her love interest is an unrealistic pairing or love story, just that maybe Lark is a very unreliable narrator.

There were several plot points/side characters that felt accessory to the story. I felt we needed more about the cosmodian religion since it was so important to Lark. This story would have done well being expanded into a duology, or really edited down by a couple of characters.

I think Unach was my favorite Trollis. She had a clearly defined role in society, and was a strong female character with clear ideals and consistent reactions. I never had to guess with her. I think that's why Lark loved her too. Most of the characters were not complex. I can't think of any that I would file into a "grey area" category. The story was very defined into good and evil. I like a little more variety in my favorite stories. Makes it more like real life. But since this is a fantasy novel, I still enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley and 47North for sending this book for my honest review.

Gorgeous cover, gorgeous worldbuilding and characters that deviate from others but is nonetheless hopeful in finding their happiness.

A thoughtful and careful book that can inspire many to look forward to a wonderful future ahead. A gift to many.

I will highly recommend this book to many readers alike!

I can't round down when it comes to Charlie N. Holmberg. I would really give it 4.5* but I can't go to 4. I don't think there's enough for me to critique to give it that low of a review. I have been a fan of Holmberg for quite a while now and I love the fact she can wow and entertain me with just about everything she puts out. This book is about a girl running away from her father with the hopes she can seek refuge from the one place in her world humanity shuns, with the trolls. Though her knowledge of them is minimal, she hopes she can find a way to make herself useful to them so they accept her into their society, but what she doesn't realize is what it may cost her to stay.
There's romance, friendship, animosity, and so much more in this novel. I think my one critique is I do wish Lark was a bit stronger in her convictions. There are times she says she is going to trust someone, but doesn't, and it always comes back to bite her. She never learns. She even wars with herself about it and instead of being strong and doing the right thing and trusting her friends, she keeps blundering about trying to "be strong alone". I think this is one trope we can move on from and admit, it's a bit over done. We all need friends in our corner who have our backs.