this was written so incredibly beautifully, from the first page i knew it was going to be a masterful read.
it gets you right from the beginning with the mysterious character you are following, to what happens immediately to her city.
the cyclical nature of meeting more and more people, descendants of characters that our mc got to know and who died, how she grew to love them just as she had loved the previous people.
if anything, the ending was a little short, but delivered some good payoff and another point to the cyclical structure.

For those of us still chasing that “This is How You Lose the Time War” high, Nghi Vo offers us THE CITY IN GLASS (Tordotcom, 224 pp., $24), a fantasy love story between a demon who nurtures a human city and the destroying angel who levels it to the ground.

The demon Vitrine has long made the city of Azril her home, manipulating human families and guilds as the individuals flicker in and out of life like so many fireflies. Then four angels descend and, for reasons we never learn, burn everything and everyone into ash. Wounded and howling with grief, Vitrine manages to curse one of the angels as they depart — chaining him to her city with a piece of her own heart. Now they’re trapped together, inescapably bound, tormented and tormenting by turns.

The one thing Vitrine and the angel have on their side is time — time for a city to be reborn, time for the grief that loomed over the early pages to become more ache than injury. This is an enchantingly mutable world, layered with microstories, where even the most stubborn immortal can change without realizing it.

Wow. This novella really packed a punch. Absolutely a must buy. Angels, demons and destruction - oh my!!!

Gorgeous writing as always from Nghi Vo! A story that packs a punch despite its short format. I love Vo's novellas, and will always pick them up!

An epic story spanning centuries or love and devotion between a demon, the city she loved and created, and the angel who destroyed said city and helped rebuild it and in love and sacrifice gave his wings to that very demon.

Yes, that's right, that angel gave his Wings for that demon and the safety and shelter of his people.

With the beautiful writing and fable like quality you come to expect from Nghi Vo, this short book packs so much beauty and feeling into so few pages.

I loved this very unlikely family and the city they claim.

4.75 stars, this book made me cry. I need Nghi Vo to please let me breathe and stop it with the books that make me cry (never stop).

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for this EArc. All opinions are my own.

This is one of those 'all vibes, no plot' books. Okay, there's sort of a plot, but there doesn't seem to be an end point for the most part and the prose is content to meander and linger, so if you're the kind who needs things to move along, this may not be for you.

Having said that, I love so many things about this book. The concepts presented here are mind-blowing. From a demon who looks after a city, to the people and the ghosts existing there, to the in-depth world-building and the cycles of life and death, to the concept of a cursed angel, there were certainly a lot to admire and think about. This isn't a very thick book (200+ pages), but every page was an enriching experience.

I can respect an author who puts in effort to build an immersive world, and in this aspect Nghi Vo does not disappoint. Azril had its own culture and history; it almost felt alive. After its destruction Vitrine wanted her new city to be an exact version of what was lost, and whenever we looked through her memories of the people, the culture, and the buildings that were wiped out, one couldn't help but to feel Vitrine's grief.

Anyway, in the course of rebuilding the city, Vitrine had to deal with the pesky angel who's now stuck with her (because she cursed him). Initially I didn't think very much about the angel and was on Vitrine's side when she told him to sod off, but over time he grew on me. There was a segment in which he kept trying to protect a certain character from getting killed, and it was almost funny.

However, I do think that the relationship between Vitrine and the angel could be better handled. For the most part she just kept pushing him away and punishing him, and they didn't have enough interactions for me to buy into any sort of relationship between them. The two of them as friends and/or co-parents of the city? Sure. But I'm not 100% convinced with that ending, as wonderful-sounding (in theory) as it is.

I've seen people compare this book to 'This Is How You Lose The Time War'. Honestly, I don't know; I see the similarities, but I also feel that these two books have different things going for them. All in all, if you're looking for some cool ideas, beautiful writing, and contemplation on life and history, this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley for the readers' copy.
If Nghi Vo writes it, I’m going to read it.
Vo remains the queen of writing the most lyrical prose about the full spectrum of emotions (I always end up crying). Her characters draw you in to the point it feels magnetic. Her writing is so singular, meticulous, and simply beautiful.

3 STARS

CW: grief, violence, blood, death (including of animals)

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (I'm super late so this book is already out. Trying my best to catch up with my ARCs now.)

Nghi Vo writes so lyrically that, somehow, all of her work catches my attention in that regard. This book sounded interesting and I certainly enjoyed my time reading it. But, unfortunately, it didn't hit the spot as well as her Singing Hills Cycle does, which - I want to stress - does not mean that the book is not good. Because it is but I would describe it as having a quiet plot, it is very internal and I was missing some excitement to absolutely love it.

Needless to say, Nghi Vo is an expert crafter of worlds and a poet when it comes to writing style. I really enjoyed the vision and emotion of Azril that was evoked through the eyes of the main character Vitrine and her feelings for the angel that she is in opposition with. I was somewhat reminded of Laini Taylor's Strange the Dreamer duology regarding setting and characters. (Although, of course, the two books are very different.)

Overall, I definitely enjoyed the story, especially due to the emotional writing. The Singing Hills Cycle is still more to my liking but I'd still recommend you pick this up if it sounds interesting to you. One thing I absolutely adored was how well the story was rounded out. The final page really elevated the story a little more which I always love a lot.

Nghi Vo's writing is beautiful and unique and this book feels like a new twist on familiar themes in the best way possible. Maybe more of an echo of familiar story. The dichotomy of demons and angels and the ensuing fascination and transformation our main character and her angel experience is engrossing and heart-wrenching and fascinating.

Readers follow a Demon who watches over the city of Azril. She sees the children of her city through different trials and watches as they celebrate the city. However Angels come and destroy it then she locks herself in a bond with an Angel who's people broke her own. As the city changes and rebuilds centuries go by where there is ruin, then new life and she sees how different the past is from the future.
Beautiful writing with great imagery and a very interest premise

Nghi Vo did it again and what a masterclass of poetry and sensibility. Romance fantasy and enemy to lovers as it should be. This historical and almost archeological approach of a city is nothing short of extraordinary.

Vo’s prose and imagination are always breathtaking, but what struck me about City in Glass was the delicate precision of every detail. More than anything else I’ve read of Vo’s, this book felt like a deliberate work of art, something that has been created so carefully, so exactingly, over a long period of time. The picture it conjures in my head is of a watchmaker using tweezers and a loupe to put every minuscule gear exactly where it needs to be.

(I don’t, at ALL, mean that City in Glass feels manufactured – there’s no sense that this is synthetic, false. Only that it’s the work of a master craftsperson, and you can almost glimpse, or understand, how much craft and skill went into making it.)

Beyond that, I don’t have much to say about it. It’s beautiful, of course. My breath caught in my throat on the very first page, as we see the angels coming to the city. I enjoyed reading it immensely. But I don’t feel like I got it – maybe my head’s too foggy to analyse what I read, or maybe Vo was saying things I didn’t hear. I was kind of disappointed that for most of the book, the city is in ruins – somehow I didn’t realise that would be the case – because I was most enchanted with the descriptions of the city while it was alive, and then the glimpses we got of its flourishing past. But I loved the casual queerness, I want to wrap the prose around me like a velvet blanket, and the ending surprised me enormously – which delighted me. (Love it when I can’t see the end coming!)

Strongly recommended, but you should look elsewhere if you want some smart analysis of this one!

3.5 / 5 ⭐

This reminded me of This Is How You Lose The Time War, which I was also a bit on the fence about. If you're into that kind of writing and prose then this is a good book for you.

The City in Glass by Nghi Vo is pure lyrical prose. This is my first read by Vo, so it was a little hard for me to understand and get into. I’m still not sure what this story is about or what it represents, but the writing is so gorgeous I kept reading this strange little novella.

The story spans over 300 years and tells of the trials and tribulations of city, its people, the Demon whom has poured her heart and soul into protecting it, and the earth-bound Angel that destroyed it.

I wouldn’t call this a romance, it’s more of a character study of two immortals who slowly become closer over a long span of time and begin to develop an understanding relationship with each other and the city.

There is no plot, it’s slow paced and heavy on world building especially for such a short book. It’s still beautiful in its own unique way and I do recommend reading it for yourselves.

Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I genuinely don't know how to feel about this book. I guess if you're in the "no plot, just vibes" camp featuring beautiful writing, then this is for you.

The main issue for me is that the contemplations on rage, grief and love were made to read as deep but ended up feeling hollow because the author was trying so hard to convey her message. It's not that there weren't good moments, but those were usually through character interactions more than Vitrine's own musings, which could get a bit cyclical.

I understand why the angel wasn't given a name, I do, but everything to do with his relationship with our main character Vitrine irked me, and stripping him of that layer of identity made it even more prominent. There are scenes that feel like such violations against his identity and integrity that anything romantic was out the window for me. He read like a pathetic puppy following her around, existing only for her convenience, and personally that's not for me, regardless of which gender fills which role. And the worst part is that in the end he's the one to save her anyway. Again, I get why. Doesn't mean I like it.

Anyway. I like the concept, I like the writing, and I like how the city came alive. I'll certainly give Nghi Vo's work another go.
Thank you to NetGalley, Nghi Vo and Tordotcom for the chance to read and review this book.

I received this as an ARC and I was super excited. I am a massive fan of Nghi Vo's short stories, so I was excited to see what could be woven as a full length tale. Unfortunately, I could not immerse myself in this one. I tried a couple of times and was easily diverted. I saw glimmers of what I love about the writer and their style, but this tale did not hook in the typical way. I am a firm believer that sometimes books are not picked up at the right time (busy life, wrong headspace, etc.) and I feel this may be the case for me this time. While I have set it aside for now as a DNF, I have not given up on it, which is why I give it three stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC.

Nghi Vo is a master at the fantasy novella; creating a world both familiar and strange, viewing humanity from the perspective of something beyond our realm, and using the course of human history as a backdrop for a romance between a devil and an angel. The romance feels on the same level as that in This Is How You Lose the Time War. Two people on opposite ends learn and take from each other, symbolically and literally; it's an emotional, visceral, and passionate relationship that builds to a deafening crescendo. Excellent stuff, I can't say no to anything Vo puts out.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6941894974

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/7231572f-1af5-47ad-8bf2-7685b3764423

Check out this review of The City in Glass on Fable. https://fable.co/review/c0d33cb3-8277-4901-95ff-b657c5ff0221/share

It took me almost half the book to understand the point of the narrative, as it is admittedly a departure from the traditional novel storylines and plot arcs I was used to reading. But once I understood--the resonance of the gorgeous, lyric writing style captivated me. I devoured this one in one sitting because I was so drawn in.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy to review.

i am honestly convinced that nghi vo's writing gets better and better with everything that she publishes - which is saying something, given that her writing is what made me reach for her books after a not-so-successful meeting with the chosen and the beautiful.

the city in glass doesn't have a lot of plot i cared for, but the writing is EXQUISITE. i obviously read an e-arc, but please know I'll be picking up a physical copy and rereading it even though it wasn't my favorite of hers (perhaps because of the lack of plot). aside from the writing, there were particular scenes that really stoor out to me. they were so visceral and raw it felt like i was there with the characters. the tools that nghi vo employs and has in her arsenal that she uses to translate whatever imagery she wants onto page and then into my brain... it leaves me in awe every single time.

this shortie is nothing short of exceptional and an experience like no other, as far as reading original fiction goes.

however, i retracted a star because in places, it honestly felt like meg x castiel fanfiction.

I've read a few of Nghi Vo's works over the years but this might be her best writing yet. The City in Glass is slow, but a very thoughtful examination of grief and anger over the course of history, shown through the perspective of a demon and a slow-burn love story with an angel. I wasn't such a big fan of the romance in this story, but the prose was so atmospheric and really set the vibe for the world. As a personal preference, I really enjoy character-driven stories, so the lack of a strong plotline wasn't something that I consider a negative but wouldn't be for everyone. My only regret is that this story isn't longer.