This was a really cool concept and I overall liked it. However, I found that the prose was often a bit too purple for my liking, and it felt like the story was a vehicle for the prose rather than the prose supporting the story. I also did not particularly care for the relationship that carried through the story - there was nothing to give me any sort of investment in it so instead it was just annoying; I was much more invested in the relationship between Vitrine and her city. The ending also didn't land well for me at all.

That being said, I think the majority of what I didn't like was entirely down to taste. I've enjoyed Vo's other work - this one just wasn't for me.

One of my absolute favorite things about Vo's Singing Hills series is the world-building. The plot of each of those books is sharp and tightly written, but the world-building always gives me the feeling of having read something broader and richer than a novella, and it's the world of Singing Hills that more than anything else has me coming back to the next book for more.

This book is like that, but on steroids. I'd say this is about 70% delightful (or tragic!) romp through the city of Azril, 20% demon/angel lore, and 10% love story. And I absolutely loved it for that. Sure, I would've like a stronger sense of difference between the Azril-that-was and the new Azril, and maybe one or two more stories of the people who had lived there (something in the vein of the artist who drew the truth, or Malabec Mercer), and like a shade more about angels (one short conversation about his home would've been great!), but those are quibbles.

If you like lore splashed all over the place and delicious world-building and a plot that's more scaffolding than forward thrust (you probably have a rough idea where all this is going from the blurb) then this is the book for you. I enjoyed this so much, and hope that Vo chooses to write more in this world - or something else with a setting that's strange and wonderful.

It’s well written. I usually prefer character driven fiction. This story is focused on the experiences of the demon (seemed like more of a demigod really) who loved her city that was destroyed by angry angels all the other characters don’t matter too much. The book is more a history of a city than the story of the demon and the humans who live and die around her. Well written and towards the literary end of the genre. Everything I’ve read by this author has been excellent so if the description of this book doesn’t quite catch you look at her other books and find one that does speak to you. She’s well worth reading.

What a beautifully written world and story. I was captivated as soon as I started to read this book. But, I felt that I needed a bit more context of a plot line. I could tell you more about the scenery.

Thank you to Nigh Vo, Tor Publishing Group, Tordotcom, and Netgalley for this free advanced reader copy of "The City in Glass" for an honest review. At this point, I will never be able to resist reaching out and seeking out the newest Nghi Vo book. I started trying them out here on Netgalley, and I have fallen forever in love with their worlds. This world is a testament to the long, slow march of time, and all that is born, glitters, rusts, dies, and is born again.

It's about a demon who loved a city so hard she mourned it with all she had within her heart, soul, and glass case. It's about an angel who was perfect as he was made, cursed for his arrogance and shortsightedness. It's about the city that grows on the ashes of those actions and those beings. It's about love and death, about growth and change. It's about genuinely examining who you were, who you are, and who you might be. It's about loving someone for who they are and not who you assumed they were or the assumptions they might be lumped into.

It's about books and time, mothering as a calling both beautiful and heart-shattering, immortals woven into the mortality of everything around them, and the importance of every tiny spec of life. It's all of this, none of this, and everything else a sky of stars can be filled with.

I really enjoyed this slow burn buildup of a demon and an angel coexisting in a toppled city.

First of all the style of writing of Vo is unsurpassed. The imagery and way of drying the reader into the story cannot be accomplished by anybody else. So much is always accomplished within her short Novellas. The character development of vitrine in particular was absolutely stellar. I related to the loneliness and heartache that she experienced throughout this short novel.

I thought the dynamic between the demon and the angel was interesting and somewhat of a flop on what is typically happening between a demon and an angel. While the angel did not seem inherently evil or bad to me in anyway he definitely was not the shining good guy that they are usually portrayed as. Vitrine had a lot of emotion and love for those in the city, which is not typical of a demon in most stories. I enjoyed that change of pace, and I thought it added a lot of complexity and richness to the story.

Overall, another stellar installment Novella from this lovely author. I will continue to cherish her work.

The setting was soooo immersive, loved how the characters relationship blossomed. I really enjoyed the passage of time.

This was not the book for me :(

The writing was beautiful and the way Nghi Vo handled themes of grief here was so well done. Unfortunately, I needed a little more in terms of world-building and character development to fully enjoy this. The romance also didn't work for me with the way it was(n't) developed.

I would definitely recommend this to people who like non-linear narrative and whimsical/fantastical vibes. If stories about angels and demons falling in love is up your alley as well, this could definitely be the book for you!

I honestly spent a chunk of this book wondering if it was an allegory, and maybe it is and I'm too literal to embrace it. Either way, I enjoyed this book, which spends as much time deep in grief as depicting divinity.

This one is hard for me to review! I had to think about it for a good while after finishing it to collect my thoughts!

First off, Nghi Vo is a master of crafting emotionally devastating minutiae. There is no detail here that isn’t profoundly impactful, and I guess that’s the point. As a reader, I felt Vitrine’s rage and grief because of all the supremely human, supremely inconsequential details this ageless being held inside her. Every crumb of the lives moving around her felt vital to the story, vital to understanding the demon at the heart of the narrative. Excellently done.

I also LOVED Vitrine and her angel. The sometimes deeply passionate and steady, sometimes mercurial and otherworldly demon immediately had my heart. Her angel, with his deep grief and rage was a compelling mirror, and I found myself holding my breath to see what would happen to the pair next as they coexisted in the city.

Both pacing and plot were strong for 80% of the book, and I found it an easy, balanced read. Toward the end, however, I feel like something didn’t quite settle in to its niche. I feel like the climactic city conflict was one that was, more or less, presented as plainly as things we as readers were expected to take in stride over the course of the narrative, so I didn’t really feel the emotional impact and devastation that I was meant to, I think. I was frankly confused by the resolution to the conflict, or why all of a sudden this powerful, capable demon needed the particular resolution she got. I needed to understand more the why of it, and I was left a little unsure.

In terms of the denouement, I…was disappointed, I think. Perhaps it was simply a matter of this being a different kind of story than I expected, but it felt hollow, somehow. As I ponder, perhaps the significance will come to me, but in the meantime I’m left feeling a little sad it ended how it did.

Anyway, I still recommend it and will happily handsell it at work!

To be quite honest, I don’t even know how to describe this book… but I know one thing… I absolutely loved it. Vo solidified their self as a favorite author of mine with The Singing Hills Cycle, but this might be my new favorite. The writing was lyrical, the world building was so unique, and I loved the non-linear timeline of these immortal beings who ended up loving each other so tenderly. This book is definitely a vibes only book, but I found that it worked really well. The characters were complex and well fleshed out. I know this won’t work for everyone but it really worked for me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book I’ve read by Nghi Vo, and it definitely won’t be my last! "The City in Glass" is beautifully written, with incredible emotional depth and world-building.

We follow Vitrine, who grieves but refuses to give up, slowly rebuilding her beloved city. The audiobook is narrated by Susan Dalian, who perfectly captures the poetic and atmospheric tone, making it even more captivating. Though the plot is light and the timeline non-linear, the unique blend of fantasy, philosophy, and introspection, paired with lyrical prose, makes this a must-listen for fans of immersive storytelling.

2.5. This book is definitely carried by its premise. The premise is SO strong, but the execution was kind of lackluster. The writing is beautiful, but the rest of the book just wasn’t very well executed

A quick and fascinating read, to me this meandering story spanning hundreds of years is mostly centered on themes of grief. Vitrine’s delight in her city, even as she is whispering in the ears of her chosen favorites and slowly shaping it, was really enjoyable. Even though there was plenty of death and violence I found this to be a dreamy, fairly unstressful read as Vitrine understands that everyone in her city will die one day. The relationship with the angel was more confusing; I didn’t want him to keep coming back but it did spur a lot of growth in Vitrine. I’m not sure I really understand the ending but it will be something for me to mull over for a while. Well worth the time spent reading it.

Thank you to Tordotcom Publishing for providing the Lesbrary with an ARC of this book. This review has been written by one of the Lesbrary’s reviewers.

As a fan of Nghi Vo, I eagerly snapped up her latest book, a standalone supernatural novella, and was not disappointed. The City in Glass stars Vitrine, a demon who has watched over the seaside city of Azril for generations. One day, without warning, angels appear and raze the city to the ground, killing every living being. The book never tries to make sense of this senseless slaughter, or pretend it’s anything but what it is, which I appreciated. Vitrine is devastated by the sudden loss of everything she loves, and despite her grief, she sets out to rebuild the city—even as one of the angels has remained, and has formed an unlikely connection to her.

This story impacted me with its depictions of death and renewal. No matter what Vitrine does, Azril will never be the same. In the wake of grief, the only path forward is transformation. Azril’s people and history made it what it was, and they are the objects of Vitrine’s devotion—so if she must rebuild it from scratch, is it the same city she loves? The book sits with fact that there are no easy answers, simply showing how she handles her unbearable situation, one day and decade at a time.

Through precise, evocative descriptions, Nghi Vo sketches a portrait of Azril. This is the sort of story where the setting itself is a character, one we see through Vitrine’s eyes. As an immortal, her narration can sweep past decades—but as someone who loves deeply, and cherishes the minor and messy details that each mortal contributes to the city and its history, she also lets us zoom in intimately on the most transient of moments. This PoV is effective for creating a sense of the city as something that exists in a large scale but would be nothing without the daily lives of the people who live in and move through it.

It also allows the story to revel in the messier aspects of humanity, as Vitrine is not some distant watcher; she keeps herself close, willing to manipulate situations if it suits her, and the city’s less savory sides don’t deter her deep well of eternal affection. I was drawn to this character for being at once brutal and devoted.

Admittedly, I was less personally invested in the romance between her and an angel who participated in the initial destruction of the city, not from any failing of the book but simply due to personal feelings; the space of a novella was not enough for me to look past his role in such a terrible crime and the grief it caused her. While immortals have plenty of time to move forward, it’s just a fact that my reading experience was much shorter than their in-universe arc. That being said, their relationship tied into the book’s theme of transformation in the wake of grief. Regardless, the protagonist, setting, and writing were enough to carry my investment. I also particularly enjoyed some side characters who appear in the second half of the book.

Ultimately, this story left me with the sense that love always returns. It matters for people to cherish what is around them, and to preserve the memory of what came before. If you are drawn to passionate, morally dubious women and explorations of grief, then I recommend this book.

I don’t know how Nghi Vo managed to craft stories the way they do. A story without a moral or much of a plot, and meaning I can’t discern, but still found fascinating to the end. This is almost a case study of the birth and end of humanity through the very limited scope of a demon who loves a single city. And in the beginning it felt like word vomit and the raving thoughts of a lunatic, I felt like this would be the kind of story only a pretentious asshole would love. And then I looked up and realized I was completely enthralled and I couldn’t tell you why. There isn’t a plot, so much as you drift along as you see how a civilization rises from the ashes. Not too much character development, the ending leaves me wanting so much more resolution- I’m a little haunted honestly.

A demon who loves a city, an angel who destroys it, and the city that is rebuilt as a strange relationship begins. A demon called Vitrine loves one thing only: the city of Azril. She's raised it and its people for generations but when the angels come the city is destroyed... and now Vitrine will raise it once again... but now bound to the angel that she has cursed. Vitrine's journey through the years makes the city grow and her relationship with the angel changes... becoming something more. This was a quick read, albeit a bit all over the place for me. It had a Good Omens kind of vibe but it just wasn't as fun or as well done. The story is about grief and resurrection and the endurance of love. It's a bit all over the place, there are a ton of time jumps, and the angel's relationship was odd because it just kind of happens and then there's no real shining moment for it. I do love Nghi Vo's writing, and this one was okay for me overall, but I look forward to her next projects!

Release Date: October 1,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tordotcom for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I first read Nghi Vo back in 2021 when The Empress of Salt and Fortune took home a well-deserved Hugo Award for Best Novella, and the beauty of her prose and richness of her settings invariably makes for good reads. The premise of The City in Glass didn’t necessarily jump out at me, but with it being a very short novel by such a talented author, it seemed well worth a try. 

The City in Glass is a novel that’s a bit hard to blurb, because it’s just not plot-driven enough to produce an obvious hook. “A demon plays Civ” isn’t exactly going on marketing material. But that is in many ways the vibe. The lead is a demon who has crafted a city into a place that she finds interesting—it’s never about what’s good or evil, only about interesting and boring—before a group of angels judge it for its sins and raze it to the ground. And so she sets about the long and slow task of rebuilding, with the occasional help of an angel who became corrupted in the attack. 

I was worried that this would turn into “angels are moralistic jerks, demons are the ones who are actually good” sort of story—something that’s been done many a time before and that I don’t find especially interesting—but Vo manages to turn it in a slightly different direction. Of course, the lead does see angels as moralistic jerks, but that’s mostly because they’ve foiled her own selfish plans, not out of any real sense that she’s the one in the right. And while she certainly influences her angelic frenemy to see perspectives he hadn’t previously considered, it’s not clear whether the change makes him better or whether it just makes him different. 

But this is part of what made it hard for me to really invest emotionally in the novel. There are really two major arcs, and only one of them is going anywhere in particular. The bulk of the story focuses on the slow building of the city, but there’s not a goal in mind so much as there is a series of opportunistic tweaks that will hopefully build something interesting. I joked about a demon playing Civ, but that’s in many ways the flavor of the major city-building narrative. The other arc, the one that does have a modicum of momentum, is an extremely slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, presented in little snapshots separated by decades, or sometimes centuries. But even though that plot thread is clearly moving somewhere, it still carries that sense that it’s not going anywhere better, just somewhere different, and that makes it difficult to really care. 

But where The City in Glass shines is in the words and the scenes. Vo writes beautifully and really brings the setting to life, generating an immersion in the individual moments that makes it an engaging read even if the larger plot is absent or underwhelming. We see the city’s growth through myriad little vignettes, whether interactions with the environment or the people. And those vignettes are invariably deftly told and worthy reads. 

Overall, I expect a reader’s opinion of The City in Glass to depend heavily on their penchant for plot-light, “portrait of a city's growth through the years” stories. But even if there isn’t much of a driving plot, readers can always sit back and appreciate the beauty of the words. 

Recommended if you like: portraits of cities changing over time, slow-burn amoral enemies-to-lovers, Vo’s storytelling. 

Overall rating: 15 of Tar Vol’s 20. Four stars on Goodreads.

Beautiful. And short enough that I am just left wanting more. Vitrine's grief feels so real and left my heart aching at times. Time felt only how I would expect time to feel for immortals. And the end. Oh my gosh I will be thinking about that ending for a long long time.

This is my first book by Nghi Vo, but it certainly won't be my last! The writing is beautiful, and I loved the characters so much, even with them being written in a way that doesn't overly connect you to anyone but Vitrine, The Demon of Azril. The grief and loss, the longing for what was, and the hope for the future when it came were all so wonderfully explored. I also loved that it really did feel like we were watching from a viewpoint of something other - the demons and angels did interact with the world differently, and have a step back from the human elements of the story. The ending was both what I hoped and didn't hope for - but it suits the book and Vitrine perfectly.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.