A sensual delight, author Nghi Vo presents in this story the unusual dance between a demon, Vitrine, and a damaged angel, who, along with this brothers, destroyed Azril, the shining city Vitrine had nurtured and grown over three hundred years.

The prose sparkles, no matter the situation, whether of Vitrine soothing the heartbreak of one of her citizens, or contemplating what her rebuilt city could be, or the slow development of her relationship with the angel.

As a massive fan of this author’s work, I was excited to listen to this gorgeously constructed and characterized tale of the life of a carefully tended and beloved city, and of two enemies, Vitrine and the unnamed angel. Vo masterfully handles the relationship between the two, then ever so delicately begins transforming it, first from the fury felt by Vitrine, then to her frustration with the angel's attempts to help her rebuild, then tolerance by her for his caring for the inhabitants, to prickly friendship as they raise a child together, then finally to something much deeper.

I particularly appreciated the way the author played with the idea of preservation, and displaying collections in glass. Vitrine's name hints at the demon's keeping precious objects close and the way Vitrine needed to preserve the city itself, and the bittersweet, perfect ending for this story.

The narration is wonderfully handled by Susan Dalian, allowing the listener to experience Vitrine’s joy, rage, and love for her city and the people who live there, over the narrative.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This book was beautiful. The struggle between good and evil, the complexity of how just because a person seems evil doesn't mean they are, and the depth that Vo was able to portray was just perfection. I really enjoyed this story, and think everyone should add it to their fall tbr.

Fans of Nghi Vo will be very happy with this story about angels, demons, and the fall and rebirth of a city. Vo's signature style, detailed and cutting descriptions of beauty and tragedy, and strong characters really capture the devastation and heartbreak at the core of the narrative, and invite readers to sit with our somewhat otherworldly protagonists and experience this loss as they do. If I had any complaints, it would be that due to the ruin of the city that it takes quite some time for more established characters to be added to the tale, and I found myself wanting more active people instead of memories. While this choice feels very much intentional, given what happened to the city and how our main point of view character is also actively wishing that society would just come back already, it did make for some slow reading at the start.

I wish I could tell you what this book was about. From the get go I was very confused and couldn't follow the story at all. I really enjoyed Siren Queen by Nghi Vo, so that's why I picked up this book. Unfortunately, I felt like I'd missed the first part of the story. The story was so convoluted and I felt a great detachment from the characters. I wanted to like this book, but I did not enjoy it at all.

Nghi Vo’s writing is gorgeous and that stayed true for this novel in which we follow the demon Vitrine as she watches over her beloved city. This is a generations spanning novel that shows the interplay between Vitrine and an angel who is also drawn to the city.

The plot of this novel was its weakest point to me and I’m not sure if that was due to me listening to it on audiobook. I never felt fully connected to the city Azril, the inhabitants, or to our main leads. I stayed purely for the prose in this one. I would recommend picking this one up physically as I feel the story can be lost while listening.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Fantasy • Angels and Demons • Novella
Publication Date • 1 October 2024

Thank you @tordotcompub and @macmillan.audio for the free audiobook.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙂𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙬.”

I had only heard great things about this Hugo-decorated author and have wanted to read one of her books for a long time.

At only 6 hours/224 pages, this is a short standalone about a demon and an angel’s existence over their immortal lifespans. Together they make up the overwatch of the city of Azriel, as it is destroyed and rebuilt again, following plagues, famines, renaissances, and all manner of events.

The writing and audio narration is lyrical, evoking vivid scenes and imagery, however this is a nonlinear story with no plot, character building, or world building. It’s more like a poetic dialogue between the two immortals.

I found it hard to care about what was happening. I would have liked to have understood how the characters came to be at odds, and in doing so understand their motivations and actions. The ending left me with a so-what.

I did enjoy the audio book narrator who had the removed aloof quality of a demigod demon watching events unfold from above in a lofty position.

Despite it being short, I struggled to finish. However, with over a 4⭐ rating on GoodReads, I am in the minority here. Fans of Masters of Death by Olivia Blake and This is How You Lose the Time War will undoubtedly enjoy this one.

4.5 stars rounded up

The City in Glass is a slow, thoughtful examination of many lifetimes in a city through the perspective of the immortal demon who loves it and watches over the people who inhabit it. And the angel who once destroyed it and is now trapped by a part of the demon. He also will learn to love the city and love her. By turns melancholy and biting, I would definitely call this literary fantasy. It's filled with evocative prose, and the bittersweetness of time. Cycles of life and death, destruction and rebirth. It's not going to be for everyone but I thought it was beautiful. I'm not a fan of the audio narrator for this one. I started listening to it, but ended up deciding to just read it physically. I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

Wowza! Seriously, this was a beautifully written book. Demon and Angel making the world anew. Is it a love story? Not really between the FMC and MMC but a love story of the FMC and her city. This is a story of death, destruction and what it takes to resurrect a love, a memory, and make it into something new without forgetting the past.

The story starts out with the city of Azril which is haunted by the demon Vitrine. But haunted in the way that she moves through the city shaping it to her liking. She meets and loves the people and she keeps them in a cupboard in her heart.

Then one day angels come and destroy her city. Defending her city she hurts one of the angels. And in this wound she pours a piece of herself in. And because of this he cannot go home. He has to take that part of her out of him to be accepted again by his people.

Throughout the book the demon and the angel have long and short interactions. They sometimes spend years apart but I feel they are both trying to make up for what has happened. Throughout it all Vitrine writes the story within herself and her book.

It was a beautiful story. I really enjoyed reading it.

"I love you so, I love you best."

As always Vo is smart af.

This was a short but tight and full speculative scifi with angels and demons and a city as a character.
I enjoyed this a lot.
I did find myself having to go back because I drifted a bit it might work better as an eyeball read but it was a great book.

Thanks to netgalley and Macmillan for an alc

Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio copy of “The City in Glass” by Nghi Vo in exchange for a review.

I didn’t realize Nghi Vo has such a following. It’s my first novel by her. I saw this was picked up by Aardvark Book Club, and the premise peaked my curiosity. Unfortunately, it ended up not being for me.

2.5 ⭐️

Rating reasons:
-Short book, but felt so. long.
-No character development or world building
-Leans heavily into the beautiful prose and not into the actual storyline
-Found myself bored through most of it
-Was there supposed to be romance? I think so but it didn’t work

If you’re into beautiful, atmospheric writing, this could be for you. Sadly, it didn’t work for me.

I was hooked from the first interaction between Vitrine and her angel. Vo has given us a dynamic plot and layered characters. I have always loved to read of demons and angels that do not conform to the accepted. With behaviour that is familiar and not, we follow Vitrine and Angel as their relationship changes and grows, as their feelings twist and twine, as one searches to understand what he has wrought and the other yearns for the return of what was destroyed.

Vo's creativity will always delight which will keep me coming back to her work.

I had such high hopes for this book. The premise sounded incredible.

The narrator did an incredible job. Her performance was immaculate and absolutely deserves five stars.

The story is hard for me to give a rating to because ultimately this is a “it’s me not you” situation. For me personally I give it two to three stars. But, for its beauty, depth and prose I can easily see other readers giving this five stars.

The story itself, unfortunately, just wasn’t for me. I can see how others would love this book. Its prose is lyrical, the plot was deep and moving while also being unique in the way in which it was told. It just felt so slow.
The point of the novella is clearly not for a fast paced epic adventure but instead the slow building foundation of home and love. That can be perfect for many readers, I just wasn’t one of them.
The book is also advertised as a romance between an angel and demon but this is absolutely not a romance. If you go into this story hoping for a romance, you will be let down.
There is this beautiful message of caring for what you love, of working through hatred and anger, hope and forgiveness. It takes you on an adventure of the heart, just not one of fast paced adventure. It’s slow and nurturing and beautiful but for me, personally, I just didn’t connect with the story as much as I was hoping.
I think if it were advertised differently I wouldn’t have gone in with the expectations I did and ultimately would’ve enjoyed it more.
For a novella, I really was expecting things to be just a little more fast paced.
Lastly, that ending….it was extremely disappointing and if it ended differently I think I would’ve felt differently about this book as a whole. But, that ending was, in my opinion, not how I was hoping the story to be wrapped up.
This feels similar to writing style and the execution of Piranesi by Suanna Clarke.
Overall, I think this was a beautiful story and a novella many people will love. This was just not the story I was expecting it to be and the false advertising left me disappointed in the novella.

Thank you NetGalley for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully written, but a touch too distance for what I wanted from the premise. I also finished this a week ago and I forgot a lot of what happened.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for providing me a complimentary copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Vitrine is a demon who loves her city. But when Angels come and destroy it, she gets very mad and curses one of them, and now he is now stuck in the ruins of said city with her.

I’m going to be honest, I’m not sure these types of books are for me. I recently read another novel that reminded me a lot of this one. (𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘢 by Jennifer Saint.) It’s a story told from the POV of an immortal being, that tells of their experiences over the span of hundreds of years, and often in more of a “telling” vs. “showing” way.

I know a lot of people love these sorts of books, but I think I’m coming to realize that I am not one of them.

Not that I didn’t enjoy some parts of this one. I did love the interactions between the Demon, Vitrine, and the Angel she cursed, as well as some of the stories of her city’s humans towards the end. But, if this hadn’t been such a short listen, I likely would have DNF’d, as my interest definitely waned throughout.

Overall, I think this is a fine addition to this genre of fiction, with some very beautiful writing.

Audiobook notes: The narration was good. No complaints!

What this book is giving:
✅ Standalone Fantasy Novel
✅ Demon
✅ Angel
✅ A City
✅ The Span of Time

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️½ / 5

Flowing with gorgeous prose and filled with achingly beautiful imagery, this mythological treatment of an ancient city is ultimate a shallow narrative that doesn’t even fill the novella length. The pace still remains incredibly slow and the development between the angel and demon is diluted by the confusing cast of side characters. A great idea that wasn’t fully realized.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

A difficult book to describe because it's both vast in the passage of time (centuries) and yet concentrated (to one particular city). The beginning is a little slow, but stick with it because where this book really comes into its own is when we start to see the Angel and Vitrine witness generation after generation of descendants each pledge one year to the city of Azril. There's something beautiful and wistful about seeing a person live their lives from childhood to death through the eyes of an immortal, and Nghi Vo captures this wonderfully. And because it's Nghi Vo, the writing is absolutely sublime.

Nghi Vo came across my reading radar when I read the novella "The Brides of High Hill" and loved the flow of words and imagery expressed by her writing. Some moments are so simple and yet so powerful, taking a blade of grass or crumbled ruin and depicting it in such a way to create powerful emotion such as loss, frustration, heartache, and so much more.

Within The City in Glass, a demon has been watching over her city for millennia, walking among the people and swaying the course of lives to how she wants things to be in subtle ways. She has fallen in love with many of them, in her on way, and she sees them as hers. She knows them each by name and their flaws.

When the angels come and burn her city to cinders, she is furious. Her people and her possession has been ripped from her . Now she must rebuild from the rubble but one angel is bound by her grief and a piece of her vengeance buries itself inside the being who destroyed everything she worked so hard to create.

There is such beauty and pain in this book and I loved watching the demon and angel circle each other as they their forced proximity kept them near enough to each other but allowed just enough distance for anger to simmer. As a reader, we are often prone to preconceived notions of good and evil, light and dark but this book seems to take those notions and turn them on their head as the angels seem to destroy and the demon seems to be the one to create and nurture (at times). Such a multifaceted story worth exploring.

“What a shame that would be, to fall in love and be made to stay.”
“I love her,” Vitrine continued, still watching the empty horizon. “Her name is in my book.”
“And you let her go.”
“There are many ways to love someone.”

A demon, an angel, and a city. This book was…vey dream like and strange. But in a good way, if you enjoy the vibes of This Is How You Lose the Time War, Piranesi and The Night Circus. This short standalone spans many years, seeing to a city’s loss and recreation. I think at its core, this story is about the nurturing of something precious, the loss of identity and country, the perseverance of generations, and more. There’s an ethereal and poetic quality to the writing that makes it beautiful.

I don’t think this one will be for anybody looking for plot or a clear storyline- it will probably feel boring to some. I enjoyed the experience, but I would approach this more like poetry rather than a traditional story. Definitely a quiet, dreamy read, if you’re in the mood for it. I thought the narrator did a great job!

This is an interesting little book.

A demon loves her city. But then angels show up and destroy it. In her rage, she curses one of them, Now the two are stuck together.

And this story takes us through their journey together of hate, unrequited love, mutual love, despair, hope, and more.

It's interesting, and weird, and unique. I think I would have liked it better if I physically read it, but that's a personal thing of me getting distracted by everything.

It doesn't dive deep into the relationship. That just kind of brews in the background. You're not going to get a lot of deep pining, but I also really love that.

4 stars. My first Nghi Vo book but not my last!

audio-ARC from NetGalley.

3.5

A demon once loved a city. She watched over it for generations and remembered those people she loved most. Until, one day, the angels descended from heaven and destroyed all of it. As they left, she threw a pebble, striking one of the angels and infecting him with her agony. From then on, he was trapped on Earth with her always.

I'm not sure what to make of this one. I found it very slow and too distant to enjoy at first. I almost DNF'd about halfway through, but I convinced myself to keep going since it's so short. And, in the end, it became something beautiful.

In a way, I understand the need for distance. As immortals, they watch over everything and grow detached from all but those most special to them. There were moments between the angel and the demon, even amongst the distance, that felt so primal and invigorating. The rage and the sacrifice. The hate and the devotion. The way this city was rebuilt and torn asunder again and again. It was truly special.

I only wish it had caught me before 60%.