City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards book review

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2.5/5

“This city was a mess, he had to admit. It was dark and dirty and riddled with sinners, but it was his city, the only land he’d ever known.”

Loren Calla is a human living in the realm of Angelthene, a city teeming with magical beings including witches and vampires. Loren has always tried to lead a normal life but when her best friend Sabrine is kidnapped, Loren is devastated – especially when she discovers it was HER they were after.

In order to rescue her friend and uncover who is attempting to sabotage her life, Loren teams up with Darien Cassel, a brooding and ruthless leader of a Darkslaying clan called The Seven Devils.

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City of Gods and Monsters is an ambitious novel, even more so when you realize it’s the authors first and although the world building is luscious and the love interest is too, it doesn’t quite reach the fantastical heights I had hoped for.

As a lead Loren is, just well, fine, and the male main character is a cliche of a love interest; tall, dark haired and handsome with a questionable past. Loren’s best friend Dallas is likable enough and although she is key in the first third of the book she barely features throughout the rest – despite Loren claiming they are inseparable. As for Darien’s team of ‘Devils,’ it’s hard to keep up with what half of them do and what the other half are called.

Although it was exciting to be thrown into an urban fantasy land, the lore within The City of Gods and Monsters is heavy and Edwards is eager to describe everything from the colour of Loren’s nails to the plant in the a shop window. It sometimes felt as though we were being fed the information rather than letting the readers make their own minds up; Edwards tells us how to feel, when to be annoyed, who are loyal and who is in the wrong.

I have seen countless people comparing this book to Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood but if I’m being honest, there is no comparison.

I’m glad I read it, purely for Singer and Bandit, but I won’t be picking up the sequel anytime soon.

🌑 For fans of Zodiac Academy and A Touch of Darkness🌑

Emily xo