fantasy, audiobook
Set in an alternate version of Los Angeles, Red City is set in a world where mob-like rival syndicates control the city
by controlling the production of a drug called sand - created through
alchemy, the art of transformation. Sam, a girl neglected by her single
mother, and Ari, a boy taken away from his family to become an
apprentice to one of the syndicates, befriend one another growing up. But life in the city pulls them apart and affiliation with rival syndicates
ensures they have no future together.
I’ve been reading Marie Lu’s books since Legend was released in 2011 and have found her books hit or miss. Jumping onto the romantasy bandwagon, Red City reads like a YA book with some awkward sex scenes thrown into it. Truth be told, if the sex scenes were carved out, this would be an enjoyable YA fantasy book.
As always, I loved Lu’s world-building. My favorite thing about Red City was learning about the syndicates and the rules of alchemy; it was often fascinating. The hardest thing about this novel is that there weren’t a lot of characters to cheer for. I really liked Sam and I had a lot of empathy for her throughout. But I never felt like she had any chemistry with Ari and I generally thought most of their interactions were awkward and felt forced. Because of that, I wasn’t particularly interested in Ari’s sections of the book. I think, because of the romantasy aspect, some of the relationships in the book felt forced and I frequently found myself wondering if the book was originally written to be YA and someone suggested that Lu spice it up and try to turn it into book for adults, or if it was her intention all along. I wonder if I would have been more forgiving of some of the plot if it had been a YA novel?
Overall I enjoyed it and will read the next book in the series, but it definitely isn’t a book that I couldn’t wait to get back to at the end of the day.
I was able to get advance copies of the book and the audiobook so read this book reading when I had time and listening to the audio when driving and doing chores around the house, which is how I really prefer to enjoy a book. The audiobook is narrated by André Santana, Eunice Wong, Natalie Naudus, and Sid Sagar. I’m not sure who read which parts, but I enjoyed all of their voices as they really made the story come to life. All did a wonderful job on a variety of voices.
Thanks to Tor Publishing, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copies of Red City. This title will publish on October 14.
I’ve been reading Marie Lu’s books since Legend was released in 2011 and have found her books hit or miss. Jumping onto the romantasy bandwagon, Red City reads like a YA book with some awkward sex scenes thrown into it. Truth be told, if the sex scenes were carved out, this would be an enjoyable YA fantasy book.
As always, I loved Lu’s world-building. My favorite thing about Red City was learning about the syndicates and the rules of alchemy; it was often fascinating. The hardest thing about this novel is that there weren’t a lot of characters to cheer for. I really liked Sam and I had a lot of empathy for her throughout. But I never felt like she had any chemistry with Ari and I generally thought most of their interactions were awkward and felt forced. Because of that, I wasn’t particularly interested in Ari’s sections of the book. I think, because of the romantasy aspect, some of the relationships in the book felt forced and I frequently found myself wondering if the book was originally written to be YA and someone suggested that Lu spice it up and try to turn it into book for adults, or if it was her intention all along. I wonder if I would have been more forgiving of some of the plot if it had been a YA novel?
Overall I enjoyed it and will read the next book in the series, but it definitely isn’t a book that I couldn’t wait to get back to at the end of the day.
I was able to get advance copies of the book and the audiobook so read this book reading when I had time and listening to the audio when driving and doing chores around the house, which is how I really prefer to enjoy a book. The audiobook is narrated by André Santana, Eunice Wong, Natalie Naudus, and Sid Sagar. I’m not sure who read which parts, but I enjoyed all of their voices as they really made the story come to life. All did a wonderful job on a variety of voices.
Thanks to Tor Publishing, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copies of Red City. This title will publish on October 14.
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