City of Shadows by Pippa DaCosta - 4/5
Summary from Goodreads:
Alina knows she is not real – the fae queen spun an evil web to create her – but she wants more than to spend her days feeding off humans’ energy to survive. She isn’t content to lose herself in the dangerously attractive Reign. She wants a life of her own making. Desperate to help the man who saved her life, Alina vows to find his missing sister. Alina is convinced that the general of the Fae Authority plays a part in her disappearance. She infiltrates the organisation and gets close to their strongest fighter. But while Samuel’s tormented soul and masterful touch stirs in Alina a feeling of being human again, her loyalty to Reign makes her Samuel’s enemy. Who should she trust? This New Adult urban fantasy is packed with action and suspense and will have you yearning for more forbidden fae romance.
Review:
*** I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. ***
Alina’s back! After defeating the spider queen and being sucked further into the world of the fae, she’s really coming to her own. In the last book, she dealt with a loss of identity and the realization that her life was a lie, but in this book, it seems she’s finally standing on her own two feet and able to begin making decisions for herself. She’s become a fighter. That being said, I still struggle to connect with her. She’s often annoying and rash in her decision making, and I still don’t feel very sympathetic for her. Despite how annoying she is, I do think she’s beginning to get a personality, and I can appreciate that.
The tangled love web got even more confusing in this book. Reign is still acting aloof and disinterested (while also VERY much interested). He drove me crazy in the last book, but I did find that I missed him in this one. We also have Samuel, who, as Alina decides to begin her work with the FA, becomes a love (lust) interest (I have to be honest, I didn’t understand this one AT ALL). There’s a balance between love and lust, but Alina is like a switch and I’m always surprised when she starts going after people because I can never tell where her head is at. We also have the Detective, whose life Alina has basically destroyed by bespelling him but who she is trying to help by finding his sister. The bespellment is another whole twisted, uncomfortable situation to read about, but I understand how important it is to the plot.
I feel like I’m focusing a lot on negativity, so here are the positives: this series got so much better! I don’t know what exactly happened, but when Alina began exploring her options and we got to meet more fae characters and dive a little deeper into their world, I began changing my mind about the whole thing. The pacing is great, too. The action is nonstop, so it’s difficult to put the book down.
There were some twists and turns in this one that really surprised me, and I enjoyed that about this book. The characters were not always who I thought they were, and though that can be stressful and maddening sometimes, I actually appreciated it in this one.
As always, Pippa DaCosta’s writing is lovely. Her world building is growing with this one, and it’s beginning to really suck me into the story.
I always mention the covers last, but this one is really gorgeous. I would definitely pull it off the shelf, even if I had no idea what it was about.
Overall, DaCosta has sucked me in, and I’m excited to continue reading this series!
