City of Shadows, by Pippa DaCosta

Hey all!

I just finished reading City of Shadows, by Pippa DaCosta

Note: I recieved a copy of this from Netgalley. This does not change my opinion on the book 

Note 2: I just realized - after writing the review - that this is the second book in a series.. Maybe that’s why I didn’t quite get it... 

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.

Now, one thing you have to know is that I have a thing for fairy books. They’re not my favorite by any means, but I still love the genre, and I love the way authors twist the idea of fairies to fit their story. 

This story felt more like it was about vampires… The fae would ‘drink’ draiocht, some kind of life force (?), by touching humans. It would give them life, energy, and basically food. They were actually quite creepy!

The story is about Alina, a Construct. As far as I understood, she and her friend, Reign, killed the fae queen, and thus has the queen in her, as well as another major spirit, Arachne. But she was only ‘made’ a few weeks ago. She wants to be trained, as she has been showing crazy fighting abilities. She meets Samuel, a friend willing to train her. 

But Samuel’s a massive back-stabber. I never really liked his character, I had a hard time shipping them, even though the book wanted you to. It never felt real in my opinion. 

Alina is also trying to not become a fairy - she refuses to take draiocht from people, however she has Andrews, a human, who willingly gives some to her when she needs it

I’m not going to lie - I had a hard time with this book. I never really got into it, or got attached to the situation or characters. So many little details could be glossed over while reading, and some revelations are just given in one part of a sentence, that changes everything. But since it’s mentioned once, if you miss it, you’re just left confused. I really wanted to like it. 

What I did enjoy was the imagination regarding the world. I really enjoyed reading about it and learning what was going on with the society itself. I know this is a series, and I wish that this book could have set the setting more, rather than focusing on a complicated plot. There was real potential!! 

I’m giving this book a 2.5/5 feathers. It had a super potential, but I feel like the world should have been explained more, the characters be more relatable and the plot be less crazy.  

Again, don’t take my review too too seriously, as I dint know this was actually the second book in a series...

Have a nice day!