Red City is my latest adult fantasy obsession. If you read An Unkindness of Magicians and have been searching for that vibe? This. I ate this up. Keep reading this book review of Red City for my full thoughts.
Summary
Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves: more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.
Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city―and the paths of their lives―will be irrevocably transformed.
The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become a Lumines apprentice, Ari is one of the syndicates’ brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever-escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them both to survive the coming war.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Red City does not shy away from the rot of corruption, the worlds of shadowy daggers, and the lack of choices. It’s glittering, gritty, and gruesome all at once. This world which forces us to be harder, to witness the consequences of our survival, and to be forced to move on. With childhood enemies to lovers, Ari and Sam were always destined to be drawn to each other, to be on opposite sides of this knife fight, and fated to possibly destroy each other. As their relationship and friendship unfolds, this world holds back no punches. It’s about the pain that transformation requires, the costs of greatness, and the hollowness of ambition.
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This is a world where threats are primed to go and where we are forced to the brink of what we think we can do. Will this world so deeply locked in corruption, power, and backstabbing steal Ari and Sam’s little humanity left? Is there even any sense to trying to retain it at all? It’s a world where mistakes are felt in blood and a city with loyalties in street names. Alchemy has this dangerous power of transformation, of pain and power, of love and loss. Does power not always corrupt? Red City took me by storm. And amidst this maelstrom, can Sam or Ari ever truly escape this never ending hamster wheel of power, vacuums, and coups? There’s this beating almost fossilized heart of those with power, but what happens at the edge of stone?
Overall,
It wasn’t free because something cannot come from nothing.
We harden pieces of ourselves because that’s what we think will protect ourselves, when in reality we just made it easier to crack. Throughout it all is the sacrifices we make for and of our children. Do they spell out our mutual demise? We can be forever sorry and forever bound to do it again. Power and gratitude often come hand in hand, but what happens when we are taken, saved, blackmailed, coached, and expected to be grateful? Can you tell I’m obsessed? Plus the audiobook is multiple narrators and has some of my favorites of all time? If you love audiobooks, this is a must listen!
Find Red City on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.