“A thrilling adventure, through a vibrant city as alive as any character, about a girl willing to do anything to better her circumstances. ” – Emily A. Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints Good things don’t happen to girls who come from nothing…unless they risk everything. Fierce and ambitious, Aina SolÃs as sharp as her blade and as mysterious as the blood magic she … blade and as mysterious as the blood magic she protects. After the murder of her parents, Aina takes a job as an assassin to survive and finds a new family in those like her: the unwanted and forgotten.
Her boss is brutal and cold, with a questionable sense of morality, but he provides a place for people with nowhere else to go. And makes sure they stay there.
DIAMOND CITY: built by magic, ruled by tyrants, and in desperate need of saving. It is a world full of dark forces and hidden agendas, old rivalries and lethal new enemies.
To claim a future for herself in a world that doesn’t want her to survive, Aina will have to win a game of murder and conspiracy–and risk losing everything.
Full of action, romance and dark magic, book one of debut author Francesca Flores’ breathtaking fantasy duology will leave readers eager for more!
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I really wanted to like Diamond City. But, I can understand why so many people DNF it. The second half of the book earned it 3 stars. The first 200 pages didn’t have me hooked. You shouldn’t have to read over 200 pages before it gets interesting. Overall for me Diamond City was a disappointment.
Action Packed from page one!
I enjoyed the world building. It was like The Professional meets West Side Story. There is definitely room for improvement. The timeline transitions could have been a bit better defined with breaks or something. The romantic shadows were a bit frustrating. There were a few elements that were a bit over done in my opinion. But it was a good story and I am looking forward to book two.
A thrilling adventure, through a vibrant city as alive as any character, about a girl willing to do anything to better her circumstances.
This seems to be the author’s first book with it catching my eye. It intrigued me to read about a female assassin and why the job. You are given the why with the present unraveling before you. The other characters also catch your eye. Now Diamond city is another thing that will swallow you up. Follow Aina as she faces the biggest challenge with it pulling at us as she does. Romance is woven into it also with it making this even more of a nose to the page turner. If you love one with magic this is the stop then. Hope to catch this author again.
Just like the metropolis for which it’s named, Diamond City is full of shadows, secrets, and heart-stopping surprises. An absolutely electric debut!
Diamond City is a fast-paced book about a heroine I constantly found myself root for. THIS BOOK IS AMAZING.
I couldn’t put this book down. The author sucked me in from the beginning and spit me out at the end. Aina wasn’t a likable person. But she was shaped into who she was by the death of her parents and the training of her boss. By the end of the book, the world she used to view in black and white morphed into many shades of grey.
I do have a warning. The world that Diamond City is violent and bloody and the author doesn’t hold back. So, if this isn’t your thing, I would skip it. Other that that, strap in and enjoy the book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book.
Diamond city is a YA story full of magic, romance and action. It took me a couple of chapter to really get into it but I have really love this book and looking foward to the sequel.
After the murder of her parents, Aina became an assassin to survive. His boss might be brutal, but he provides a place for people who have no where else to go. On one of her task, something will go wrong and Aina might lose everything…
Three and a half
Ok I was really keen to read this story about a female assassin as I have adored that particular trope recently and honestly I wanted to be fully immersed in another piece of fantasy fiction. Well yes ok our protagonist is female and yes Aina is an assassin but she’s almost detached at times, felt strangely weak and wasn’t really that likeable. I do understand when anyone could be out for your blood every day that it’s hard to trust or form attachments but Aina seemed to lack loyalty and empathy and for me any explanations given just weren’t strong enough.
I will endeavour not to rehash the plot but essentially we have a world divided into an industrial elite class and then a much poorer group who follow an outlawed religion. Into this odd mix the author drops deadly street gangs and perhaps the part I really needed more information about is diamond mining because the diamonds are used for magic amongst the poorest and jewellery by the richest or Steels as they are known. There’s a strong sense of both Victorian like slums coupled with a more modern world with electricity and technology that sadly just wasn’t descriptive enough. I wanted to picture things in the theatre of my mind but just couldn’t.
The story and overall plot isn’t bad it was just that with my lack of empathy for the flawed Aina and her Stockholm attitude towards her boss it just didn’t convince me enough. I wanted to be completed sucked in and yes the author leaves possibilities for romance if Aina survives the next book but who will actually get her to truly feel is anyone’s guess !
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
I was given an advanced copy by Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
Aina grew up in a world of those who have and those who have not. At the age of eight she watched her parents be killed for nothing more than practicing their religion; something they were doing in secret to avoid such persecution. A religion based on blood magic. After spending sometime on the street she is taken in by Kohl and taught to be one of his hired assassins. Aina dreams of one day becoming owning her our guild of assassins. To accomplish this dream she has made a deal with Kohl. One last job. Infiltrate the home of one of the cities most wealth citizens and murder him. Aina believed that she accomplished her task but soon realizes that her target is not dead.
I enjoyed Diamond City. Francesca Flores has built an amazing world and developed wonderful characters. I could visualize every moment of the story. Including the moments that involved my biggest fear – extremely large sized spiders! This story has a lot of complex twists and turns. Because it was so overwhelming I found myself having to read then step back to absorb and take in what I read.
My only real issue with the story would be a character flaw of Aina. I believe that this flaw was by design and I also believe there will be redemption by Aina should there be future installments to the story. In her time with Kohl Aina has developed a bit of Stockholm Syndrome. She believes herself to be in love with Kohl even though he often times treats her poorly. After Aina discovered that her target, Kouta, was not dead she works with her target’s brother, Ryuu, in an effort to locate where Kouta is hidden. Aina gets to know Ryuu and they form a friendship. Once Kouta is located Aina still follows through in righting her botched assassination. Fortunately for Aina someone else has beaten her to the punch and Kouta is already dead. I love Ryuu’s character and the way he made Aina think about herself and what she could become despite where she had been. I felt it was unfortunate that she betrayed that developing friendship.
I look forward to the next installment.
This story is fantastic! Great plot that kept me flipping the pages, incredible characters, and full of action.
This story starts off with a prologue that chills you and the story does not let you go. Aina is a kick-ass heroine that grips your heart, and you’ll love the secondary characters just as much.
There are so many awe-worthy moments in this story. Many moments that make you think and feel and appreciate. There are times you don’t know who to trust and what to believe. I love that we get so see the flaws and moments of truth for each of the characters. This story elicits so many emotions.
Francesca Flores built this incredible world filled with grit and despair. Corruptness. Gangs. Betrayals. There’s a lot to absorb, great twists and turns, and is action packed. The writing is so engaging and detailed, I felt like I was a part of the danger and the fight scenes. I wanted to fight alongside these amazing characters and help their cause. And that ending! I’m excited to see what the author will bring us next!