Francesca Flores’ Shadow City is the stunning action-packed conclusion to The City of Diamond and Steel duology. Aina Sol s has fought her way to the top of criminal ranks in the city of Kos n by wresting control of an assassin empire owned by her old boss, Kohl. She never has to fear losing her home and returning to life on the streets again–except Kohl, the man who tried to ruin her life, … man who tried to ruin her life, will do anything to get his empire back. Aina sets out to kill him before he can kill her.
But Alsane Bautix, the old army general who was banned from his seat in the government after Aina revealed his corruption, is working to take back power by destroying anyone who stands in his way. With a new civil war on the horizon and all their lives at risk, the only way for Aina to protect her home is to join up with the only other criminal more notorious than her: Kohl himself.
As Bautix’s attacks increase, Aina and Kohl work together to stop his incoming weapons shipments and his plans to take back the Tower of Steel. To defeat them both, Aina will resort to betrayal, poison, and a deadly type of magic that hasn’t been used in years.
Through narrow alleys, across train rooftops, and deep in the city’s tunnels, Aina and Kohl will test each other’s strengths and limits, each of them knowing that once Bautix is dead, they’ll still have to face each other. If she manages to kill him, she’ll finally have the freedom she wants–but it might forever mark her as his shadow in a city where only the strongest survive.more
First, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book.
Shadow City is the second book in the duology of The City of Steel and Diamond by Francesca Flores.
Aina as fough hard and is now to the top of of criminal ranks in the city of Kosín. But Kohl, the man who try to ruin her life, her old boss, will do anything to claim his empire back. She will need to kill him, before he kill her. But another person is set to get revenge on her and will destroy everything in his way to get powers back after Aina have revealed is corruption and made him losing his seat in the government. With a civil war coming their way, Aina will have no other choice to join with Kohl if they want to stop Bautix before its to late.
I have really loves this serie.
Since I had read the first one why not finish this. This one is filled with alot of action that keeps the pages turning. This will also have magic in it that will have it popping. The two that do team up have you watching them closely to see how they survive. The one though for the reason you really read this is true grit. Interesting too since this is usually not the type of story I do read much anymore.
‘Shadow City’ by Francesca Flores is the second book in The City of Diamond and Steel duology. As is becoming a habit for me, I actually haven’t yet gotten to read Diamond City.. the first of the pair, but that never really stops me from hitting the ground running with a read.
Aina Solis is our proverbial eyes and ears for this journey. A former assassin, she’s wrested control of a criminal empire from her former boss, Kohl.. and she and her friends have been running it ever since. Regardless of the fact she defeated him and the two always had a legitimately toxic connection, she has trouble shaking feelings for him.
Even though she believes one of them will eventually end up killing the other, she ends up working with him against a mutual enemy known as Bautix, an old army general ousted when Aina revealed his corruption.
There are so many players in the game, many of whom have their own agendas, even if you think you have a good grasp on their true intentions.. you find yourself questioning those beliefs. Interestingly enough, that puts you on the same level as those aforementioned players because they too are constantly questioning the intentions of those around them. It’s one big chess match.
The diamond-blood magic system is limited in scope, but very creative and I’m curious to go back and see if it’s more or less diverse in the debut. While the author doesn’t weigh us down with the assassin’s poison tactics, she does play with the concoctions enough to make them interesting as well and between those abilities and her hand-to-hand combat, Aina is a well-rounded.. strong.. female lead.
Action sequences are well-written, featuring cohesive streamlined battles that include multiple characters without feeling like a laundry list of names and events. There’s barely any downtime in the book, as most of the time someone is either fighting for their life.. someone else’s.. or there’s some kind of emotional upheaval happening. Sometimes more than one of the above at a time.
I found the tense pseudo-triangle between Aina, Kohl, and Teo to be fascinating. Not only was I not sure for awhile who.. if anyone.. she would end up with, I couldn’t even decide who I’d like to see her choose. And frankly, after all was decided.. I still questioned whether or not I was pleased with the results.
Flores did make me tear up a bit.. just once.. and I’m pretty sure she’ll get most of us in the same spot. I was terribly invested at that point and my heart was absolutely shattered.. but for the most part, it’s just a fast-moving story with a lot riding on the line for everyone.
Well worth the read!
(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)