
The City of Dusk
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– Unabridged
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This dark epic fantasy follows the heirs of four noble houses—each gifted with a divine power—as they form a tenuous alliance to keep their kingdom from descending into a realm-shattering war.
The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir.
But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once vibrant and thriving city. And without it, all the realms are dying.
Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs—Risha, a necromancer struggling to keep the peace; Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with rebellion in her heart; and Nik, a soldier who struggles to see the light—will sacrifice everything to save the city.
But their defiance will cost them dearly.
- Listening Length24 hours and 51 minutes
- Audible release dateMarch 22 2022
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB09KT57GC1
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 24 hours and 51 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Tara Sim |
Narrator | Nikki Patel |
Audible.ca Release Date | March 22 2022 |
Publisher | Orbit |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B09KT57GC1 |
Best Sellers Rank | #37,841 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #536 in Dark Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals) #992 in Action & Adventure Fantasy #1,915 in Epic Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals) |
Customer reviews

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Top reviews
Top reviews from Canada
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I really enjoyed all the different points of view! I fell in love with all the characters. Taesia, Risha, Angelica, Nik, even Julian and Dante, are all different, have their own issues, and that is what made me enjoy this book so much. Taesia is my favourite though, she's a reckless, ruthless badass. There are also the Gods, who are their own characters and have their own shocking truths revealed. I both love and hate them.
I think the battles are incredible and epic. I also loved all the twists, though my theory about Julian was right! To me this book is amazing and since I read the ebook now I really want a physical copy for my book collection.
I will be impatiently waiting for the next book to come out to see what happens next after that OMG ending! I'm also hoping Taesia and Julian get together, I totally feel a vibe between them.
This was classified as adult fantasy, but it definitely felt reminiscent of young adult fiction or at least a good crossover novel.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. The characters were likeable. The prose were solid. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a new, diverse fantasy book.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Cons: /
There’s a lot going on in this book and you’ll spend the first few chapters trying to get a handle on the heirs, their houses, their various forms of magic, the political intrigues everyone is involved in and the characters various personal goals and problems. There is a handy guide at the start of the book that gives the house name, their god, the family members, and form of magic. Refer to it often until you get to know who’s who.
The characters were all fully fleshed out with varied motivations. Things rarely went in directions I expected and it was a delight seeing what each one would do next. Two of the heirs had overbearing parents and trouble mastering their magic. The other two had easy mastery but other problems to deal with. It was fun watching the various sibling relationships as well, some loving and others confrontational. The different family units felt realistic, including the dysfunctional ones.
The magic was cool. My favourite power was House Vakara’s necromancy, but seeing the light and shadow magics was fun. You don’t see as much of the elemental magic, given Angelica’s difficulties, though you do see others wield the power. The conjuration circles and learning how demon magic worked in this world was also interesting.
The worldbuilding was well done. In addition to the realms and magic, the principle world has several cultures, all represented in Nexus.
The plot is very complex and when the revelations started happening at the end I’d figured out a few twists while others were a complete surprise. There are some great battles, including a massive, multi-chapter one at the end.
If you like dark fantasy with complex characters and multiple plot threads, interesting magic with great worldbuilding, then give this a go. Just be aware that it’s the first of a series and the ending will leave you wanting more.
Four realms.
Four gods.
Four houses.
Four heirs.
Before the gods cut the realms off from each other, there was a natural flow of energy between them. Since the Sealing, the four realms are all slowly dying. In the City of Dusk, the four rival heirs devise a plan to restore balance to the realms.
Although the heirs are technically vying for the crown, they have formed a loose friendship of sorts over the years. Their quest to save their realm will constantly test their loyalty to each other and their families.
This book has it all: complex world-building, fully-fleshed characters, political intrigue, and an intriguing magic system. While it follows classic fantasy tropes, it is still an utterly compelling read. I could not read it fast enough, especially with frequent mini cliffhangers. It is a long and detailed book, but I never once felt bored while reading it.
It takes cultural inspiration from our world. There’s also some great queer representation.
There are many characters in this book. It took a bit to get a handle on them all. At first, I kept getting two characters mixed up, but their voices became clear soon enough. Taesia Lastrider has to be my favourite character. She will go to any length to seek revenge for wrongs done to her or her family.
This book was so gripping right from the beginning. This first book takes place in one realm, but I can’t wait to see how big the world gets in the next instalment.
Thank you to Orbit Books for the finished copy to review!

Four realms.
Four gods.
Four houses.
Four heirs.
Before the gods cut the realms off from each other, there was a natural flow of energy between them. Since the Sealing, the four realms are all slowly dying. In the City of Dusk, the four rival heirs devise a plan to restore balance to the realms.
Although the heirs are technically vying for the crown, they have formed a loose friendship of sorts over the years. Their quest to save their realm will constantly test their loyalty to each other and their families.
This book has it all: complex world-building, fully-fleshed characters, political intrigue, and an intriguing magic system. While it follows classic fantasy tropes, it is still an utterly compelling read. I could not read it fast enough, especially with frequent mini cliffhangers. It is a long and detailed book, but I never once felt bored while reading it.
It takes cultural inspiration from our world. There’s also some great queer representation.
There are many characters in this book. It took a bit to get a handle on them all. At first, I kept getting two characters mixed up, but their voices became clear soon enough. Taesia Lastrider has to be my favourite character. She will go to any length to seek revenge for wrongs done to her or her family.
This book was so gripping right from the beginning. This first book takes place in one realm, but I can’t wait to see how big the world gets in the next instalment.
Thank you to Orbit Books for the finished copy to review!

Top reviews from other countries



I stopped reading this arc at about 15% but not for the reasons most people usually do.
I stopped reading this book so that I could go buy the physical copy of this book so that I could annotate the crap out of it. I want to annotate this book with fresh eyes because I can already tell this is a story that I am going to devour and most definitely give 5 stars, I am on my way right now to pick up the physical copy.
The world-building, the characters, the humor, the intrigue, everything so far is what I have been looking for in a good fantasy for so long and I can't wait to read this book and the rest of the series when it is released!
I love all the different houses and their powers, there are shadow (animal?) familiars, there is necromancy, there is elemental magic, there are Gods, there are great friendships and LGBBTQIA+ representation, just pick it up, you won't be disappointed!
Tara Sim will be added to my favorite authors straight away.
thank you for the e-arc copy Tara Sim and publisher!

4/5
The pacing in this book is comparable to rolling a snowball down a giant hill. It starts very slow with lots of world building and hopscotching between five different viewpoints. Understanding the characters and their dynamics takes some time, but once the foundation is established, the pace picks up, and a couple more characters are thrown into the mix. By the midpoint, the story sinks its hooks in and speculations begin to arise about what twists are coming and how the characters might respond. The last third of the book was pure bingeworthy!
I love that romance took a backseat to the central story. There is already so much going on that focusing too much on a romance would dilute the plot. While not being a main focus, the “romance” included gives insight into the complexity of the characters and their development.
What is even more impressive is the dynamic range of characters. You’ve got your Chosen One(s), the Reluctant Hero, The Evil Overlord(s). Let’s not forget the wonderfully real LGBT+ characters, but I don’t want to give away too much of the juice. The land of misfit godspawn makes for a very interesting read.
My only real gripe about the book is that it was marketed as an Adult Fantasy, but I feel like it’s more of an Older YA Dark Fantasy. While there is plenty of body horror and gore (which I loved by the way), it still carried a youthful spirit.
If you’re looking for a slow-burn that catches into a raging fire, this is the one.
Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the review e-copy!
