City of Bastards (Royal Bastards #2) by Andrew Shvarts
Title: City of Bastards
Author: Andrew Shvarts
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: June 5, 2018
Genre: YA Fantasy
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis:
Tilla, bastard of House Kent, has it made. Safe from her murderous father in the dazzling capital of Lightspire, she lives a life of luxury under the protection of the Volaris King, alongside her boyfriend Zell and best friend, Princess Lyriana.
So why isn’t she happy? Maybe it’s the whispers and stares that follow her wherever she goes, as the daughter of the traitor waging war against Lightspire. Or maybe it’s the memories of her beloved brother, Jax, who lies cold in his grave even as she tries to settle into a life in the city's prestigious University.
Then, Tilla stumbles upon the body of a classmate, a friend. The authorities are quick to rule it a suicide and sweep it under the rug, but when Tilla herself is attacked by a mysterious man with terrifying powers, she’s convinced of a conspiracy. Her friends beg her to stay silent; what she's suggesting is impossible... and treasonous.
But Tilla can't, won't, let it go. And the deeper she digs, the more questions she uncovers. How is the West beating the supposedly invincible Lightspire Mages in battle? Is it connected to the shadowy cult wreaking havoc in Lightspire? Nothing is as it seems in the glorious capital, and Tilla’s presence might just be the spark that sets the Kingdom aflame.
Review:
First off, I just want to say that I didn't realize this was the second book of a series until after I received an eARC through NetGalley. Once I realized it was the second in the series, I looked at some of the reviews for this book and noticed that a lot of people claim the first book is better. Since I never read the first book, I don't have anything to compare this one to.
With that said, I'll move on to my review:
From the beginning of the story, the world-building stood out the most. Every little detail brought the world to life a bit more, and there were a lot of details included that kept me interested in finding out more about this fantasy world. A lot of fantasy stories fail to dive deep into the nitty-gritty details of their worlds, but the author does a great job developing these details in the City of Bastards, which ultimately makes this story unforgettable.
The other thing that stood out to me the most are the characters. Each character is distinctly different and has their own struggles that make them unique from one another. Out of all the books I've read, these characters are some of the most authentic characters I've seen. I also loved the representation of a same-sex relationship between two males, even though they were secondary characters. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that the way the author ended the book with these two characters was such a relief and greatly appreciated because, too often, characters that are part of the LGBTQ+ community will be unnecessarily killed off. In this book, that wasn't the case, and I can't wait to read the next book to find out what happens next.
The only reason I didn't give this book a 5-star rating is because the first half of the book was extremely slow. Although the world-building and character development was excellent, there wasn't enough conflict and tension to keep me interested. However, once I reached the halfway point, I couldn't put the book down!
*I received an eARC through NetGalley. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.