City of Nightmares: The thrilling, surprising young adult urban fantasy

Product Information

The world-building was really good and leans into the dark and gritty, 1920s-style comic book aesthetic that paired well with all the morally ambiguous characters we encounter. Most of whom had some rather big personalities, or eccentric quirks that made them really memorable (like keeping a pterodactyl to kidnap or eat your enemies.) Their questionable actions also kept me on my toes, though it’s probably the first time my tendency to suspect everyone has actually paid off. And that means you never- never- know where it’s going to go, or what’s even possible. And yet! What does happen always winds up feeling plausible and even foreshadowed! I don’t know how that’s possible.

I AM ABSOLUTELY GETTING A PHYSICAL COPY OF THIS BOOK, not only because I'm obsessed as I said, but also because the cover is gorgeous. I mean JUST LOOK AT IT, SO PRETTY.

Rebecca Schaeffer delivers another dose of morally ambiguous, delightful chaos - Xiran Jay Zhao, New York Times bestselling author of Iron Widow I’m blind underneath the couch, but I don’t need sight to figure out what’s happening. It’s perfectly clear from the crash of breaking pottery, the crunch of wood as Priya destroys the table, the angry and murderous wails of the Nightmare. Mrs. Sanden crumples my leaflet into a ball. “I’m sure your little cult would like that, me going in so you can brainwash me into believing my husband’s death was a good thing.” Whether that means becoming a Nightmare that’s monstrous only in appearance, to transforming into a twisted, unrecognizable creature that terrorizes the city, no one is safe. Ness will do anything to avoid becoming another victim, even if that means lying low among the Friends of the Restful Soul, a questionable organization that may or may not be a cult. At times the book feels a bit slow, and it’s not always clear where the plot is going next. There are quite a few moving parts, but overall it worked well. The real action starts at about the 30% mark, and after that, you won’t be able to put it down. Intrigue – 7/10

I read a lot of books and have a lot of opinions, so the only books I put up and rate on Goodreads are ones I absolutely loved and would heartily recommend to my fans. The nightmares are a unique concept that was executed perfectly, in my opinion. No one could've done it better. And this book sends a good message too, that you are not your fears and you shouldn't let them control you. But being part of Friends of the Restful means contributing to the group. And when her assigned voluntary job ends in disaster—AGAIN—she cons her way into delivery duty as penance. Until that too ends in chaos. The simmering undercurrent of tension that permeates the entire plot also really amps up the mystery aspect, as Ness attempts—with her only friend Priya and fellow boat survivor Cy, to find out what really caused the explosion. I also really enjoyed that old school, crime noir-style dynamic that we see between Ness and both Priya and Cy.

Must reads

You know those memes that are like "Would you live in Gotham if rent was 5 dollars a month?" That is basically this book. I mean, the titular city of nightmares is literally called NEWHAM. But I'd say Newham is even worse than Gotham because it's in a world where people have a chance of physically and permanently transforming into their worst nightmare when they sleep--unless they take drugs to stop themselves from dreaming. But the drugs are nullified by alcohol, so Prohibition is in place and the world very much has the vibes of that 1920s era, though with more POC and queer characters living their best lives in waistcoats and dress pants. As good of lives as they can make in a world of living nightmares, anyway. This is a society that's terrible to a hilarious degree. The mayor openly keeps a nightmare-pterodactyl as a pet to unleash on her political opponents. Bribery is mandatory if you want to get anything done. Mail can be expected to get stolen if you don't deliver it yourself or with your own employees. Every time you go out you gotta worry about some kind of monstrous creature showing up to gobble you up.