City of Lies

Likes

• I mean, I knew from the first line this was going to be a solid read. The levels of political intrigue were just off the charts and I loved how layer after layer got pulled apart and revealed. Of course, I never called any of the reveals (I’m pretty shite at ever figuring out a plot point before it’s revealed to me), so that just made the read that much more enjoyable, becoming as surprised as I was.
• Though I felt the pace in the first third to be a bit on the slower side, the pace in the final third rocked me to the point where I had to hide from my cat so she’d stop laying on my book begging for pets and let me read (honestly, this was a serious problem, I even complained on Twitter about it).
• I loved how Sam never hesitates to pull her punches and she forces the characters to truly deal and feel the reality of their situation–much of which, the blame falls at least partly on their shoulders, just like blame also falls on those they’ve wronged. And I think that was my favorite aspect, how the war–and the reason it began–isn’t so cut and dry as a one-group-felt-this-when-reality-is-simply-this. It’s much more complex, gray instead of black and white, and multilayered in it’s complexity and depth, which I really appreciated. I also loved that, though our characters grew and rose to the occasion they were dealt with, we never lose the sense that they are still children, in many ways, living up to these new roles, and I’m glad that we got to see them struggle and actually SEE their growth into this roles, without losing sight of what they are truly being asked to do.

Dislikes