Book Title: Diamond City
Author: Francesca Flores
Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy
Goodreads
4 STARS
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SYNOPSIS:

Fierce and ambitious, Aina Solís as sharp as her blade and as mysterious as the blood magic she protects. After the murder of her parents, Aina takes a job as an assassin to survive and finds a new family in those like her: the unwanted and forgotten.

Her boss is brutal and cold, with a questionable sense of morality, but he provides a place for people with nowhere else to go. And makes sure they stay there.

DIAMOND CITY: built by magic, ruled by tyrants, and in desperate need of saving. It is a world full of dark forces and hidden agendas, old rivalries and lethal new enemies.

To claim a future for herself in a world that doesn’t want her to survive, Aina will have to win a game of murder and conspiracy—and risk losing everything.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

“Good things don’t happen to girls who come from nothing… unless they risk everything.”

Diamond City is a multifaceted YA fantasy that blends the aspects of many different types of magic systems into one plot, and while I’ve seen this as being a turnoff for some readers, I found it to work beautifully. Flores has given us a world filled with blood/elemental magic, a steampunk setting, and political unrest to breed a luscious, atmospheric tale of bloodshed and, ultimately, revenge. While I’m not as well read in this genre as some, I have picked up my fair share of YA fantasy over the years and I found the world building, plot progression, and character development to be delightful and engaging. This is the first in a new series, but don’t worry, there is just enough closure to negate the awful cliffhanger feeling, while leaving just enough of a set up to cause the reader to crave the next installment. If you enjoy a slow burning fantasy that is both sensual and stabby, look no further!

*Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Francesca Flores is a writer, traveler and linguist. Raised in Pittsburgh, she read every fantasy book she could get her hands on and started writing her own stories at a young age. She began writing Diamond City while working as a corporate travel manager. When she’s not writing or reading, Francesca enjoys traveling, dancing ballet and jazz, practicing trapeze and contortion, and visiting parks and trails around San Francisco, where she currently resides.