Diamond City: A Novel (City of Steel and Diamond, #1)

by Francesca Flores

Meet Aina Solís. Pulled off the streets when she was twelve years old, Aina was trained to become one of the most powerful and dangerous assassins in Sumerand, a kingdom founded by immigrants, built by magic, and still reeling from an industrial revolution that’s led to all-out civil war. Fearless and willing to risk everything - and with nothing left to lose - Aina is ready to leave her wretched past behind and accept a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to kill a wealthy industrialist named Kouta. But this career-defining move won't come easy. She will have to act against her boss Kohl, who doesn't tolerate his assassins working against him. What will be the price for her betrayal? Meanwhile, the closer Aina gets to her target, the more she craves an answer to the questions an assassin is never meant to ask: Who wants Kouta dead? And why was Aina chosen for this mission?

Now, in a city full of dark forces and hidden agendas, old rivalries and a whole new world of enemies, it's up to Aina to unravel a conspiracy that could rewrite Sumerand's history and her own future. Is it too late to save her city - and herself? Is courage born or is it bred? And what must Aina sacrifice for a second chance to begin a better, brighter life?

• ISBN10: 1250220440
• ISBN13: 9781250220448
• Publish Date: 1 February 2020 (first published 28 January 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 7 July 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Wednesday Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[kalventure]

"Learn how to use this knife, and I'll make you into something."

The opening of the book is honestly amazing and gripped my attention immediately with the tension and danger. I really was hooked with the premise, but (at least for the eARC) the writing was less tight and action-packed as the opening chapters. Unfortunately, I found myself losing interest the more of the book that I read... which is honestly a really strange experience.

A lot of attention is paid to the setting, the world, and the main character's journey between places. I thrive on worldbuilding, but I think the latter is a big reason that I became bored and disconnected from the story. I also found the history and backstory aspect of the worldbuilding to be a little repetitive.

Where this book shines is with the characters. Aina and her dogged pursuit of her ambitions, Teo and his unrelenting support of his friend, Ryuu. I do really enjoy the friendship between Aina and Teo, and the characters are all really loveable in their own ways. Flores does a good job of creating fully-fledged characters in the story, and let's be real: I will never tire of unlikely alliances and ragtag groups of misfits! Ryuu might be my favorite character in this one, with Teo and his protective, ride-or-die friendship with Aina being a close second.

"She would be the one everyone feared, the girl who made politicians, slaves, gang bosses, and mercenaries tremble. She would be the Blood King's equal. And one day, she would rank even higher than him."

The book was fine and an interesting fantasy debut. I think that Flores will be an author to watch as she hones her craft, as I think a lot of the narrative stumbles that hampered my reading experience are "debut mistakes."

Initial thoughts: Interesting story but one where my interest waned as the book continued.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me an eARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. Quotations are taken from an unfinished proof and are subject to change upon final publication.

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[llamareads]

Content warnings: drug use (past and on page), gaslighting, death of parents (described on page), general fantasy and gun violence

Honestly, I think the cover does a bit of a disservice to the book. It suggest that it’s more urban fantasy/Ocean’s 11-ish than the more straight-up fantasy it is.

“Congratulations, Aina. You’re the best Blade in Kosín, and when I watch you cut holes in people, I think I hear angels singing.”

After the murder of her parents, Aina’s survived by becoming one of the best assassins in Kosín. Driven to prove herself to the boss of their tradehouse, Kohl, who’s trained her personally, she’s eager to take on the latest assignment – killing a Steel, one of the business magnates who runs the city. An assassination gone wrong gutters all her dreams, however, and her only hope at reclaiming her place is by finishing the job, even if it means tricking her target’s younger brother into helping her. Nothing goes as planned, however, and she’s forced to confront her assumptions about herself, her friends, and her life.

“All these years, I’ve been saying I’m not afraid anymore, but I still am. I say that I know how to defend myself and that I’ll be safe, but that’s not actually doing anything about the terrible things going on here. That’s hiding, and letting it all happen because it’s too frightening to try to stop it. But now I want to end the things that scare me.”

It’s hard not to compare this book to other YA fantasy heists, like Six of Crows, though I think the comparison is a little faulty. The book is told solely from Aina’s point of view, and while she does assemble a team, the focus is more on her journey, on finding a purpose for herself, whether she’s an invincible Blade or a vulnerable street girl. I absolutely loved Aina, flaws and all, and it hurt so much to see how she was forced to grow and change over the course of the book. I liked that, at her core, she had good intentions, even if the way she went about them was often completely wrong. I thought her motivations – getting back in Kohl’s good graces, avoiding ending up back on the streets – were strong and I really understood why she made the choices she did. Aina’s bi, though her love “interests,” though they never really get beyond brushing limbs at the most, are all male in the book. While I’m a big romance fan, I’m not so much a fan of love triangles, and though I recognize it was perfectly reasonable for Aina to be confused and have feelings for multiple people, it’s a pet peeve for me.

“It’s easy to get anyone to do something if you put enough money in front of them.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Must be nice to buy solutions to your problems.”
“Must be nice to threaten your problems,” Ryuu countered with a raised eyebrow.”

The snappy dialog really stood out for me, as did the side characters. I especially loved Teo, Aina’s gunslinger friend. Ryuu, the young Steel who ends up bankrolling Aina’s mission to “save” his brother, was also fun, though at times he felt a bit preachy. My main issue was with the flashbacks. The setting would change between one paragraph to the next without warning, sometimes going back to the previous day or even years ago, and each time it happened it was confusing and completely jarred me out of the narrative.

While this is obviously the first in the series, there’s a satisfying closure to the main plot. Overall, I’d give this 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 due to the flashbacks. I’m interested enough in Aina’s story – I want to see what she’ll do now that she has a real mission! – that I’ll probably pick up the next book. Recommended for anyone looking for a kickass heroine who learns to break the system and finds a family in the process!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Amber]

ASSASSINS.

[chymerra]

I couldn't put this book down. The author sucked me in from the beginning and spit me out at the end. Aina wasn't a likable person. But she was shaped into who she was by the death of her parents and the training of her boss. By the end of the book, the world she used to view in black and white morphed into many shades of grey.

I do have a warning. The world that Diamond City is violent and bloody and the author doesn't hold back. So, if this isn't your thing, I would skip it. Other than that, strap in and enjoy the book.

Diamond City is currently available for pre-order. Its expected publication date is January 28th, 2020.

[roundtableknight]

“If she was good at anything, it was survival, and she refused to let anyone take that away from her.”
-
So I had the absolute pleasure of being a giveaway winner and reading a copy of this ARC, and it didn’t disappoint. It follows the story of Aina Solis, a street orphan turned assassin, who’s promised her own way in life if she completes one more job for her boss, but it doesn’t go as planned. Instead she’s thrown into a conspiracy about the secreted Black Diamond that she’s only heard whispers of with her friend Teo, a girl named Raurie who’s the niece of a magic practitioner, and Ryuu, the brother of the boy she was sent to kill.
.
I loved the magic system in this world, using Diamonds to conduct energy, and the gritty feel of the city due to the mines that are bringing out these goods. The characters all feel fully fledged out and have different wants in life, but yet somehow come together for one another when needed. Also, I loved how vulnerable all the characters are, and more than that, how they have simple fears in life. For example, Aina is deathly afraid of spiders, but yet is also an assassin. It’s nice to reaffirm that even though she kills, that doesn’t mean she can’t feel anything. All in all, this is a book to definitely pick up, and I can’t wait for the second one to continue Aina and everyone else’s story.