Fallen City

I have complicated, conflicting feelings with Fallen City. Adrienne Young’s writing is undeniably atmospheric, and the world she builds feels layered and authentic. But the constant jumping between timelines made the story feel fragmented and really slowed the pacing. Instead of pulling me deeper, the shifts in the narrative often left me confused and disengaged. It wasn’t until about three‑quarters of the way through that I finally felt invested in the characters and what was happening to them.The characters themselves were strong on their own, but I struggled with the dynamics between the leads. The supposed chemistry between Luca and Maris never really landed for me, which made their Romeo-Juliet relationship feel more like a plot device than an emotional anchor. On the other hand, I wanted to learn so much more about Theo, who was compelling every time he appeared, and I found myself wishing there was more space to unravel his mystery!At the end, I appreciated the depth of the character work and the way the threads finally came together, but the uneven pacing and lack of connection between the leads kept me from fully loving the book. I’m glad I finished it, as I was about to DNF a few times, but it was a solid read that I would recommend to fans of puzzles and the long-game of politics.

Thank you to Adrienne Young, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press / Saturday Books for this e-ARC.Fallen City is one of those books that pulls you in from the very first page. The world-building is truly beautiful and exactly what you expect from Adrienne Young: lyrical, atmospheric, and highly layered. Isara feels like a real place with a rich history woven into the plot. I loved how the culture, politics, and traditions heavily impact the story’s emotional weight and influence the characters’ actions throughout the book.Luca and Maris are incredibly strong characters, each carrying their own burdens and blind spots. Their growth throughout the book felt honest and earned. I appreciated how Young let them be flawed and human while still giving them space to change. Their stories are told through dual POVs and an alternating time-line that will keep you highly invested and immersed in their world. If you love yearning and forbidden love, this book is for you.There were a few spots where the political details or magic system felt a bit dense, but not in a way that pulled me out of the story or slowed me down. If anything, these complexities made me more curious about the world and left me wanting to further discuss what I’d read.Overall, Fallen City is an immersive, emotionally rich fantasy with gorgeous prose and memorable character arcs. A solid four stars from me and a recommendation for anyone who enjoys meaningful world-building, political intrigue, slow-burn tension, and/or mythology.

3.5⭐️I have very mixed feelings about Fallen City. This had such great potential but I feel the biggest problem for me is that we are thrown into this book without any set up or world building. This story is told in dual pov with a split before/now timeline. We start right in the middle of the conflict with an ‘now’ timeline chapter where we meet one of our main characters Luca, a magistrate’s son and centurion. This was an interesting way to start the book but I’ll admit I was pretty confused. We don’t know how we get here or what’s happening plus we don’t anything about the characters yet. We meet the other main character Maris in the next chapter as she prepares to take her seat as a new magistrate. Again this is a ‘now’ chapter where we see some consequences of the conflict that has happened and finally learn some information. When we get to a ‘before’ chapter and start to meet the main characters it feels more like a flashback. I feel like we never fully get the time and development in the ‘before’ chapters to help build this world and the characters. Especially since Luca and Maris are madly in love and doing everything to get to each other. We just never really see this play out since there are time skips and pov changes. I just wish we had more time to truly develop this interesting world and the characters.That being said what I loved was the action and political intrigue. This story is set in a Greek or Roman like city where there are factions between the poor and rich and the Gods play are large role in society. This is a huge part of the story and ultimately the driving force behind the conflict. I wish we knew more about the Gods and their gifts but I’m hoping to see more in the second book. Overall I enjoyed the story and I’m very curious to see how the second book will go!

4.5 story with 5 star writing. 

Philosophers, gods, politics, and star-crossed lovers with light fantasy.This book was so IMMERSIVE. Young wrote with all 5 senses in every paragraph in way that made me feel rooted in the story so deeply that it felt cinematic. The war scenes, while limited, gave me the same feeling as the Battle of the B*astards from Game of Thrones or the battle with the oliphaunts in Lord of the Rings gave. She’s truly a master of showing over telling, with particular dexterity in using sound and light to anchor ourselves in the character’s point of view. Accompanying that is a rich prose, with meaningful statements and comparisons crafted in a way that doesn’t feel purple—just real. The last 20% of the book saw both povs and timelines escalating into a frenzy, and it was SO fun to read.I think if you can get your feet wet and slowly adjust to the duel POV and duel timeline method of storytelling Young employs here, you’ll be fine once the plot gets rolling. While a bit jarring at first, I truly enjoyed this narration style—it was like reading a prequel and book one at the same time. The only place I feel like this hurt the characters is with their love story. This was the one part of the book that felt more tell than show, as we didn’t get many scenes to build on the beginning of their love story. The readers had to have more faith. Even so, and despite it having a quicker burn rate than my preferred slow burn romance, I still adored the characters and wasn’t put off by their professed love. Their actions backed up their thoughts, and that made it believable. I’d love more past POVs in book two to flesh it out a bit.I am honestly so excited for book two and the expansion of this world. Book one wrapped up pretty cleanly, with clear expectations as to what we can expects in the sequel.

This book was such a gut-punch and I haven't felt that way about a book in a long time. This is both a good and bad thing.The story started out like a whirlwind. We're dropped in the middle of Isara which has some internal conflicts that have been brewing for a while and are just starting to come to a head. I'll confess that I kind of glazed over as the history and terminology was introduced but I appreciated that Adrienne Young continued to reiterate throughout as the story unfolds so by the end I felt like I grasped everything well.The story is told in alternating timelines of "before" and "now". The "now" being after said conflict started a revolution amongst the people in the Lower City who believe the Magistrates in the upper echelon of Isara have too much power and care only for themselves and other highborn families.Centered on each side of the conflict is Luca and Maris. Maris was born into a Highborn family with her mother being one of the most powerful Magistrates in Isara. With the laws in Isara being what they are, Maris will inherit her mother's seat in the Council upon her death.Luca was born in the Lower City, however once his uncle found out he couldn't sire children, he named Luca his heir so he would inherit his Magistrate seat - nothing like making sure your familial power is passed along your bloodline to keep your power in play posthumously.Luca and Maris are a pairing that shouldn't work, but from the moment they meet, they know they're destined to belong to each other. They begin making plans for changing Isara from the inside out whenever they take their places as Magistrates, but soon find themselves on different sides of the fight.While they are desperately trying to find a way back to one another, the Gods may have a different idea for their fates.There's a connection between the political and the religious that I struggled with a bit while reading this one. They are intrinsically linked, but the shine is kind of fading a bit despite people still revering the Gods, I felt like it was more out of a sense of caution than true faith. I guess it just wasn't clear to me if people were using the religion as an excuse for their political actions or vice versa. I hope it's explored more in the next book because there is a strong indication that the Gods and the magic have a bigger part to play in things to come.Regardless of all that, Adrienne Young knows how to craft a story. I've read all of her books and regardless if she is writing in YA or Adult, they are always captivating reads that really pull at the heartstrings. Being a romance fanatic, I'm always looking for that connection and it's certainly here between Maris and Luca. Even though there are plenty of moments with them together in the "before", I just ached to see them reunite in the "now". Each moment is so fleeting, but I think it speaks to the bigger picture of the sacrifices people will make to do the right thing, or what they feel is the right thing.I was hoping this one would wrap up in one book, and there were definite points where I thought this would be possible, but it is not to be. All I can hope now is that the sequel comes out sooner rather than later.