City of Nightmares: Review

I took a long haitus, but I'm back with my first blog post of the new year!

Rebecca Schaeffer is the critically acclaimed author of Not Even Bones and its sequels. The Webtoon adaptation of the trilogy has garnered over a hundred million reads and nearly 2 million subscribers. Her next book, City of Nightmares, comes out in January 2023.

Gotham meets Strange the Dreamer in this thrilling young adult fantasy about a cowardly girl who finds herself at the center of a criminal syndicate conspiracy, in a city where crooked politicians and sinister cults reign and dreaming means waking up as your worst nightmare.

Ever since her sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered her way through town, nineteen-year-old Ness has been terrified—terrified of some other Nightmare murdering her, and terrified of ending up like her sister. Because in Newham, the city that never sleeps, dreaming means waking up as your worst fear.

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.

But being a member of maybe-cult has a price. In order to prove herself, Ness cons her way into what’s supposed to be a simple job for the organization—only for it to blow up in her face. Literally. Tangled up in the aftermath of an explosive assassination, now Ness and the only other survivor—a Nightmare boy who Ness suspects is planning to eat her—must find their way back to Newham and uncover the sinister truth behind the attack, even as the horrors of her past loom ominously near.

When I first heard one of my favorite authors was publishing a new book, my first thought was: FINALLY! The last book in her Market of Monsters series came out in 2020, so part of me thought it was because of COVID and all that misery. When I finished this book and saw her struggles with her career, it hit me hard because this is an author that should have all the accolades, all the sales, and all the special editions (I'm still yearning for a SE of Not Even Bones). To think we almost lost out on her creativity because of low sales just hurts.

If you're reading this and haven't read the Market of Monsters series, buy it HERE

Imagine living in a world where you can become the thing you fear the most. That's the world Ness lives in. Like Nita in Not Even Bones, she's a remarkable and interesting protagonist. Ness has a fear of Nightmares because her sister had become one and killed their father. Despite her fears, she's joined a group that gives therapy to survivors of Nightmares. A normal day goes awry when the ferry she's on suddenly explodes leaving her to survive alongside a vampire Nightmare named Cy. The incident leads her down a rabbit hole of conspiracy and lies.

I love a flawed heroine, so i loved Ness a lot. She has so much to overcome and I love how she had less and less to fear as the story progresses. I cannot wait to see how her character grows in the second book.

Cy is fantastic. Like Kovit in Not Even Bones, he's a monster boy who also has a heart. Cy has turned into Nightmare because of his fear of becoming his father, but despite sucking blood, he still vows never to become the thing he hates. He's a softy and I loved his crude humor.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and will probably own a million copies of it.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Buy it on Amazon - Barnes and Noble-Book Depository