Review: Red City by Marie Lu

Red City by Marie Lu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I've been a long time fan of Marie Lu's YA works and was excited to see that she was writing an adult fantasy series. I loved this from beginning to end! It is dark and violent and has adult situations which is to be expected, though the spice is fairly tame compared to today's romantasy standards. There is romance, but it takes a back seat to the alchemical underworld that our main characters are a part of.

Sam and Ari are both alchemists, at a young age they were both taken into warring houses to train and hone their talents. They became fast friends in school, but neither of them knew the other was a member of the enemy house until they were adults. Each of their syndicates rule with violence in an alternate Los Angeles where they controlling politics, the wealthy, and most of all the trade of an alchemical drug that each syndicate produces.

We get to see Sam and Ari grow up together and separately as their paths connect and diverge over the years. They always had a connection, but there were always secrets between them. Now that they are rising stars in enemy houses their loyalties are tested as the conflict between their houses escalate and become more and more violent. I really enjoyed getting to know each character as they learned alchemy and dealt with different relationships as they rose the ranks. This is filled with action, lies, betrayals, and it kept me on my toes the entire time. It is hard to for me to review without giving too many details. I can't wait for the next book in the series. I appreciated that while this has an open ending, it doesn't end on a cliffhanger. Things are sent in motion for the next book, but it ends with a sense of closure.

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