Thank you to Karina Halle and the team at the Reckless Readers Society for the advance reader copy of City of Darkness, the third instalment in the Underworld Gods series.
City of Darkness was well worth the wait and got me all more invested in these complex characters and compelling world. This third book in a series of four has set up the ending extremely well and I cannot wait!
I am a Karina Halle review team member, but I remain honest and genuine in my reviews.
From the New York Times bestselling author of River of Shadows and A Ship of Bones and Teeth comes CITY OF DARKNESS the third book in the Underworld Gods series, a high heat dark fantasy adult romance series.
When mortal Hanna agreed to marry Tuoni, the God of Death, in exchange for her father’s life, the last thing she expected was to fall for the morally grey anti-hero. But it’s not only her heart that’s in danger now. As she navigates her new role as the Goddess of Death in the spooky and macabre underworld of Tuonela, Hanna discovers that Death has many enemies in his kingdom, none more powerful than his half-demon ex-wife, Louhi. With an uprising of Old Gods at her fingertips, and skeleton armies ready to do her bidding, Hanna and Death must work together to make sure the underworld isn’t lost forever, even if it means losing each other and all they hold dear.
Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
- Characters: Hanna and Death continue to go on a masterful character journey. I really like the new challenges thrown at them in this one and how that forced them to grow not just as individuals but together. This story features a few more points of view, Death’s children specifically and I really did appreciate getting these looks into what is going on with the other characters. It began to feel like Death’s son and daughter, being more apart from Hanna and Death throughout the story are starting to grow as characters. I think most of my character highlights came from Death, he was so sure in himself and Karina messes that up a little bit and forces him to adapt. Making him all the much more complex and layered.
- Setting: Our story begins in Tuonela, the Finnish underworld and throughout the story you do get glimpses as to what the future of the underworld may hold, and it’s a wee bit terrifying. Karina is always so good at writing these immersive settings, but I do love that she threw in a curveball in this one. I do not want to give it away, but there is a shift in setting and I loved it. I was initially worried about this being four books rather than three, but I see why it needed to be and these are the scenes that made me happy for this third instalment. At the same time, I do see why many might feel a little let down in this instalment, but I always trust Karina when it comes to sticking the landing on a series.
- Pacing: I must shout out the amazing “previously in” section as it was comical and informative, the perfect way to guide readers who have been keeping up with the new instalments in this series. As much as I flew through this book, I love when I do that while reading. It did feel a bit on the shorter side, but I have a feeling that Karina has a lot planned for the final book. So this tonal-shifting almost novella-like bridge story was necessary to bridge books two and four.
- Romance: I love Hanna and Death together, and in this book, they really got to be just a powerhouse of a couple. The perfect team both in and out of the bedroom. Fear not readers the spice in this is great, nothing as bonkers as a certain scene from the previous instalment but still many fun ones. It felt as if their relationship really grew emotionally, and has hit a beautiful level of maturity. I cannot wait to see what this king and queen do to fight for their well-deserved happily ever after.
City of Darkness receives four out of five stars.
You can pick up the story here.
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Thank you again to Karina and her team for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
