City of Nightmares
Ratings19
Average rating3.5
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.
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2 primary books#1 in City of Nightmares
City of Nightmares is a 2-book series with 2 released primary works first released in 2023 with contributions by Rebecca Schaeffer.
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A morally gray story set in a city where you can turn into your worst nightmare if you dream in your sleep. The main character is a coward who is terrified of everything. In a series of unfortunate events she has to team up with a nightmare boy who may or may not be planning on eating her. Thus begins her journey to overcoming her fears. I really enjoyed this story! It was fast paced, fun, and had a really interesting premise! Will definitely be reading book 2.
A wonderful fantasy horror book. Everyone needs to take medications to stop dreaming. If one dreams you will become your own worst nightmare. The protagonist Ness has a fear of Nightmares, ever since someone she loved turned into a spider and ate her father. The plot is wonderful and fascinating. City of Nightmares is very well executed. .
This book is wasted potential.
The setting is so cool, but instead of getting to explore a city where you can be turned into your actual greatest nightmare, most of this book is about a will-they-wont-they with a vampire. The book being as short as it was does it no favors, and while the main character is kindof annoying, I did trend towards liking her, if she was given more time to develop or do something other than worry about being a coward and think about a vampire or her dead sister.
There's also a mystery plot to this book, which...the answer to is largely not given clues for, so its impossible to guess, which makes mysteries not fun. The main character's trauma over her dead sister feels very surface level (“my sister became a giant spider, so now I am A COWARD BECAUSE MY SISTER DIED”) and I think her growth in this book felt unearned. Because, again, she spent most of the time talking to a spooky (but hot?) vampire.
If this was a book one in a larger series I would be okay with this hyper focused plot. Like if the author was planning a Dresden-type series with this. But it's the first in a duology. And I just....find this concept so interesting, and am very sad it's being used as a tool to be mediocre.
