City of Nightmares: The thrilling, surprising young adult urban fantasy

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She ignores me, piling up all the pamphlets she has. A gust of wind chooses that moment to come in through the small, open window and whip the pamphlets around the room, making them soar like it’s raining therapy advertisements. Now a young adult living at the Friends of the Restless Soul compound—a charity (cough cough, cult) organization that provides "pay as you can afford" therapies to Nightmare trauma survivors—Ness is eeking away a frightened and barely there existence in the country's most dangerous city and surrounded on a daily basis by her worst fear: Nightmares. I scream, loud and sharp, diving away from the monstrosity, smashing into the hardwood floor. I scramble across it on my hands and knees. A broken piece of the vase caught in the rug cuts my glove, slicing my skin beneath. I leave drops of blood behind as I scuttle away.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion! City of Nightmares was a fast-paced, thrilling read that kept me constantly guessing. I thought the idea of nightmares coming to life after dreaming was such a cool concept, and one that was expertly explored. As someone who had a lot of nightmares as a kid, this book was both fascinating and kind of terrifying, because I’m pretty sure I even had a nightmare about my nightmares coming to life at one point!Did the pacing lag a bit? Yeah. Did we also kind of rush things there at the end of this first book? Maybe. But honestly, I had such a good time that I don't really care about that.

I cannot remember the last time that I have been so eager to wake up every morning and choose reading a book over watching television. I mean, I truly had SSSOOO MUCH FUN with beautiful but messy masterpiece!!! Readers will welcome this is a series opener, as there is still far more to explore in this world that is mostly bleak but with just enough hope to make the bitter sweet." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s BooksEver 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. I also like Cy and the Phantom. Both are cool, and I hope they become a trio in the sequel, they'd be unstoppable. Being the only suspects puts them into a bloody, threatening dilemma. Every reporter is after their story, leaving them trying to solve a mystery in a city swarming with police corruption, conspiracy theories, and cults.

I’ve been eyeing this one for a while due to the premise, but I was also wary because it sounds to good to be true. Glad it met your expectations! Let's also add in some "eh, might die, but I can't afford to be anywhere else" vibes and I'm sold. This was such a fascinating concept and a really fun read. It’s set in Newham (a city so crime-ridden it makes Gotham looks tame by comparison) and follows nineteen year old Ness, who has an irrational fear of nightmares (and of becoming one) ever since her sister turned into a man-eating spider and went on a killing spree. It's a really compelling and terrifying concept that demands digging deep into characters and understanding both what they fear most and what that fear would manifest as physically, while also leading to some incredibly disturbing body horror. And I'll give the book credit, it's pretty frightening and disturbing. It could be more creative with some aspects of it, like why would their only be twelve types of vampires? But it's overall pretty solid. And that means you never- never- know where it’s going to go, or what’s even possible. And yet! What does happen always winds up feeling plausible and even foreshadowed! I don’t know how that’s possible.

D) What if I never became my nightmare but close family and friends did, would I be able to physically survive this new world?

I shift uncomfortably, wiping my gloved hands on my neatly pressed trousers. I forget that I can’t wipe the sweat off my palms through the cloth. But I’m not!” She frowns down at the woman, then shakes her head. “Actually, I think she’s just fainted.”As a side note, coming from someone who has had pretty extensive involvement with domestic abuse and the care of victims, if anyone ever tells you that enemies to lovers, vampires, or weird spicy sexy romance books will affect your tolerance for abuse, get the hell away from them. Abuse is perpetuated through the manipulative and coercive actions of the abuser. 'Accepting' abuse comes from extensive periods of being broken down by that abuser. Sexy romance fiction is not poisoning the minds of women. I cant express how upset I am that this book pushes this concept so hard. Return to the City of Nightmares in the sequel, Cage of Dreams. With more chaos, more monsters, and a lot more nightmares. Okay, so if you've made it this far into the review and are somehow NOT already interested, let me just say that City of Nightmares was such a fun and self-aware ride. No, listen. Her husband turned into a Nightmare, didn’t he?” I look around the room, searching for something that would confirm my suspicion. “That’s not supposed to happen if you’re drinking the tap water.”