Book: Diamond City by Francesca Flores

Published January 2020 by Wednesday Books|400 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: The City Of Diamond And Steel #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

Good things don’t happen to girls who come from nothing…unless they risk everything.

Fierce and ambitious, Aina Solís as sharp as her blade and as mysterious as the blood magic she protects. After the murder of her parents, Aina takes a job as an assassin to survive and finds a new family in those like her: the unwanted and forgotten.

Her boss is brutal and cold, with a questionable sense of morality, but he provides a place for people with nowhere else to go. And makes sure they stay there.

DIAMOND CITY: built by magic, ruled by tyrants, and in desperate need of saving. It is a world full of dark forces and hidden agendas, old rivalries and lethal new enemies.

To claim a future for herself in a world that doesn’t want her to survive, Aina will have to win a game of murder and conspiracy—and risk losing everything.

Full of action, romance and dark magic, book one of Francesca Flores’ breathtaking fantasy duology will leave readers eager for more!

I thought Diamond City was just okay.  I’m not sure why, but I had a really hard time getting through this book.

I really felt for Aina, and I hated Kohl for everything he did to her.  He’s just a completely horrible person, and I don’t know if he felt guilty for what he did, or if he took her under his wing after taking away everything from Aina because it’s his thing, but either way, it was completely and utterly horrible.  Also, she just couldn’t let him go, no matter what he did.  I don’t get it but maybe Aina felt like she owed because he took her off the streets?

Back to Aina, though.  She has had a rough life, and I wanted everything to be okay for her.  It seems like things are looking up at the end of the book, but considering this is the first book in a series, I know there’s a lot more heartbreak in Aina’s future.  Things seem good now, but I know they’re not going to stay that way.  I know, in the end, things will be just fine for Aina, but what is she going to lose along the way?  She’s already lost so much, and I know the journey to the end of this series will be interesting.

Even though I didn’t love this book, I am still curious to see how things work out for Aina.  I definitely plan on reading the sequel, because I do like Aina, and I’m rooting for her.

I don’t know how I feel about the world- all I can tell you is that magic and diamonds are outlawed, but diamonds seem to be all over the place because of a black market.  Oh, and there’s a specific religion that’s forbidden as well.  I honestly couldn’t tell you anything more specific than that, so obviously, a lot of the world and magic did not make a big impression.

2 stars.  I liked Aina, and I do want things to work out for her.  Enough that I’m probably going to read the sequel, but for whatever reason, I just had a hard time liking it.