Red City has very interesting world building and magical system, I thought the setup of this novel was very strong. Childhood friends Sam and Ari are recruited in their own way by dueling syndicate houses, meeting again as adults after falling out and falling victim to dangerous power plays.

This is a character driven story, an urban fantasy with a romance subplot (I guess?). The chemistry was lacking for me and I didn’t quite get invested in the characters. At the half way mark, I kept trying to figure out what the plot was supposed to be. I think it’s supposed to be like a star-crossed-lovers, Romeo and Juliet vibe, I just didn’t really care for the romance. I wanted more magic and action, the familial ties were intriguing, there was just something missing overall. The pacing was a bit choppy and slow, it did pick up towards the end with a small mystery, so I’m curious where this goes in the next book.

The audiobook has four narrators, I’m a fan of Natalie Naudus and Eunice Wong, and I can distinctly tell their voices apart. Their delivery had great emotion and good pacing, it fit the story very well. The two male narrators were also great and I liked the touch of Indian accent.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook.

Title: Red City
Author: Marie Lu
Genre: Fantasy Romance, Urban Fantasy
Rating: 3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️