City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials)

I flew through this book. The plot is addictive and I love the magical realism portrayed throughout the book. The demons have been locked into cities around the world since losing the war against the Puritans in the 1600’s. City of Thorns is based in a magical city outside of Osborn, Massachusetts. The demon city has 7 wards, each associated with a different demon. The only mortals allowed in the city are either students learning magical arts at the university or servants born into their roles.Rowan wishes to go to the university to get revenge on the demon who burned her mother in a forest. Orion mistakes her for his mortal enemy, a demon succubus names Mortana who imprisoned him for most of his life. He offers her a deal once he learns she is a mortal, and their plots of revenge merge into a dangerous dance.This is a fantastic face-paced read and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!Read if you like:PNR / Magical RealismDemons and WitchesHilarious BanterUnique Magic SystemsDescriptive World BuildingEnemies To LoversFake RelationshipHidden Powers/ Mistaken IdentityRevenge Plot

I gave it four stars because of the demon theme. Good use of all the demonic terms and names found throughout the Bible and history. Demons are normally not my thing (yeah, I’m a Christian so giving kudos to demons is kinda yuk to me) but I’ve come to know that these writers are good and can really spin a good story, so I decided to take a chance on these books. The heat between the main characters is very well done. The world building was also nicely done. On to the next book.

Imagine the world as you know it. Now imagine that all kinds of demons are real and all mankind have always known about them because they lived among us. But hundreds of years ago there was a war and humans overpowered the demons by virtue of sheer numbers and now all of the demons live in walled off cities. The demons can leave and mix among the humans but if they stay too long all of their powers disappear, so they must return to their own cities. Humans can only enter the demon cities if they are students at the demon universities where they can learn magic, or if they are born there as servants of the demons. Otherwise they're killed by the demons. In Osborne, Massachusetts there is such a city and it's called the City of Thorns. It's the setting for this story. The MC, Rowan, is 22 and it's her birthday. She desperately wants to get into the City of Thorns so she can find the demon who killed her mother years ago. Rowan wants revenge. The other MC is Orion, a demon who is also seeking revenge. He stumbles upon Rowan who happens to be the doppelganger for Mortana, a demon he hates more than anyone or anything else. He kidnaps her and the real story begins.I loved this book so much. The world building was amazing. I loved the characters - even the bad ones. The suspense was great. The flow was perfect. I read and read until it was finished, then wanted to cry out in frustration because it will be a few months before the next book is available. My mind was jumping all over the place trying to figure things out. I was immersed and came up for air when it was done. I finished just before bed and then dreamed about it. I highly recommend this book.

All Rowan wants is to find out who murdered her mother. And there is one person that can help her but it comes with a price. Orion can't believe that he found her after all if this time. But he can't believe that she is a mortal. Can Rowan go through with this crazy scheme and get out alive? But will the truth destroy her & Orion? A great read. Good characters lots of excitement and a good storyline.

I’m so glad all three books are out, because I immediately started book two after finishing this.Side note- the graphic audio is so good 😮‍💨. I wish all books were graphic audios, or at least duet narration 🤣.The book opens up with Rowan (22) doing a presentation in her college class. In the back of the class, her high school bully keeps making obscene gestures that distract her 😐, so she’s unable to complete her presentation. All her life, Rowan’s wanted to avenge her mom’s death by finding the demon that killed her ☹️- but she can only do this by entering the City of Thorns. By going to school there, she can finally make that happen. She goes to a bar later that night with her friend Shai when she feels a presence enter… one that keeps looking at her, and she can’t help but be drawn to him as well 👀… and this presence’s a demon; his name’s Orion (400+) 👀 and he’s HOT AF 😅.Orion sees her and mistakes her for being Mortana 😬, a succubus who killed his entire family, and now he’s seeking revenge and wants to kill her 😅. Rowan assures him she’s human, and there’s only one way to test that- by biting her 👀. When he confirms she’s human, he decides she can help him with finding a way of killing the current king, Cambriel.Rowan’s fine with that- she’ll be able to enter the demon-filled city and who ruthlessly burned her mom to death.Orion’s gonna have to help Rowan disguise herself as the succubus Mortana 👀, which means, making sure she’s just as seductive as Mortana was…And they’ll have to try to keep their hands off of each other 😅…What I liked/loved:—the tension 👀. Uffff… there’s so much of it 😅. As soon as Orion and Rowan meet, the tension becomes explosive 🥵. I don’t know how they contained themselves 🤷🏻‍♀️. If I were Rowan, I’d be all over the demon 😉. The seduction is off the charts 🫠—the slow burn 🔥. So, their first kiss happens after 70% and then, well, then Orion shows Rowan exactly why he’s an incubus 🥵 and it’s 😮‍💨. This man can do damage with just his words and touch 😅. Lucky lucky Rowan 👀. Too bad we don’t see more lol—the banter 🤣. I love when there’s levity in serious situations 😅 and Rowan isn’t one to give as good as she gets 💁🏻‍♀️—Rowan’s strengths and goals ❤️. I love that she knows how to defend herself 👏🏻—the reasons why they’re seeking revenge ☹️. Both of them have compelling reasons, and I sympathized with them 🫶—the twists 😱😳. I mean. I had a feeling they were coming, but still 😳. The Cliffy 😮‍💨—Orion coming in at the right time 😅. Phew 😅. I love knight in shining armors that are on the dark side 👀—Rowan’s anxiety 😅. I felt this… you never can be too prepared 🤷🏻‍♀️—Orion calls her love 🫠 and in his British accent? Uffff 😮‍💨—Orion’s tortured story ☹️. I just wanted to hug him 🫶—how jealous Orion gets 😈. We don’t see his POV in this one, but his body language says it all 💁🏻‍♀️. I luuurve itWhat I wanted more of:—there’s no actual full 🔥… 😭. So much tension and buildup, and then… nothing 😭. At least we get something, but I wanted more. I mean. She’s pretending to be a succubus, and Orion’s an incubus … come on 😭🤣🤣🤣.—I wouldn’t have minded if some of the evil people had met their demise 🤷🏻‍♀️. 🤣🤣🤣🤣—since it’s the first book of the trilogy, I know we’ll get more in the next ones, so I won’t be too harsh.

Yup, I like dark intrigue. This was a fun read. I’m really looking forward to reading the next one. Great characters.

Libro en presentación pasta blanda, en idioma ingles. ⭐⭐⭐⭐Narrativa ágil, nivel de ingles medio. La temática es sencilla pero sabe crear el ambiente y ganchos para facilitar seguir con la lectura. Tiene componentes de novela erótica con escenas para adolescentes y adultos. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved it. I really wanted to read something like that, with this kind of magic and this book is perfect. Incredible.

Älskar författaren och böckerna som jag tidigare beatällt med denna författare, men kvaliteten på just denna bok känns väldigt låg, man ser texten genom sidorna, pappret känns väldigt skört och textfärgen ser dassig ut.

This story is amazing. Seriously it's so unique and I literally can't stop turning the pages. Rowan and Orion are given off some serious heat and the mystery surrounding the two is keeping me to the edge of my seat. Can't wait to read the next one.