I’m blind underneath the couch, but I don’t need sight to figure out what’s happening. It’s perfectly clear from the crash of breaking pottery, the crunch of wood as Priya destroys the table, the angry and murderous wails of the Nightmare. You know those memes that are like "Would you live in Gotham if rent was 5 dollars a month?" That is basically this book. I mean, the titular city of nightmares is literally called NEWHAM. But I'd say Newham is even worse than Gotham because it's in a world where people have a chance of physically and permanently transforming into their worst nightmare when they sleep--unless they take drugs to stop themselves from dreaming. But the drugs are nullified by alcohol, so Prohibition is in place and the world very much has the vibes of that 1920s era, though with more POC and queer characters living their best lives in waistcoats and dress pants. As good of lives as they can make in a world of living nightmares, anyway. This is a society that's terrible to a hilarious degree. The mayor openly keeps a nightmare-pterodactyl as a pet to unleash on her political opponents. Bribery is mandatory if you want to get anything done. Mail can be expected to get stolen if you don't deliver it yourself or with your own employees. Every time you go out you gotta worry about some kind of monstrous creature showing up to gobble you up.

Today’s excerpt is the first book in a new duology from Rebecca Schaeffer. Ever since Ness’ sister became a man eating spider, she’s been terrified. And she’ll do anything to avoid becoming the victim again, even if that means lying low among the Friends of the Restful Soul, a questionable organization that may or may not be a cult. Apparently, this is the year all of my favorite YA authors disappoint me. Rebecca Schaeffer wrote one of the best YA fantasy series I've ever read with Not Even Bones. I am astounded that this is the same author.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. Ness Near lives in the City of Nightmares. No wait, Gotham. No wait, it's not either of those places—it's Newham. Either way, the vibes are the same: this is not the kind of city you'd like to live in. Every time this happens, I know it’s going to have consequences. But in those moments, I don’t care. It’s like my mind goes blank, and there’s only the fear. And then, to make matters worse, Ness ends up embroiled in an embroiled assassination attempt beyond her wildest imaginings and finds the little ground she's scraped and bled to assemble ripped out from under her. Ever since Ness her sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered her way through town Ness has been terrified of nightmares, wether this means another nightmare murdering her or being turned into one. No one is safe in Newham, Ness will do anything to avoid being turned into a nightmare or being killed by one.

I absolutely loved every second of this—it’s pacey, plot twisty and fabulously dramatic in all the best ways! 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. When people dream, they have nightmares, and when they have nightmares they turn into their worst fear. So one day Ness's own sister forgot to take a pill that prevents dreams and turned into a huge spider that ended up killing their father.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. Rebecca Schaeffer delivers another dose of morally ambiguous, delightful chaos—this time with a refreshing examination of how we view vampires.”— #1 New York Times bestselling author Xiran Jay Zhao I took a whopping zero notes whilst reading this book, so please excuse me if this review is short. In a Gotham-inspired city where people go to sleep and wake up as their own nightmares, perfectly normal, perfectly terrified Ness must face her biggest fears, before she ends up a casualty in some else's villainous war. That said, all the snorting, groaning, and developing relationships tired me. The plot, well, I won't spoil it, but I feel it has more than one hole and I disliked the ending.

While Ness was my favourite character, I really liked Cy and Priya as well. All of them were really well fleshed out, and I need them to spend more time together as a group in the next book. Atmosphere – 8/10Crooked politicians. Sinister cults. And dreaming means waking up as your worst nightmare. Welcome to the City of Nightmares. So I thought that thread of character realism in this caricaturized, fictional version of our real world's dark side was awesome. It lent a dose of grounding to the sensational world building. And it made for a very good reading experience. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Something I especially enjoyed about City of Nightmares was the protagonist’s personality. Unlike many other MCs in YA fiction, Ness was terrified of almost everything, and very rarely willing to put herself on the line to face those fears. It was rather refreshing to see and set up some interesting plot points. Additionally, her personality made for an excellent character arc that was done believably. I enjoyed being in her thoughts, and I’m excited to see what adventures she gets up to in the sequel.And Ness is willing to do anything to make sure she doesn’t suffer the same fate, even joining Friends of the Restful Soul-a group that offers help to those affected by nightmares (and which may or may not be a cult.) But I’m not!” She frowns down at the woman, then shakes her head. “Actually, I think she’s just fainted.” 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. One of my favorite books of the year! Phenomenally fun, with a vivid, vicious world that's stuffed with monsters (both human and otherwise) and a heroine you'll root for. I absolutely loved it!" — Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of The Queens of Renthia series