Featuring the journey of a fierce heroine in the magical yet vicious world of Kosín, Francesca Flores’ fantasy debut novel, Diamond City, is going to blow your mind with its action-packed story, fast-paced plot, and scene-stealing characters. Being the first book in a series, Diamond City follows the story of Aina Solís and her dangerous quests as an assassin along with some unlikely allies that she never expected to have. Confused between paying back her gratitude and unravelling the ultimate truth, she must fight and survive in a game that she accidentally started.
After her parents are executed for a religion that they believed in, Aina must do everything to survive in the harsh and dangerous street life. Being a street rat at the age of 12, she went through the shivering of night and the suffering of hunger. However, her life took a turn when a mysterious man saved her life at the very last minute from a bomb. After being given everything that she thinks she wants, Aina is now an assassin and works for the man that saved her life. She works through murder after murder, and everything seems to go okay. But when an assigned murder goes wrong, she has to unravel the truth about the man she works for, unexpectedly works with the enemy but most importantly, she has to figure out how to break herself free.
Told in an alternate timeline, we get to see Aina’s past and how it unravels and shapes her into the way she is today.
I couldn’t deny the charms in Diamond City‘s prologue that instantly grasped my whole attention. It was short and straight to the point, yet it gave me chills, and ultimately, pulled me into the deep of Kosín’s slums. Being introduced to our heroine at the age of 12 and witnessing how her life took a sharp turn in a spare few seconds, I was more than invested to explore her journey. It was one of those prologues that makes me think about it over and over again because the scene was absolutely intense, smart, and struck my mind in the best way possible.
This story relies heavily on its character, but it especially relies on Aina as the main lead as we got to witness her internal monologues in facing dilemmas in her confined life. Trapped between two opposite sides, Aina’s journey in this story was intense and very much relatable, as often at times the truth is not simply black or white. Flores eloquently elaborate Aina’s difficult position and I completely adore her multidimensional character.
Though it was a very much character-driven story, Flores also went beyond with its worldbuilding, including the harsh street life in Kosín’s slums, the endless tunnels, the magical diamonds, the intriguing belief system, and of course, the fierce competition between gangs that hated each others guts. I absolutely adore this universe because although I was struggling a bit to dive deeper into it and try to grasp the whole concept of how this world works, I can tell you that it was written after a tremendous amount of research and hard work. I feel like this is the case of me instead of the book itself, as I couldn’t wait to reread this gem in the future and try to understand it better.
My one last favourite aspect of Diamond City is Flores’ impressive skill in describing and narrating this fast-paced fantasy, leaving us with more than enough outstanding quotes that reflect our cruel reality.
In conclusion, Diamond City is a fierce fantasy featuring a fierce heroine living in a fierce universe where everyone hides everything and danger always creep around the corner.
Diamond City is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of January 28th 2020.
Will you be picking up Diamond City? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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!
