City of Light by Keri Arthur (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"When the bombs that stopped the species war tore holes in the veil between this world and the next, they allowed entry to the Others—demons, wraiths, and death spirits who turned the shadows into their hunting grounds. Now, a hundred years later, humans and shifters alike live in artificially lit cities designed to keep the darkness at bay....

As a déchet—a breed of humanoid super-soldiers almost eradicated by the war—Tiger has spent her life in hiding. But when she risks her life to save a little girl on the outskirts of Central City, she discovers that the child is one of many abducted in broad daylight by a wraith-like being—an impossibility with dangerous implications for everyone on earth.

Because if the light is no longer enough to protect them, nowhere is safe..."

My Thoughts:

I really loved book a lot so I feel like that should be a warning:  do not read review if you aren't open to lots of gushing about this series, book, etc.  Ha!  In all seriousness though, there is a very good chance that this book could make my top reads list for 2016 and the year has only just begun.  It was just that good for me and I basically loved everything about this book!  I loved how fresh this book felt with this unique world that Arthur has created that is unlike anything I've ever read.  This book felt like a mix between urban fantasy and science fiction which turned into a really great combination.  The book itself was action packed while still detailed enough that the author was able to really bring this new world to life.  

I loved how the author used light as a sign of safety.  In this world it is the shadows and dark that are the most dangerous as that is where all of the dangerous creatures lay in wait.  Entire cities are constantly in light at all times to keep these creatures at bay.  Tiger is a déchet which in this world is both a unique (due to the fact that the rest of her kind were killed off) and bad thing to be.  She lives alone in an empty bunker with only the ghosts of other déchet's to keep her company.  But then she is pulled into this mystery involving disappearing children and her life will never be the same.  Everything about Tiger's character intrigued me from the very beginning!  I loved that we don't know all of her experiences from the war but we do know very early on how dangerous it is for her to be a déchet.  When she is drawn into the investigation for the missing children, she is forced to lie and pretend to be something that she is not.  This hidden secret plays such an important part of this story because those people that she is working with would look at her as lesser if they truly knew what she was.  This book was filled with both twists and turns that kept me reading late into the night.  I just couldn't read fast enough!  And I cannot emphasize enough how unique this world that Arthur has created felt!  The ending of this book just about killed me and left me seriously pining for the second book.  Which doesn't release until later this year!  Gah!  What am I going to do until then??

Overall, this was one of the freshest and best beginnings to an urban fantasy/science fiction series that I have read in a very long time.  It was filled with both intrigue and action....and I just couldn't get enough!  I need more books like this in my life.  I will definitely be continuing on with this series (Winter Halo is the name of book two if you are wondering) and just pining away for book two until it releases.  This was one of those books that left me with a bookish hangover that I just didn't want to get over.  Highly recommended!

Bottom Line:  An amazing beginning to this new series!  Second book please?

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.