Review: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Title: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities #1)

Author: Robert Jackson Bennett

Published by: Broadway Books

Released: 2014

Source: Library

Summary: The gods used to rule the Continent, bestowing miracles and blessings on their followers. The Saypuri People didn't have the blessings, or anyone to save them from enslavement. One Saypuri decided to murder the gods, made himself a god killing weapon, and attacked. When the gods died, the cities and people they blessed did too. Plague spread across the land, and whole chunks of the city disappeared.

The Saypuri's have become the new ruling class. Bulikov, a city once blessed by the divine, is now cold and poor. The people are not allowed to speak the names of the former gods or know their symbols.

When a Saypuri scholar and historian is murdered, Shara and her secretary, Sigurd, are sent to solve the case. They find much more than they bargained for.

My Thoughts: This was an interesting read for me. I can't say I loved it, but I didn't hate it either. Adult Fantasy is kind of out of my comfort zone. I want to read more of it, but it's intimidating. This had a world that was a little hard for me to get in to. A lot of focus on religion, a lot of gods thrown into the mix. 

It probably took me about 70 to 80 pages to really find my footing and get interested, and invested, in the story. Once I was into it, I liked it okay. There was enough action to keep me intrigued. Shara was an alright character. I liked her and Sigrud? Sigurd's? relationship.

It was a bit of a slower paced book. It had a lot of meat in it, a lot of words. A lot of the names were a bit difficult for me.

Overall, I thought this was okay. I enjoyed myself while reading it. It wasn't necessarily a book that made me crave fantasy though. It took quite awhile to get into. I don't know if I want to read the next book in the series. It would be interesting to see more of Shara and Sigrud's adventures, but I don't know if I like the world that much to invest in another story. I'm on the fence.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5

It was all right, not my most favorite.