Author: Miriam Forster
Genre: Fantasy
My initial thoughts about this book were that I was not going to like it. While the cover was interesting, it didn't really appeal to me. In addition, there was a list of characters in the front of the book - or Dramatis Personae. I am always wary of these books that have lists of characters because I am afraid that I will not be invested in the book enough to keep them straight. And then, when the names of the characters are not what I am used to (like Nisha and Akash tarVey) I think I will have an even harder time.
Fortunately, that did not happen with this book. I very quickly became invested and loved the relationship that Nisha had with the cats and how they spoke to one another (basically read each other's minds). They explained to Nisha that they just didn't want to talk to anyone else, but you knew right away that there was a bigger story there. Through suicides - or was it murders, love, betrayal, guilt, and friendship we learn about Nisha and the role that she plays in the City of Dolls. A city that was created to take in the unwanted daughters of the Empire. Unwanted because there was a 2-child ban on the population, and boys were valued more.
This book was more than just a fantasy though, but also a murder mystery and it was not evident who or why was behind them. Definitely kept me in the dark until almost the very end. I really enjoyed it and am glad that I did not let the cover or list of characters put me off from reading it.
