Cities of Smoke and Starlight

Gate Chronicles, Book 1

De: Alli Earnest

Narrado por: Magnus Carlssen

Perfect for fans of Dune, Pride & Prejudice, and anyone who believed Rogue One needed a romantic subplot.

Two tortured souls. One world on the brink of war.

Kase Shackley is an embittered hover pilot still reeling from the night his sister died in his arms. He's a screw up in every sense, so when a pilot nearly dies on his watch, he faces serious charges. Seeking to clear his name, he flies a ragtag crew to a lost and dangerous land from which they might never return. If only he didn't have to work with the infuriating bookshop girl who insulted him with Shakespeare

Hallie Walker, top scholar at the University, is jaded by the glittering society shed always dreamed of joining. Raised in the mountains, she fled to the city to forget her painful past. When she loses her bookshop job and the promise of school tuition, she agrees to a top-secret government mission if only for the promised substantial sum upon her return. Now if she could just ignore the ungrateful, arrogant prat of a pilot

In a world of hoverships and crumbling First Earth artifacts, it's up to Hallie and Kase to accomplish the impossible: secure an alliance with an elusive, mystical race to help defend against a kingdom with dangerous technology and ancient magic. If they fail, the war will be lost before it even begins.

Cities of Smoke & Starlight is a heart-wrenching, character-driven steampunk novel featuring a clean, slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance.

©2022 Dragon Page Entertainment (P)2023 Dragon Page Entertainment

Real characters and plot twists!

I love how well this author set up the whole story! The progression of meeting the cast of characters and getting to know them better throughout the story. The VERY Pride and Prejudice-esque enemies to rivals to friends to lovers romantic subplot. *chef’s kiss*

The worldbuilding is phenomenal! Steampunk with a touch of fantasy. Sooooooo well done and original!

The emotions are SKY HIGH at times, and TW:character deaths on-page as well as recollections of character deaths from before the story starts.

Overly dramatic

The narrator was awesome but the story was lacking. The story took for ever to get any where. The characters are all very one dimensional. No redemption, no growth of character just same temper/ irrational/ stubborn responses. Seemed like it tried to be Firefly/Serenity space cowboys but fell really short.

Looking Forward To The Next

It's been a while since I powered through a book in just a few days. Enjoy the world building and looking forward to learning more. The narrator is over all good which can be hard to find these days too. The accents can be a little silly but like I said overall was a great listen!

I fell in love with this book!

This book was written beautifully, captivating my interest on every page. The reader was also magnificent.

Predictable

Much of this story was predictable, nearly all of the plot points were easy to guess. I kept reading because it reminded me of the cartoon movie Atlantis. It was a nice read but I'm hoping it becomes more intriguing in the next books.

Slow burn with an unexpected plot twist.

All the reviews so far as correct. This is a story for anyone who loves pride and prejudice mixed with Star Wars/treasure planet, and the lost city of Atlantis movie adventure plot! Cannot wait to listen to the second

Captivating

Overall this was a great narrated book in my opinion I listen while I'm at work and through out the entire book I felt like I was there doing my job surrounded by everything happening.

The world building and the character development

I loved the book but I was hoping for more spice. Warning readers there’s only a kiss, but I’m hoping for more in the second book and believe me this book was that good that I’m reading the second immediately because I HAVE TO KNOW ❤️ IYKYK!

A great adventure with beautiful writing

I really had a great time with this story. I thought the hate-to-love romance was sweet and the whole thing reminded me of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow things like Treasure Planet, Mortal Engines, Divine Rivals and Endlewood. The writing was descriptive without being too cumbersome, the characters in my opinion were likeable and relatable, especially if you're stubborn like me. The plot was interesting and I was constantly waiting for the next shoe to fall. But Allie left breath where needed and you weren't getting whiplash. I loved the world and the politics as they unfolded, the dicotome of paste and future colliding was good fun. I'll review filling on the SFF Insiders blog.

A Great Listen

I read the book before getting the audio and since I loved it so much I decided to get the audio book. Now I can listen to it whenever I want!