City of Nightmares

By: Rebecca Schaeffer

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Gotham meets Strange the Dreamer in this thrilling young adult fantasy about a cowardly girl who finds herself at the center of a criminal syndicate conspiracy, in a city where crooked politicians and sinister cults reign and dreaming means waking up as your worst nightmare.

Ever since her sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered her way through town, nineteen-year-old Ness has been terrified—terrified of some other Nightmare murdering her, and terrified of ending up like her sister. Because in Newham, the city that never sleeps, dreaming means waking up as your worst fear.

Whether that means becoming a Nightmare that’s monstrous only in appearance, to transforming into a twisted, unrecognizable creature that terrorizes the city, no one is safe. Ness will do anything to avoid becoming another victim, even if that means lying low among the Friends of the Restful Soul, a questionable organization that may or may not be a cult.

But being a member of maybe-cult has a price. In order to prove herself, Ness cons her way into what’s supposed to be a simple job for the organization—only for it to blow up in her face. Literally. Tangled up in the aftermath of an explosive assassination, now Ness and the only other survivor—a Nightmare boy who Ness suspects is planning to eat her—must find their way back to Newham and uncover the sinister truth behind the attack, even as the horrors of her past loom ominously near.

©2023 Rebecca Schaeffer (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Fun read

Pure imaginative fun with great world building, a character we want to root for, and a great plot.

A very unique story plot

I like how they took the idea of someone’s worst nightmare literally coming true and taking over

Fun book

The blurbs saying this book is Gotham meets Strange The Dreamer are spot on. There’s a thread of dark humor woven through this that keeps it from being *too* Grimdark. And it’s refreshing to read a YA book with a female protagonist that focuses on friendship instead of love triangles.

City of Nightmares

Not what I was expecting but I liked it. It was a good listen. Looking forward to more from the author

Bizarre and delightful

This story has a bizarre premise (people can turn into their worst nightmares in their sleep) but the story is highly satisfying and delightful. I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

Two hours in, I was mad it was only an 8 hour listen.

Genuinely enjoyed the plot and characters. Interesting world building that I want more of. Satisfying as a single read, even though I'm sure we'll see a sequel.

Decent quick read

It was entertaining and a quick listen. The narrator was great. I enjoyed the supporting characters more than the main character but overall it was enjoyable for a deal of the day and all the story structure was there.

I would read future books from this author if there’s an older main character. The young age of the MC probably places this in MG or YA genre.

enjoyable story

loved the story, the writing style was different then her other books. a bit to descriyptive in some areas but overall a good listen!

Fascinating and triumphant

The book isn’t outstanding, but it is Great. It avoids the pitfalls of being part of a duology, while still setting up the next book nicely. Great overall theme, but relatively lacking energizing fights. 9/10 will read again.

Good inbetween book

The characters are well structured and interesting, it’s a quick listen, well
Compared to the 24hr books I listen to. It’s a light hearted horror.
Another favorite author.