Tarnished City

By: Vic James

Narrated by: Avita Jay

MAGIC COMPELS. WE BLEED.

The captivating dystopian trilogy that began with Gilded Cage continues. In a modern Britain where magic users control wealth, politics—and you—an uprising has been crushed. In its aftermath, two families will determine the country’s fate. The ruthless Jardines make a play for ultimate power. And the Hadleys, once an ordinary family, must find the extraordinary strength to fight back.

Abi Hadley is a fugitive. Her brother, Luke, a prisoner. Both will discover that in the darkest places, the human spirit shines brightest. Meanwhile, amid his family’s intrigues, Silyen Jardine dreams of forgotten powers from an earlier age.

As blood runs in the streets of London, all three will discover whether love and courage can ever be stronger than tyranny.

How do you choose when you can’t save everyone?

Look for all three books in the mesmerizing Dark Gifts trilogy:
GILDED CAGE • TARNISHED CITY • BRIGHT RUIN

Praise for Tarnished City

“Highly recommended . . . There’s an admirable level of world-building . . . with real moments of empathy and compassion [and] a true nail-biter of a cliffhanger ending.”—Fantasy Literature

“Multifaceted complexity . . . lively, determined characters.”—Publishers Weekly

Critic reviews

“Highly recommended . . . There’s an admirable level of world-building . . . with real moments of empathy and compassion [and] a true nail-biter of a cliffhanger ending.”—Fantasy Literature

“Multifaceted complexity . . . lively, determined characters.”—Publishers Weekly

Wonderful 2nd book!!

I loved the book, but I didn't like the narrator' "voices " she used for the characters. The book was great, though.

Better than the first!

I enjoy this series. It’s interesting, fast paced, and unpredictable. Just the right amount of suspense, drama, action, and romance. Plus, after the first one, this was much easier to follow now that I know what’s going on. And Avita did a great job. Such a pleasant voice.

Best to marathon read.

This picks up right where Gilded Cage left off. Since there is no time jump it's best to marathon listen to this trilogy.

What I really like about Tarnished City is that it is not easy for the rebels to strike at the Equals in power. Sometimes they are very unsuccessful and there are dire consequences, including the death of important characters.

Those consequences are also used by the Equals to twist and manipulate the narrative. Fake news because you don't need Skill to control the media.

The world building is so well done. From the politicking, the magic system, the psychological warfare on the condemned, and the messed up family dynamics.

A reason I would not recommend this to the younger YA readers is because of the psychological warfare. I don't want to spoil anything because it's a bit involved but Luke's story is quite dark.

We did get more from Silyen in this book, like I hoped we would. He's a fun and manipulative character. We also learn more about Skill that builds up the suspense and leaves us with questions about the lore that will be answered in the next book.

I immediately jumped into listening to Book 3 because Tarnished City ended on quite the cliffhanger!

4 out of 5 Skills