Book review: Fallen City by Adrienne Young

Genre: Fantasy

Release date: November 4, 2025

Goodreads rating: 3.9

My rating: 3.5

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Fallen City by Adrienne Young is my third Adrienne Young book; I loved Spells for Forgetting and The Unmaking of June Farrow and was excited to delve into this fantasy book.

The story centres around Maris and Luca, two young heirs of rival political families who are stepping into seats on the higher council of the walled city of Isra. They must carry on their family names in this council, which is increasingly divided. When an act of treason occurs, a rebellion ensues. Maris and Luca, despite feeling fated to be together, end up on opposite sides of this war.

The worldbuilding in this book is quite detailed. The front end of the book sets up the city, its political environment, its gods and its social classes in detail. This slows down the pace of the book but leads to a richly detailed setting.

I enjoyed the storytelling format of the book. It is told in a dual timeline fashion: In the ‘Now’ timeframe, the Lower City is getting ready to attack the city of Isra. In the ‘Then’ timeline, we see the events that led to the rebellion and see Maris and Luca’s relationship unfold within this context.

The themes of legacy and fate are central to the story. I felt invested in Maris and Luca’s journeys but admit that I was equally intrigued by the characters of Theo and Vale. I hope the sequel further delves into these two characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

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