Title: City of Light (Outcast #1)
Author: Keri Arthur
Release Date: January 5, 2016
Publisher: Signet
Pages: 378
Source: Bought
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Overall: 5 STARS

SUMMARY

The first in an all-new futuristic fantasy series from Keri Arthur—the New York Times bestselling author of the Souls of Fire novels.

When the bombs that stopped the species war tore holes in the veil between this world and the next, they allowed entry to the Others—demons, wraiths, and death spirits who turned the shadows into their hunting grounds. Now, a hundred years later, humans and shifters alike live in artificially lit cities designed to keep the darkness at bay....

As a déchet—a breed of humanoid super-soldiers almost eradicated by the war—Tiger has spent her life in hiding. But when she risks her life to save a little girl on the outskirts of Central City, she discovers that the child is one of many abducted in broad daylight by a wraith-like being—an impossibility with dangerous implications for everyone on earth.

Because if the light is no longer enough to protect them, nowhere is safe...  

MY THOUGHTS
Keri Arthur's City of Light completely messed up my TBR—but not because it was bad. It was the opposite, in fact. I loved City of Light so much that I immediately went searching for more adult urban fantasy novels to read, completely abandoning the ARCs I needed to read and review. With action, suspense, and the thrill of danger on every singly page, City of Light is an absolutely addictive introduction to the Outcast series.

When Tiger rescues a little girl and her injured uncle on the outskirts of Central City, she begins to attract unwanted attention. The terrifying vampires who rule the night are suddenly trying to break into Tig's home. And children are being kidnapped by wraiths in the middle of the day, a feat that should be impossible. Wraiths hunt their prey only in the shadows, and if that's not true anymore, then no one is safe...

Tig is a déchet, a genetically modified super-soldier trained to fight on behalf of the humans who created her. A hundred years ago, humans and shapeshifters fought for supremacy in the species war until rifts were formed in our world and the next, allowing wraiths, demons, and death spirits to cross over. While humans and shapeshifters moved on from the war, building heavily guarded, artificially lit cities to keep the darkness at bay, Tig has never forgotten everything she lost all those years ago.

When the shapeshifters narrowly defeated the humans, they eradicated their greatest threat: the déchet. Now the last of her kind, she lives in an abandoned human military base. Her only companions are the ghosts of the déchet who violently died there, including Cat and Bear, two helpless children who died in her arms and have devotedly followed her everywhere ever since.

Tig is tough, resilient, and more than capable of defending herself, but it's heartbreaking just how utterly alone and isolated she feels. She can't afford to trust anyone, not when shapeshifters still carry a deep hatred and fear of the déchet. If anyone discovered her true identity, it would be a death sentence, but it's a risk she must take if she hopes to help locate the missing children.

I have zero regrets staying up until 4 am to finish City of Light. Keri Arthur has breathed new life into a story about shapeshifters, vampires, and ghosts to make this urban fantasy feel fresh and exciting. I only wish I already had the sequel in my hands. Winter Halo can't come soon enough!