Diamond City by Francesca Flores - HIGH

Diamond City by Francesca Flores, 400 pages. Wednesday Books (Macmillan), 2020. $19.

Language: PG13 (12 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Aina kills for one of the most feared men in the city, but she knows she’s close to becoming his equal and someone who is feared for her own reputation, not her employer’s. This job is her ticket out. Killing one more person should be easy, but, as Aina thinks she’s stepping closer to her dream, she discovers that she’s been living in a nightmare.

If you pick this book up, you better have time to read it all the way through -- there are no good stopping points in Aina’s fast-paced story. Though a couple inconsistencies pulled me out the story briefly, I was enjoying myself enough to move on and lose myself again in the world Flores built. As Aina struggles with self-worth and finding purpose in life, readers can work through these issues with her, reflecting similar ponderings in their own lives. While this message is an undertone to the story, I found myself reading simply for the pleasure of a thrilling read with surprises I couldn’t predict. The mature content rating is for innuendo and mentions of sex; the violence rating is for murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen