Miriam Forster

"Nisha lives in the City of a Thousand Dolls, a remote estate where orphan girls in the Empire become apprentices as musicians, healers, and courtesans, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. When girls begin to die, Nisha begins to uncover the secrets that surround the deathers--jeopardizing not only her own future within the City but her own life"--Provided by pub.

City of a Thousand Dolls

Mikala Mawer

I found this book at a used bookstore and I’m glad I read it. It was something different that I had never heard of before. It is defiantly YA but I was surprised. at first I was a little put off by the talking cats, thinking it was childish. But they grow on you and the end explains it well. It has a murder mystery and I was really happy with the ending. I rated it 3.5/5

Cindy Lee

More of my reviews at Secrets of Lost Words.

Rating: A

City of a Thousand Dolls kept me entertained with its mysteries throughout the whole book.

Nisha was abandoned at the City when she was young and she grew up there. All the girls trained in different houses and at 16, they would go to the Redeeming so men can buy them for a price. Nisha can also talk to cats which I find really cool :)

In the synopsis, it said something about deadly mystery and heart-stopping adventure. While it isn't exactly heart-stopping, it isn't too shabby. I found myself enjoying all the different clues Nisha found. There were certainly some parts that I found was too easy for her (e. g. finding the assassin's house). As for the murder's identity, I was *kind of* surprised. There was a foreshadowing on that in the book, so I wasn't all that surprised.

The synopsis also included something about forbidden romance. That wasn't all that interesting. I didn't find myself cheering for Devan (the young noble courier) at all. I was actually hoping for someone who was completely out of the picture (like for them to have a romantic relationship is impossible). But all was well in the end because I think they figured out how they liked each other.

My favorite part out of all of this was the Shun which were some kind of shapeshifters. I also really liked the talking cats as well! Wouldn't it be so cool if you can talk to the kitties? I also found the Asian translations quite interesting as I am Asian myself :)

Overall, I would recommend this one to mystery and adventure lovers who I'm sure won't be disappointed by this book!

City of a Thousand Dolls

Reviews