Steph's DNF Review: City of York (Kingdom in Darkness) By A. Person

Series: Kingdom in Darkness #1 

Publisher: Elmhurst Park Capital
Source: the author in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: May 15, 2020
Buying Link: Amazon* 
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links. 

Blurb from goodreads:

The Kingdom has been around for as long as mud has been on the planet. Magic abounds—and dragons are its physical manifestation. Once vibrant and proud, they now live in varying states of depression after having their wings clipped. New dragons have not been created since that fateful day, and the magical force has only dwindled with the passing of each dragon.
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The Community, the residents of the Kingdom, are no longer the dominant beings in the world. They have ceded that title to humans, or as they inconsiderately call them, Cromies. To ensure the Kingdom’s survival, the Council of Elders made the monumental decision to concentrate all the magic in one place: New York City. From the far corners of the world, the Exodus occurred. Dubbed the City of York by this mythical Community, here they all follow the Order to stay concealed and not bring harm to the general population. Unbeknownst to the inhabitants at large, the Community lives among them.

In the present day, Emily and her friends Cat and James run a start-up news organization. Their quest to inform the public has them unexpectedly crossing paths with members of the Community. When it is discovered that they have an affinity to magic, they are all provided guides, and they immerse themselves in this hidden world.
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A motley cast of additional characters is encountered along the way. Prominent among them is Hollister McAvoy, who is a magically made billionaire. He has harnessed the power emanated by dragons and brought cheap, renewable energy to the city. While the Cromies rejoice, he continues to work toward his ultimate objective. There is an age-old prophecy that foretells the dawn of a magical revival. With access to money and technology, he aims to fulfill it by creating prosthetic wings and returning dragons to their former prestige. Can the Kingdom remain in darkness when dragons once again fly?

Bea's DNF Reviews

I've been reading a lot since being home while laid off from teaching. Mostly I've been doing well picking books to read the last few weeks but there were a few that were duds. Some were just meh, but two I actually DNFed. One I picked mainly due to the author and the title; I barely looked at the blurb. The other was an author I've been wanting to try and a short story seemed like a good way to start. Sadly, neither one worked.

DNF Review: The Girl With The Louding Voice By Abi Dare

Publisher: Dutton

Format Read: E-Book
Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: February 4, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Google | Kobo
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Adunni is a fourteen-year-old Nigerian girl who knows what she wants: an education. This, her mother has told her, is the only way to get a “louding voice”—the ability to speak for herself and decide her own future. But instead, Adunni's father sells her to be the third wife of a local man who is eager for her to bear him a son and heir.

When Adunni runs away to the city, hoping to make a better life, she finds that the only other option before her is servitude to a wealthy family. As a yielding daughter, a subservient wife, and a powerless slave, Adunni is told, by words and deeds, that she is nothing.

But while misfortunes might muffle her voice for a time, they cannot mute it. And when she realizes that she must stand up not only for herself, but for other girls, for the ones who came before her and were lost, and for the next girls, who will inevitably follow; she finds the resolve to speak, however she can—in a whisper, in song, in broken English—until she is heard.