City of Gods and Monsters (House of Devils)

City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards completely consumed me—in the best way possible. From the very first chapter, I was hooked. I laughed, I gasped, I fell in love right alongside the characters. This book gave me everything I look for in an urban fantasy romance: rich world-building, morally grey characters, emotional depth, and the kind of slow-burn chemistry that keeps you turning pages long into the night.The story follows Loren Calla, a human living in the supernatural city of Angelthene, who’s just trying to survive in a world where humans are second-class citizens. After a terrifying abduction attempt, she ends up under the reluctant protection of Darien Cassel—leader of the infamous Seven Devils, a circle of elite Darkslayers. What starts as a reluctant alliance slowly transforms into something deeper, as the two are pulled into a dangerous mystery involving missing women, dark secrets, and ancient power plays that could tear their world apart.Loren is one of the most relatable heroines I’ve read in a long time—brave but vulnerable, flawed but resilient. And Darien… let’s just say if you love a brooding, emotionally guarded protector with a hidden soft side, you’re going to fall hard for him. Their connection is so well developed—slow, intense, and achingly tender. Every interaction between them felt electric.What made this story truly unforgettable for me, though, was the emotional complexity woven throughout. Loren’s struggles with anxiety, her complicated past, and her need to find belonging hit close to home. The way the characters build trust, learn to rely on one another, and confront their own inner demons made the romance feel earned and incredibly satisfying.Kayla Edwards has such a gift for crafting immersive, atmospheric worlds and pairing them with deep, emotionally resonant storytelling. Her writing pulls you in and doesn’t let go, blending humor, suspense, heartbreak, and longing with perfect balance. I felt every twist, every vulnerable moment, every spark of connection.If you love found family, strong heroines, complex love interests, and urban fantasy that knows how to hit you in the heart—City of Gods and Monsters is an absolute must-read. I already can’t wait to dive back into Angelthene.Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards is like if Crescent City and Supernatural had a chaotic, slightly unhinged love child. And I mean that in the best way.This book throws you into a dark, gritty city full of magic, murder, and monsters, and somehow still manages to make you want to move there. Bad decisions? Maybe. But vibes? Immaculate. Loren is the kind of main character you root for immediately. She’s tough, sarcastic, a little messy. And Darien? Certified broody menace with a heart he swears he doesn’t have. Their slow-burn tension could power an entire city, honestly.It’s a little messy, a little moody, and a lot addictive. If you love found families, angsty supernatural chaos, and characters who are one bad decision away from total disaster (and yet you love them for it), add this one to your list immediately.

Although this book didn’t need to be this long I still enjoyed it for some unbeknownst reason. The only character that had any sort of development was the MMC all of the side characters were lack luster and one dimensional.SABRINELet’s start with sabrine, our MC friend that goes missing and Loren is all twisted up about it. She is found with no help from any of our MC’s. She’s just found by a random side character and that’s it. You vaguely see her mentioned throughout the rest of the book maybe 3 more times. No extensive questioning about where she was , if she remembered anything about her captors, how she feels about being turned, just nothing, even though half of the book was about finding her.LACENext let’s talk about Lace our MMC ex GF. I felt like there was so much that could’ve been done with her character and the author just let her exist by vaguely mentioning her over in the living room or over there in the kitchen. I felt like her and Loren could’ve hated each other in the begging of and loved each other by the end. Like have Loren thinks that she still wants Darien but she doesn’t and warns Loren of Darien’s heartbreaking ways that Loren doesn’t take heed to and choke it up as jealousy and then lace turns out to be right and they bond and have a better understanding of each other… etcThe chapters became repetitive. It was too much of our MC’s almost touching, kissing, telling each other how they feel before Darien receives a phone call and they have to rush half way across the city to find out absolutely nothing. I found myself skipping some of those chapters and not missing a thing.The constant time lapse skips when we could’ve gotten some great descriptions of things that were skipped. We keep reading about how Darien is fear and such a great fighter but every time he goes to the pit it’s glossed over and not describe in detail.Oh, I almost forgot. What was that with SLADE ??? Shouldn’t Darien have been the one to kill him since you know all of the abuse ? It would’ve been more impactful if SLADE had been killed by Darien and they was so good dialogue between the two.The world building could’ve use a little work. It’s was so interesting but we got little to no flesh out chapters of the fleet, the witches and how they used their staves. The vampires, the wolfs.With all that being said I STILL enjoyed the book and rated it 3.

2 words my friends…Darien Cassel. That’s it. Forever until the end of time when I’m nothing but ash this man will still be my most favorite book boy.“Welcome to the city of Angelthene. We hope you survive”.Darien is a supernatural bounty hunter hired to take out human and student Loren Calla but after one interaction he realizes that something more is at play and decides to protect her instead. Our boy Darien is immediately drawn to her and let’s just say some demons aren’t easily beat as he falls hard and fast for sweet Loren.This series is an urban fantasy with unique world building, touch her and die vibes, bad boy x sunshine girl, will burn the world down for her and a slow burn.I can’t say enough about how much I love this entire series. READ IT. NOW.