Red City by Marie Lu Narrator: André Santana, Eunice Wong, Natalie Naudus, Sid Sagar
Published by Macmillan Audio on October 14, 2025
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Amazon B&N Apple Books Google Play
Goodreads
I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Godfather meets The Magicians in the sweeping adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab, Red City is a dark and deadly contemporary fantasy of magical warfare, star-crossed ambition, and the pursuit of perfection at any cost, set in a glittering alternate Los Angeles.
Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.
Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city—and the paths of their lives—will be irrevocably transformed.
The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become a Lumines apprentice, Ari is one of the syndicates' brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever-escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them both to survive the coming war.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale that goes towards keeping the blog running.
Red City is a powerhouse that you do not want to miss. I am predisposed to like these types of books already but wow. We start off meeting Sam as a little girl, she is insanely smart and has a strength to not be noticed. Her friend at school is Ari, a very charismatic young boy, he is also very gifted. Their paths wind up splitting but little did they know they would both wind up in the same field. Alchemy is real, and the crime syndicates are experts at wielding it. There are two rival syndicates, Grand Central and the Lumines. We watch our characters grow up, learn alchemy, and start a war that no one expected. Will they toss their childhood friendship to the wayside? I was on the edge of my seat by the end of this book to see how it would all play out.
The world building in this story was amazing; the pacing was perfect. I just really loved everything about it. I appreciate that we got to see the backstory of Sam and Ari. It led to a rich character depth, and we get to see why they are the way they are. Marie Lu really knocked this one out of the park and I need book 2 asap. If you are a fan of modern-day fantasy novels, you need to pick this one up.
The narrators were amazing. I felt immersed in the story thanks to them and highly recommend the audiobook.
