Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Your allies aren't always who you think they are and neither are your enemies. This is the lesson learned in the second installment of the Dark Gifts trilogy, by James. Tarnished City picks up immediately after the ending of Gilded Cage (2017), the first installment, with Luke Hadley being Condemned after being convicted of a crime he didn't commit. When Luke is sent off to the deadly Condemned prison Eilean Dochais, his sister, Abi, becomes a fugitive in an effort to save him. Forming an alliance with Skilled sympathetic to the Unskilled and their plight, Abi and her crew attempt to bust Luke out. But nothing goes according to plan, and when Abi turns to the one person she trusts, their betrayal has deadly consequences. Told from a variety of both Skilled and Unskilled perspectives, this is an exciting sophomore effort by James. Full of political intrigue and a unique (if not quite fully fleshed out) magic system, the Dark Gifts trilogy will appeal to fans of Samantha Shannon's the Bone Season.--Wathen, LynnDee Copyright 2017 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
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In the tangled second Dark Gifts urban fantasy (after Gilded Cage), rebels in an alternate 21st-century England struggle to regroup after being blamed for assassinating the political leader of England's "Equals," magically skilled aristocrats. Equals wield enormous power and influence, forcing the "Skilless" into brutal servitude. Abi Hadley's brother, Luke, was framed for the murder of Parliament's Chancellor Zelston. She and her parents are sentenced to live in Millmoor, one of the country's worst slavetowns. Fortunately, Abi finds sanctuary with a young Equal who supports the rebellion. Meanwhile, Luke is condemned to the pitiless custody of Lord Arailt Crovan at his remote Scottish estate. While Luke fights to keep his humanity, Abi plots to rescue him, and political intrigue challenges both rebel and Equal plans. With a wealth of dense backstory, this isn't a good entry point for new readers, but series fans will appreciate the multifaceted complexity of James's world and its lively, determined characters. Agent: Ginger Clark, Curtis Brown, Ltd. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.