Today’s review is about FALLEN CITY by Adrienne Young. It’s the first book in the Fallen City duology, which draws inspiration from ancient Rome.
Author: Adrienne Young
Series: Fallen City Duology, #1
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Saturday Books
Publish Date: November 04, 2025
Print Length: 416
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Fallen City Synopsis
Synopsis
In the great walled city of Isara, political turmoil ignites a rebellion one hundred years in the making. But when a legionnaire falls in love with a Magistrate’s daughter, their love will threaten the fate of the city and the will of the gods.
Luca Matius has one purpose—to carry on the family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum once his powerful and cruel uncle dies. But his noviceship with the city’s Philosopher places him in the middle of a catastrophe that will alter the destiny of his people.
Maris Casperia was raised amidst the strategic maneuvers of the Citadel’s inner workings, and she knows what her future holds—a lifetime of service to a corrupt city. But her years of serving as a novice to the last Priestess who possesses the stolen magic of the Old War has made her envision a different kind of future for the city. When she meets Luca, a fated chain of events is set into motion that will divinely entangle their lives.
As a secret comes to light and throws the city into chaos, Luca and Maris hatch a plot to create a calculated alliance that could tip the scales of power. But when an execution forces Luca to become the symbol of rebellion, he and Maris are thrown onto opposite sides of a holy war. As their fates diverge, they learn they are at the center of a story the gods are writing. And even if they can find their way back to each other, there may be nothing left.
Fallen City Review
FALLEN CITY by Adrienne Young is the first book in a duology that draws inspiration from ancient Rome. The official synopsis is pretty spot on, so I won’t rehash it here. This book has a fairly unique storytelling structure that I personally don’t recall ever reading. There are two points of view. One is Maris Casperia, the daughter of a powerful Magistrate in the walled city of Isara. The other is Luca Matius, nephew and now adopted son of Magistrate Matius. Both have been raised to replace their parent and carry on the family line as Magistrates. FALLEN CITY oscillates between the past and present-day of these two POV. So the story isn’t exactly linear. But the chapters of the past POV move forward in time to align with current events. I thought this was a great way of presenting information without making the book 600 pages long.
The downside with this format, however, is I didn’t feel very strongly about either of the two main characters. Of course, I felt bad that as heirs to their parents they’ve been groomed to take over. Even though they don’t agree with the Forum, they are by default players in the rebellion. They want to change how to manage Isara, but a series of unfortunate events force their plans to abruptly change. Maris and Luca are fated lovers, but again, the past-present alternating POV didn’t really punch me in the gut with that dynamic. I felt a little distant from their romance, which also could be because a lot of the story focuses on the political turmoil. Their romance is important, but it’s not exactly the main show.
Even though the story didn’t hook me emotionally, I really liked the writing in FALLEN CITY. It felt immersive and atmospheric. The worldbuilding in this first book is a bit shallow, though I think that will pick up in the final book. As a novice to a Priestess who has some stolen god magic, Maris learns about some of the god myths, thus the reader does, too. However, that is more or less the extent of the worldbuilding. There is not much about the gods in this book. So I hope to see a little more of how they work in the next one.
Lastly, there’s some commentary in FALLEN CITY about power and change. It’s not very deep, but essentially inheriting power causes stagnation. Those in power keep that power within their family line to ensure their legacy and opinions endure. They have lifetime appointments, which makes change difficult and causes scheming to occur.
Overall, though, I enjoyed FALLEN CITY and plan to pick up the sequel. I think this is a good fit for those who like to read political fantasy touched by the gods.
Rating: 3.75
Content warnings: death of a parent, blood, death, violence, sexual content, infertility
Reading format: Hardback
If you enjoyed this book, you might also like THE FOXGLOVE KING by Hannah Whitten.
