Read by: Shannon McManus
Genre: YA Fantasy
I was looking for adventure, and this book seemed to have a lot of action and a kick-ass girl. So, I rented it.
Not so much kick ass.
Set in a fantasy Asian/Indian place, the City of a Thousand Dolls is a large orphanage complex that takes in unwanted girls, of which there are many, thanks to a strict two-child law. The city trains the girls in several different disciples and sells them off (as wives, courtesans or apprentices) when they turn 16. Nisha, is the head Matron's personal assistant ... with a secret past.
Sounds pretty good but Nisha isn't not much of a heroine. She's muddled and, other than talking to cats, has no special skills. She's described as Matron's informant, but she doesn't really know that much about the city, at all. When a few murders happen, Matron asks Nisha to look into it -- a pointless task, as she only talks to five girls and one of them happens to be the killer. Done.
To make matters worse, there's a scene at the end were all the stories untangle and is witnessed by the Prince and about 100 other people. It was the longest scene in the book and all I kept wondering was "how were all the people STILL standing there listening to all this expletive." Boring.
The only upside was the narrator read the book in a hurry. And when the story went stale, I was okay with rushing through it.
Grade: Yellow Light
