Review: The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis
Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: 18th May 2021
Genre(s): Adult Urban Fantasy
Massive thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Lights of Prague follows Domek Myska, a lamplighter, whose job secretly involves keeping the city of Prague safe from pijavice (vampires) and Lady Ora Fischerová, an aristocratic, bisexual widow, who just happens to also be a pijavica. It follows their relationship, and their intertwining storylines as they both attempt to save Prague, before the pijavice, who have recently discovered a cure, take over the city.
I love these characters and the dual perspective the story followed. Domek is such an unlikely gentlemen, which was refreshing considering the majority of modern male love interests seem to be the alpha male type, and Domek was quite the opposite. Whilst, Ora was definitely a badass (with an emotional side). The romance between them is definitely not the focus of the book, but it was still great.
“He was tearing down her walls, taking her apart - and would piece her back together. She let herself shatter.” -oop
I will say, if you’re looking to read this book for a female-female relationship at the centre of this story, you won’t find it. However, I did think the normalisation and casual reference to Ora’s previous sapphic relationships was wonderful.
The highlight of the book for me was Kája, the mischievous will-o'-the-wisp. Not only was their personality so well fleshed out (for a sentient being), the whole concept of the will-o'-the-wisps was so unique? I’ve never quite seen a new creature be executed so well, it was so well integrated into the storyline, they just fit perfectly.
The first 50% of the book were fairly slow paced, and if it wasn’t for the detailed, atmospherical descriptions of Prague, it perhaps would have been too slow paced. But as I absolutely love Prague (it’s one of my favourite European cities), it felt like the perfect setting for this story, especially within the 1800’s timeframe. It was wonderful to be able to relive the stunning city and recognise certain landmarks, such as the Charles Bridge, picturing them as if I never left.
“Like a giant sated after a hearty meal, Prague after a storm was content and slow.” I’m sorry but these descriptions are stunning - not sure I’ll ever get over them!
Overall I adored this and I would 100% recommend this to fans of urban fantasy, especially those in a historical setting (think ‘These Violet Delights’ by Chloe Gong)
The Lights of Prague follows Domek Myska, a lamplighter, whose job secretly involves keeping the city of Prague safe from pijavice (vampires) and Lady Ora Fischerová, an aristocratic, bisexual widow, who just happens to also be a pijavica. It follows their relationship, and their intertwining storylines as they both attempt to save Prague, before the pijavice, who have recently discovered a cure, take over the city.
I love these characters and the dual perspective the story followed. Domek is such an unlikely gentlemen, which was refreshing considering the majority of modern male love interests seem to be the alpha male type, and Domek was quite the opposite. Whilst, Ora was definitely a badass (with an emotional side). The romance between them is definitely not the focus of the book, but it was still great.
“He was tearing down her walls, taking her apart - and would piece her back together. She let herself shatter.” -oop
I will say, if you’re looking to read this book for a female-female relationship at the centre of this story, you won’t find it. However, I did think the normalisation and casual reference to Ora’s previous sapphic relationships was wonderful.
The highlight of the book for me was Kája, the mischievous will-o'-the-wisp. Not only was their personality so well fleshed out (for a sentient being), the whole concept of the will-o'-the-wisps was so unique? I’ve never quite seen a new creature be executed so well, it was so well integrated into the storyline, they just fit perfectly.
The first 50% of the book were fairly slow paced, and if it wasn’t for the detailed, atmospherical descriptions of Prague, it perhaps would have been too slow paced. But as I absolutely love Prague (it’s one of my favourite European cities), it felt like the perfect setting for this story, especially within the 1800’s timeframe. It was wonderful to be able to relive the stunning city and recognise certain landmarks, such as the Charles Bridge, picturing them as if I never left.
“Like a giant sated after a hearty meal, Prague after a storm was content and slow.” I’m sorry but these descriptions are stunning - not sure I’ll ever get over them!
Overall I adored this and I would 100% recommend this to fans of urban fantasy, especially those in a historical setting (think ‘These Violet Delights’ by Chloe Gong)
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