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    City of a Thousand Dolls
    City of a Thousand Dolls
    City of a Thousand Dolls
    Audiobook8 hours

    City of a Thousand Dolls

    Written by Miriam Forster

    Narrated by Shannon McManus

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this audiobook

    The girl with no past, and no future, may be the only one who can save their lives.

    Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a little girl. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. She makes her way as Matron's errand girl, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city's handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.

    Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls' deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but also her life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateFeb 5, 2013
    ISBN9780062277282
    Author

    Miriam Forster

    Miriam Forster is a recovering barista and former bookseller who is obsessed with anthropology, British television, and stories of all kinds. She lives in Oregon with her husband and her cat. City of a Thousand Dolls was her debut novel.

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    Reviews for City of a Thousand Dolls

    3.5/5

    79 ratings14 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Sixteen year old Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City as a toddler. She has only the vaguest memories of life before she came there. Unlike the other girls in the City, who are assigned to one of the seven houses that specialize in certain types of education (medicine, music, beauty, combat, discipline etc), she has been trained in several. As the assistant to the head of the City, she is used to gather information on all the goings on in the City. When one of the girls dies, Nisha’s job is to find out more about it. When a second girl dies, Nisha is sure it was connected and it was murder- but can she find out who is behind it? And will the young man she has met- a member of the ruling family- speak for her when the yearly festival comes around, the festival where the sixteen year old girls are married or sold off? It’s an enjoyable novel with a lot of intrigue. It has an Asian feel to it; in some ways, it seems Japanese with the martial arts and girls being trained in one house as geisha like companions; at times it seemed Indian. There are people who are clearly Romany. But the girls hair, skin and eyes span the range of human coloration. Then there are the cats who communicate telepathically with Nisha…. In some ways, the novel reminded me of Andre Norton, but a beginner Andre Norton. The characters are somewhat flat, and the main suspect for the deaths is Sashi, a blind novice in the house of medicine; some of the things the killer does could not have been done by an unsighted person unaided. It’s obviously a first novel, but the author shows a lot of promise.
    • 3/5
      On the whole, I really enjoyed this book -- interesting fantasy world of girls training to be courtesans and mindspeaking cats, interesting girl with a mystery around her family and a murder mystery it's up to her to solve.

      The two things that bugged me:

      1: the plot is not entirely convincing in parts, and is relatively predictable.

      2: The audio book is well read, but I think it might take listening to the book to notice how often the sentences begin with the main character's name. I swear "Nisha" is repeated so often I wanted to make a drinking game out of it.

      Anyway, this one is going to be a series, and I can honestly say I have no idea where it's going from here, so I eagerly look forward to the next installment. Nisha! Nisha! Nisha!
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed "City of a Thousand Dolls". It had an unusual premise with aspects of Japanese, Indian and Chinese cultures combined with elements of both fantasy and mystery. With murdered girls, forbidden love, 'talking' cats and constant intrigue I found this quite a page-turner. I was a bit concerned about the cats when I first started, but ended up enjoying them, especially Jeritt who was adorable. A worthwhile read from a debut author.
    • 2/5
      I am the epitome of mixed feelings about this book.
      edit: I'm still thinking about this book and how weirded out I was by the whole ending and how badly it crashed and burned in the end.
      I appreciated the asian theme high fantasy set up to the world building. I was confused by how child law was in place when later it was revealed that there were only THREE CITIES in the Empire and the population was TINY (so I guess it was about control? It was NEVER EXPLAINED why the 2 child rule was actually in place). There's an entire city of girls but the book crashed and burned at attempting any kind of female friendship.
      I wasn't fond of the tribe of talking cats (simply because talking animals aren't really my thing) but I was willing to overlook it until it got SUPER WEIRD AT THE END.
      The romantic subplot was predictable to a fault in that we got zero information about the boy she was in a relationship in at the start of the book so it was obvious where that was going, and when the second love interest was introduced he just didn't talk (which meant, of course, he was perfectly capable of talking) but then the PLOT TWIST AT THE END HAPPENED and, you know, I'm weirded out by the talking cat at the beginning of the book turning out to be a shapeshifter and the obvious future love interest i'm just
      not here
      for that
      at all.
      good things: disabled woc protagonist!
      bad things: uhm. talking cats and the writing was clunky.
      I'm so baffled.
    • 2/5
      I would give this a 1.5 stars but I'm rounding up. Alright, could have used an editor and some of it seemed as if it was written for the 10 - 12 yrs of age range. Interesting concept not executed as well as it should have been.
    • 4/5
      I picked it up on a whim, while unnewing books in the YA area. Premise sounded interesting and it turned out to be. It reminded me, a little bit, of Cashore's Graceling series, but not quite as good. I did like it and I'd recommend it to people looking for a book with a strong female main character and those looking for a decent mystery. My favorite character was Jerrit (a talking cat, no really, he was fantastic) and I liked the story well enough. There were a few parts that were far too convenient (though not the solution to the crime, oddly enough), but aside from that, it was a pretty enjoyable read.
    • 5/5
      Though it's still early in the year, I feel that I can confidently say Miriam Forster's City of a Thousand Dolls will end up on my Best of 2013 List in December. The world, the characters, the mystery, and the romance within this novel's pages mark it as a stellar debut and a memorable fantasy novel.One of the first things that drew me to Forster's debut was the similarities to Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series for adults. Carey's books are definitely for an older audience (as they feature lots of adult content), but Forster's world has some similarities: an isolated estate where girls are apprenticed, taught, and eventually sold based on their skills, looks, etc. and a handsome and tempting boy from outside the walls. I've loved Carey's books for years (having read the first book, Kushiel's Dart, in seventh grade, when I was, in retrospect, probably much too young!) and have always wished there was something similar that was more appropriate for slightly younger readers and/or readers that would rather skip the sex as power but keep the romance. City of a Thousand Dolls is that book I often wished for... and it has far exceeded what I had hoped for. Since this is a YA title, not adult, the sex and sexual power that motivates Carey's novel is absent and the girls are apprenticed as more than courtesans; girls are also taught to be musicians, healers, and assassins. I really enjoyed the diversity of the houses and having Nisha as a main character, a character free of the limitations of belonging to one specific house, which added an interesting dimension to the novel.Though the romantic plot line is often a secondary concern next to the mystery elements of City of a Thousand Dolls, it ended up being one of my favorite aspects of the novel. Though I wasn't entirely sure how every detail would fall into place, I had my suspicions regarding Nisha's love life and would have been miffed to find my guesses were wrong, but, thankfully, Forster was headed the direction I'd hoped. And, she managed to successfully resolve questions in a rather small number of pages (as these questions are answered near the very end of the book) - no small feat! I'm rather anxious to get my hands on book two and see more of Nisha and her boy!City of a Thousand Dolls is a must read for fantasy fans. The world building is wonderful and doesn't bog down the story's pace, the main character is fantastic, the mystery compelling, and the romance is absolutely lovely. I highly recommend Forster's debut!
    • 3/5
      Abandoned by her parents, Nisha was taken in by the City of a Thousand Dolls as were hundreds of other unwanted girl children. In the City, the girls are taught a trade, or to be perfect wives. At the age of 16, they are eligible to be spoken for, or purchased, by men or tradespeople. Nisha is 16, and is looking forward to attending the redeeming, when three girls are murdered. Nisha offers to help find out what is happening.
    • 4/5
      Plot: 3 stars
      Characters: 4 stars
      Style: 4 stars
      Pace: 3 1/2stars

      Rounding up because I enjoyed it despite the flaws. It rather reminded me of Tamora Pierce's Circle series, crossed with the current YA market and with friendships stripped down to the bare minimums. The biggest flaw this book has is the predictability. But, frankly? That's par for the course these days with YA, so I can't hold it too much against it. And it's not enough to keep me from picking up the sequel when it comes out sometime next year (maybe?)
    • 5/5
      Nisha is an outsider in the City of a Thousand Dolls, which houses abandoned female orphans to become educated in a discipline and sold to various buyers as apprentices, wives, or courtesans. She belongs to no house, but is free to roam the city, being educated here and there while doing errands and gathering information for Matron, the matriarch and protector of the city. A few friends make her life bearable as well as her cat companions, who can communicate telepathically with her and each other. Then girls start to die under mysterious circumstances, putting the usually peaceful city into turmoil. After the trend continues, officials are looking for someone to blame and Nisha's future in the city becomes tenuous. She volunteers to find the killer both to save herself and future victims, but she has no idea the danger she will find herself in or how much it will change her life and the City of a Thousand Dolls.The City of a Thousand Dolls acts as a solution for the Bhinian Empire's two child limit. Unwanted girls can be taken there to be trained in the arts of music, healing, pleasure, combat, or (if certain rumors are true) assassination. Even though the opportunities available to these girls are many and it's infinitely better than being left to die, these girls are still being basically sold into slavery. They have no control over who buys them and there is no telling if their buyer will be decent or abusive. The entire concept makes me uncomfortable and it's meant to. It's easy to forget that the city is a gilded cage because of the quality of education and amount of work that each girl undergoes. This tradition has been going on for a long time and, because it is so much better than the alternative, the Bhinian people are reluctant to change it. Part of that is also because the city is separated from the rest of the Bhinian Empire and it's easy to dismiss something you never really directly interact with. I loved how the Bhinian Empire is a lush and vibrant amalgamation of Chinese and Indian culture and aesthetics. The background of the empire was touched upon, but left more to be uncovered for the next installment. I think this novel would be a cinematographer's dream to film in either a movie or television show.The characters really make this book shine. Nisha is amazing yet realistic. She is an outsider in the city due to being abandoned there when she was 6 and had no ties to any caste. At first, she seems more free than the other girls in the caste system because she won't be sold, trains in more than one house, and gets extra privileges due to being Matron's eyes and ears. Then, everything comes tumbling down. Nisha is suddenly in danger of being sold as a slave with no one able to do anything to save her. Instead of folding in on herself and taking her fate, she tries to solve the murder to earn her freedom. Nisha is a very strong girl, but not without vulnerability. She has her moments of doubt and despair, but never gives up in the end. Her relationship with the cats in the city is one of my favorite parts. She can communicate with them telepathically and they are a family to her. Some thought this aspect was too childish, but I found it awesome (probably because I'm a crazy cat lady), especially when their true nature was revealed in the end. Nisha's friends are equally fleshed out. Tanaya is a seemingly perfect stock character who will eventually become princess of the Empire, but her character gains dimensions as the book goes along.City of a Thousand Dolls is a formidable YA debut that guarantees that I will read anything Miriam Forster writes. It's not a perfect book, but the writing and characters that sucked me in the story made me forgive the few flaws. I can't wait to read the next Bhinian Empire book, which will sadly not be a sequel but will take place in the same world.
    • 3/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.Quick & Dirty: A girl who’s an outcast discovers her heritage while also trying to solve a murder mystery inside the City of a Thousand Dolls.Opening Sentence: “Don’t move, Nisha.”The Review: I think the synopsis is a bit misleading. I started this book thinking it was going to be about a school that trained assassins or something to that degree, but instead, the book focused on a orphaned girl with a lot of secrets. The assassins are just a small tidbit of a much more complex plot.Nisha is an outcast. Her parents left her at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was a toddler, and now she’s a jack-of-all-trades without a true place to fit in. There is one positive though: for some reason the Matron of the city appointed Nisha as her assistant right from the start. With at least one leader on her side (and her band of trusty cats), Nisha feels somewhat protected from the greedy council who want to sell her as a slave. But then…girls start dying. Accidentally. Or coincidentally? With a new purpose and determination to clear her friend’s name, Nisha is on the hunt of the killer, despite the risk to her own life.My feelings for this book are similar to when I read The Girl of Fire and Thorns. Interesting at first. Slow in the middle. Exciting and heart-pounding at the end (with great potential for the next book). The overarching plot didn’t actually bloom until the middle of the book, but there were minor arcs that kept me reading. Throughout the middle there would be sections of nothing happening then a big event/secret reveal, then another few chapters of nothing, then another event. You get the idea. Those big events drove the story throughout the middle of the book – not the characters. It was mainly Nisha on quests to uncover a clue about the murders. Every now and then we’d get something about her heritage, but those were vague and few and far between (not that vague is bad. Just boring.)As the story grew on me, the main character, Nisha, also grew on me. In the beginning I wasn’t too fond of her. She lacked independence and took rash actions. But throughout the entire book you can see her motives change and develop. She discovers her identity, makes new friends and breaks others. The only thing I didn’t like: her boyfriend.Devon and Nisha had already met and started dating three weeks before the book started. He is part of the royal family and could have a higher job than courtier, but any other job would take him away from Nisha (Sweet right? Did I mention they’ve only known each other for three weeks?) Already, Nisha has been thinking about Devon speaking for her at the Redeeming – basically an auction to sell the girls either as wives, apprentices or just company. Since Nisha is castless, for a royal to speak for her would be preposterous, and if someone found out about their secret romance before the Redeeming, it could cost Nisha her life. I didn’t like Devon from the very start. He was oblivious to the risk Nisha was taking just to meet with him and ignorant of the unspoken rules of the royals. Nisha practically idolized him while he treated her as a cute pet with benefits. But there is hope! There’s potential for another suitor in Nisha’s future…Overall, this wasn’t a bad book. It wasn’t a book I fell head over heels for either. Although the cliffhanger isn’t at all awful, I still cannot wait for the next installment. There is so much potential in the next book, plus I just want more of Jerrit.Notable Scene: It happened so fast that Nisha barely saw it. One moment she was holding Tac’s hand; the next, Tac had sprung up and backed Devan against a tree. The gleaming point of a dagger rested on the courtier’s throat.The young nobleman’s eyes were wide with fear. “Call him off, Nisha,” he said, his voice cracking. “Please, I’m begging you.”Nisha wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. But she had no more tears, and it wasn’t that funny. “Let him go, Tac,” she said through dry lips.Tac lowered the dagger. The look he gave Nisha was one of mixed frustration and grief, as if he had taken her heartbreak and made it his own. Then he spun and punched Devan full in the face.FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of City of a Thousand Dolls. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 4/5
      Sixteen year old Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City as a toddler. She has only the vaguest memories of life before she came there. Unlike the other girls in the City, who are assigned to one of the seven houses that specialize in certain types of education (medicine, music, beauty, combat, discipline etc), she has been trained in several. As the assistant to the head of the City, she is used to gather information on all the goings on in the City. When one of the girls dies, Nisha’s job is to find out more about it. When a second girl dies, Nisha is sure it was connected and it was murder- but can she find out who is behind it? And will the young man she has met- a member of the ruling family- speak for her when the yearly festival comes around, the festival where the sixteen year old girls are married or sold off? It’s an enjoyable novel with a lot of intrigue. It has an Asian feel to it; in some ways, it seems Japanese with the martial arts and girls being trained in one house as geisha like companions; at times it seemed Indian. There are people who are clearly Romany. But the girls hair, skin and eyes span the range of human coloration. Then there are the cats who communicate telepathically with Nisha…. In some ways, the novel reminded me of Andre Norton, but a beginner Andre Norton. The characters are somewhat flat, and the main suspect for the deaths is Sashi, a blind novice in the house of medicine; some of the things the killer does could not have been done by an unsighted person unaided. It’s obviously a first novel, but the author shows a lot of promise.
    • 5/5
      This is Forster’s debut novel and it was an excellent one. The blurb on the back compares this book to Graceling and The Girl of Fire and Thorns; that is a pretty apt comparison. I got a copy of this book through Amazon Vine to review; so thanks to Vine and HarperTeen for making this book available. I really enjoyed the characters and interesting world in this novel.Nisha was left the City of a Thousand Dolls at the age of six. An age considered too old to start training in the City of a Thousand Dolls. Nisha lives in a world where parents are only allowed to have two children, as a result many parents abandon their female daughters. The City of a Thousand Dolls was created to take in these abandoned girls and teach them a skill that will make them Redeemable and allow for their placement into new lives.Nisha was considered too old to train and has been a messenger for the Matron since she arrived, but now girls are dying and if Nisha cannot figure out why her own freedom will be at stake.This was very much a fantasy mystery. Don’t come into this book expecting to read something that is action packed. This is a deliberately paced mystery as much as anything. There is some romance thrown in here as well, although it is definitely not what drives the story.Nisha is an interesting character. She is definitely in a tight spot, she doesn’t have any family around or anyone who loves her. She does however have some important friends, the foremost of which are the talking cats that inhabit the City of a Thousand Dolls. Nisha isn’t an incredibly rebellious or outgoing heroine. She spends most of her time trying not to be noticed and makes a number of mistakes throughout the story. She does however stand up for what she thinks is right when the time comes.I enjoyed the cats, which spoke to Nisha telepathically. Initially they are just very fun to have in the story, as things continue they end up being part of something much bigger. There isn’t a lot of magic in this book, it is mostly present in the various people and races throughout.The world is very well built. There is definitely an Asian influence to this world. The limit on the number of children per family echoes that. A somewhat apocalyptic event in the past is hinted at but never fully explained.The plot is well done. Nisha ends up the sole investigator of a series of murders, her freedom ends up being the price if she can’t solve these mysterious murders. There are a number of twists and turns to the story that I found surprising, yet they never came off as contrived.The book takes a look at a number of interesting themes including what happens when you impose a child limit on families and women’s rights.The book was very well written and engaging. I found it hard to put down and it was very easy to read.Overall an excellent young adult fantasy mystery novel. Nisha makes a believable heroine who is easy to engage with; she isn’t all that assertive but she is strong in her own way. The mystery and world-building were both well done, and I also enjoyed the telepathically speaking cats. I would recommend to those who enjoy fantasy mysteries.
    • 4/5
      In short: City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster is an entertaining and addicting read with lush and fascinating world building.At six-years-old, Nisha was abandoned by her parents at the City of a Thousand Dolls - a community that takes in unwanted girls, trains them in a specialized area like fighting, beauty, healing, or pleasure, and then sells them off to the highest bidder at sixteen-years-old. When one of the girls is found dead in the City, Nisha decides she is going to track down the killer in order to protect the girls, as well as herself. Along the way, she also uncovers secrets about her past.The world building is where City of a Thousand Dolls truly shines. Debut author Miriam Forster integrates South Asian culture into a lush and fascinating world to pleasing effect. I loved spending time in the City of a Thousand Dolls, learning about the different houses and castes, and the training and schooling for the girls. And, OH YEAH, Nisha can speak telepathically to the cats that roam the city and these cats are basically her makeshift family. I thought that was cute! There are so many ways that the concept of telepathic cats could have gone awry, but for some reason, I found it worked and was never super silly or cliched.I feel a bit conflicted about the plot and characters in City of a Thousand Dolls. On the one hand, the mystery was a good one and the reveal was shocking. But the execution of the mystery was a little clumsy at times and the plot twists were predictable. And the ending was tied up WAY too neatly and quickly for my tastes. Similarly, I did like Nisha most of the time - she was ultimately brave and good - but she often made questionable choices and could be a little slow on the uptake. The romance was very limited and nothing particularly special - but sweet just the same.Okay, okay - so that may sound like a lot of faults that I've just listed, but the fact of the matter is that I enjoyed myself while reading City of a Thousand Dolls. It was addicting and easy to read. And I must reiterate that the world building was super interesting! There may not have been as much depth as I was hoping for, but I had FUN reading it and isn't that the most important thing?City of a Thousand Dolls works well as a standalone, but there is room for a sequel. Recommended for readers who like fun and easy books and cat people.