Book Review: Red City by Marie Lu

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Red City by Marie Lu

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of The New Alchemists

Publisher: Tor (October 14, 2025)

Length: 418 pages

Author Information: Website

Like many readers coming to Red City, I’ve dabbled in and enjoyed Marie Lu’s YA in the past. Naturally, I was curious to see what she’d do with her first foray into adult fiction. What I found was a definite shift into darker territory—an urban fantasy featuring rival factions warring for control in an alchemy-fueled underworld of an alternate Los Angeles.

Within this world, we follow two gifted young alchemists who become friends. Ari, a boy uprooted from his family and culture in his native home of India, is offered a golden opportunity when his natural talent for magic is discovered. Sam, on the other hand, was raised by a single, immigrant mother who worked tirelessly to provide for her daughter—and to shield them from the dangerous world of alchemy. But Sam’s fascination of the forbidden proves too strong to resist. Circumstances and a moment of desperation lead her to join the Grand Central syndicate, enemies of the Lumines, who end up recruiting Ari. For a time, their paths ran parallel, sharing classes by day. But as the years pass, their lives begin to split in opposite directions.

Still, we subsequently see Ari and Sam’s paths cross, both directly and indirectly, as each climbs the ranks within their respective crime organizations. Ari is a disciplined and hard worker, quickly rising to become the model Lumines apprentice. Meanwhile, Sam’s alchemical gifts lead her to the highest echelons of Grand Central’s network, where she rubs elbows with the leadership. By the time they meet again as adults, both have already embedded themselves deeply into their respective spheres of power and influence. But while the memories of their friendship may have faded with time, the bond they once shared endures as a secret that could destroy them both.

What stood out to me most was the world-building. Red City’s version of Los Angeles, known as Angel City, is both grim and beautiful, with shades of glamor and decay layered atop each other. Alchemists run the show behind the scenes, adhering to decades of rituals and rules established by syndicate hierarchy. At the heart of all this power is an alchemical substance known as “sand”, which heightens its users’ abilities. Control the sand, and you control the lives and even the fates of those around you. This is a world that feels alive in Lu’s hands, but at the same time isn’t too overwhelming or hyper-dense. To seasoned genre readers, the world-building might actually come across as relatively shallow, but rest assured it’s still deep enough to give the story a strong backbone.

Sam and Ari are also solid leads, each ambitious and flawed—even if it is in predictable ways. The “forbidden love” across enemy lines setup is a well-trodden road, and here, for better or worse, you can tell the author’s YA background still has a heavy influence on her style. The narrative beats, emotional drama, and romantic tensions are familiar, just with the added spice of sex scenes which were probably more explicit than they needed to be. By that, I mean they felt just a tad too self-conscious, almost like the story trying to prove it’s all grown up.

Story-wise, Red City moves fast. There’s a balanced mix of political intrigue, action, and—of course—romance that keeps things entertaining from start to finish. The first half tends to focus heavily on backstory and character setup, which does slow the momentum at times but also lays the groundwork for understanding who Sam and Ari become. The story’s predictability again becomes a disadvantage, yet never to point of derailing the whole experience. What we get is a perfectly serviceable urban romantasy which can provide readers with a bridge when moving from YA to something more adult and a bit spicier. While it’s obvious that Lu is mainly focusing on the relationship rather than on complex plotting, in this case, that choice mostly works in her favor.

All told, Red City makes for a confident adult debut from Marie Lu, even if it plays a little safe by treading familiar ground. This isn’t so much a reinvention of anything, but more a refinement of her storytelling, with its edges sharpened with darker and more mature themes.  Ultimately, it’s a satisfying new direction.