Zimanges by M.C. Burnell

When Jendaiar and his brother Hecanthes are exiled for lying about the circumstances of a mysterious woman appearing in the forest near they home, they are, of course, worried, but Jen's got a plan. Their mom left them a house in Zimanges, so all they need to do is head there, problem solved. Except when they get there, they discover the house is way too big for them to afford on their own, and being the new guys in town, they don't think they'll be able to find any roommates. Except they do almost immediately, and when one of these new roommates shows up with a magical leaf pile, they learn that this is no coincidence. A demon has been unleashed on the world, and the leaves have decided that Jen and his roommates are just the people to take it on. Which is great, except they've gotta figure out what the heck a demon even is first. 

This was such an absolute blast to read! A fantastic slice of life read with lovable characters, several interesting magic systems, and honestly one of the coolest cities structurally I think I have ever come across. 

This tale is told from multiple POVs, and even if that's not your thing, I wholeheartedly believe that these characters are so lovable, so relatable that an exception should be made for this Jen and Heca's relationship was definitely spot on when it comes to sibling rivalries, Nat and Bey's friendship was absolutely beautiful, and how Riad just kind of fit in here as the only one woman *because* she was a tad bit awkward was just brilliantly done. Watching these eight people come together was truly wonderful. 

Zimanges, though? Omg, this city is an architectural feat as from as I'm concerned. Burnell did such an excellent job of describing this almost indescribable city that's just kind of hanging off of a sheer cliff face. Like, I'm glad that there's a map in the back of the book, but honestly, I didn't even really need it. And there were genuinely times when a character is talking about just how high up they are and how steep this cliff is and how absolutely dead you are if you lose your footing that my actual heart rate elevated for this characters. There's one scene in particular where Neya is talking about having to shut the windows by leaning out of the window over looking this like 2000 ft drop, and holy crap was my heart in my throat. It's like maybe two paragraphs. And I *like* heights. 

World building, pacing, and the development of the magic systems were also spot on for me. To be completely honest though since this story was about these people coming together to be their own people after never having a chance to do so because societal norms (or just flat being a slave) even if their were gaps in the world building I wouldn't call them out. Facing the demon is just the side story as far as I'm concerned. 

Burnell is definitely a new auto buy author, I laughed, I teared up, I literally said aww out loud when Jen finally got his act together, and I still fell like Jandon should be punched in throat just on principle. Highly recommend this.