Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event originally created and hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are all eagerly anticipating. Jill has been MIA since August of 2016. Despite this, the meme lives on….Hope you come back Jill! Until then I will be joining Tressa at Wishful Endings and her meme Can’t-Wait Wednesday.
Happy Wednesday y’all! This week I’m eagerly waiting on Marie Lu‘s Red City, a contemporary fantasy that’s being compared to The Godfather and The Magicians. I love Lu’s books, so I’m excited for her adult debut. This one honestly sounds right up my alley. I love the idea of a crime syndicate in a magical world.
Red City by Marie Lu Series: The New Alchemists #1
Published by Tor Books on 2025-10-14
Length: 432 pages
![](https://momwithareadingproblem.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/JDDiBooks-CBS-W-e1531416902596.png")
The Godfather meets The Magicians in the sweeping adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab, Red City is a dark and deadly contemporary fantasy of magical warfare, star-crossed ambition, and the pursuit of perfection at any cost, set in a glittering alternate Los Angeles.
Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves: more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.
Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city―and the paths of their lives―will be irrevocably transformed.
The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become a Lumines apprentice, Ari is one of the syndicates' brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever-escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them both to survive the coming war.
About Marie Lu
Marie Lu writes young adult novels, and has a special love for dystopian books. Ironically, she was born in 1984. Before becoming a full-time writer, Marie was an Art Director at a video game company. Now she shuffles around at home and talks to herself a lot.
Marie graduated from the University of Southern California in '06 and currently lives in LA, where she spends her time stuck on the freeways.
Your Turn! What are you waiting on this Wednesday? Share below
I plan to read this author sometime. Robin usually reads and reviews her books.
I’ve really enjoyed her other books. I’m looking forward to her adult debut.