Book Review: City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster
Goodreads|Book Depository
Release Date: February 5th 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
Series: Bhinian Empire #1
Rating: 

Goodreads description: An exotic treat set in an entirely original, fantastical world brimming with deadly mystery, forbidden romance, and heart-stopping adventure.

Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a child. 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. Nisha makes her way as Matron’s assistant, 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 her own life

The summary sounds exciting but the book was disappointing. The entirely original, fantastical world doesn’t seem very original. There is an extreme class system, magic that used to be, mistreated women, and talking animals.

Possible spoilers ahead