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The Bridges Trilogy #1
The City of Silver Light
On a night of frost and ice, she falls from the sky, the beautiful ice-girl Cari, cast out of her world and into ours.
It’s an unusually cold Winter, but 15 year old Jake is more concerned with the ice forming in his dad’s new relationship and the fact that the girl he likes is dating his best friend.
And now his elderly neighbour is acting even weirder than usual. Could things get even more confusing?
Then Jake finds Cari, lost and alone. Who is she? What has she got to do with the sudden frost, and the wondrous silver city that has appeared in the sky? And what does his elderly neighbour, Mrs Henders know about it all?
Jake is determined to find out. But the secrets Cari bears are more dangerous than Jake can ever imagine. And the fate of our entire world – and that of the City of Silver Light – now rest in their hands.
It’s an unusually cold Winter, but 15 year old Jake is more concerned with the ice forming in his dad’s new relationship and the fact that the girl he likes is dating his best friend.
And now his elderly neighbour is acting even weirder than usual. Could things get even more confusing?
Then Jake finds Cari, lost and alone. Who is she? What has she got to do with the sudden frost, and the wondrous silver city that has appeared in the sky? And what does his elderly neighbour, Mrs Henders know about it all?
Jake is determined to find out. But the secrets Cari bears are more dangerous than Jake can ever imagine. And the fate of our entire world – and that of the City of Silver Light – now rest in their hands.
- GenresFantasy
92 pages, ebook
First published March 10, 2012
About the author
Ruth Fox
14 books82 followersRuth has been an avid reader her entire life and, inspired by the books that engrossed her as she was growing up, she aims to create stories that can draw readers in and enthrall them for days or weeks. She writes every day and lives in Ballarat, a small town in Victoria, Australia, with her husband, twin boys, her cat, and an ever-expanding library of books.
Please visit her website for more information about her many and varied projects and upcoming books.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 8, 2014
4.5★s
Gazing out of his window one night, fifteen year old Jake thought he saw something falling to the ground – the icy weather was unusual but what he thought he saw that dark night was even more unusual. Grabbing his torch and jacket, he snuck outside to head for the park – what he found had him wondering at his sanity…
Pale and translucent, the angel girl had an ethereal beauty that Jake couldn’t believe; as she regained consciousness, her terror was obvious. And when she fled, Jake didn’t follow – he didn’t want to scare her further.
Jake's younger brother Daniel and he had lost their mother three years previously and their Dad now seemed distant; unapproachable. Plus Mrs Henders next door was acting strangely and always watching him. What on earth was happening?
As the freezing conditions intensified, Jake and his friends found themselves in grave danger – but did they even realize it? And what did Cari, his angel girl, have to do with the weird, eerie strangeness that had descended upon them all?
What an amazing fantasy novel by Aussie author Ruth Fox! I really enjoyed The City of Silver Light and can’t wait to read the second book in the Bridges Trilogy. A great young adult fantasy novel, this one will appeal to a large audience; young and not-so-young alike. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Hague Publishing for my copy to read and review.
Gazing out of his window one night, fifteen year old Jake thought he saw something falling to the ground – the icy weather was unusual but what he thought he saw that dark night was even more unusual. Grabbing his torch and jacket, he snuck outside to head for the park – what he found had him wondering at his sanity…
Pale and translucent, the angel girl had an ethereal beauty that Jake couldn’t believe; as she regained consciousness, her terror was obvious. And when she fled, Jake didn’t follow – he didn’t want to scare her further.
Jake's younger brother Daniel and he had lost their mother three years previously and their Dad now seemed distant; unapproachable. Plus Mrs Henders next door was acting strangely and always watching him. What on earth was happening?
As the freezing conditions intensified, Jake and his friends found themselves in grave danger – but did they even realize it? And what did Cari, his angel girl, have to do with the weird, eerie strangeness that had descended upon them all?
What an amazing fantasy novel by Aussie author Ruth Fox! I really enjoyed The City of Silver Light and can’t wait to read the second book in the Bridges Trilogy. A great young adult fantasy novel, this one will appeal to a large audience; young and not-so-young alike. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Hague Publishing for my copy to read and review.
February 22, 2013
I was sent this novel by Hague Publishing in return for an honest review.
The City of Silver Light is a beautiful written novella about Luke, a teenager, who is dealing with all of the usual teenager angst including a best friend who is now dating the girl he has been in love with his whole life, a dad who is absent all of the time, an almost step-mother, an annoying little brother, and school on top of all of that. One night he sees what seems to be a star falling from the sky, and then a strange girl who appears out of thin air. Mix that with a strange old neighbor who seems to know more than she is telling, and you get this fantastical and quirky story.
I loved the beautiful prose, and the wonderful descriptions of everything. Luke is a great character-- flawed, but also likeable, which is a necessary requirement for a young adult story. I loved that characters you wouldn't think would become more third dimensional do, including Nina, and the old neighbor, who were my favorites. I really loved the story line overall.
My biggest beef with this story (and I know this is the first book-- more accurately, first novella), is that it seems incomplete and the ending a little abrupt. I almost wonder if it would have been better just to make it longer (it still has broad potential to become a trilogy even with more) and more in depth.
Overall, beautifully written, and although the ending was a little abrupt, I'm definitely keeping my eye out for the next installment!
The City of Silver Light is a beautiful written novella about Luke, a teenager, who is dealing with all of the usual teenager angst including a best friend who is now dating the girl he has been in love with his whole life, a dad who is absent all of the time, an almost step-mother, an annoying little brother, and school on top of all of that. One night he sees what seems to be a star falling from the sky, and then a strange girl who appears out of thin air. Mix that with a strange old neighbor who seems to know more than she is telling, and you get this fantastical and quirky story.
I loved the beautiful prose, and the wonderful descriptions of everything. Luke is a great character-- flawed, but also likeable, which is a necessary requirement for a young adult story. I loved that characters you wouldn't think would become more third dimensional do, including Nina, and the old neighbor, who were my favorites. I really loved the story line overall.
My biggest beef with this story (and I know this is the first book-- more accurately, first novella), is that it seems incomplete and the ending a little abrupt. I almost wonder if it would have been better just to make it longer (it still has broad potential to become a trilogy even with more) and more in depth.
Overall, beautifully written, and although the ending was a little abrupt, I'm definitely keeping my eye out for the next installment!
September 13, 2020
My thanks to NetGalley and Hague Publishing/Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.
This book was a quick read, about 1.5 to 2 hours, novella size. It moved quickly, but there was quite a bit of repetition re: the MC's stressing over his best friend, who was a girl, whom he had a crush on dating his male best friend.
The characters didn't really have much time to develop and it wasn't until 49% of the way into the book that I was able to say with certainty that the setting was Australia. Up until that point, it was generic British to me. (I am American, so for locations that are English speaking but not American, I need it to be made obvious where the book is taking place, or I'm just going to assume England.)
I'm also not a huge fan of "humans are horrible and are destroying the planet" storylines. When I read fiction, it's to escape from reality for a little bit, not to wallow in the negative humans are really good at producing.
Though to be fair, the residents of the titular city of silver light are pretty horrible themselves and kinda dumb to boot. They have this whole superiority over the Earthling humans thing going on and they realize that they need to keep their city a secret so the Earthlings won't invade and take it over, yet NO ONE is allowed to be curious and try to learn about the Earthlings and if they DO try to learn, they are banished TO EARTH.
Ummm... if you banish your own people who are breaking the rules to the one place that can never know you exist, how are you keeping your city safe from discovery? You can't control what that person does and if they decided to spill the secret, where are you then? Just trust that the Earthlings will think they are crazy and ignore your former city resident?
Also, apparently, breaking through the veil to get from the city to Earth causes the extreme cold from the city to leak into the Earth, causing HUGE weather problems. Like of Ice Age proportions. The character we meet who knew this knew enough to close the hole her banishment had caused, so Earth wouldn't freeze. But the teen who starts this book off didn't know and apparently, neither did those who banished her.
So by their lack of knowledge, which is made worse by no one actually being allowed to STUDY Earth and the veil and what can happen when the veil is pierced, the city's ignorance can spell both the Earth's doom and their own.
I was not overly thrilled with this book. It is the first of a trilogy and I think while the story arc in this book comes to a definitive end, it might have been best to have all three books together, as I have no personal drive to want to read the next two. As a longer book or all three together, the characterization could be more fleshed out and maybe the setting could be made more distinctly Australian.
This isn't a bad book, I just wasn't overly wowed by it. I can see this working for a higher middle grade reader who is into other worlds, the environment and a slightly more exotic than America setting. 2.5 stars, rounded down to 2, as I am not in any hurry to read the next books.
This one didn't work for me, but it's a quick read and there are two more where this came from if you enjoy it. Definitely a unique idea.
This book was a quick read, about 1.5 to 2 hours, novella size. It moved quickly, but there was quite a bit of repetition re: the MC's stressing over his best friend, who was a girl, whom he had a crush on dating his male best friend.
The characters didn't really have much time to develop and it wasn't until 49% of the way into the book that I was able to say with certainty that the setting was Australia. Up until that point, it was generic British to me. (I am American, so for locations that are English speaking but not American, I need it to be made obvious where the book is taking place, or I'm just going to assume England.)
I'm also not a huge fan of "humans are horrible and are destroying the planet" storylines. When I read fiction, it's to escape from reality for a little bit, not to wallow in the negative humans are really good at producing.
Though to be fair, the residents of the titular city of silver light are pretty horrible themselves and kinda dumb to boot. They have this whole superiority over the Earthling humans thing going on and they realize that they need to keep their city a secret so the Earthlings won't invade and take it over, yet NO ONE is allowed to be curious and try to learn about the Earthlings and if they DO try to learn, they are banished TO EARTH.
Ummm... if you banish your own people who are breaking the rules to the one place that can never know you exist, how are you keeping your city safe from discovery? You can't control what that person does and if they decided to spill the secret, where are you then? Just trust that the Earthlings will think they are crazy and ignore your former city resident?
Also, apparently, breaking through the veil to get from the city to Earth causes the extreme cold from the city to leak into the Earth, causing HUGE weather problems. Like of Ice Age proportions. The character we meet who knew this knew enough to close the hole her banishment had caused, so Earth wouldn't freeze. But the teen who starts this book off didn't know and apparently, neither did those who banished her.
So by their lack of knowledge, which is made worse by no one actually being allowed to STUDY Earth and the veil and what can happen when the veil is pierced, the city's ignorance can spell both the Earth's doom and their own.
I was not overly thrilled with this book. It is the first of a trilogy and I think while the story arc in this book comes to a definitive end, it might have been best to have all three books together, as I have no personal drive to want to read the next two. As a longer book or all three together, the characterization could be more fleshed out and maybe the setting could be made more distinctly Australian.
This isn't a bad book, I just wasn't overly wowed by it. I can see this working for a higher middle grade reader who is into other worlds, the environment and a slightly more exotic than America setting. 2.5 stars, rounded down to 2, as I am not in any hurry to read the next books.
This one didn't work for me, but it's a quick read and there are two more where this came from if you enjoy it. Definitely a unique idea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2020
ARC from NetGalley
2.5 stars
The NetGalley site lists this as "Teen/YA," but in my opinion it leans closer to middle grade. I'm reading some of the reviews here that call it gritty and I'm like...
It's an interesting premise, but not a whole lot comes to fruition. Cari falls from the sky, we get to know her and a bit about where she came from. The rest of the book is pretty much Jake being concerned about typical teenage issues. I felt like nothing much really happened.
I struggle with rating it because I feel like it isn't the kind of age group I normally gravitate towards. I settled on 2.5 for a few reasons; YA was mentioned in the description, and I don't find this to be YA; it was honestly not terrible gripping; and the ending was flat.
2.5 stars
The NetGalley site lists this as "Teen/YA," but in my opinion it leans closer to middle grade. I'm reading some of the reviews here that call it gritty and I'm like...
It's an interesting premise, but not a whole lot comes to fruition. Cari falls from the sky, we get to know her and a bit about where she came from. The rest of the book is pretty much Jake being concerned about typical teenage issues. I felt like nothing much really happened.
I struggle with rating it because I feel like it isn't the kind of age group I normally gravitate towards. I settled on 2.5 for a few reasons; YA was mentioned in the description, and I don't find this to be YA; it was honestly not terrible gripping; and the ending was flat.
March 26, 2012
This is a lovely mix of genres, with a tone similar to Margaret Mahy's YA books and Maggie Pearson's Owl Light duo. There's a fairytale quality about it with a strange girl discovered in the park. Is she really from the shining city Jake can see in the sky? Meanwhile,Jake has his own, more ordinary-world, problems.
January 8, 2015
We often hear the saying "not everything is as it seems."
What if you looked up one night and saw something fall from the sky in your back yard? And what if that then changed how you looked at EVERYTHING? It might even mean the destruction of planet Earth!
That kind of tension and sense of adventure makes this an intriguing first book!
What if you looked up one night and saw something fall from the sky in your back yard? And what if that then changed how you looked at EVERYTHING? It might even mean the destruction of planet Earth!
That kind of tension and sense of adventure makes this an intriguing first book!
July 30, 2020
Seeing that this only has less than 90 pages, I honestly did not have high expectations for this book. Since I’ve breezed through my TBRs for this month, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give this a try, and I’m really glad I did.
Short as it is, the book was able to tackle relevant issues such as climate change and marital problems, and still maintain the fantasy theme. Jake is an ordinary boy who came across a rather extraordinary girl in the most unusual circumstances. I love how we get to see Jake progress from brooding about his mundane high school problems to his dealing with his life-changing discovery.
I found the plot and worldbuilding a tad lacking, though. I think this had the potential for a richer plot than just him meeting Cari and hanging out with his friends before she ultimately returns home. I think it would have been better as a full-length book to give more attention to worldbuilding. The first mention of the city in the skies had been captivating, but it ended up a bit underwhelming when the book ended with only just the barest of glimpses.
I think I might still read the rest of the series if only to find out what happened to the interesting characters I have grown to like.
Short as it is, the book was able to tackle relevant issues such as climate change and marital problems, and still maintain the fantasy theme. Jake is an ordinary boy who came across a rather extraordinary girl in the most unusual circumstances. I love how we get to see Jake progress from brooding about his mundane high school problems to his dealing with his life-changing discovery.
I found the plot and worldbuilding a tad lacking, though. I think this had the potential for a richer plot than just him meeting Cari and hanging out with his friends before she ultimately returns home. I think it would have been better as a full-length book to give more attention to worldbuilding. The first mention of the city in the skies had been captivating, but it ended up a bit underwhelming when the book ended with only just the barest of glimpses.
I think I might still read the rest of the series if only to find out what happened to the interesting characters I have grown to like.
September 27, 2020
Seeing that this only has less than 90 pages, I honestly did not have high expectations for this book. Since I’ve breezed through my TBRs for this month, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give this a try, and I’m really glad I did.
Short as it is, the book was able to tackle relevant issues such as climate change and marital problems, and still maintain the fantasy theme. Jake is an ordinary boy who came across a rather extraordinary girl in the most unusual circumstances. I love how we get to see Jake progress from brooding about his mundane high school problems to his dealing with his life-changing discovery.
I found the plot and worldbuilding a tad lacking, though. I think this had the potential for a richer plot than just him meeting Cari and hanging out with his friends before she ultimately returns home. I think it would have been better as a full-length book to give more attention to worldbuilding. The first mention of the city in the skies had been captivating, but it ended up a bit underwhelming when the book ended with only just the barest of glimpses.
I think I might still read the rest of the series if only to find out what happened to the interesting characters I have grown to like.
Short as it is, the book was able to tackle relevant issues such as climate change and marital problems, and still maintain the fantasy theme. Jake is an ordinary boy who came across a rather extraordinary girl in the most unusual circumstances. I love how we get to see Jake progress from brooding about his mundane high school problems to his dealing with his life-changing discovery.
I found the plot and worldbuilding a tad lacking, though. I think this had the potential for a richer plot than just him meeting Cari and hanging out with his friends before she ultimately returns home. I think it would have been better as a full-length book to give more attention to worldbuilding. The first mention of the city in the skies had been captivating, but it ended up a bit underwhelming when the book ended with only just the barest of glimpses.
I think I might still read the rest of the series if only to find out what happened to the interesting characters I have grown to like.
July 3, 2020
Thanks to the publisher for providing a DRC of The City of Silver Light in exchange for an honest review.
I want to make it expressly clear that my issues with The City of Silver Light have nothing to do with it's status as a novella. Obviously, I went in to reading knowing about the short length. I've read plenty of novellas I loved, plenty I didn't, and this just happens to be a novella I think needed to be a novel to function effectively.
The City of Silver Light tries to do too much in its short length. Nothing feels completely developped and everything feels a tad rushed. This wouldn't be a problem if it were aimed at younger audiences who thrive off of simplistic language structures and care about characters simply because they exist, but the inclusion of swear words and references to adultery force this book into more of a 15/16+ audience. At that age, you have to earn a reader's attention.
The City of Silver Light has a wonderful premise, but that's about the only thing it has going for it.
I want to make it expressly clear that my issues with The City of Silver Light have nothing to do with it's status as a novella. Obviously, I went in to reading knowing about the short length. I've read plenty of novellas I loved, plenty I didn't, and this just happens to be a novella I think needed to be a novel to function effectively.
The City of Silver Light tries to do too much in its short length. Nothing feels completely developped and everything feels a tad rushed. This wouldn't be a problem if it were aimed at younger audiences who thrive off of simplistic language structures and care about characters simply because they exist, but the inclusion of swear words and references to adultery force this book into more of a 15/16+ audience. At that age, you have to earn a reader's attention.
The City of Silver Light has a wonderful premise, but that's about the only thing it has going for it.
August 9, 2020
This book (novelette) was weird, but it captured my attention. It was quite a bit grittier than what I normally read, with lots of swearing and some heavy topics. I am usually more interested in a fantasy book set in a more fanciful world. That being said, I did enjoy this short story. I don't think that I will read the sequels, but I was intrigued by the premise and the character development, which again is impressive given how short it is. So, if you are looking for a short, gritty read set in modern day Australia, you might like this pick.
Thanks publishers and Netgalley for the free e-arc.
Thanks publishers and Netgalley for the free e-arc.
December 16, 2014
Rarely do you find a book written from the teenage perspective that resonates so well. Dealing with parents arguing, being in the "friend box", coping with a little brother and school, these are all issues many deal with every day. Often the story becomes bogged down in them and the reader is left annoyed.
Fox introduces the characters and the world so smoothly you don't realise you've become friends until you are half way through. Blended seamlessly with the mundane every day, Jake Miles discovers a whole new world when he glimpses something falling from the night sky. Who this ethereal young girl is and what effect she has on Jake's entire world? You will have to read to find out. I found it well worth while.
Asked to read the book so I could review it, I am glad I did. Looking forward to the second book of the series.
Fox introduces the characters and the world so smoothly you don't realise you've become friends until you are half way through. Blended seamlessly with the mundane every day, Jake Miles discovers a whole new world when he glimpses something falling from the night sky. Who this ethereal young girl is and what effect she has on Jake's entire world? You will have to read to find out. I found it well worth while.
Asked to read the book so I could review it, I am glad I did. Looking forward to the second book of the series.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews