City of Gods and Monsters
73 pages • 2-hour read
Kayla EdwardsCity of Gods and Monsters
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Background
Series Context: House of Devils
The House of Devils series is an urban fantasy romance series by author Kayla Edwards. The series focuses on human Loren Calla and hellseher (an immortal who can use magical Sight to track others) Darien Cassel. Darien begins as Loren’s protector when she is being hunted for her secret magical abilities; gradually, the two grow closer and develop a romantic connection. Their relationship serves as the emotional throughline of the series, grounding its complex world-building in the intimacy and tension between protector and protected, human and immortal.
Loren and Darien first meet in City of Gods and Monsters (2022) after Darien accepts a bounty put on Loren. Instead of abducting her, he decides to protect her, leading to their romance. In City of Souls and Sinners (2023), Loren and Darien learn that the threats they faced in the first novel are not over, and Darien struggles to find his place in the Darkslayer hierarchy after killing his father, Randal Slade, at the end of City of Gods and Monsters. Each installment raises the emotional and moral stakes of their bond while expanding the mythology of Angelthene—the walled, demon-infested city that serves as the series’ heart. Darien struggles to protect Loren in City of Lies and Legends (2024) and City of Smoke and Brimstone (2025). A fifth series installment is in development.
The House of Devils series was published on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform and is available on Kindle Unlimited, a popular service with romance and romantasy readers. The series has gained popularity on BookTok, TikTok’s book community, which has proven pivotal in popularizing many romantasy titles. Its blend of dark fantasy aesthetics, morally gray characters, and slow-burn romance aligns it with other viral romantasy phenomena. Fans of Edwards’s series have compared it to other popular urban fantasy romance novels, like Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City series.
Genre Context: Urban Fantasy Romance
Urban fantasy romance is a subgenre of both fantasy romance, or romantasy, and urban fantasy. Urban fantasy puts fantastical elements, such as supernatural creatures or magical systems, in real-world settings or settings that are modeled after real-world cities. These settings often merge the mundane and the magical—neon-lit streets where vampires, fae, or witches coexist with humans—creating a sense of danger, glamour, and emotional intensity. Urban fantasy cities, like Angelthene in City of Gods and Monsters, typically emphasize the gritty underworld of cities. Edwards’s Angelthene, for example, boasts a thriving criminal underworld that frequently proves more powerful than the law enforcement that attempts to keep that criminal underworld in check.
Urban fantasy romance, unlike standard urban fantasy, puts the relationship between two or more love interests at the center of the plot. In City of Gods and Monsters, Darien values Loren’s life more than that of the entire city of Angelthene due to his intense love for her. Urban fantasy romance is also distinct from paranormal romance, which puts supernatural elements into the real world, in that urban fantasy romance emphasizes the role of the city in the text. Many urban fantasy romances treat the city itself as a living character—an extension of the protagonists’ emotional world. In City of Gods and Monsters, Angelthene functions not just as a backdrop but as a reflection of Darien’s inner life: To him, losing the city would mean losing his home, his community, and the last remnants of his family.
Popular urban fantasy romance titles include The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent, Bewitched by Laura Thalassa, and Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews. Urban fantasy romance series often extend over multiple installments about the same couple, meaning that each book may not end in a happily ever after. This sets urban fantasy romance apart from the romance genre, which typically involves a happy ending. Instead, these series frequently deliver a “happily for now,” balancing emotional fulfillment with unresolved cosmic stakes that sustain the series’ forward momentum.
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