Nightbreaker

By: Coco Ma

Narrated by: Carolyn Kang

"Action-packed and utterly vivid, Nightbreaker leaps to life with its formidable world and spirited protagonist. As soon as you start reading, you won’t want to stop."—Chloe Gong, #1 NYT bestselling author of These Violent Delights

Fifteen years ago, The Vanishing thrust Manhattan into darkness, forever changing the City That Never Sleeps. By day, resilient New Yorkers have adapted, clinging to the vestiges of their cosmopolitan lives. By night—well, you never go out at night unless you have a death wish.

Or unless you're Rei Reynolds.

Rei attends an exclusive New York prep school, but unlike her classmates, she welcomes nightfall. That's when she can secretly hunt Deathlings, the deadly creatures that have prowled Manhattan's subway tunnels and blood-soaked streets since the Vanishing. After they brutally slaughtered her parents years ago, Rei is desperate for vengeance.

To get it, Rei must qualify for—and win—the Tournament, a competition to join the ranks of the city’s legendary Deathling hunters. Rei’s nightly pursuits should give her an advantage, but the other competitors are fierce, and in some cases familiar: enter Kieran Cross, Rei’s most infuriating rival . . . and ex-boyfriend.

As the Tournament progresses—and the cutthroat competition escalates—everything Rei believed about who she can trust is called into question. Soon enough, she’s caught in the crosshairs of the elite who want to keep the city's ruling class in power, as well as those who will stop at nothing to bring it down. Because sometimes it's not the monsters waiting in the dark you should fear . . . it's the ones who dare to walk into the light.

Coco Ma's exhilarating urban fantasy thrusts listeners into an immersive world of thrills and chills, featuring the smart, sardonic post-apocalyptic heroine you’ll soon wish you could be.

©2023 Coco Ma (P)2023 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"In this gripping fantasy . . . Rei is a smart and formidable protagonist whose motivations and struggles to separate her interpersonal issues from her goals, paired with elaborate worldbuilding and high-speed action, make for a nuanced series starter." —Publishers Weekly

"New York City is transformed into a nightmarish wonderland in the first installment of Coco Ma’s stunning new series. Filled with dynamic characters and twists that left me breathless, Nightbreaker is a story meant to be devoured." —Axie Oh, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

"Ma's descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells of [New York City] and its monstrous underground neighbors makes the story really shine. Enthralling action scenes will keep readers hooked till the end." —Booklist

I couldn’t stop listening!

Wonderful storytelling, great narrator too. Nightbreaker is exciting, scary, sweet, funny, mysterious—gives you all the feels. Enjoyed how each chapter revealed another piece of the situation, the back story, and the mystery. The world building is captivating. Can’t wait for Book 2.