Friday, November 2, 2012

Review: Mystic City by Theo Lawrence

Mystic City
(Mystic City #1)
by Theo Lawrence

Publication Date: October 9th, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 416
ISBN: 9780385741606

B&N | Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads

For fans of  Matched, The Hunger Games, X-Men, and Blade Runner comes a tale of a magical city divided, a political rebellion ignited, and a love that was meant to last forever. Book One of the Mystic City Novels.

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself. (Goodreads)

Mystic City is a novel about a post-apocalyptical Manhattan. Most of the city is under water due to global warming, and two rival families rule the city. Aria Rose, who is the youngest daughter in the Rose family, finds herself engaged to Thomas Foster, son from the rival Foster family, after an event that took parts of her memory. No one is telling Aria anything, so it’s up to her to find out exactly what is going on.

Poor Aria, you have to feel bad for the girl for what she’s been through. To top that off, since the novel is from her point of view, we have NO idea what’s happened. All we know is that there are a lot of secrets, and that no one is telling poor Aria anything. The author did a really great job at keeping me confused throughout the novel. Aria was a great heroine. Even through the confusion and the fear, she kept her head, and stood her ground. I love her for that.

There are two love interests in the story. One is with Thomas, the young man that Aria is engaged to, but does not remember; who is also the son of the rival family in the city. Then there is Hunter. Aria has no idea who he is, but feels a strong pull towards him.  Hunter has secrets of his own, secrets that could get him killed if the wrong person found out. I love his love for Aria. He really cares, and only wants to keep her safe. Swoon!

Aria’s family is full of people that you are going to love to hate, especially her parents! They give the word dysfunctional a whole new meaning.  Without giving much away, I will just say that they are one of the worst families I have had to read in YA to date.

The storyline was very creative for the story. I found it to be believable because it’s something that could definitely happen in our world due to global warming.  The author did a really great job with the descriptions of the city after it had been flooded and rebuilt. I definitely had a clear imagine in my mind of how the city would have looked.

Overall, I thought that Mystic City was a really interesting read! I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series, Renegade Heart, to see what is going to happen with Aria, Hunter and the rest of their crew!

7 comments:

  1. Oh my! :) I love the sound of this story. I suddenly remembered Slated by Teri Terry. The MC doesn't remember anything too and there are a lot of secrets. I like novels that deal with memory. And Hunter! <3 I have a feeling I'll like him. Great review!

    Precious
    Fragments of Life

    ReplyDelete
  2. I didn't really swoon over Hunter. Everything just felt so inconsistent in this novel, including the characterizations, that I couldn't dig it despite the promising start. Still, it did have some pretty cool world-building! Did you imagine like blue sparks everywhere in the city? I don't know I did, BUT I DID. It was pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't know if this is a book I would enjoy, with a lot of secrets and a horrible family. But this book seems really interesting. And I think I'm going to give it a try! Great review.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The more reviews I read and the more I get to know about this book, how more excited I get to try it out. This book sounds so original :) Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great review! I felt very similarly about the book. I loved the whole Romeo & Juliet theme of the book and the struggle between the love interests. I think this is the best kind of love triangle. It's not annoying because there's a legitimate reason for it. Aria is torn between the guy she's *supposed* to be with and the guy she actually kind of wants to be with. That's the kind of love triangle that I'll accept! :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm glad you liked it as well, my dear! I was really pulled into the story and can't wait for the second book to find out what'll happen now. Great review! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. This sounds positively interesting! I'm pretty sure that I'm going to enjoy it, mostly as it's set in New York (though obviously a very different one) and because the love story sounds good, even with the triangle of sorts.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! :)