Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Review: Mystic City

MYSTIC CITY (Mystic City #1)
Theo Lawrence
Young Adult/Dystopian
416 pages
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Available now
Received from publisher via NetGalley for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
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.

MY THOUGHTS
Mystic City captivates from the first page, the prologue punching us in the gut as love is ripped away and we’re plunged into darkness, blinking awake alongside Aria in chapter one with a hollow emptiness where our hearts should be, wondering how long we’ll have to wait until that emptiness is replaced with the memories that led up to our painful introduction to this world. After our nerves spark to life in the opening pages, we remain on edge, suspicions as to who is responsible for Aria’s memory loss and the reason for it bouncing around in our heads, and with each page turned our bodies suffer an anticipatory shudder, both hoping for and dreading the answers we might find. Aria’s world is a world divided; a gaping chasm between mystics and non-mystics opening ever wider through fear and intolerance, but in our young heroine we find a bridge for the gap, and we read on with a smile as her strength keeps the dangers posed by fear at bay.

Aria is someone we instantly feel a kinship with, both of us starting this journey as blank slates with nothing but a few indistinct flashes of memory to provide us clues as to what’s happened to her. Though her family and her fiancé both try to convince her of their eerily convenient and seemingly rehearsed truths, she remains her own person, constantly questioning even in the face of Thomas’s earnest declarations of love and the stories concocted by her parents. As we do, she senses everything is not what it seems, but instead of meekly submitting to her terrifyingly controlling father she continues to push, risking the wrath of a true monster on the tiny wisps of imagery her battered memory provides to discover the shocking faces villainy and innocence actually wear.

Because of Aria’s amnesia with regard to the love of her life, the romance in this first installment is imbued with an added layer of tension, our knowledge that the one who truly holds her heart has been stolen not just physically, but emotionally as well through a horrifyingly intimate invasion, keeping our blood pumping double-time as we will her to remember everything we can so easily see. Watching Aria reestablish a relationship with Hunter is both beautiful and painful, bringing a smile to our faces as her heart and mind prove to be stronger than the pretty lies she’s fed, while at the same time cutting us to our core as we see Hunter struggle with not only his loss of Aria herself but of her memories of him as well.

Overall, Mystic City is a very dark and enthralling start to this series, the various members of Aria’s family proving to be the type of people that force our lips to curl into an involuntary snarl every time they grace the page, ensuring we have no choice but to become invested and join the rebellion as invisible supporters. Their cruelty is boundless and unfathomable, but after an explosive conclusion we’re left with the confidence that their corrupt rule of the city will be challenged at every turn moving forward, and we can’t help but clap our hands in glee at the prospect of them receiving their comeuppance.

Rating: 4/5

39 comments:

  1. Wasn't this an unique story??? I really enjoyed it although I still think these X Men and Hunger Game references are not correct... Hunter was phenomenal and I cannot wait to hear how their story goes on!

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    1. I agree, I found nothing remotely similar to X-Men or the Hunger Games in this story. It was it's own and I loved it:)

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  2. This looks really good, I keep seeing it, I think I will have to read it :)

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    1. I really enjoyed it, can't wait for the next book!

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  3. Viva la revolution. I already dislike some of those people you mention

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    1. There were quite a few people to thoroughly dislike in this book, and I love a good villain so I was a happy camper:)

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  4. I didn't really think much about this when I first saw it but your review has definitely changed my mind! :) I'm ridiculously curious to find out what happened to Aria and her memories. Not to mention the characters seem like they're really well developed, except that I can already see myself hating her family and fiancé :P Still, I'm glad that you could relate to Aria so well, that alone is making me want to get a copy of this right now! Well, that and the fact that I can't wait to meet Hunter! <3 Fantastic review, Jenny! Glad you enjoyed it x)

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    1. I love to hate bad guys, and there was a lot of hating going on for me in this book. So good:) Also, I'm a little in love with Hunter.

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  5. I love how this book seems to stand on its own without the cookie-cutter Hunger Games dystopian book. I'm really excited to start this one soon!

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  6. Please stop wreaking havoc on my wishlist. (Just kidding. Keep doing it. I like it. Also, this book sounds good and intriguing.)

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    1. I wouldn't have stopped even though you did ask me nicely:) READ ALL THE BOOKS WITH ME AMANDA!

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  7. I loved how strong and determined Aria was and how she didn't just submit. Talk about an evil family! I loved this one too it was very unique!

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    1. Me too. And I wanted to punch her entire family in the face. Very, very badly:)

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  8. Oooh, loved the review Jenny! I like dark and thrilling reads especially for Halloween. And I like a main character that goes her own way.

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    1. I really enjoyed Aria! She would fall under her family's spell for a little while but then shake it off and question them, and I loved that about her.

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  9. WIN! This is out today and I can't wait to get it! I'm glad you gave this book such a high rating, because your recommendations usually work for me. Oh, and Aria is such a beautiful name. Also, I love the tension element in the romance field, it's exciting and I think without even reading the book (then again, I can only speak for myself) you can tell that there is no way one couldn't cheer this two lovers on their journey. I can't wait to devour this book. Looking for something interesting and original, seems like this is just that kind of a story!

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    1. YAY! I hope you like it as much as I did Siiri! I was definitely rooting for Aria and Hunter all the way:) Theirs is a rough story, but so good!

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  10. I'm not gonna lie: I requested this one just because I liked the cover :) I had no idea that the story would be so good! You always seem to be one book ahead of me, Jenny, which is nice because I get find out more about the book without even reading it. I'm looking forward to reading this one now and meeting Aria.

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    1. Hahaha same. I was really impressed with this one, I can't wait to see what happens next.

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  11. Love the cover, like the sound of the plot AND the romance. Oh, I'm so going to wishlist this one. I also must know what that ending is like! Oh I love to clap in glee at a comeuppance. My fave things in books. You don't get that IRL, so I LOVE it in books. ;D

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    1. I will be such a happy camper when the people in this book get what's coming to them. It will be a glorious moment:)

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  12. I started this one and I am in love with the world building and the story is really good. I am glad to see that Aria continues to seek the truth and doesn't believe all the spoon fed lies she is being fed.

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    1. Is the world cool? I loved everything about it:)

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  13. Beautiful review, Jenny! I had written this one off because of reading so many negative reviews, but I REALLY want to meet Aria now and get to know her world. I'm definitely anticipating the release of this for sure now, dear, so thanks!(:

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    1. Yay! Glad I could make you reconsider. I liked that Aria never settled for what she was told, she kept pushing until she figured out what we already knew.

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  14. Isn't the cover of this one simply gorgeous? I love! I received a review copy last week and can't wait to read this one. It sounds very different to anything I've read in a while!

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    1. It is. I can't wait to see it in print form, I bet it's even prettier:)

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  15. I really enjoyed this book, too! So much more than I thought I would. I kind of pictured a sinking Venice overlapping Manhattan from the descriptions which was super-cool. And Aria...love! I really really really want her parents to get theirs. Grr!

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  16. I've seen this book around and wasn't really that interested in it until I read your review. It sounds really original and unlike anything I've read before. Aria and Hunter's relationship sounds really intriguing and something I'd like. I'll definitely be checking this one out. Great review, Jenny. You've been on a dystopian kick lately. ;)

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  17. I've been hearing so many good things about this. I'm so excited to read it now! Thanks for the great review! =)

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  18. Hey, stranger! This one sounds interesting. I like the idea of mystics living below, threatening to upset the peace.

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  19. Glad to see your positive review of this! I have a copy and should be reading it fairly soon-hope I love it as much.

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  20. Oo la la! Sign me up for this one, I'm sold!

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  21. Another amazing review for this one....It's already on my wishlist but you just confirmed why it is!

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  22. This sounds good.
    I love how you write.
    And I love books that start strong.
    It's sorta a requirement for me these days.

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  23. I've been thinking about this for a while now but, Jenny, your reviews by themselves are a great literary pieces. I love the way you write your review. *swoon*

    Anyway, Mystic City sounds interesting enough but I feel like there's too much books out now that plays with amnesia. Nevertheless, I love the aspect of a divided world.

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  24. Wow, that prologue sounds intense! This story sounds great.

    Awesome review! :)

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