Natalie and Ash are both living in Black City, which has been ravaged by war, but their lives couldn't be more different. Natalie is the daughter of the Emissary, a woman with a lot of political power and she knows how to use it. Ash is a half-blood; he has a human father and a mother who's a Darkling--a blood sucking creature who lives on the fringe of society.

Things are getting heated in the city when the leader of the nation tries to pass a law that would essentially mean death for all Darklings. Ash's life is hard enough as it is, and things just get tougher for him and the few remaining Darklings and half-bloods. But he finds himself falling for Natalie for reasons he doesn't totally understand. Ash has to follow his heart...after all, she's the one who caused it to beat.

OK. Let me just get this off my chest. I almost quit reading this book at first because of one reason and one reason only. NATALIE. I HATE THIS B****!! Yes, I finished the book and was pleasantly surprised that I could give it a good rating, but I still hate her.

Ash, however, was really cool. Even though a lot of people in society look down on him, he is still pretty caring and kind. He helps his dad donate food and supplies to the less fortunate. And yes, it's very sad that he has to resort to basically being a drug dealer, but even through that, I couldn't help but feel for him. He was doing what he needed to do to help his family.

Which is why I completely DON'T get why he could have fallen for someone like Natalie. (The TECHNICAL reason why is told late in the book, but he says this reason was not the only one he had for loving her.) She completely came off as a whiny, selfish snob. Yes, I understand she is the daughter of a powerful political figure, but there's really no reason why she should have been so bitchy and cruelly naive.

Luckily for me, the plot itself was enough to let me rank this book as I did. It's full of conspiracy and scandal, which is pretty cool for a YA book. It did somewhat remind me of a couple of dystopians I've read in the past, though. The Hunger Games and Legend come to mind.

There were definitely a couple of moments that made my jaw drop, and of course I loved Ash, so I will be on board to read the next book in this series. Hopefully I will be able to tolerate Natalie better next time.