Mystic City (Mystic City, #1) by Theo Lawrence

May 02, 2014 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it it was ok

I’m engaged to Thomas and yet I let another boy kiss me. And I kissed him back. The worst part? He’s not even a regular boy—he’s a rebel mystic!

Oh no! Of all the people suffering in the world, all the injustice going on in the Depths of futuristic Manhattan, THIS. IS. THE. WORST. THING. EVER!

That's great. That's wonderful. Good for you, sweetie. I just don't want your sort in a sci-fi/dystopian novel. Get the fuck outta here.

This book has

1. A weak, spoiled, wealthy TSTL socialite heroine who

I’m engaged to Thomas and yet I let another boy kiss me. And I kissed him back. The worst part? He’s not even a regular boy—he’s a rebel mystic!

Oh no! Of all the people suffering in the world, all the injustice going on in the Depths of futuristic Manhattan, THIS. IS. THE. WORST. THING. EVER!

That's great. That's wonderful. Good for you, sweetie. I just don't want your sort in a sci-fi/dystopian novel. Get the fuck outta here.

This book has

1. A weak, spoiled, wealthy TSTL socialite heroine whose attempts to do good are as laughable as a pet kitten bringing me a half-eaten mouse
2. A love...tri..quadr...hexa...thingamajig
3. A poorly conceived and largely nonsensical setting
4. A love interest with stalkerish tendencies
5. A plot that's 90% romance and 10% story, with not a single bit of subtlety
6. Villains that stand around twirling their mustaches and cackling maniacally

The Summary:

Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to fall in love. The love you see on TV or read about in books, where you find your missing half—the person you were meant to be with forever—and suddenly you’re complete.

It's the future, in Manhattan, New York. No idea when it is, but, uh, "global warming" happened and the world (the world meaning just Manhattan) has gone to shit. Yeah. It's that kind of a premise. Suddenly we have flooding and sweltering temperature and people with magical powers called Mystics.

Aria Rose is about to have all her dreams come true. She is engaged to the son of a rival political family, Thomas Foster. Except it doesn't really feel that great. Why? She's lost all her memories.

I fought for true love, and I won.
Now I just have to remember it.

Aria remembers everything. Her family. Her friends. The time she ate all those oysters and puked her guts out. It's just surprisingly specific that the one thing she can't remember is something that should have been the most important: Thomas.

Hmm. HMMMMMMMMMMM.

Her upcoming marriage is a brilliant one. Really, her forbidden (and forgotten) love affair couldn't have worked out any better for her family and Thomas'. The Fosters and the Roses have been at political war for years, but now, they've decided to team up against a Mystic politician who is threatening their political dynasties. It's just the most amazing coincidence ever that Aria and Thomas has decided to fall in love at the time when it's most important that the two families ally together against a common enemy. It's just such a shame that Aria can't remember a goshdarned thing!

Hmm. HMMMMMMMMMMM.

Aria only knows something. There's a mysterious boy who makes her heart beat fast every time he's near. There's just something about him...Hunter. He's a Mystic boy, a forbidden boy who's as different from the patrician Thomas as night and day. Hunter shows up everywhere; her balcony, her room. It's just so amazing that he happens to be there every time Aria's in danger. Like when she steps over a skyscraper railing just for fun, and almost splats to death due to her own fucking stupidity.

I’ve started to bring my leg back over the railing when my other foot slips.
And just like that, I’m falling.

Ugh. Thomas is SO handsome, and SO rich, and it would be really nice to be his wife, and all her friends are, like, sooooo looking forward to their wedding.

The girls nod as if they understand. “That makes sense,” Kiki says. “Meanwhile, I still don’t have a friggin’ date to the wedding! I want some cute guy to dance with during the slow songs and make out with in the bathroom.”
“Time is tick-tick-ticking away!” Bennie says, clapping her hands together.

But it doesn't FEEL right. Thomas is, like, soooooooo cold. And Hunter, is, like, SOOOOOOOOO HOT. And then there's this pesky little thing about giving the poor downtrodden Mystics their basic human rights. Which Hunter and Aria will TOTALLY get to. Once they stop admiring each other and going to carnivals.

From here I can see the entire carnival, the colors and the lights, the Magnificent Block ignited with festivities.
“This is gorgeous,” I find myself saying.
I think I hear Hunter say You’re gorgeous under his breath."

Yeah. Once they get their minds into the game and out of each other's eyes, Hunter and Aria will change the world! How?!

“Love?” Hunter asks, his eyes wide. “Could the things you’re feeling be love?”
I gulp and nod at the same time. “I think so,” I say. “I hope so.”
“Me too,” he says. “More than anything in the world.”
Then he leans in and kisses me. Not on my forehead or cheek, but on my lips. A real kiss. A kiss that feels like it can change the world.

The Plot:

This is the first major event in eighty years that all the young Manhattan elite are attending together. Everyone will be here, regardless of allegiance—Foster or Rose, kids from both sides of the island. The plummet party at the American pales in comparison.
“Come on,” I say, shoving through a crowd of paparazzi.

Because the best way to celebrate the union of two rival houses is to PARTY PARTY PARTY.

THERE IS NO PLOT. The book SHOULD have been about Hunter and Aria working together to free the Mystics, instead, Aria spends 90% of her time going to parties, thinking about Hunter, hating her parents, thinking about Hunter, going to parties, wondering what's up with her memory loss, talking to her BFFs, thinking about Hunter, wondering what's the big deal with Thomas, going to parties, and thinking about Hunter some more.

The Setting:

The heat, they say, is because of the global climate crisis, the melting of snow and ice around the world and the rising sea level that swallowed Antarctica and all of Oceania. Global warming is also to blame for the canals...filling what used to be low avenues and streets with seawater.

Welcome to another "global warming" dystopian premise! With magic!

It's the future! We don't know how fucking far in the future it is, but it's gotta be pretty fucking far in the future in order for global warming to get to such an extent to almost immerse Manhattan in water. The upper classes live in the Aerie, high-rise structures, while the lower classes live in the Depths, where crumbling buildings and shit falls on them all the fucking time. We now use gondolas to get around, and for some fucking reason, the subways still exist, but unused and sealed, but aren't flooded, since people still use them as hiding places...but why aren't they flooded, since they're underground? How did the waters recede in the tunnels, anyway?

I glance around at what must have been a waiting area for people to board the subway. The ground is slick with grime and eroded from where, at one point, it must have been completely flooded.

Ah, logic. Fuck logic. Who needs logic anyway.

So in this magical, mystical future, we have technology that can specifically erase memories, but there's a surprisingly lack of technological advancements. Hell, it's like...the 21st century! We have iPod-like music players, we have an iPhone-like device called a "TouchMe." People still text and tweet in the future (Twitter will be happy to know they're not dying out any time soon).

“That stays between us, though. Okay? Don’t go texting it or tweeting or whatever it is you kids do.”

We're still struggling to make paper records electronic.

The stack of manila envelopes on my desk has piled so high I fear it will topple over. Mental note: Get on those. They’re copies of the draining reports from over ten years ago, before everything was streamlined electronically.

It's not like we're not doing that RIGHT NOW OR ANYTHING.

What the fuck kind of a future is this? Chanel still exists. It's too hot, if you step outside, you're practically boiled, but people still take vacation to Bali. Despite sea levels, people still seem to be able to eat the same kinds of delicacy, including seafood and oysters and stuff that might be impossible to get if the seas and the temperatures heat up? This book's premise is a mess.

The X-MEN:

“Some mystics can take on the glamour of someone else,” Hunter says, navigating a flight of stone steps. “So you can look like a different person. But eventually it wears off. Other mystics can use their energy to affect the weather, or even the air surrounding them.” He waits for me to catch up. “I know a girl who can spin a tornado out of thin air,” he says, “and someone who can start a fire”—he snaps his fingers—“like that.”

The Mystics in this book are fucking dumb. Supposedly they've existed all along, as witches persecuted for their crimes, and came forth to help the US during WWII. After which, they became DANGEROUS AND ENSLAVED AND DRAINED. Wut. Fucking really?

Ok, first of all, these Mystics are completely normal-looking. They're not X-Men mutants. They are humans with powers. They're just...hotter than others. They feel hot to the touch. And THAT'S why they were caught? Why can't they just fucking stay hidden? If they've been so fucking good at hiding in the past, why can't they just do it again now?

“Pretending to be something you’re not sucks the life out of you. Even worse than the drainings.”

Are you fucking kidding me? You'd prefer to be almost enslaved, your powers drained, rather than HIIIIIIIIIIDE YO'SELF? What kind of a stupid reason is that?

Some of these Mystics have pretty fucking amazing powers. Why can't they just, like, get the fuck out of there? Seriously, emigrate to another country or something. Be Free like Willy. Some, not all, have powers that can make them look like someone else (glamour), they can control the weather, they can manipulate fire, they can walk through walls.

SO WHY THE FUCK ARE THE MYSTICS JUST LYING DOWN AND TAKING THEIR TERRIBLE TREATMENT WITHOUT A FIGHT?

Aria:

It was Hunter. He’s saved me twice in two nights.

I can't even count the number of times Aria got her ass saved. She's so fucking Too-Stupid-To-Live that it's unbelievable. Here you have a pampered girl, one who is a celebrity, recognizable everywhere she goes. She's got the street smarts of a dwarf rabbit, and she's sneaking around ALL OVER THE FUCKING SLUMS, and is OH SO SHOCKED whenever she gets caught (which is repeatedly).

“Please,” I say.
He licks his lips with his thick, wet tongue. “Please what?”
“Please don’t hurt me.”
I close my eyes, willing the pain to stop. I am going to die here. I am going to die for my stupidity.

Aria is passive, to be fair, she can't DO anything because of who she is. Aria is a spoiled-poor-little-rich-girl without an ounce of common sense. it's not her fault that she was raised to be a smiling and brainless socialite, but I can and will hate her because I want a stronger character than that.

Aria doesn't DO anything. She doesn't need to work, so she halfheartedly holds a job at a local politician's office. Her days are filled with nothing but shopping and friends and parties (and thinking about how her life sucks). Her nights are filled with sneaking out to see Tyler. She can't even plan her own wedding, all Aria does is whine and sigh over how life is soooooooooooooo HORRIBLE.

The Romance:

“Are you spying on me?”
“Spying has such a dirty connotation,” Hunter says, running one of his hands up my back. “How about keeping watch?”

Oh, here we go again, a boy who's a stalker, but it's ok if he's stalking her if he's just looking out for her safety. He shows up in her bedroom. He's there whenever she's hurt. He's there when he shouldn't be. He's not who he seems (remember, Mystics can wear other people's faces). Hunter shouldn't be trusted, but the heroine seems to feel that it's ok to trust him anyway!

Something about him—his easy attitude, perhaps, or the way he looks at me—makes me feel I can trust him.

As for the romance: A is engaged to B (who is fucking C) while secretly in love with D (but shouldn't be) because D is secretly engaged to E, who graciously sacrifices everything because she loves both A and D.

*barf* ...more

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Nov 22, 2012 Lilian rated it it was ok

I need to stop being lured in by blurbs that mention The Hunger Games and sparkly covers (though it is one of most enchanting covers I've seen in a while.) A much more accurate blurb would be: a Romeo and Juliet retelling with magical people who are nowhere as cool as X-men. I didn't go into this book with high expectations, but I was expecting a lot more action (that wasn't made up of aimless running around) and a lot less love proclamations. In the end, I couldn't get past the extremely predic ...more

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Oct 27, 2018 booksNpenguins rated it liked it

Everyone around me is applauding wildly, overjoyed by how quickly something can disappear. Am I the only one who wishes things could come back?

Meh. This could have been better and the potential was all there.
The book begins with a really impactful prologue that made my jaw drop, only to completely change direction when the story acrually started. Theo Lawrence can write if he wants to and that prologue proves it. Unfortunately for him, the weak rest of the book also proves that his writing,

Everyone around me is applauding wildly, overjoyed by how quickly something can disappear. Am I the only one who wishes things could come back?

Meh. This could have been better and the potential was all there.
The book begins with a really impactful prologue that made my jaw drop, only to completely change direction when the story acrually started. Theo Lawrence can write if he wants to and that prologue proves it. Unfortunately for him, the weak rest of the book also proves that his writing, despite having its peaks, lacks continuity and consistency on the long run.
I think the setting is the only thing I have nothing to say about. I liked this new New York, and the Mystic caste system could have been developed more, but it was still easy to read and learn about so I'm not complaining.
There also were some seriously surprising moments that gave me hope, even if just for a second, that the book was finally going somewhere. Alas, it didn't last long, but it proves once again that TJ's talent exists, it only wasn't the right story to prove it with.
The plot is rather interesting if you don't take the self-indulgent romance part into account, or if you put aside the many and many plot holes (I fervently hope that all the things left unanswered in this book, will receive an explanation in book 2, because otherwise we're all doomed), but the characters are really dull and scripted.
The main character Aria is the one that irked me up the most. Seriously, how immature and ignorant do you have to be to make it all about your cheesy insta-love, when people are dying and/or in danger because of your family? Also, I get it that for the sake of maintaining a bit of mystery you have to make your protagonist (and reader) clueless to what's happening around them, but Aria was just plain blind, and also a little shallow if I'm allowed to speak in behalf of her judgy temperament.
Hunter, on the other hand, is a nice guy who tries too hard to be tough and probably hasn't overcome his ~~edwardcullen-like~~ stalkerish phase, but I didn't mind him as much as I did the others. I found him a little too sappy, though. Those love letters.
Omg, so cringey.
🙈

Oh, I also really love that cover. It's what brought me to this book at first and, even if it wasn't a complete success after all, I'm glad I have this beauty to look at when I need something pretty to lay my eyes upon. ...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Bonnie marked it as dnf · review of another edition

Shelves: series-graveyard

DNF - No rating

Boring and predictable and I have far better books to be spending my time reading.
Insta-love and love triangles... I've developed a zero tolerance policy and I can't stand for the bullshit.
I tried! But no. Just... sorry, but no. ...more

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Jan 13, 2012 oliviasbooks rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of Awaken (Kacvinsky), Blue Bloods (de la Cruz) and maybe Gossip Girl (von Ziegesar)

Shelves: read-2012, urban-fantasy-paranormal, young-adult-fiction, love-triangle, love-story-romance, in-love-with-the-cover, witches-sorcerers-magic, scifi-dystopian-apocalyptic, mystery-crime-sleuthing, thriller

I would shelve Theo Lawrence’s young adult debut Mystic City as Futuristic Romantasy, if I had to be precise. It takes place in a future, but alternative version of Manhattan. The plot relies heavily on its fantastic elements, namely on the existence of Mystics, who are people who have magic, which is used as energy, as the stuff which makes skyscrapers float high above the flooded landscape with its crumbling, moldy buildings, and as the basic ingredient of a wonder drug called Stic. And the st ...more

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Mar 02, 2016 Emmeline Kazan rated it really liked it

Shelves: completely-adored

Amnesia. Tragedy. Tampered memories. Political ruses. Controlling and manipulative parents who treat their daughter as an asset to be traded to the most profitable buyer.

This book is... interesting? Not really in terms of the plot itself, but more the author's goals. Lawrence was attempting to create an original plot by twisting the storyline all over the place. And an alarming majority of these twists were extremely predictable, and foreshadowing was prevalent throughout the ENTIRE book.

Lack o ...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Dark Faerie Tales rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed-by-kayla

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A girl tries to move on with her life after losing her memory, but moving on means being a puppet in a political race with her parents.

Opening Sentence: The party has begun without me.

The Review:

Aria knows she loves Thomas Foster. At least that’s what everyone is telling her. Loving someone with no memory of ever meeting them can be pretty tough, even if she does have flashes of memories — sneaking out late at night, meeting in the ghetto are ...more

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Jun 29, 2012 ~Tina~ rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, read-2012, netgalley-edelweiss, apocalyptic-dystopian

3.5 stars

Mystic City has just about everything one would enjoy in an escape. It's has a quaint Romeo and Juliet story line, a political background, a sci-fi flare and magic laced in every page. Add conspiracy, betrayal, true love and tainted memory lost and how could you go wrong?

Theo Lawrence pens a brilliant imaginative and creative world. It's set in a futuristic Manhattan and there are two kinds of people. One are the Mystics who have special powers and forces of energy. They are meant to be 3.5 stars

Mystic City has just about everything one would enjoy in an escape. It's has a quaint Romeo and Juliet story line, a political background, a sci-fi flare and magic laced in every page. Add conspiracy, betrayal, true love and tainted memory lost and how could you go wrong?

Theo Lawrence pens a brilliant imaginative and creative world. It's set in a futuristic Manhattan and there are two kinds of people. One are the Mystics who have special powers and forces of energy. They are meant to be dangerous and a nuisance to the Non-Mystic folks. Aria Rose just happens to be the daughter of a very important political family. She is the key to bringing peace to their country by joining two rival families together through marriage...but only if she doesn't remember enough of who she really loves.

I loved the idea that Theo Lawrence introduced. Always was a sucker for amnesia type books and this one had a really great twist. I also loved the magic in this. It truly did give a mystical feel to the whole story-line giving it an enchanting glow. And while politics usually leaves me cold, it was easy to understand and go along with. Even the romance was sweet in it's own way.
So why only three stars you might wonder? I'm thinking it has to do with the pacing and the fact that it just was way to predictable. The flow of the book felt a tad off. We start off with Aria at her engagement party but she doesn't remember who her fiance is or feel the love she's suppose to have for him. Then almost in the same breath she's saved from someone who she feels instantly connected too. It felt to fast to give out such important facts right from the start. Invading any real mystery from then on.
It also wasn't hard to guess the intentions of the characters. Who was bad, who was good and the why's of the situation. Making it feel somewhat lacking.

However, I did enjoy all the characters. I felt badly for Aria. She's been used and betrayed through out the entire story and yet she has quite a fiery determination about her that you just have to respect.
Hunter is the kind of character that's funny and sweet and playful. Someone you can feel like you can trust right away but you also know that there is more to him.
The romance wasn't over the top in this book, but it still had it's moments where I couldn't help but sigh.
Also, I'm not sure why, but I felt badly for Thomas, even though he was partly at fault, he wasn't a bad guy and I'm not sure he deserved what he got.

With that said, all in all, I still enjoyed this story. It may not be a favorite, but I still think it was a fascinating read. The writing is good, the characters are likable and the plot was intriguing. Lawrence brings something shinny and bright into the world of dystopian reads. The ending actually has me curious enough to want to know what happens next, so I may have to pick up the next book;Renegade Heart

This review and more can be seen at; WinterHaven Books!

...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Jessica (The Psychotic Nerd) rated it really liked it

Shelves: penguin-random-house, books-i-own, released-in-2012, hall-of-awesome-4-stars-or-more, summer-2015, sci-fi, pov-girl, dystopian-and-post-apocalyptic, series-books, witches-magic-and-more

This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd

MY THOUGHTS
I've been wanting to read this book for awhile, so I felt like I hit the jackpot when I found this book and it's sequel at my local used bookstore! Overall, this book did not disappoint!

This book take place in a futuristic/dystopian New York City. There are two ruling families, the Roses and the Fosters, and everyone in the city has to choose sides between them. Aria has just 'recovered' after ODing off of Stix (a drug) and This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd

MY THOUGHTS
I've been wanting to read this book for awhile, so I felt like I hit the jackpot when I found this book and it's sequel at my local used bookstore! Overall, this book did not disappoint!

This book take place in a futuristic/dystopian New York City. There are two ruling families, the Roses and the Fosters, and everyone in the city has to choose sides between them. Aria has just 'recovered' after ODing off of Stix (a drug) and is now to marry Thomas Foster, whom she supposedly loves and had a great affair with. The problem is that she has no memory of being with Thomas and has no love for him. She ends of meeting Hunter, a mysterious illegal mystic (has magical abilities). She knows that with he she will be able to recall her memories, but what she will unlock will change everything.

This entire plot was just so interesting! I like the whole idea behind the two families and the mystics. It's horrible how they treat the mystics, they drain their powers, but I thought the idea of adding magical elements to a dystopian society very unique. This book has the common theme of everything I was told is a lie, but it's so well done. The element of memory loss is not something you see entirely too often with that idea either.

As for plot,some parts of this book were very predictable. I was able to figure most of the plot early on, though I won't hate on Aria for taking so long to figure things out, as it probably comes from reading so many dystopian novels. Even though, I still very thrown by a few plot twists near the end! The pacing of the book was also fast-paced. You wouldn't expect that with a book featuring memory loss, but there were always things happening and Aria did not just wait around for her memories to come back!

The romance was very different, in some ways. It seems like there would be a love triangle in this book, but there really isn't, since Aria doesn't really love one of them. If you are one of those people who avoids books with two guy names in the synopsis, expecting the dreaded triangle, you'll be safe reading this book! As for everything else in the romance, I liked it, though it didn't wow me.

IN CONCLUSION
This is a great read with a very interesting premise and it's done very well! It's a bit predictable at times, but I didn't let that stop my enjoyment of the book and there were still some surprises along the way! I recommend this book to those who would like to read a dystopian with a hint of fantasy, meanwhile, I'll be reading the next book! ...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Katy rated it it was ok

This book had such an interesting premise, and I was really looking forward to it, but overall, it was disappointingly just okay.

Predictable - Sadly, I was able to guess what was going to happen after reading the first couple of chapters. I mean, yes, I had an idea from the summary, but this book did not have any twists or turns or any surprises with one exception - the kiss did make me think "WTH," but that was it. I guessed what was really going on, the whole romance thing, who was This book had such an interesting premise, and I was really looking forward to it, but overall, it was disappointingly just okay.

Predictable - Sadly, I was able to guess what was going to happen after reading the first couple of chapters. I mean, yes, I had an idea from the summary, but this book did not have any twists or turns or any surprises with one exception - the kiss did make me think "WTH," but that was it. I guessed what was really going on, the whole romance thing, who was related to who, and whose side each character was on (so no, the revealing of the spies did not surprise me either).

Fuzzy World Building - I really liked that Lawrence started to establish a concept of the world of mystics, the magic and the levels of sociology and even where the lived. BUT it was just the initial set up. The world was sci-fi-ish, but I had a really hard time picturing everything - how the world was set up, how people got around other than walk, what Aeries looks like, what the Mystics' underground or whatever looked like.

Lack of Building on Magic - Lawrence had so much he could have done on with the concept of magic, but it he never really built on it. It was just thrown in and accepted like it was always a part of history, and other than the little anecdote about Hunter's grandfather and mother, there wasn't much on how mystics contributed to the world and why they were not accepted into society other than people were afraid of their power. And the powers themselves? They were pretty lame, and their users did not do much with them - other than the ultimate traitor.

Unimpressive characters - The characters in this book were just okay, and honestly, they're very forgettable. Aria was kind of bland. I'm sure she was meant to be a rebellious, feisty character, but she really didn't do much other than show a little fight near the end. Hunter was kind of sappy, and I'm disappointed he wasn't built to be more of a swoony-worthy character.

I was unattached to any of the side characters. I really wanted to know more about Kyle, who was supposed to be such a good brother; or Kiki and Bennie, who was supposedly Aria's really good friends; or even Turk, who would have been a really fun character to get to know. Lawrence did show us a glimpse of Davida, but it was so quick, and I think she would have been a really, really strong supporting character.

Overall, I don't think this book was a bad book, per se. It's just that for a 416-paged book, I just felt a lot of it was a brief gloss-over, and I had just expected it to be more attached to the story, the characters and the world. ...more

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Jun 03, 2013 C.G. Drews rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, read-2013

If Romeo and Juliet and superpowers and were involved in political gang wars, yep, it would be MYSTIC CITY.

Top marks for world building. Wow. Just wow. With delicious and subtle details, the world of MYSTIC CITY goes down with a big thumbs-up from me. Techno and lavish, the author used the perfect combo of words to draw me into this crumbling version of America. I saw it. I felt it. The colours, tastes, sights, and explosions. Oh yeah, I was there.

Plus, superpowers. Any book can be improved if If Romeo and Juliet and superpowers and were involved in political gang wars, yep, it would be MYSTIC CITY.

Top marks for world building. Wow. Just wow. With delicious and subtle details, the world of MYSTIC CITY goes down with a big thumbs-up from me. Techno and lavish, the author used the perfect combo of words to draw me into this crumbling version of America. I saw it. I felt it. The colours, tastes, sights, and explosions. Oh yeah, I was there.

Plus, superpowers. Any book can be improved if you add in a dash of superpowers and hot bad boys, right? (I joke, I joke…just slightly.) I loved the X-Men feel to this futuristic world.

Characters? Not so hot. It took me a moment of pondering (only a moment, though, I wouldn’t want to risk “thinking” too much. Dangerous stuff) to figure out why I didn’t relate to the characters. Then it hit me. Emotion. Aria (the narrator) had zilch emotion. She had such potential, but I felt it was smothered in the need to tell the plot. Characters are a BIG deal for me, so my motto is characters-before-plot. Unfortunately, MYSTIC CITY didn’t live up to that.

Aria was portrayed as a real tough nut, but she was, literally, “perfect”. Sure she made mistakes and dumb decisions and was rude. People died because of her. But she had no ultimate emotion. And Thomas? Her fiancé? Ack, he was a dead loss. I understood him, but I would have liked a little more zing. As for Hunter, the incredibly hot rebel mystic? Yes. He was niiiice. But again, I was looking for more. A sense of humour maybe? In reality, he was a touch creepy (although you find out why as the book continues) and all so hot-and-tough just because Aria “said so”. I didn’t want to be told how the characters were. I wanted to SEE it.

Also, a word on “insta-love”. It’s not okay. It’s so lame and cheating. If you see a hot guy, you don’t “fall in love”. You have a crush. Developing that into more is what makes a book irresistible. However Aria’s memory loss nearly covered for it. I love what they did with her backstory – since she didn’t know it, we couldn’t either. Brilliance! I had suspicions all was not as it seemed and boy-oh-boy was I write. I couldn’t belive they – oh wait. Spoilers. You’re going to have to read it and find out.

The end is the best part. It was fast and oh-so-cruel and I had to reread a few pages because I couldn’t believe what happened. Twists are awesome! I didn’t see it coming before it hit me. Obviously it’s set up for a sequel. Mystics to live, yay or nay? With world like the one in MYSTIC CITY, I’d be tempted to read the next book. If Aria didn’t narrate, scoot tempted to positive.

Pitched as MATCHED meets THE HUNGER GAMES meets XMEN, it set itself up to jump an Olympic high bar. Ultimately, MYSTIC CITY didn’t clear the bar. But for a world as vivid as this, I’ll smile fondly in memory.
...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Sue (Hollywood News Source) rated it it was ok

Review also posted at Young Adult Hollywood

Mystic City is a futuristic fantasy book. It follows the story of Aria Rose who doesn’t have any recollection of falling in love with her betrothed Thomas Foster, the son of their family’s sworn enemy. Their marriage will reunite the two families and end the generation feud of their clan. While Aria fills the gaps of her “missing memories”, she meets the rebel mystic Hunter from Depths.

I’ve rated Mystic City 3.8 Stars which means I enjoyed it thoroughly ...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it it was ok

Shelves: romance, sci-fi, 2012, ya, cover-love, not-worth-it

This review contains spoilers, but trust me, it won't make any difference.

Not so far in the future, New York is a city of underwater streets infested with the malnourished poor - called the Depths - and towering skyscrapers graced by the wealthy elite - the Aeries. The Aeries is divided between two powerful families, the Fosters and the Roses. Aria Rose, seventeen and beautiful, wakes up one day to the news that she is engaged to Thomas Foster, son of her father's rival, and that they're to be m ...more

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Jun 29, 2012 R.E. Hunter rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arcs-galleys-requests-tours

4.5 Stars

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book through NetGalley and I am so glad I requested this title. When I was looking through the available titles from Random House, I was immediately drawn to Mystic City because of the cover art. It is such a gorgeous cover that I immediately wanted to know what the book was about.

Mystic City is the first book in a dystopianesque trilogy set in future Manhattan. The world has been severely affected by global warming and most of Manhattan is 4.5 Stars

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book through NetGalley and I am so glad I requested this title. When I was looking through the available titles from Random House, I was immediately drawn to Mystic City because of the cover art. It is such a gorgeous cover that I immediately wanted to know what the book was about.

Mystic City is the first book in a dystopianesque trilogy set in future Manhattan. The world has been severely affected by global warming and most of Manhattan is now under water. The city is separated into classes. The wealthy live in the Aeries, a large network of skyscrapers that are interconnected by a rail system. The Aeries are divided by two warring families, the Roses and the Fosters. The poor live below in "The Depths" which are dirty, hot and somewhat submerged; they share the Depths with the mystics. Mystics have magical powers and those powers have helped to build up and power the city. However, decades earlier, a tragic explosion put the powers of the mystics into question and now mystics are forced to register with the government and be drained of their powers twice a year so that they cannot become too powerful or dangerous to the people. But there are mystic rebels who refuse to register and lose their powers...they are biding their time, staying under the radar and ready to fight for the equality they deserve.

The story begins with Aria Rose's engagement party way up in the Aeries. Aria is engaged to Thomas Foster, the son of her father's rival. However, the families have chosen to end their conflict and come together for the union of Aria and Thomas (and conveniently just in time for election season when a mystic candidate is challenging the Roses/Fosters for the first time in decades). The only problem, Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas. She can't remember any part of their relationship or their engagement. She's been told that she overdosed on Stic, a drug made from the power of mystics, and that she lost her memory, but some things just aren't adding up... and then there's Hunter, the gorgeous rebel mystic who has caught her attention.

I loved this book. I couldn't put it down, and when I was forced to, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Theo Lawrence weaves an exciting and engaging tale of love and loss as we follow Aria through her struggles to regain her memory, find her true love and fight for what she believes in. Mystic City kept me captivated from beginning to end. I was completely crazed wondering what Aria's memories would show. The book gives clues here and there as to what those missing memories might contain, but you have to work to figure it out along with her. Just when you think you have it figured out, something happens that will have you questioning whether you know anything at all. It's not until you're a significant way into the story that the secrets start to unravel and then the story is non-stop! I had more than a few "OH MY GOD!" moments.

There's no shortage of dystopian-like stories out there today and many of them fall short. However, Mystic City was a great start to what I believe will be an amazing trilogy. Love, loss, political unrest, rebellion, magic... what more could you ask for?! It was an incredibly exciting read and the twists and turns will keep readers completely hooked from beginning to end!

*The only reason this isn't a 5 star book for me is because the beginning felt a bit confused. I wasn't sure what kind of world the author was trying to build. The way the world/people were described in the beginning left me feeling a bit confused and having a hard time picturing the characters and how everything would make sense. The way the author began describing the characters with tattoos on their faces, etc. made me think of something similar to Hunger Games, where the wealthy were decked out in ridiculous fashion made to stand out. But then there were paparazzi and other aspects of this "world" that felt a bit too normal and real to exist in this story. After the first few chapters, I felt like it all came together and made sense and the story was so amazing that I couldn't focus on anything else, so it really didn't take much away from the book as a whole.

Reviewed at thebooklistreviews.blogspot.com ...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Meg rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I hate it when I get sucked in by a pretty cover.

This book hit all of my eye-rolling buttons: Love triangle with a clear winner and loser pretending to be all dramatic, Satan-spawn evil bad guys, ridiculously-good-yet-inexplicably-hated-and-repressed good guys, ruggedly handsome love interest who, no joke, plays guitar and has a propensity for saving damsels when they're attacked by thugs in the slums (because that's how that works, right? Girl goes into bad part of town and is immediately attac I hate it when I get sucked in by a pretty cover.

This book hit all of my eye-rolling buttons: Love triangle with a clear winner and loser pretending to be all dramatic, Satan-spawn evil bad guys, ridiculously-good-yet-inexplicably-hated-and-repressed good guys, ruggedly handsome love interest who, no joke, plays guitar and has a propensity for saving damsels when they're attacked by thugs in the slums (because that's how that works, right? Girl goes into bad part of town and is immediately attacked for no reason other than 'girl in slums').

And that's not even going near the 'mystery' of the story which I had no trouble guessing about 5 pages in. The mystery which, by the way, then gets revealed at the climax of the story with goddamned exclamation points expecting me to be all shocked and amazed at the pure twistiness of it all!

Maybe I'm being too harsh. I have to admit that a lot of my opinion and outright anger comes from having read the far superior memory-wiped-girl-with-mysterious-yet-important-past book, Slated, only recently.

Normally I would put obvious plot twists etc down to the book being pitched toward a lower age group. Except, even adjusting for a 12-13 year old audience, I still feel like this book comes off as vaguely insulting in it's simplicity masquerading as complexity. Young adult readers aren't dumb. If you're going to clearly paint certain groups as merciless bad guys early on, they aren't going to be surprised when they shockingly turn out to be merciless bad guys. Likewise, when you introduce a mystery that can be solved with a '...It's that guy. No, seriously, protagonist, you're being wilfully stupid here' they're not going to be appreciative.

To be honest, I think what tipped me over the balance from neutral about the book to actually quite pissed off about the whole thing is the wasted potential. I have a long and storied history about raging against wasted potential in books and this one is just another one that's going to be added to the pile of regret.

This book's premise is absolutely fascinating. You've got class warfare with a very clear divide both in living standards and in attitudes between the upper and lower classes. More interestingly than that, you've got a third class of 'mystics' that are routinely drained of their powers ostensibly to keep the rest of the population safe from their dangerous powers (think the X-men debate) but also so the rest of the population can benefit from mystic-powered technology. You've got an amazing ethical and moral dilemma there. Is it wrong that mystics should be drained of their power? It's physically painful and causes huge side effects for them. However, the world they've created is powered by this process and there is real potential for a mystic to go crazy and power hungry and use their power for an unfair advantage. How do you solve a problem like that? What is the right thing to do?

According to this book, that point is completely moot because all mystics are freakin' oppressed angels who are being unfairly persecuted and would never even think of using their powers for evil. Despite the fact that non-mystics seem to have those kind of people around every corner.

And that's what makes me angry about this book. Not just disappointed about a gorgeous cover housing an ordinary book, angry that a book with such an interesting concept and premise went and wasted it on a story that made me roll my eyes every few pages. It wasted a story which had the potential to explore interesting questions on a straight-up black and white, good vs evil, star-cross'd lovers (Also? Please don't remind me of better stories when I'm reading your ordinary one), rebels vs the establishment story.

Bah! Bah! I say. ...more

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May 10, 2012 Kagama-the Literaturevixen marked it as to-read

Was super excited until the other guy was mentioned and that always means a love triangle. Now im less excited.

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Aug 06, 2015 LilyCat (Agent of SHIELD)-- on hiatus :( rated it it was ok

Shelves: dystopian, good-cover-bad-book, annoying-mc, brooding-love-interest, more-romance, bad-boy-vs-good-boy, rantable, mustache-twirling-villain, useless-heroine, cliche-alert

Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to fall in love. The love you see on TV or read about in books, where you find your missing half-- the person you were meant to be with forever-- and suddenly you're complete. That's the sort of love my parents say I share with Thomas. Why, then, when he touches me, does it merely feel like a touch?

I thought true love would sear me.

--Mystic City, p. 15

The Gist: Aria Rose has been told she's been having a secret romance with Thomas, the son of the ...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it really liked it

Shelves: review-copy, paranormal-romance, dystopian, magic

Aria Rose is the daughter of one of the ruling families in Mystic City engaged to Thomas, the son of the rival ruling family. With an upcoming election, their marriage is the perfect way to unite the humans against mystics, humans with magical powers who are drained of their powers. The only problem with the engagement, is that Aria has overdosed on Sic, a mystic-infused drug causing her to forget her entire relationship with Thomas.

As Aria pieces her memory together, she meets Hunter, a handsom ...more

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Jun 26, 2017 Alatea rated it it was ok

I really wish I'd liked the book more. It wasn't a bad book, but it simply wasn't convincing enough. I loved the idea of a dystopical world, almost destroyed by the global warming, humanity, its fears and intolerance.

I loved that people feared and hated mystics and I wanted to love and adore the rebels. But there were so little told about them! We, readers, need some instructions. I know that the author tried, but I needed a bit more world-building and history and a bit less Romeo&Juliet crap. I ...more

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Jul 25, 2016 Candace Robinson added it

Pretty predictable but entertaining nonetheless. I just didn't like how long Aria was without her memories and not seeing more of how Aria initially met Hunter, so that was weird and made it feel like a second book vs. first book. I did like the characters, and the fact that Mystics seemed X-men like. Full review on my blog https://literarydust.wordpress.com/20... ...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Lisbeth Avery {Domus Libri} rated it did not like it

Shelves: disappointed, high-expectations, could-have-been-better, i-wish-i-could-have-loved-you

Actual Rating: 1.75 stars

Mystic City is a book that I have been waiting for since it appeared on Netgalley/Edelweiss. There were two reasons, as there usually are in my stories. One is because I was under the impression that the main character was black and the cover model was too (they aren't sadly). The second reason is that the book simply sounds good!

Sadly however, it failed to live up to my expectations - by a lot.

Its downfalls are centered around one main cause. Characters. The characters ...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Annabelle rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, i-own, wtf-is-this

**FINAL RATING: 2.00 STARS**

CATCHALL
So, despite all the mixed reviews I saw this book getting, I was reasonably certain that I'd love it. I was so, so wrong. Obviously I need to stop being shallow and being drawn in by tempting blurbs and shiny, shiny covers that look like tiny pieces of heaven. I even read the first fifty pages in the bookstore and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the best part of the book. Unfortunately, it was downhill from there.

THE HEROINE
ARIA
A ...more

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Jun 29, 2012 ☕️Kimberly rated it it was amazing

I was drawn to the gorgeous cover of Mystic City and the synopsis with its promise of a dystopian world. Theo Lawrence has a new fan. I absolutely immersed myself into the world he has created and cannot wait for the next installment in this series. From his phenomenal world building, writing style and likeable characters Lawrence completely drew me in to this fantasy world laced with paranormal elements, hatred, oppression and rebellion.

The tale begins when we meet Ari Rose. She is the youngest I was drawn to the gorgeous cover of Mystic City and the synopsis with its promise of a dystopian world. Theo Lawrence has a new fan. I absolutely immersed myself into the world he has created and cannot wait for the next installment in this series. From his phenomenal world building, writing style and likeable characters Lawrence completely drew me in to this fantasy world laced with paranormal elements, hatred, oppression and rebellion.

The tale begins when we meet Ari Rose. She is the youngest scion of one of Mystic cities most powerful families. After a Stic overdose in which she almost dies, she wakes to find herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parent’s sworn enemy. The upper city of Manhattan is basically divided into two political camps those who support the Roses and those who support the Fosters. When a mystic from the Depths begins a political campaign for the upcoming election, the families decided to join forces through the marriage of Ari and Thomas. Ari is confused, she cannot believe she would have tried a drug, let alone overdose and she has no memories of Thomas. Despite her concerns, her parents keep pushing the wedding plans. When Ari meets Hunter, a swoon-worthy rebel mystic who lives in the Depths, she begins to recall lost memories. Convinced he holds the key; she begins to try and regain her lost memories. The tale that unfolds is breathtaking, filled with danger, lies, actions and romance.

When I first met Ari, I wasn’t sure what to make of her, but as she regained her memory she became surer of herself and her personality fully emerged. I ended up really liking this brave girl, as I discovered more about her and the stand she was prepared to take. She is selfless and sweet. Hunter was confident, mysterious and smexy, except when it came to Ari. From the beginning it’s apparent she is important to him and that he cares about her. I found him to be noble, protective and I became attached. Thomas seemed like a spoiled rich kid, who tried to manipulate and mold Ari. When he didn’t get his way, he tried to buy her happiness. Ari’s maid Davida was fascinating and added to the tale. Ari’s friends and those she meets in the Depth helped propel the tale and each had distinct personalities. Turk and Kiki were my favorites. I look forward to learning more about them. The people in the Rose’s circle were fascinating and it was interesting to figure out who to trust.

The world-building and plot stole my breath away. I love world-building and Lawrence painted a Manhattan skyline that blew my mind. From the upper city to the Depths, I found the world mesmerizing. Filled with gadgets, scanners and a complex society I was in sheer heaven. I adore when a writer is able to create the world in my mind with a stroke of a pen. His attention to detail from the character’s dress to the murky tunnels delighted me. Having been to Manhattan, NY several times I was able to imagine this new world with its extreme weather and partially immersed buildings. The society was intriguing. We are slowly given details about how this dystopian world came to be, the mystic’s role in it and the caste system. I simply gobbled all of this information up. The plot was perfectly paced, with plenty of twists and turns. The romance is sweet and unfolded slowly. The characters are well fleshed out and we even see growth as Ari begins to fill in the missing pieces. I am completely enthralled with this new series and cannot wait to get my hands on book two.

I highly recommend Mystic City to fans of dystopian, fantasy and romance. I have pre-ordered a finished copy for my book shelf. I might add this is the first, non-eBook I have ordered all year since I am trying to go digital, but I want a physical copy of this one.

I want to thank Random House for providing this copy in exchange for my unbiased review. Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Krystle rated it it was ok

Isn’t that cover absolutely gorgeous? Gosh, I’m so in love with it. It’s even more beautiful in person! Too bad the story doesn’t live up to it.

Why did no one tell me this was a retelling of Romeo and Juliet? OHMAHGAWD! The characters even call each other Romeo and Juliet in their love letters to each other! I don’t know about you but I never saw that story as the sweeping romance it’s constantly purported to be. I take it as a cautionary tale showing the dangers of an all-consuming infatuation Isn’t that cover absolutely gorgeous? Gosh, I’m so in love with it. It’s even more beautiful in person! Too bad the story doesn’t live up to it.

Why did no one tell me this was a retelling of Romeo and Juliet? OHMAHGAWD! The characters even call each other Romeo and Juliet in their love letters to each other! I don’t know about you but I never saw that story as the sweeping romance it’s constantly purported to be. I take it as a cautionary tale showing the dangers of an all-consuming infatuation and obsession. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very beautiful scenes but I don’t think using the story as your framework base is an excuse to drown out the plot with a heavy handed romance.

If you’re going to set up a futuristic society that uses a location in real life, you’d better make it believable. Okay, so maybe I’ll accept the idea that mystics have always been around and have just now decided to break out into society about their existence but the severe and drastic way classes are separated does not sit well to me. How did they develop this “above ground” and below ground “depths” anyway? How did things get to this point? Why is there such a severe class distinction between the rich and the poor? I’m sorry but I never bought this. I always found it strange that this is a futuristic society but they’d still have to do “old fashioned” things like going down to a store and ordering coffee and some other things that I forgot about because I really didn’t pay that close attention to it.

The first half was all right, interesting, although the world building was a bit rough and confusing. There was this slight mystery plot going on as to how she lost her memories and why. Then there’s this whole thing about her parents lying to her (maybe), the weird marriage she has to go through, and Davida. What’s she up to?

Until the romance kicked in. Gross. It was so sappy and nasty. It just overshadowed everything and Aria could just burn in a fire. I’m serious. One of her direct quotes was that she found what she was born for – him. She was born for him and her whole existence was for them to be together. NASTY! Can someone say co-dependence?! I really dislike the idea that a man is everything to a woman’s existence in life. No, thank you! Not to mention their romance is so fast and heavy that I doubt they knew each other for more than a month. Ugh. Really? Really?

I wanted to roll my eyes at every scene they were together. What happened to finding out what happened to you? Saving the people? Stopping the rampant drug abuse and class discrimination? No? Hah, forget that! It’s thrown out the window when the romance comes in.

The ending made up for it. There’s a lot of action and we finally get to see the mystics’ powers in action! Fun stuff! Explosions, killings, sacrifices! Yum, yum. Didn’t expect some of the character deaths either and at least Aria gained some amount of agency in that she goes, “Oh, hey! My people are in some DEEP shizz! I gotta fix this!” which was her original goal in the first place but whatever.

The plot is pretty predictable and I’m disappointed because this had so much potential with a beautiful cover on top but it failed terribly for me. If you’re someone who loves heavy romance in your YA novels, then I’m pretty sure you’ll lap up this. ...more

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Jun 07, 2015 Melody (theliteraryowl) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2015, tbr, books-that-i-own, annoying-protagonist, meh

Ugh. Where to start ? This book is quite ridiculous. Seriously. It is a rather good distraction for summer, but nothing more. It's crazy how everything is so predictable. The main protagonist is plain and such a stereotype, there is no character development and that bothered me a lot. The author uses in Mystic City devices that are all overly used in literature (especially in YA/dystopias) and there is no surprise whatsoever.

The main idea of the story is rather interesting though: a sort of floo ...more

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Aug 14, 2014 Samantha rated it it was ok

This story had a lot of potential, but it got lost on the way.

LIKES:
It had a very interesting premise. Two "mafia" type families. Mysterious memory loss. Star-crossed lovers. Futuristic New York City. What's not to love, right?!

DISLIKES:
The setting was not properly worked out. It was set sometime in the future when global warming has taken over and people with mystical powers have made themselves known. Everyone can pay for items through their fingerprints, not needing to carry money. But tex ...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Tammie rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, series-abandoned, trilogy, fantasy, dystopian

I was really looking forward to reading Mystic City, especially when the description referenced Blade Runner, but unfortunately this book fell flat. I liked the idea behind it and everything, but couldn't help but compare the whole memory wipe scenario to another book I read called Renegade by J.A. Souders that did it better. And back to that Blade Runner reference, I didn't really see anything in this book that resembled Blade Runner.

I think my biggest problem with the book was how infuriating ...more

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Jul 28, 2013 Liz rated it did not like it

Shelves: headdesk-not-sorry, i-prefer-rum

Oh damn, that was bad.

Seriously. This book takes immaturity on a whole new level.

1. Seemed like a cheap spin-off of Hunger Games with a terrible write style.
2. It had some Gossip Girl elements as well.
3. I think the author just decided to throw all the successful series and books of the last years into a mixer and then hoped for a bit of success as well.

I won't write a summary. I won't even write a proper review, let me just say that after I read how the protagonist innerly whined:

"But I ...more

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Sep 06, 2019 Sarah Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, as, dystopian, romance, lg, read-2019, young-adult, bought-2013

I enjoyed this book, although I did think that Aria came across as a little dense at times! Somebody would say something, and I would think what a massive slip it was that they said that, and Aria would barely be bothered by it at all!

I do want to read the sequels to this, but I'm pretty put-off by the fact that it seems like the third book is only available as an audiobook, and I don't really do audiobooks ☹ ...more

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Oct 13, 2012 Anissa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, fantasy-and-paranormal, series

More like a 3.5.

This was a terrifically light read with great world-building (which accounts for it being a page-turner for me) & stock characters.

I space out my YA reads because I need distance to avoid the sameness I start to see if I read them in close succession. So, I had been waiting a while to get to this one & it's lovely cover. It wasn't a bad story but the character development was fairly soft. Usually, I find characters to be the more interesting thing in stories & find world-building More like a 3.5.

This was a terrifically light read with great world-building (which accounts for it being a page-turner for me) & stock characters.

I space out my YA reads because I need distance to avoid the sameness I start to see if I read them in close succession. So, I had been waiting a while to get to this one & it's lovely cover. It wasn't a bad story but the character development was fairly soft. Usually, I find characters to be the more interesting thing in stories & find world-building to be lacking, especially in YA dystopian tales. Mystic City was the opposite. The world-building & politics was my favorite aspect of the story & the characters (especially the mains, Aria & Hunter) were basically stock & left a lot to be desired in the depth department. Odder still, the main characters that I should care most about, Aria & Hunter, I care least about. Basically, they're just my means to an end of getting to hear about everything else. Of course that means that their love story, is mostly irrelevant to me (though I do think tween & even teen girls will adore it).

I wanted to know more about virtually everyone else in the story. Thomas (more interesting than I think the writer intended), Kyle, Davida, Kiki, Bennie, both sets of parents, Violet, Elissa, Benedict. You get the point. Aria can only be excused for part of her blandness as she has selective amnesia. Ostensibly she never had a deep thought, question or clue of anything in her world before her amnesia set in but now that it has, she's just a lightning rod for finding everything & everyone so unsatisfying & stifling. It's laughable & annoying altogether. I didn't so much root for her as tolerate her to get information on what's happening in the story. Apparently, all Aria's girlfriends are first class twits too (the writing of them is so heavy handed to make them unlikable) but she was close to them before her "accident" so I can only assume that Aria too was a socially scathing twit until she met the awesome that is Hunter & he changed her whole outlook to the point that she needed her mind wiped. Aria seems to be another YA heroine in a long line of them that has friends she regards almost contemptibly yet they seem never to tire of her & think she's irrefutably wonderful. They always invite her out, throw her parties, simper when they don't receive her adoration in kind, their calls & texts go unanswered by her & yet they never really call her out for ignoring them & she never has to display any sort of interest in their lives because she's so self-involved. I ask myself for the millionth time, where does one find friends like these? I only hear of them in books & they never resemble any of the friendships I've had with my girlfriends as a teen or an adult woman. A conundrum, to be sure.

In other character oddities, Aria also takes that a guy hasn't shaved for the day & has a hint of stubble as meaning he has an air of danger & trouble about him. This would be less stupid if she didn't also know that her father is a criminal overlord, clean shaven & impeccably coiffed & she's lived with gun toting, hulking bodyguards her entire life. Sadly, Aria racks up more inconsistencies & I don't have the inclination to list the rest here. Hunter has a lot to go to get real cred as the story's "bad boy" because currently, it's basically his zip code that clinches it for him & not his actual personality, such as it is or his actions. If the author couldn't be bothered to give him layers, then neither can I care too deeply.

Two bores together do not a blistering (or interesting) love story make & that's just what we are given in Aria & Hunter. Mary & Gary Stu in bland bliss with all the Deux Ex Machina luck that comes with the assignation. They fit in the slots well enough but there's nothing even remotely new here. There's no real triangle angst even with Thomas in the mix & I really didn't feel any tension or moral outrage about Gretchen on Aria's behalf. She had Stu, I mean Hunter, so no big deal. I don't care if they refer to themselves as Romeo & Juliet, this is no soul stirring retelling of The Bard. And, they're still alive at the end of the story so... again, no.

I'll read the next because I want to know more about the aftermath of the showdown in the Depths & I think the author's way with world-building (the description of the mystic's power is very well done) is worth reading another. Maybe there'll be some decent people to be found in the Aeries other than the sainted Aria. You know, other wealthy people working to support the cause of freedom & equality. Surely the inhabitants above are no more a monolith than the people in the Depths. There needs to be a lot more grey and less White Hat/Black Hat happening for me to really buy into this having a tight plot. I'm going to hope Aria & Hunter turn it up on the interesting metre also. ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA fantasy/paranormal romance with a dystopian world with a caste system. [s]	3	26	May 27, 2018 10:18PM
Mystic Book Club : Over All Thoughts	9	21	Sep 26, 2015 02:40PM
What did you think of this book?	8	50	Jan 05, 2015 04:00PM
Mystic Book Club : Mystic City's Beautiful Cover	8	25	Aug 12, 2013 07:12AM

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