Mystic City (Mystic City #1)

Background: Aria Rose is the daughter of a popular politician. Her family has been at war with the Fosters for generations, and Aria awakes one day to find that she is missing memories and that she is engaged to Thomas Foster, her sworn enemy. Her parents have told her that she overdosed on drugs and Aria is almost positive that she would never even try them, let alone OD on them. Mystic City follows Aria through her attempts to find her lost memory.

Review: I heart this book. It was a mix of a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, the dystopian genre, fantasy, and futuristic society. Enemies become lovers, there are mystics-people with power, Manhattan has flooded and the mystics and their families must live in the flooded portions while the rich and normal live above the city, in modern skyscrapers. The setting of this plot was amazing, taking a modern well-known area and creating a dystipian society as well as a futuristic one, was a fun spin on things.

The plot much like the setting was very well pieced together, you are always left questioning things and wanting to read more. Aria's family are troubled and headstrong with power, while she is just trying to get through life. Aria is the gentle of her family, still ignorant to the outside world because of a filtered life, but she has compassion for other beings. She was a pleasure to follow through her story.

What I think works so well in this book is that from the beginning Aria questions her place, however even while questioning she does try to follow her parents orders. I think that in most teen stories the teens can be overly defiant, Aria on the other hand is more realistic, in that she would like to rebel, but wants more answers before she does. I really liked that about her.

As the story proceeds you learn more about Thomas and Aria’s engagement and previous secret romance and the pieces slowly come together.

I really enjoyed this book, the action and suspense is fun and leaves you full of anxiety. Can't wait for more

Review also posted at my blog: http://perrytheplatypus1102-3daydreamer3.blogspot.com/2012/10/book-review-mystic-city-by-theo-lawrence.html

**I received a finished paperback copy of this book from Random House U.K in exchange for an honest review.**

So long story short,Mystic City is sort of like a dystopian spin-off of Romeo & Juliet,excepting the fact that Juliet got waay too many bumps on her head so now she can't remember anything about her precious Romeo.Boo-hoo! :(

No but seriously,the romance in Mystic City is kind of cheesy but in a good way,one which made me smile.I finished Mystic City in one sitting and enjoyed every minute of it,from the cheesy romance on the first page till the cheesy romance on the very last page.I actually found myself reacting strongly to every scene of the story.To be honest,I even found myself CRYING at one point for poor Aria and her tragic life and repetitive amnesia. If it weren't for everything else,I would've just considered Mystic City as plain cheesy but it has a perfect combination of everything.The entire story was wonderfully plotted,the characters were perfectly put in their roles and most of all,the author swept me off my feet with his magical play upon words.(My very own prince charming!**giggles**)And I'm sure that it's really difficult for a male to write a story from a female's point of view since both genders have different psychologies,or in other words,different ways of thinking.But Theo Lawrence mastered it all and Aria's voice throughout the story turned out to be vibrant, colourful and convincing.It was Aria's voice that helped me imagine her version of New York clearly.And to me,reading a story is not fun until I manage to get myself dragged into the story-world.In the case of Mystic City,that was not a problem.And to let everyone in on a secret,the cover contributed to my imagination as well.I am so glad that I was not tricked by the cover this time!Hehe!

But there's more to Mystic City than just dystopia and romance.It also comprises of fantasy,sci-fi and a bit of para normalcy as well.The mystics are a beautiful race and I hated the way how they were treated with injustice.The best way to describe them is magical,like the characters in the bed-time stories we cherished when we were younger,except that in this case, the mystics are here to replace those characters which we have outgrown.

Recommended to fans of Dystopia,Romance,Fantasy and Paranormal novels,Mystic City is an emotional thrill ride and a battle for love which you do not want to miss!!

**Note: I received e-ARC of Mystic City from the publisher via Net Galley, but that did not influence my review in any way.**

It’s like Romeo and Juliet with an even deeper, more hidden, more intense and magical Romeo and Juliet twist set in a dystopian world ransacked by global warming. For over a hundred years, Manhattan has been divided into East and West, run by two political feuding families, the Roses and the Fosters. The novel begin with us being introduced to Aria, the daughter of the power-driven and ruthless Mr. Rose, and her battling through a hazy fog set in place because of her recent memory loss. She was told by her family and doctors that it was due to an overdose on Stic (a drug created with Mystic energy). More surprising to her that she used Stic in the first place, and then managing to overdose on it, is that she is now engaged to the Foster’s son, Thomas. She feels guilty because she doesn’t remember their sordid love affair, but with encouragement from her family, she wants to try to at least fall back in love with him again, even if she never recovers her memory of how they fell in love in the first place.

At her engagement party, Aria goes out on a balcony to steal a few moments to herself. When she finds herself in a compromising position over the railing and nothing but thousands of feet of nothing and death below her, she’s quick to grab the hand of a stranger with a starburst tattoo on his wrist who pulls her to safety and then he disappears. Later in her room, she finds a locket and a cryptic note that reads “Remember.” Racked with questions, Aria goes in search of the only person she feels like could unlock all her secrets, Thomas. Traveling to the Depths, where the impoverished and Mystics live, is terrifying and even more so when she’s attacked. Coming to her rescue, is an attractive guy with magic-like abilities, a rebel Mystic, with a peculiar tattoo on his wrist. But something about him seems so familiar and Aria finds herself completely drawn to him.

Through a series of event, a nagging suspicion that she was never in love with Thomas, resurfacing memories, and time spent with Hunter (the rebel Mystic), Aria wonders if perhaps her parents aren’t harboring secrets of their own. In political warfare, where the union of Aria and Thomas means that the Foster and Rose families can unite against a common enemy, the Mystics and their political leader, not all is as it seems and layers of betrayal and ruthless corruption are lurking around every corner.

Overall, I’d say Aria was an okay character, but I’m definitely not bordering on any girl crushes. To be quite frank, she aggravated me. Her naivete and willingness to submit to her father’s demands had me downright furious in some parts. But by the end, I felt like she was ready to play hardball, so I’m excited to see how much she’ll grow in the next books.

Our hero, Hunter, was a different story. I thought he was charming and sweet, but also a bit cocky and strong. So, basically I thought he was delicious... except for the usage of pet names between he and Aria. (Girls like a bit fluff, but don’t smother us with it. We still like a heroes manly.)

The story was a bit slow-going at the beginning for me, but once I really got into it, I really got into it. It’s an incredibly unique plot and I’m really excited to see where this series goes from here.