Review: MYSTIC CITY by Theo Lawrence

 
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. 



So I totally lucked out and snagged an ARC of MYSTIC CITY at Half-Price Books. My review is for the ARC since I don't know what (if any) changes might've been made. Here we go!

The Good: I absolutely can't praise Theo's writing style enough! Can we say beautiful and the perfect example of Show don't Tell and Avoid Passive Voice. The descriptions are stunning. Each scene is brilliantly set and fully fleshed out. The characters are so unique, and you can totally connect with them in a real way. I'm generally not a dystopian fan, but MYSTIC CITY isn't the typical dystopian... at least, it isn't the struggle-every-moment-for-life kind. It's more futuristic than anything. I'm not sure what genre it's classified as anyway.

The progression of our protag's life is perfectly paced. Aria grows and changes throughout the story, going from the (non-cliche) rich girl to the caring young-woman who's willing to risk her comfortable life and promising future. And not just to win the guy but to save her city. Talk about an inspiring female lead! 

Our male lead, Hunter, is intriguing and by far the most mysterious part of the entire story. He proves himself to be swoon-worthy! He's not the kind of  guy you love to hate or admire because he's so wholesome. But he's real and genuine. Nothing about him feels fake or forced. He's the kind of boyfriend you would've actually wanted at 17. Too bad it's not that clean-cut for Aria.

The Mediocre: As the plot moves forward, there isn't a lot of "surprise" going on. I kept thinking, "Where's the mystery? What's the twist supposed to be here?" Really, it felt more like a contemporary novel with a futuristic setting. Like we know the obvious hurdles our characters have to overcome, so where's that *gasp* moment??? The outstanding writing and interesting characters kept me reading, but there were a few places where I just skimmed because it wasn't exciting. I will say there was one epic twist at the end I didn't expect which was fabulous! I love surprises! I just wish there could've been more.

Another issue I encountered was Aria's reaction to certain people in her life. Something epic would happen, and she was just like, "Meh. Okay." And while I get Lawrence's intent to keep her low key so she wouldn't give up the ghost so early, even her internal reaction was disappointing. Still, it wasn't enough of a let-down to stop reading. Also, Aria's best-friend Kiki is kind of annoying. I wish she would've been more likable. I'm a big fan of heroic secondary characters. I feel like they should really enhance the story and bring out a lot about plot and why our lead is the way they are. If you're going to the trouble to bring them up frequently, there needs to be a reason for them. Kiki was more like that irritating person you hang out with for the sake of obligation. She and Aria were so different in ways that would cause two people not to want to spend time together. I LOVED Hunter's bromance though.

There were several parts where I just skimmed through the story because it wasn't interesting. It didn't move the plot forward and felt more like a placeholder than an integral scene. There were maybe a total of 20 pages or so that could've been entirely culled, and no one would miss them. 

Conclusion: Based on the originality of the story, the lead characters, and the writing, I'd give MYSTIC CITY 5 Hats, no problem. But due to the slow plot at times, the mediocre secondary characters, and the lack of page-turning mystery, I'm going to say 4 Hats: still an awesome read and recommendation but not without a couple of flaws. 

Review: Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

From Goodreads

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares. 

Wow. That's the best the way to sum up Nevermore by Kentucky author Kelly Creagh. I met Kelly at a multi-author signing in Louisville. At the time, I'd seen Nevermore, but never really paid attention to it. It wasn't until I saw the Raven on the shelf and the Edgar Allan Poe trinkets scattered around the table that I realized the title was actually associated with Poe himself. It was at this point, my heart did a little dance.

Okay, the story starts out with an interesting (and very well written) prologue. I know, I know. God forbid there's a prologue! It's necessary, I assure you. In the case of this book, it encouraged me to read it! Creagh introduces us to Poe here in such a cool way. She brings in some little known facts about his (very real) untimely death and uses them as the basis of the story.

The first chapter soon starts off with the cheerleader Isobel Lanley being paired up for a writing project with goth-boy Varen Nethers ... much to jock-guy, quarterback boyfriend's dismay. I'll admit it. I had more than a moment's pause about the cheerleader/goth/jock thing. I don't like cheerleader/goth/jock stories, because more often than not, they end up being so cliche. However, cliche can also be defined by the quiet nerdy girl who likes to read or the misunderstood nobody boy who comes from the wrong side of the tracks. It's all a matter of plot and perspective, how unique the STORY is, and how WELL is it WRITTEN.

There's a lot of awesomeness to cover in this one, so I'm going to categorize here.

Characters:

Varen. Varen is dark and brooding at first. I wondered if Miss Author-pants could pull it off without succumbing to the Count Gothica experience we've all had in YA books. Let's face it, tortured and brooding is tough to pull off these days. Creagh nailed it! While Varen has a very dark side to him, he has good reason, and Creagh defines it beautifully without going over the top. Her ability to paint the perfect picture of him and his emotion is enviable. I think he comes across exactly how she intended, and not as a woe-is-me emo kid.

Isobel. Isobel has her ups and downs in the story. On occasion, the moment kind of fell flat for me with her or an opportunity was missed for Isobel to shine. There were times when I really didn't like her in fact. Isobel let other people manipulate her because she wouldn't just put her foot down and stand up for the right thing. She overreacted in some situations and underacted in others. All in all, she was relatively wishy-washy in the beginning, but Varen's strong character and Creagh's beautiful writing kept me in the story. As the story progressed though, Isobel gained quite a bit of momentum, growing into the type of heroine I like to see: scared yet strong; flawed yet willing. I'm eager to see how her character develops in the sequel.

Secondary characters. Isobel's friends are a group of douche-canoes. I realize that's somewhat reminiscent of high school, but it took a while for Isobel to stand up to them, and they weren't even worth her time. When she did though, it felt real. Honestly, I could've done without the others. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.


* I LOVED Gwen. I have to say she's one of the best YA characters I've ever read. Her personality is fabulous, and Creagh captured it in the most realistic way.
* Pinfeathers is quite interesting. I haven't quite figured him out yet. I really liked the way Creagh incorporated "those guys" into the story. I don't want to give anything away, but they're cool in a twisted kind of way.
* Reynolds, though not in the story as much as I would've liked, is superb. He's blurred somewhere between the good guy and bad guy. He has a job to do. While he doesn't want to hurt anyone, he looks out for the overall best interest.

Plot/Pacing/Writing:

I won't get into everything because I hate spoilers, and this one is hard not to spoil. I will say this, the plot was unique and riveting. The pace was perfect in an unusual way. There were times I was ready for it to move on, almost to skimming, but then it picked back up. Different readers have different points of "too fast/too slow". This one's on the fence, but paced just right for me!

The writing. Oh my gosh, the writing. I fell in love with the prologue and it continued throughout the entire book! Excellent writing is something insanely hard to come by. Most readers don't mind, but as a writer too, it's epically important to me. The descriptive writing is incredible, but not overdone. The sensory aspect is perfectly done, making me feel like I was there, which is tough considering the third person POV. I didn't feel like I was missing any emotion, any experience like I sometimes do with third person. Overall, the writing was impeccable.

Final Thoughts:

I've never read anything like Nevermore. It's based loosely on Poe's life and works. I'm a HUGE Poe fan, so I found this just freaking amazing! The story is definitely dark and very creepy, but it's eerily charming. I don't see it being an across-the-board success from a plot/genre point of view, but the gorgeous writing, a handful of fabulous characters, and the epic uniqueness guarantee a great read! I absolutely recommend to ages 15 and up.