Vicki
Written on May 24, 2014
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.
- ISBN10 0552567647
- ISBN13 9780552567640
- Publish Date 11 October 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Penguin Random House Children's UK
- Imprint Corgi Childrens
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 416
- Language English
Reviews
ladygrey
Written on Jan 19, 2014
I had a hard time getting into the story in the beginning. There's a lot of world building early on and a heroine who has lost her memory so the first 50 pages is a whole lot of telling. Without any intrigue.
The problem with that is, it's set up as something of a mystery. The heroine has lost her memory and there's all these odd things happening but everything is incredibly obvious within the first 5 pages. So, there's really no investment in a story unfolding when I already know what's going on - I'm just waiting for it to hurry up and reveal the obvious.
And in the midst of that the heroine is not that interesting or strong. She's actually kind of lame. Even though she's lost her memories she just accepts everything her family tells her. "I feel nothing for this guy but my parents tell me I love him so I must be wrong." Never mind that what she's lost is her defiance of her parents and that she harbors a completely different world view than them. So, accepting what they say over her own instincts is completely out of character. And she doesn't even ask the right questions. It's all, "We had this huge secret affair, why don't I feel anything." When the real logical question is, "We had this huge secret affair and he still has all his memories. Why doesn't he act like he feels anything?"
There's a lot of descriptions of what everyone's wearing (all the guys where shirts that are tight and show off their muscles or suits. and all the girls always wear skirts or dresses) and what everyone's eating in surprising detail.
Eventually the obvious comes to light (shocking!) and then the story actually starts to turn into something. I mean, a lot of action something and then it's over. But Aria gets stronger as a heroine and more interesting. And Hunter and Turk are both pretty good characters throughout.
There are other decent characters and some not entirely surprising twists. I can't decide if I like the world enough to see where it goes in the next story. Hopefully the next book won't be so blatantly Romeo & Juliet (though admittedly so). And the whole concepts of mystics was interesting and integrated into their world well. I'm just not sure if that's enough to carry into the sequel...
ETA: and the answer to that question is no. I just read the synopsis for the next book and I will never understand how authors think ripping apart the hero and heroine in the second book is a good idea. Ever. You destroy the only reason I enjoy yours books and that sounds like a good plan? No.
Kelly
Written on Oct 14, 2013
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2013/10/mystic-city-by-theo-lawrence.html
Mystic City has by far, the most incredible prologue that I've come across, I was instantly submerged into the storyline and couldn't put it down. The plot follows the story of Aria, who is a likable character and although she has been brought up as a political princess in one of the most powerful families in Manhattan, she's street smart and won't fall into the perfect public life that she's forced to endure. More dystopian with a fantasy twist, it's engaging and the forbidden romance that emerges with Hunter isn't part of the typical young adult love triangle, that becomes clear as the storyline progresses. Mystic city has all the components of an awesome dystopian with a fantasy flare, an oppressive ruler, disgruntled citizens and two groups that would rather Manhattan go down in flames, than to submit.
I loved it! Toxic Heart, book two in the Mystic City series can't come soon enough.
Terri M. LeBlanc
Written on Jul 21, 2013
What I loved most about the book was the vivid descriptions of Manhattan. It was very easy to imagine the city above the city.
I obtained an ARC of Mystic City while traveling in Washington at the book store on Bainbridge Island.
Amber
Written on Dec 5, 2012
On the whole, I was pleasantly surprised by Mystic City. I had heard that it was pretty average before going into it, and I put it off for two months before finally picking it up. I want to slap myself, because Mystic City was AWESOME. I couldn't believe how much I ended up enjoying it!
Full review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2012/12/mystic-city-by-theo-lawrence.html
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Sep 22, 2012
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
Ashley
Written on Aug 27, 2012
I have to admit, Mystic City started out a little tough for me. I was always interested in the story, but I had a hard time grasping the setting. The story takes place in a futuristic Manhattan, and there are a lot of new technologies and architecture that were tough for me to comprehend. I think I just had a hard time seeing them clearly in my mind. But once I got invested in the story, I loved it. The last third of the book in particular was really engaging!
Most of Mystic City is about Aria trying to regain her memory and piece together the parts of her lost life. Honestly, the "big mystery" and gaps in Aria's memory became obvious pretty quickly, although Aria didn't figure them out until the very end of the book. I guess that lack of surprise made the book a little less climactic, but it was still an enjoyable read! I wasn't bored while I was reading, even though the outcome was obvious.
There are a lot of interesting parts of this book. It's about so many different things: love, loss, rebellion, corruption, politics, family, betrayal, and conspiracy.. all wrapped up in one book! Crazy! Normally I'm not a huge fan of political stuff, but I was fascinated by it in Mystic City. I suppose it was interesting because we read it from the point of view of a girl who's caught up in it and torn between two sides.
As I started writing this review, I realized that there were a lot of things in Mystic City that either weren't explained very well, or weren't explained at all. For example, there was a long period of time where I wasn't sure where the book was taking place.. or 'when' it was taking place. Was this meant to be a pure fantasy story? I mean it's said to take place "in the Aeries," which is made up. And we have these magical people called "mystics." But then suddenly we learn that the book takes place in Manhattan, and it talks a lot about global warming and such. But then where did the mystics come from? I just wasn't sure if this book was supposed to be pure fantasy or actually take place in our world—but in the future—with some fantasy elements. As the story went on, I think I managed to piece it all together, so here's my best guess:
Mystic City takes place in Manhattan in the future. I'm not sure how far in the future.. maybe 50-100 years? We have endured some serious global warming and much of Manhattan had to be rebuilt (into "the Aeries"). Mystics have been around since.. forever. In history, they were labeled as witches, burned at the stake, and so on. For much of history they remained in hiding and kept low profiles. But at some point, they completely came out of 'hiding.' They used their powers to help advance humanity, and played a huge role in building the Aeries. But eventually they were targeted and labeled as dangerous terrorists who just want to overthrow the government and take over. That led to mystics being separated from everyone else and required to "register," which included having their powers drained twice a year.
I'm honestly not completely sure how accurate that all is, since a lot of the information is given at random times throughout the book, so I kind of had to piece it together.
There is sort of a love triangle in this book, but don't fear, it's not painful! In fact, it's actually pretty fun to read about. In some ways it was similar to False Memory. Aria is stuck between the guy she thinks she's supposed to be with, and the guy she's actually passionately in love with. It's not a love triangle with a girl struggling between two guys she likes. It's a love triangle with a girl struggling between family/duty, and her own desires.
Mystic City was an intriguing story that told a terrifying tale of corruption and betrayal. How do you really know you can trust someone? The book is very enjoyable, but the one downfall is really the world-building. It was a fascinating world and there was a lot to it, but I think the explanations were a little confusing and scattered. It was hard to keep some things straight. Or maybe it was just me being terrible at absorbing information while I was reading, who knows. :P
Theo Lawrence set a fabulous stage for the second book and I'm early anticipating it! I'm sure there's a lot of insane political stuff to come! A war is brewing between the mystics and the non-mystics, and Aria is trapped in the middle with ties to both sides.