Mystic City (edition 2013)

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.

I had a hard time categorizing this one. In many ways, it's a literal urban fantasy -- a story that takes place in future Manhattan, which is powered by mystical energy. At the same time, it doesn't have any fantasy elements aside from the presence of said mystical energy, which seems to be more of a psychic trait than the presence of magic.

It borrows from Romeo and Juliet but plays around with some of the more tired tropes pervading a lot of YA lit. The romance was more interesting than I expected. There are legitimate reasons for the forbidden nature of the relationship in question, and though I am usually annoyed by Forbidden Love Because of Reasons, it worked.

I did become very frustrated with the narrator for a while, for the same reason I was yelling at Eona in [b:Eon: Dragoneye Reborn|2986865|Eon Dragoneye Reborn (Eon, #1)|Alison Goodman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1299076175s/2986865.jpg|3017319]. The answers were at times painfully obvious to the reader, but the narrator couldn't wrap her head around them until pretty late in the game. This is spectacularly annoying, but I enjoyed the story in spite of it.

This book was fun. It has futuristic mob bosses, divided cities, threats of revolution, some social commentary, an oppressed underclass, and a heroine who had begun to come into herself by the middle of the novel. I read it in one sitting while knitting, which was a great way to spend a morning. ( )

My rating is 3.5. This book was entertaining and different that anything I've read, thus far in YA. It wasn't a page turner or one to rave about, as I had hoped, but a good solid read. I'm anticipating that the second in the series will focus more on Hunter. Enabling the reader to connect better with him.
( )

So, clearly, there's a lot going on. We've got a dystopian society. Within the society there's the warring between families and the rebellion of the underworld (read: magic) people. We've got an interesting take on magic (and fancy gadgets!). Some memory issues. Lies. Deception. Hot dudes. Girl fights. Etc. Etc. Like I said, a lot. Going. On.

Which isn't a bad thing - the plot moves at a quick pace and manages to mostly keep everything in order. There were a few twists and turns (esp. at the end) that probably weren't necessary, but it wasn't enough of a wrench to really throw me off the storyline.

Lawrence dives right into the intrigue - which totally works! - but because the world is kind of...presented as we go, some of the elements can be seen as convenient rather that a restraint of the new world.

I liked all the main characters. I thought some of the secondary characters (Thomas, specifically, and all of Aria's friends) were a bit thin and stereotypical. I also want my villains to be robust and I was left wanting in that category.

But, as I mentioned above, this is a very fast book. Action ALL OVER THE PLACE. And quite a thriller. I'm very, very interested to see what happens in the second book. I just hope a lot of these sort of sloppy elements are cleaned up a bit. ( )

More a 3.5. I enjoyed the storyline and the world, but the characters didn't grab me and some of the slang threw me out of the story (more my issue than the book's, I know). ( )