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.
Review
They say 'don't judge a book by it's cover' but in this case you totally should because the cover is yummy and wonderful and the book matches up completely to the joy of the cover. I was sent the blurb and cover for this book in an email and fell in love with the art work and requested a copy straight away. I couldn't wait to read it and really hoped it didn't become one of those books that sounded and looked amazing but the pages in between disappointed. Thankfully it wasn't a let down and I loved it.
The basic story is very much a Romeo and Juliet tale of the future but with extra conspiracy and corruption thrown in for good measure. Aria wakes up without any memory of her fiancee whom she's meant to be in love with even though he's the son of the rival family in the city and she can't help but wonder why her memory of her secret romance and now engagement doesn't come back to her at all. It just doesn't add up but she can't find a reason why her family would lie to her. Just some clues left about in her life that make her question what is happening. Time is running out for her before her wedding to Thomas.
Then enters Hunter, part of the Depths and the dark poor levels of the now ruined New York city. He is a Mystic, one of the magical members of society that is enforced to be "drained" of their powers that then supplies the city. There is a battle of wills and power happening in the city with the up coming election and Aria is more involved than she could have imagined.
I found myself falling into Aria's head straight away and embraced all the twists and turns that were presented to me. Aria is a fighter and even when faced with problems she can't even understand because the lack of her memories she doesn't give up completely because she trusts her gut and her emotions more than facts. It was a romance that touched my heart and you really felt the struggle Aria was having with her own mind and memories as she tries to piece together her life and comes to realise some disturbing facts about those closest to her. A truly absorbing read for fans of Noughts and Crosses.
Rating: 8.5/10
Published by Corgi, an imprint from Random House Children's Books, and is available here and book shops October 9th
No comments:
Post a Comment