Series Recap: Black City Trilogy by Elizabeth Richards

Reading Order: (sort by date)

Black City (Book 1, Published on November 13, 2012)
Phoenix (Book 2, Published on June 4, 2013)
Wings (Book 3, Published on June 12, 2014)

Click on the titles to check out the reviews.

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Synopsis recap:

Set in the future, The United Sentry States is a country intolerant to non-human residents. Natalie is the daughter of the Emissary, Ash is the rare half-Darkling with no heart-beat. They're on opposite sites and they're supposed to be enemies. But against all odds, they find themselves falling for each other and there's a connection between them. Meanwhile, a dark force is rising - a force that can destroy the non-humans and humans who help them. The Sentry and the non-human forces has to join together in order to defeat it and have a future that is not full of blood and war.

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Thoughts recap:

Black City is not the brightest and most powerful series openings I've ever read. It's got some issues. However, despite some problems with the book, I still like it because of the innocence and the romance between Ash and Natalie, which is by all means, sweet and real. They have really great chemistry between each other and they truly care for each other. It's one of the reasons why I decided to read the sequel
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And Phoenix is beyond awesome. For a book that's not even reaching 300 pages yet, it's certainly dark and twisted enough to be called crazy. There's a lot of character improvement in the book and I love that. It's more emotional than the other two books in the series. There are a lot of angst and ache, which is written really masterfully. Though I'm usually not a person with emotions pouring from every orifices, I admire the writing.

Wings is action-packed, and a truly impressive conclusion for a dystopian series. Besides the weirdness I feel when I read some certain scenes, which is not exactly a bad thing, but I don't know how to process it, it's mostly good. The triple point of view is fascinating and it gives us a insight of how the future world has come into being. Truly mesmerizing.

Overall rating: 8/10

Do I recommend this series: Yes

Listopia 2013

I can't believe it's the last day of 2013! I have quite a crazy year with all the awesome books. And I'm in high school right now (actually there's no such thing as high school in my city. But according to the U.S. educational system, I'm technically in high school). 2014 is going to be another crazy year for me as well, I believe.

And of course, the last day of 2013 comes with listopia! I really love doing that :)

Let's start with top ten best book covers, shall we?

• Allegiant by Veronica Roth
• Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Champion by Marie Lu
• Shards and Ashes by Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong and so on
• Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
• Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
• Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Unchosen by Michele Vail
• Boundless by Cynthia Hand
• Resist by Sarah Crossan

My favorite part: top ten best OTP:

P.S. This is not the same as OTP in my Top Ten YA Novels announcements. They're just my choice of OTP IN the book. This is an overall top ten choice.

• Daemon and Kat in Origin (Lux #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Allison and Zeke in The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa
• Tris and Four in Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth (Despite them pissing me off, I still love them)
• Raffe and Penryn in World After (Penryn & The End of Days #2) by Susan Ee
• Will and Jem and Tessa (yep, the three of them) in Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare
• Alex and Aiden in Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Ash and Natalie in Phoenix (Black City #2) by Elizabeth Richards
• Chaol and Celaena in Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas
• Clara and Tucker in Boundless (Unearthly #3) by Cynthia Hand
• Aria and Perry in Through The Ever Night (Under The Never Sky #2) by Veronica Rossi

Most anticipated novels in 2014 (Oh that's going to be a long list)

(Not in order)

1. City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare

2. Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3) by Tahereh Mafi

3. Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

4. Opposition (Lux #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

5. Wings (Black City #3) by Elizabeth Richards

6. Iniquity (The Premonition #5) by Amy A. Bartol (That is if it's actually going to be released in 2014)

7. Sweet Reckoning (The Sweet Trilogy #3) by Wendy Higgins

8. The Shadow Prince (Into The Dark #1) by Bree Despain

9. Evertrue (Everneath #3) by Brodi Ashton

10. The Course of True Love [And First Dates] (The Bane Chronicles Part 10) by Cassandra Clare

11. After The End (After The End #1) by Amy Plum

12. The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass

13. White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

14. Killer Frost (Mythos Academy #6) by Jennifer Estep

15. Of Neptune (The Syrena Legacy #3) by Anna Banks

16. Ruins (Partials #3) by Dan Wells

17. Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

18. The Fear Trials (The Murder Complex #0.5) by Lindsay Cummings

19. The Murder Complex (The Murder Complex #1) by Lindsay Cummings

20. The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #3) by Michelle Hodkin

21. Rebel (Reboot #2) by Amy Tintera

22. The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa

23. Untitled (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas

24. The Treatment (The Program #2) by Suzanne Young

25. Untitled (The Iron Fey: Call of The Forgotten #3) by Julie Kagawa

26. Catalyst (Insignia #3) by S.J. Kincaid

27. Secret (Elemental #4) by Brigid Kemmerer

28. Sacrifice (Elemental #5) by Brigid Kemmerer

29. The Perilous Sea (The Elemental Trilogy #2) by Sherry Thomas

30. Dangerous Creatures (Dangerous Creatures #1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

31. Captive (The Blackcoat Rebellion #2) by Aimee Carter

32. Chasing Stars (After Eden #2) by Helen Douglas

33. The Taking (The Taking #1) by Kimberly Derting

34. Uninvited (Uninvited #1) by Sophie Jordan

35. Erased (Altered #2) by Jennifer Rush

36. Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Have a nice 2014! 

Phoenix: Review

Synopsis:

Ash and Natalie are just starting to build a life together when things in the United Sentry States go from bad to worse. Ash and Natalie find themselves at the center of turmoil when dictator Purian Rose threatens Natalie’s life unless Ash votes in favor of Rose’s Law—a law that will send Darklings and other dissenters to a deadly concentration camp known as the Tenth.

When Ash can’t bring himself to trade Natalie’s life for those of millions of Darklings, her fate is sealed. Enter Elijah Theroux, the handsome Bastet boy Natalie once saved from her mother’s labs, where he’d been experimented on and tortured. It was his venom the Sentry used to create the lethal Golden Haze, the heart of the government conspiracy that led to Black City’s uprising and Ash’s rebirth as the Phoenix, the face of the rebellion. Elijah is back and Ash doesn’t like him; it’s clear he’s taken with Natalie, and Ash fears she may have feelings for him as well.

But Elijah also may have the answer to taking down Purian Rose for good—a powerful weapon called the Ora. Ash, Natalie and Elijah just have to escape Black City undetected to find it. But fleeing the city and finding this weapon (if it even exists) are easier said than done, and the quest could tear Ash and Natalie apart, even pushing them into the arms of others.

This enthralling sequel to Black City is just as absorbing, delicious and steamy as the first book, leaving readers hungry for the series conclusion.

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First off, I need to start with "I'm alive." Yeah, it's been a little while since I post a review but I just don't have time for this lately. Don't worry, though. I will be posting a lot more after... June 18.

Okay, I can't say I LOVE Black City because clearly the best I can say is I LIKE the first book. There are certain things that are admirable in Black City. But damn, this book has blown way past "admirable". It's addicting and a whole lot of intriguing. I was pretty surprised to fall into the story instantly but I'm really glad I did. This is one of those cases where the sequel is much better than the first one. 

The characters are fascinating to read. Every single one of them. Elizabeth Richards writing has improved a lot. Ash is resurrected as the Phoenix and he's just as sweet and loving and intense. Natalie has grown up a lot too. She's no longer the "Sentry Brat" as Ash once called her. She is able to make her own mature decisions and even though sometimes I didn't agree with her decisions, I completely understand her motives and surprisingly, I'm not annoyed by her anymore. Elijah is... well, the mysterious guy and the Bastet Natalie saved. I don't hate him since there's hardly anything to hate... for me (actually there's a lot to hate. But I just can't hold that against him). He's not boring. But he's not exactly the most interesting part of the story either. The villain in this book is Purian Rose and, oh you have no idea how evil he is until you read the book! He reminds me of Sarren from The Eternity Cure so much, probably because they're both ruthless, cold-blood and cunning bad guys.

The plot is also just as nice and awesome as the romance. First is the plot. Yep, you will love every single moment because there's nothing boring about it. In fact the twists are so finely made that they are sophisticated. Excitement is definitely present. Now comes to the romance part. Damn if that part didn't break my heart completely into shards and splinters. Yeah, there are so many things happen between Ash and Natalie and some are... not so nice to our hearts. I have to say that the romance part is kind of a classic but strangely it still breaks me wide open (because I don't take well with classics normally). Bittersweet moments are guaranteed and you will find out why. 

Now I totally need the third book. I can't wait!

Rating: 8.5/10

Gonna Read: June 2013

Yep, June's coming fast. I'm gonna read 4 new releases. But don't think that's all I'm gonna read in June, because after June 19, I will be free to read whatever I want and I'm planning to read Gone series by Michael Grant and Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin (and possibly more :D).

1. Phoenix (Black City #2) by Elizabeth Richards.

Weeks after his crucifixion and rebirth as Phoenix, Ash Fisher believes his troubles are far behind him. He and Natalie are engaged and life seems good. But his happiness is short-lived when he receives a threatening visit from Purian Rose, who gives Ash an ultimatum: vote in favor of Rose’s Law permanently relegating Darklings to the wrong side of the wall or Natalie will be killed.

The decision seems obvious to Ash; he must save Natalie. But when Ash learns about The Tenth, a new and deadly concentration camp where the Darklings would be sent, the choice doesn’t seem so simple. Unable to ignore his conscience, Ash votes against Rose’s Law, signing Natalie’s death warrant and putting a troubled nation back into the throes of bloody battle.

Expected Publication: June 4, 2013 (The date pisses me off a little because that's the first day of the whole 12-day-long of Annual Examination section)

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2. Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale (The Bane Chronicles Part 3) by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

Magnus Bane leverages his alliances with Downworlders and Shadowhunters on a venture to Victorian London. One of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles.

When immortal warlock Magnus Bane attends preliminary peace talks between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders in Victorian London, he is charmed by two very different people: the vampire Camille Belcourt and the young Shadowhunter, Edmund Herondale. Will winning hearts mean choosing sides?

This standalone e-only short story illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality populates the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series. This story in The Bane Chronicles, Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale, is written by Sarah Rees Brennan and Cassandra Clare.

Expected Publication: June 18, 2013 (Ahh, I want it earlier because I want more Herondales!)

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3. Defy The Dark (Anthology)

Defy the Dark, an all-new anthology edited by Saundra Mitchell. Coming Summer 2013 from HarperTeen!

It features 16 stories by critically-acclaimed and bestselling YA authors as they explore things that can only happen in the dark. Authors include Sarah Rees Brennan, Rachel Hawkins, Carrie Ryan, Aprilynne Pike, Malinda Lo, Courtney Summers, Beth Revis, Sarah Ockler, and more.

Contemporary, genre, these stories will explore every corner of our world- and so many others. What will be the final story that defies the dark? Who will the author be?

Expected Publication: June 18, 2013



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4. After Daybreak (Darkness Before Dawn Trilogy #3) by J. A. London

(Reminder: I found THREE different blurbs for this book. Take you pick)

First blurb (from Goodreads):

Dawn returns from L.A. with terrifying news: In his greed for power, the maniacal Day Walker Sin is raising an army and infecting his followers with the Thirst—a rabieslike disease that will turn them into mindless killers. To stop him, Dawn and Victor will have to convince humans and vampires to work together before it’s too late.

Second blurb (from Harperteen):

After Daybreak brings J. A. London's romantic dystopian Darkness Before Dawn series to a thrilling conclusion.

Dawn grew up behind a wall, terrified of the vampires outside who controlled the lives of humans and demanded their blood. But when she became a delegate for her city and met Victor, she realized that not all vampires were the same, that maybe one could be trusted.

Now Day Walker Sin is infecting his followers with a disease that turns them into mindless killers. Dawn and Victor will have to convince humans and vampires to band together to stop him, because alone they will all die.

After Daybreak is perfect for fans of the YA series Morganville Vampires and the Vampire Diaries. 

Third blurb (also from Harperteen):

Our last hope lies with our oldest enemies.

When we lost the war with the vampires, our world changed. The Old Family overlords trapped us in a few scattered cities and demanded our blood. Then Victor—the first vampire I've ever trusted, ever loved—came to power, and I hoped for peace between our kinds. Only now a new type of monster, Day Walkers, has emerged, and their maniacal leader is threatening to destroy us all, human and vampire alike.

The Old Family Council is stubborn and proud, unwilling to acknowledge the danger. But once I claim my birthright as the last living member of the Montgomery line, they will have to listen to me.

Neither fully human nor vampire, I am the bridge between both. Even if I'm not sure where I belong anymore, I know that the only way any of us will survive is if we stand together.

Expected Publication: June 25, 2013