Mystic City - Theo Lawrence

Synopsis: 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.  (From Goodreads)

This book should be held up as an incredible example of how to build a world in a book, a world layered over our own, one that is unique but familiar. Aria's version of Manhattan was so vivid, but I don't remember it ever being explained to me. I saw the waterways and the lights, the underground, and the grid. I could have easily walked off into the pages of the book and I feel it would all be there waiting for me. That is great world building and I'm still a little in awe of this particular view of the future.

Where the world building was incredible, the character development was lacking. It's not something I questioned while I was reading, but afterwardsit's hard to remember what made them special. There is a lot going on in this world, something that's almost bigger than thte individual. Aria is someone to grasp on to, but the people around her are kind of flat. I'm still a little fuzzy on Thomas and Aria's parents, what exactly made them tick and where they came from. One of Hunter's best friends seemed great, and I wanted to get to know him better, but he seems almost thrown in. Hunter gets little page time for how important of a character he is. However, I do think his time to shine will come in the second book.

Despite all this I was completely sucked into this story. I thought I saw everything that was coming, but man alive was I wrong. I also really loved the way Aria's memory loss was handled. Sometimes the memory loss thing can get a bit old, but it served a purpose larger than introducing the reader to the character's world. Also, the mix of dystopia and paranormal was perfect. The mystics and their history, their power were so fascinating. Actually, the way this society is set up is similar to Elizabeth Richard's Black City, where those with powers are registered, controlled and segregated.

I'm very excited for the next book in this series, Renegade Heart. This book was amazing, and I believe the second will have the power to demonstrate how a teenager can change the world. And that's always pretty inspiring - plus it makes for a great story.