REVIEW: Mystic City by Theo Lawrence

*REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Mystic City (Mystic City #1)
by Theo Lawrence

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.  


I finished this book 10 minutes ago, and I'm lost for words. This book was just... breathtaking. Trying to form words to write this review is extremely difficult, because I feel that everything I write doesn't do this book justice, but I'm going to have to try.

Aria was an extraordinary character. Right from the start I felt sorry for her, because I knew she'd been through something horrendous. Losing her memory, and forgetting her love is just awful. But Aria is stronger that she seems and throughout the book, I started to grow a strong bond with her. I was desperate to find out how Aria had lost her memories, and how important the memories she lost were (very important, as it turns out). She was such and influential character, and she is definitely my favourite female character ever now. 

Right from the start, I thought there was something off about Thomas. He was too distant, and the fact that her parents were trying to keep her away from him as much as possible made me suspicious. Thomas seemed like a kind, gentle character, and I was hoping that he would grow on me (since he and Aria were engaged and in love) and that I would get to see a lot more of Thomas. Which, unfortunately, I did.

And then we have Hunter. Oh, Hunter. From the very first scene we meet him (when we don't know his name), I knew he was going to be important in this story. He and Aria had a connection from the very first chapter. I found myself wanting to see a lot more of Hunter. Hunter was a beautiful character. He had such an amazing personality, and he had a power about him that just made him even more attractive. He was sweet, kind and just one of the most beautiful people ever (and not just physically). Hunter is also a rebel Mystic who hasn't had his powers drained.

This book captured my attention from the second I started reading this book. I was sucked in by the fascinating story line of Aria's memory loss, and I was desperate to know more about it. And then, there were more stories that started to capture my attention, like the mysterious boy on the balcony, the world that Aria lives in and, of course, the Mystics. The Mystics were the most intriguing part of this story line. I wanted to know more about their powers, and why they were being forced into hiding/forced to have their powers removed. 

The government in this world was disgusting. They drain Mystics powers because they deem the Mystics to be 'dangerous'. They are tortured and almost killed through the draining process, and it was awful to read about it. The  government of this world are despicable human beings and I would have loved to have seen them all burn to the ground. What they were doing was awful and I found myself rooting for Violet Brooks (the mystic election candidate). I wanted Mystics to have the same rights as humans. Plus, lets face it, the Mystics are so much cooler and have awesome powers.

This book was full of action from the very start. There was a massive fight scene at the end that involved the Mystics, and it was just spectacular. Being able to see and imagine some of the powers that were being used was amazing. This book was beautifully written and I fell in love with it.

There were parts of the book that I found predictable, but they didn't spoil the book for me at all. I got excited when I thought I'd uncovered something in the story, and then when I found out I was right, I was jumping for joy most of the time.

The ending of this book was sensational, but it was also kind of sad. I really felt for Hunter at the end, but I'm glad everything worked out the way it was supposed to and everyone knows the truth now.

Writing this review without spoiling it was extremely difficult, I'd got to write something and then realise that a tiny part of it would spoil a hell of a lot of the book, so I hope I've managed to not spoil the story for you, but make you really want to read it.
I gave this book:

I haven't read a book as extraordinary as this in quite some time. I seriously recommend that you read this book if you haven't already. It's only February, but I know that this book will be on my top books of 2013 list. Maybe the second book Renegade Heart will be as well, since it comes out in July!! I'm so excited for the next book! I hope it'll be just as amazing as this one.