Black City Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

 

Black City (Black City #1)
Author: Elizabeth Richards
Genre: YA Dystopian
Release Date: November 13, 2012
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons BYR

Description:

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.  

 

The atmosphere in the kitchen drops by a few degrees when Ash spots me sitting at the table. Surprise registers on his face.
He’s changed out of his school uniform and is now wearing dark trousers, leather work boots and a fitted black shirt that accentuates every inch of his powerful, muscular frame.
He looks at me, into me, like he can see every secret I have, every rush of my blood. My pulse races with fear and a much more disturbing, unexpected emotion: desire.
I turn away, horrified at my body’s reaction to him. It’s sick and irrational. He’s a Darkling, a predator that would gladly rip my throat out, given the slightest provocation. Then why are my cheeks burning so red?
I’m just hot from the fire, that’s all.
“Ash!” MJ beams.
“Hey, MJ. I swear you’ve shot up another inch since I last saw you,” Ash replies, ignoring the frosty look from Day.
“You’ll be almost as tall as me one day.”
MJ laughs at this. I doubt anyone will be as tall as Ash. He has to hunch over to stop his head from hitting the low ceiling as he walks over to Michael, passing him a crate of canned goods. It all seems so absurd. Ash is a Darkling, not to mention a Haze dealer. He’s a monster.
If that’s true, then why is Ash giving Day’s family all that food? my father’s gentle voice whispers inside my head. Is that the action of a monster?
A Darkling murdered you! I angrily silence him.
Great, now I’m having arguments with my own imagination. That’s how much Ash Fisher’s unsettling me.

 

Black City is the first book in a new young adult dystopian series. It follows main characters Ash Fisher, a Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, the Emissary's daughter. It's told from alternating points of view - going between Natalie and Ash. I thought that the book was a really interesting dystopian work - the setting and the history of the story were well described and detailed, which I thought was highly intriguing and I loved learning about everything. It's apparent almost right away that these two characters are going to fall in love - it's a sort of star-crossed lovers theme. They come from completely different worlds - are actually different races - and yet they are drawn together by something much larger than themselves. 

Along with the dystopian setting and the problems that it provides for the characters, there is also an exciting twist with the added conspiracy that Ash and Natalie uncover. This adds lots of twists and adventure into the story, which I felt added depth. I liked the characters in the book, especially Natalie and Ash. We get to see things from both of their perspectives, and I enjoyed seeing how each one reacted to various situations and to each other. The writing was superb and fast-paced, which made this a book I couldn't put down. There is a lot of tension and unanswered questions in the novel, which leaves great opening for future installments in the series. Overall, this is a fantastic first book to an imaginative and unique series that will be sure to leave readers demanding more.

 

 

Elizabeth Richards is a YA author who loves books about supernatural boys, kissing and blood.

Elizabeth recently signed a three-book deal with Putnam, Penguin. BLACK CITY, Book #1 of the BLACK CITY trilogy will be published in North America in November 2012. 

Links:

http://officialelizabethrichards.com

http://theredpenofdoom.wordpress.com

http://www.facebook.com/OfficialElizabethRichards

https://twitter.com/theredpenofdoom

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5188888.Elizabeth_Richards

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