Review: Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards

Phoenix (Black City, #2) by Elizabeth Richards
Publisher: Putnam
Publication date: June 4th, 2013
Number of pages: 368 pgs
Format: Hardcover
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

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.

In July this year I had the pleasure of discovering this fantastic series. I picked up Black City by random while I was in Sydney after my cruise and adored it. I wasn't sure how Phoenix was going to top that, but I couldn't wait to read it and discover what exactly happens after the end of BC.

I absolutely love the way Elizabeth Richards narrates this story with the multiple POV with Ash and Natalie. It works and makes sense in the scope of the story. While they may be together they have different stories going on in between one another, so to understand what the other is going though it's natural to get inside their heads individually.

From the moment I began this book I knew it was going to be amazing, possibly even more so than the prior one, and I was absolutely correct. Phoenix takes everything Black City had and added so much more to it. More action, romance, angst, tension, issues and problems for everyone to deal with.
The story was riveting from start to finish, I had to know more and more. What was going to happen next? What was in store for Ash and Natalie?  Both characters have changed so much since Black City as they should given the things they were dealt and went through thus far.
Their relationship has gone from strength to strength, but not without some problems. Things aren't always rosey for these two love birds. They have relationship problems, communication problems and make stupid mistakes, that if they would communicate more they wouldn't have gone through the things they did.
But I guess it's all about the journey they have to go through that will make them stronger in the end, and I believe that was the purpose.
I wouldn't really say it was a triangle forming, because there is no doubt that Ash and Natalie love one another and nobody else, but sometimes, things get confused and make someone thinks something else. Or things happen that push them to other people, but I was glad that it was not as horrible as the blurb makes it out to be.

There was more action and rebellion type things in Phoenix. You also got to see more of the world, Elizabeth has built and understand why and how things are the way they are. There are different  species out there that gets talked about.  This is a book where the stakes get raised to a high extent and pushes the boundaries to a point where there is no going back.
This book gives us everything that makes a rebellion against Puritan Rose worthwhile, and understandable. It makes you hate him and his followers even more so.

I loved the romance between Ash and Natalie in this book. Black City was more about setting them up, with added complications, but Phoenix was more about what they would do for one another. Their love moved me. It was beautiful, hot, sweet and sincere. While they are bonded, that doesn't make their relationship get boring. No, they have obstacles in their past (namely a boy named Elijah), but not for one minute did they stop loving each other.  There was scenes that were angsty and I just wanted to force them together, there was scene when I wanted to tear up. These two are meant to be, and not because they have to be, but rather because they want to be together ---  that every fibre in their being just yearns for one another, plain and simple.

I look forward to the conclusion to this series. HURRY UP. I want it now. I can't wait to see how everything is concluded. Not only for Ash and Natalie, but also for the rebellion and Puritan Rose. This was an exciting read. Surpasses it's predecessor.

5 Stars

Review: Pawn by Aimee Carter

Pawn (The Blackcoat Rebellion, #1) by Aimee Carter
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Publication date: November 26th, 2013
Number of pages: 346 Pgs
Format: E-Arc
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.

If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.

There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed …and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.

This book has been a long time coming. I remember when it was titled Masked and couldn't wait to see what it was going to be about, with its release, minus a title change, it was an enjoyable read.

I'm a fan of Aimee's from her Goddess Test series and couldn't wait to see what she came up with next. While this may not be the most original idea, since I've read more than one book about a character having masquerading as someone else, but the world the MC was situated in was surely not an easy one.

Kitty Doe has a choice to make, and if she chooses correctly, she'll have a better life and transformed into somebody else. It might not have been the ideal situation, but given the current situation she was in, I don't think she had many choices, at least good ones.
Kitty lives in a world where you are ranked, and being who she is, she doesn't have the best rank in the world, after being caught, she gets a choice offered to her.  Accept their conditions and have a better life, or basically, die.  The morning after accepting, Kitty finds her own body and appearances gone, and in place is the face of the daughter of the Prime Minister, who was recently killed.
She will have to learn Lila's responsibilities, and all the while discovering secrets even she had no idea was kept hidden. What was Lila involved in, and just what is she meant to accomplish?

There is one person she leaves behind, her boyfriend. She feels he deserves better, but  he won't be able to recognize her for who she looks like now after her own appearance, the one he is so used to seeing, gone.
I do wish we had gotten more information about how the world came to be this way. How were they ranked, why was she a certain number, while others were not? Was there some kind of test, or were they just born this way from their parents?  Some explanations would have been nice, but there was just bits of information laid down.. hopefully within the next book we'll get more into the world-building.

I felt this book was more setting up, and that the next book would be more action packed, maybe more romance? since that was also lacking here as well.  I do have some high hopes given it is Aimee, but while this book was not the most fantastic book in the world, it surely had potential, and we'll see what happens next.

Thanks to Harlequin Australia for sending me this copy in exchange for an honest review! :D

3.5 Stars

Review: Promised (Birthmarked, #3) by Caragh O'Brien

Promised (Birthmarked, #3) by Caragh O'Brien
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publication date: October 2nd, 2012
Number of pages: 295pgs
Format: Hardcover
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

After defying the ruthless Enclave, surviving the wasteland and over-throwing the tyranical leader of Sylum, Gaia Stone now faces her greatest challenge yet - to lead the people of Sylum back to the Enclave and persuade the Protectorat to grant them refuge. With Leon finally by her side, Gaia is hopeful that she can settle her people and finally start the life with him that she's always wanted. But in Gaia's absence, the Enclave has become even more ruthless, picking girls from outside the wall to serve in an experimental baby factory. Babies with the right genes are now a priceless commodity with the potential to reshape life inside the wall and redifine humanity. And when it becomes clear that her genes are exactly what the Enclave needs, Gaia is appalled by the lengths they will go to...

This was a fantastic end to this series. It contained just about everything you could have wanted in a finale. It upped the stakes, gave you twists and surprises. Not everything was chocolates and roses, but it was enough of an ending to keep you satisfied in the conclusion of the story.

This book was more about Gaia becoming the leader she was always meant to be. She is probably the character who has had the most development throughout the trilogy. That's not to say Leon hasn't, but Gaia has gone from this one young midwife, to someone who goes up against the Enclave and to fight for what is right. She is willing to risk her life to change how things should be from how they are.

The relationship between Leon and Gaia continues to amaze me, and in Promised is no exception. They have had their ups and downs. Their good and bad times, but when it comes down to it, they will always have each other's backs and come back to one another. I love how they kept evolving, and this amazing ending shows no other than the best ending they could have.  I do wish something would have been resolved, or that there was hope regarding a certain something, but all in all, they had a fairytale ending pretty much. Well, if you take away the death, the pain and heartbreak.

In this conclusive ending, Gaia and her friends battle the Enclave when they arrive back in town after spending many months away from the place she grew up in.  Upon her return, she discovers that there are so many things that aren't as they used to be.  People have changed and done the unexpected. Circumstances and events have changed people. But the rules have not changed. There is no change in the wall since the last she left, if anything it's even worse than before.
If Gaia and her fellow friends want to change things, they will have to get deep into the Enclave and force change.

This ending proves to be everything needed and more. Everything the last two books have been leading up to. The rise of the rebellion. One thing is for certain... Gaia will do anything to ensure her friends safety.

This is an action-packed adventure of character building, a beautiful plot and relationships to adore. It deals with love, loss, heartbreak and the chance to make a change.

If you haven't picked up this series yet, then go ahead and do so now.  It's one not to be missed.

Rating: 4.5 /5