⇒ PDF Black City Black City Chronicles Book 1 Elizabeth Richards Books

Black City Black City Chronicles Book 1 Elizabeth Richards Books

Download As PDF : Black City Black City Chronicles Book 1 Elizabeth Richards Books

Black City Black City Chronicles Book 1 Elizabeth Richards Books

I have had several people approach me and say that this was one of the best ARCs they had read all year. So this has been high on my radar.

Black City by Elizabeth Richards may seem like an amalgam of familiar territory. We have vampires. We have a dystopian society. We have lovers on two different sides of a war. Sure, we start with the expected, and then Richards completely turns everything on its head. All I will say is that we have alternating perspectives of Natalie, the daughter of an Emissary, who is trying to keep Darklings segregated from Black City, and Ash, a Darkling, who sells Haze, a drug, to keep his family fed. These two unlikely kids seem to have a Romeo and Juliet kind of romance and then everything goes out the window.

You must read this book. That's all I'm going to say. I don't want to give away any of the marvelous twists this book reveals, and I read the book from cover to cover in a day. The characters are terrific, and I love the dark setting of Black City. This isn't a perfect book, but it is an extremely compelling one. I know Richards is only going to get better and better with each installment.

Overall, one of the most intriguing and pulse pounding dystopian books I've read this year.


Tags : Amazon.com: Black City (Black City Chronicles, Book 1) (9780399159435): Elizabeth Richards: Books,Elizabeth Richards,Black City (Black City Chronicles, Book 1),G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers,0399159436,Fantasy - General,Romance - General,Drugs;Fiction.,Fantasy.,Race relations;Fiction.,Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Drugs,Fantasy,Fantasy & Magic,Fiction,Juvenile Fiction Love & Romance,Juvenile Fiction Paranormal,Love & Romance,Race relations,Science Fiction,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General

Black City Black City Chronicles Book 1 Elizabeth Richards Books Reviews

This is a tough review to write for a couple of reasons. 1) I had a very difficult time simply rating the book. 2) There were parts I liked, and parts I didn't. The parts that were good, were very good; and the parts that weren't so good...well, they weren't terrible, but they weren't great either. This novel has a unique concept, and an interesting way of looking at vampires. The world and mythology of Black City and the Darklings is amazing, and original. However, I didn't like many of the aspects of the society. To me, there were obvious parallels to past events in history, such as the Berlin Wall, segregation, and the use of crucifixion. I don't know...there was just something that bothered me about Ms. Richards' use of these ideas. I do understand though that the author was trying to say that Black City was, in essence, going backwards in society, but I kind of thought she could have gone about it in a different way.

The characters were interesting as well. This novel does have alternating POV's, which sort of worked and sort of didn't. It worked in the way that it was interesting to see the two different types of living (1 Darkling (Ash), and 1 of privilege (Natalie) ). The reader is able to understand the world that little bit more, and it is highly needed (I'll get to that later). However, the problem was that both POV's sounded almost exactly the same. Obviously, the characters are going to sound a bit similar because they are written by the same author, but this was just too similar for my taste. The minor characters were very interesting, but I also felt that there wasn't enough development with them in certain ways. Nevertheless, the characters were one of the redeeming qualities of this book.

The one thing I had a major problem with was the lack of background info. The reader is thrust into this dystopian world, and faced with terms that are completely unknown to them. As the book progresses, you learn bits and pieces here and there, and are able to construct what this new world is. However, I would have rather found out most of the background info in the beginning of the novel, so that I wouldn't have been confused at times.

The romance was another thing that bothered me. Again, as with so many novels, Ash and Natalie's romance is insta-love. I am so tired of this...I mean is it too much to ask for a relationship to develop at a normal pace? Conversely, Ash and Natalie's romance was well written, and their are certain scenes that shine, especially the climax of the story.

The novel is somewhat fast-paced, but there were times that the story dragged a bit. The climax of the story was the best part of the novel, and in a way, it is worth it to read this book just for that part. This is why I had a hard time rating and reviewing this. There are parts of this book that are brilliant, and Ms. Richards' writing ability is showcased in all its splendor. But then there are parts that showcase a first-time author.

While this isn't the next "big thing" in my opinion, it would still be worth picking up if you want something to read. Don't expect to be blown away, but Ms. Richards shows promise, and depending on what the next book is about, I might pick it up. However, I won't be heartbroken if I don't get an opportunity to read the next in the series.
Originally posted on my blog Tangled Up In Books

This series is very likely going to become a full blown book obsession of mine. It takes two of my most favorite subjects to read about and swirls them together. Dystopia and Vampires. My inner fangirl is screaming on the inside. If only you could hear her... I found this series during one of my late night Goodreads giveaway entry binges. (I prefer these to the NetGalley ones ha!) I saw Phoenix (Black City #2) listed in the Dystopian section and the cover was so pretty I just clicked on it and didn't even look it up and...then forgot all about it. So imagine my happy surprise a couple weeks ago when I check my email and it says I'm a winner! (We all knew that though...*cough* kidding...) So I look it up and realize it's a book two in a series and quickly find book one. That's when I see those two words to the right of the page of shelves it's listed on. I didn't hesitate to buy this that same day. I am so glad!

We're sucked into a dark segregated world. Quite literally, divided with walls to section off the Darkling ghettos from the humans. With the only Darklings allowed on the other side of the wall being basic slaves. Ash being an exception as he's only a half-blood and lives with his human father. Since there's now a law, post-war, excluding humans and Darklings from being together he's become a rarity and quite alone. Until he meets Natalie. A human. But not just any human. The Emissary's daughter. *Dun dun dunnnnn* Ha! There was no love at first sight but there was some loathing.

There was a lot of division within the community. The government, the religious nuts and a majority of the human world wanting to maintain the segregation and of course do even worse. There was also quite a good number of humans fighting for unity among the races.

Ash isn't the best person at first, I mean he even starts off with us giving a not so good first impression. But there was still something about him that I wasn't ready to write off that soon. And we quickly get to see a different side of him. Even realize that sometimes people do desperate, horrible things for family and/or people they love. I could go on and on about how amazing I think Ash is. Yeah he screws up. He's flawed. I stand by my amazing comment, especially at what he does over the last 30 pages that had me sniveling uncontrollably.

On the opposite side of the tracks....literally, we have Natalie who's mother is the Emissary of Black City. So she's kind of got a sort of sheltered outlook on their world. She always seemed sort of on the fence to me, though at times she did lean more towards one side than the other and it was quite back and forth for a bit there. I think her seeming to waver was due to the fact that her house was pretty divided before her father passed. You have a high official, very political mother and her father was very much an advocate for Darklings. But her transition, actually better yet the transition of both Natalie and Ash was perfect. They were both flawed. They both made mistakes. They were vulnerable. They were real. And their growth from start to finish was huge.

The supporting cast was really good too. You had those that you loved and brought more depth to those around them. And then there were others. The ones that had me so infuriated that there were times I wanted to rip my book in half and throw it across the room! I mean this all in a good way too, I love having something stir that kind of fire in me.

Overall, it was fascinating, it was heartbreaking, it was infuriating at times. It evoked all those emotions within me that a really good Dystopian always seems to do. It was truly unique and though some stuff I figured out pretty quickly there were still plenty of things that hit me out of nowhere and all I wanted to do is scream "NO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!" It definitely inspired my passionate reader side and became an instant favorite. I can't wait to open up Phoenix and dive back into this intense, intriguing, yet a little bit dark and dingy world and see where Ash and Natalie take me next.
I have had several people approach me and say that this was one of the best ARCs they had read all year. So this has been high on my radar.

Black City by Elizabeth Richards may seem like an amalgam of familiar territory. We have vampires. We have a dystopian society. We have lovers on two different sides of a war. Sure, we start with the expected, and then Richards completely turns everything on its head. All I will say is that we have alternating perspectives of Natalie, the daughter of an Emissary, who is trying to keep Darklings segregated from Black City, and Ash, a Darkling, who sells Haze, a drug, to keep his family fed. These two unlikely kids seem to have a Romeo and Juliet kind of romance and then everything goes out the window.

You must read this book. That's all I'm going to say. I don't want to give away any of the marvelous twists this book reveals, and I read the book from cover to cover in a day. The characters are terrific, and I love the dark setting of Black City. This isn't a perfect book, but it is an extremely compelling one. I know Richards is only going to get better and better with each installment.

Overall, one of the most intriguing and pulse pounding dystopian books I've read this year.