Book Review: Phoenix

Phoenix

Warning!: This review has  spoilers in it.

"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.

This enthralling sequel to Black City is just as absorbing, delicious and steamy as the first book, leaving readers hungry for the series conclusion."

Author: Elizabeth Richards
Year of Release: 2013
Genre: Dystopia & Fantasy/Paranormal
Sequel(s): A "yet-to-be-titled" sequel

Prequel(s): Black City

What motivated you to read this book?: I really liked Black City, so I was ready to read the sequel!
Book Version: Hardback
Where did you get the book?: Library
Favorite Character: Ash Fisher
Least Favorite Character: Purian Rose & Sebastion Eden
Thoughts on Cover: It's beautiful!! Very approriate for the title & story!!
Recommended to: Dystopian & Fantasy/Paranormal Lovers
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Review: What I love about this series is that Elizabeth Richards has been able to combine my two favorite genres: Dystopian & Fantasy/Paranormal. It's so cool that she was able to create a country ruled by a horrible dictator who is very gruesome and violent (dystopia) that also has many paranormal creatures in it: darklings, lupines, bastets, etc. It's interesting that in most paranormal books, the creatures hide their identities from humans, but in this world, humans already know of them. It's fascinating.

At first, while reading this book, I kept getting confused & frustrated because I had forgotten so much that had happened in the first book, Black City. After reading a few chapters though, everything slowly came back to me, and I started to enjoy the book. It was very good. It contained everything that I want in a book: romance, action, death, and plot twists. It definitely kept me reading. With that said, though, it was not quite as good as Black City, but it by far was not an awful sequel. In fact, it was quite the opposite, I was very pleased with it.

Of course, there were certain parts I did not like. I didn't like how Natalie kept a huge secret from Ash just to prevent him from getting upset, when he ended up assuming other things & getting upset anyways. If I were Natalie, I would have told him right away. That's probably my biggest complaint. I'm glad though that things worked out between the two of them in the end.

Phoenix ended with a huge cliffhanger. It leads you hanging with many questions about what's going on. I want the answers now! I definitely can't wait to read the last book to see what ends up happening. I look forward to finding out what it will be titled, what the cover will look like, and most importantly, when it will be released!!