ARC Review: Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Title: Black City (Black City Chronicles #1)
Author: Elizabeth Richards
Pages: 384 pages
Format acquired: Paperback (ARC)
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons BYR
Publication date: November 13th 2012
Source: Borrowed from Dannielle (Book Whales)
Pre-order the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

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.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Review:

Black City is not your average vampire novel. It brims with darkness and beauty that will drown you in its magnificence. Elizabeth Richards creates a novel that will surpass every expectation you have and shock you to your very core. The rawness and its dark beauty will possess every crevice of your mind until all you can think is: Black City.

While I'm not a fan of books with insta-love, I totally adored the one in Black City. Ash and Natalie's romance isn't your average vampire-falls-for-the-innocent-human kind of thing, nope. Their romance is sweet, forbidden and perfect. I admit that Ash was a total douche in the first few parts of the book, but that totally makes sense when you're a twin-blood with no heartbeat. The beauty of their love is really astounding because you'll really see the characters evolve and become even better people.

I love Elizabeth Richard's version of the vampire myth. They aren't just your average blood-sucking leeches, these vampires or "Darklings", as they're called, are beings with two hearts and produce a drug-like venom called "Haze". The idea of these Darklings having two hearts really thrilled me. It was such a great and interesting idea! The fact that the Darkling's second heart can only be activated when they find their "Blood Mate" made me go awwww a lot. The concept really intrigued me and it easily set this book apart from other vampire novels.

I really liked how the story and the characters evolved in this book. You really start to see the characters grow and change near the middle of the book, and that's always a good thing. There were characters in this book that I loved and characters that I just loved to hate.

Black City is a book that will sate all your vampiric needs without it being annoying or dragging. It has the right amount of romance and action that will really set you at the edge of your seat. Elizabeth Richards describes this book with great detail and she will literally just transport you to her world and trust me, you won't ever want to leave. Black City is the perfect blend of expert writing, beautiful imagery and entertaining characters, you will love this book. Elizabeth Richards is definitely an author to watch out for.

Rating: