Review: Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards

Phoenix

Author: Elizabeth Richards
Series: Black City, Book Two
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries
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Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

My Review:

This book has literally rendered me speechless. Aside from one small hiccup, it was flawless. The characters are immediately thrown back into action and turmoil when the book starts. They are rallying support from the citizens to vote against Purian Rose’s law that will segregate all Darklings (vampire-like creatures), Lupines (essentially werewolves w/some slight variations), and Bastets (cat-like creatures) from the humans. They discover dark secrets along the way and must battle for their lives and the lives of innocent people.

I want to start with discussing how incredible Elizabeth Richards is at world building. There are many fantastical creatures that most people reading will have never heard of, but she does a wonderful job of describing them and reminding us throughout the book of what they are. She misses nothing including the tiny mannerisms that each different race has such as Bastets grooming themselves (remember cat-like creatures). She also describes the government and various cities very well. There are many cities in the United Sentry States and she points out which ones are most important to the government, and which ones are important to each species. It can get a little confusing, but Richards does a fantastic job of reminding us subtly throughout the book the importance of each city as we encounter them.

This is a very dark book filled with death, carnage and horror so if you’re not prepared for that, then proceed with caution. However, the brutality of it makes it feel realistic. In many dystopian novels, we see the main characters fighting against the government, but not many people die. The rebellion, Humans for Unity, is much smaller than the government, the Sentry, so casualties are to be expected. That’s not to say that it doesn’t still punch you in the face when it happens. You will cry during this book, I guarantee it.

Ash and Natalie are such a strong couple, nothing can touch them. Until something does. Here’s the little hiccup I was talking about. I got to about page 280 and suddenly it started to feel like the book was coming down with a case of second book syndrome. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, second book syndrome is when the main couple in a series pull apart from each other and it’s a raging mess of jealousy, confusion, anger, and hurt. This happens all too often in the YA genre. It happened in New Moon by Stephanie Meyer, Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and Breaking Point by Kristen Simmons. When I realized Phoenix was starting to head down that path I was crushed with disappointment. However, about 30 pages later, it turned around. While still annoying for those 30 pages, I can forgive this tiny problem because the rest of the book was so utterly amazing.

If you read Black City, you’ll remember the boy Natalie rescued from her mother’s lab. His name is Elijah and he plays a major role in this book. I loved his character, even though with his addition came the dreaded love triangle. I definitely still want Natalie with Ash, but Elijah is so sweet and caring, I couldn’t help but fall in love with him a little. 

I enjoyed Ash’s character in this book just as much as I did in the first one. He is an inspiration to his people and other species under persecution. Ash will put his life on the line for both the cause and the people he loves. He is riddled with guilt as he watches people around him die, making him relatable and drawing sympathy from the reader.

Natalie is an okay character for me. I don’t dislike her, but I’m also not too fond of her either. I felt myself rushing through her chapters in an attempt to get back into Ash’s head. The chapters written from his perspective were much more enjoyable to me.

The action in this book does not stop. Just when you think you have reached the climax of the story, Richards slams another plot twist into us leaving us tearing through the pages, jaws on the floor, as fast as we can. There were parts of this book where I had to force my eyes to stay on the sentence I was reading, rather than skip down to find out what was about to happen. I should probably re-read it actually. I’m sure I missed stuff.

Overall, I’m still in shock over this book. The characters, the action, the steamy romance, and the carnage all tied together make this book absolutely incredible. This book felt alive to me as I was reading. I could almost hear the explosions, smell the smoke, and see the blood on its pages. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves urban fantasy and heated romance. The third book, Wings, comes out sometime in 2014. Happy reading all!