Mystic City by Theo Lawrence

Mystic City #1

Book Summary via Goodreads:

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud - and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths.

But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place.

Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection - and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city - including herself.

This book was so good. Action and mystery. Love and suspense. Magic and treachery. This book had all the workings for a fantastic read, and it was. The characters were great, the world building was really interesting, and the story itself was told in a fantastic way.

Aria was a really great protagonist. She was kind of different from any other in a dystopian that I have read. She wasn't strong, she didn't know how to fight, and she already had all the freedoms that people could want, coming from a wealthy family. Aria is such an unexpected heroine, her motives aren't for her own benefit, they are to correct the evil her family has placed on the city, and to help Hunters people have the same freedoms that she was born with.

Hunter, while I did love his character, is still kind of a mystery in a way. We figure out really quickly that they mean something to each other really quickly, but we don't know how much until about halfway through the book.

I loved how we start out this story knowing that something more is going on but being as clueless as Aria. I loved going on the journey to discovery with her, following the same clues and making my own theories about what is happening. This book was pretty action packed, but not so much so that it took away from any story development. 

I am really excited to read the rest of the series, I expect it to only get better from here.