 | Title: Toxic Heart Author: Theo Lawrence Pages: 386 Published: April 8, 2014 Publisher: Corgi Childrens Review Copy: Yes Why did I want this book? I love the atmosphere of the first book and I was curious how the story will move on. |
A city in flames. A trust betrayed. A perfect love destroyed. Has Aria lost Hunter, her one true love? Ever since rebellion broke out in Mystic City, pitting the ruling elite against the magic-wielding mystics, Aria has barely seen her boyfriend. Not surprising, since Hunter is the leader of the mystic uprising, and he'll do whatever it takes to win freedom for his people—even if that means using Aria. But Aria is no one's pawn. She believes she can bring the two warring sides together, save the city, and win back the Hunter she fell in love with. Before she can play peacemaker, though, Aria will need to find the missing heart of a dead mystic. The heart gives untold powers to whoever possesses it, but finding it means seeking out a fierce enemy whose deepest desire is for Aria to be gone—forever.
Cover:
I like the cover image, even though I prefer the one on the first book. But still, doesn't that style reminds you of the Final Fantasy ps3 games? I always have that association.
Title:
The title fits, since Aria tries to get this artifact. And also because Hunter is acting like a jerk.
Writing style:
I really like the writing style. It took me only a couple of pages to get back into the plot. That's pretty fast, considering it was a while ago, that I read the first book. Aria tells this story, but I think it would have been good to write some chapters from Hunters point of view, because he unfortunately changes a lot during this book. I feel like I didn't know him anymore.
Characters:
It's hard to ignore that Aria was spoiled a great deal. Now, with her old life gone, she struggles to get along. She is way too naive to survive on her own. To her defense, it gets better towards the end. What I didn't like was, how she lets herself being played by Hunter. I wouldn't let myself be treated like that. There were a lot situations where I was thinking: "Dump that idiot and run off with Turk!!!" Of course, I'm not going to tell you, if she does that or not but you see, Hunter isn't the sweet boy he used to be anymore. He is embittered since his mom passed away and doesn't believe in ending this war in a peaceful way. He tries to win by brutal force and doesn't want to see, how many people have already died.
He also doesn't seem to care much about Aria anymore and she starts to spend a lot of her time with Hunter's best friend Turk. Something I really liked, because Turk is just great. I already loved him in the first book, but by now I adore him. OMG, this guy is so sweet! If it would be my decision, I would choose Turk, because Hunter really pissed me off...
Noteworthy:
We don't have a triangle love story in this book! Yay!
Stuck in my Head:
"For a Moment, I let myself forget how we haven't been connecting like we should, how neither of us has been completely honest, how the sheer number of questions I have about us and the rebels and the city and the war is enough to drive any sane person mad." (p. 156)What I didn't like:
Well ... I used to like Hunter but by now, I would ditch him in a second. A lot of his fans will be shocked about his behavior. Nevertheless, the book was great, although Aria was a bit too naive sometimes. She runs from one trap into another.
Quick and dirty:
A great book which is easy to fell in love with. It really surprised me how the story turned out to be, but not in a bad way. The book also managed not to become sappy, because of Turks involvement. And he definitely likes Aria. Ohhh, I think I have to add Turk to my book-boyfriend-list. Ok, seriously, everybody who likes the first book will probably enjoy this one too. Hunter-fans might be a bit disappointed, because he really turns out to be a jerk. It was also a bit predictable that Aria will run into every trap the enemy manages to set. This annoyed me a gray deal and I almost deducted one star but Turk made up for it. He's just great and reason enough to read this book!
Thank you to ...
... Random House UK, who gave me this review copy in exchange of a honest review!
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