Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards

Phoenix
(Black City, #2)
by Elizabeth Richards
Released |June 4th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile|
Edition |Physical ARC|
Source |Publisher|
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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

I have to say that I really enjoyed Phoenix and thought it was a pretty good sequel :) I was dying for the chance to get my hands on it and could not put the book down! But I do feel that some parts could have been better, but I'll get to that later. Phoenix was fast paced with a whole lot of action that has me dying to get my hands on the next installment!

Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Black City 
(Black City, #1) 
by Elizabeth Richards
Released |November 13th 2012 by G.P. Putnam's Sons BYR|
Edition |Ebook|
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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.

I've always had a soft spot for books that involve forbidden loves. Something about forbidden love always draws me in and Black City was no different for me. I really enjoyed the world of the darklings and twin-bloods that the author has created. It was kind of a spin on vampires, but twisted into a new concept. I found that I could not put this book down and was anxious to see what would happen next.