The Fiction Conniption

If I were to sum up everything about this book, I would say that Black City was trying to do too much at once. Trying all at once to be a romance, a dystopian, a vampire novel, an insight into religion and politics and social classism. It just didn't come off that great. Which was really sucky, because I thought this story sounded really intriguing. I was a little confused at first by the whole social structure. Suddenly there were Darklings, and twin bloods, and Legions, and Purians, Sentries, and such things. There was just a lot of information at once, without a whole lot of history - and I definitely found myself mixing up some of the terms and classes at the start. I've said it before, but recently I've just really started feeling like books that utilize the supernatural romance option (true mates, alpha bonds, blood mates, etc.) just feel like a cop out. I've read it done well, and then I've read it done sloppy - and unfortunately, the relationship between Ash and Natalie just felt sloppy. And a little bit like a cop out. All of the drama they go through felt very trite and staged, and it just wasn't all that appealing to me at all. All in all, I just wasn't a fan. I didn't hate it, but, I wouldn't have minded missing out on this one.