Words on Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards (Black City Trilogy #2)

Rose's Law is up to vote, and Rose has given Ash a lethal choice: He can vote in the law's favor and keep Natalie safe, or he can vote against the law and watch her die. Ash can't break the news to Nat, even if they are engaged. Ash doesn't want to see Natalie injured, but he can't turn his back on millions of Darklings and votes no. He and Natalie must flee the city, wanted by Rose.

Tensions between rebel groups such as Humans for Unity are rising, and they reach a breaking point after the elections. Rose is brutaly beating down rebel forces in cities, and fights are breaking out. People are dying, and the fighting needs to be brought to a close very, very soon.

Natalie and Ash meet Elijah, the Bastet boy Nat freed from her mother's labs, come into the book and offers to help the rebellion. He knows where a deadly new weapon, called the Ora, may be, and he wants the rebels' help to find ans secure it. He, Natalie, and Ash set off acrosst the country, trying to find the Ora before Rose can find them.

Elijah is a bit too interested in Nat by Ash's standards, and it's clear that Elijah has feelings for his girlfriend. The problem is, Ash doesn't know if Natalie returns the Bastet's feelings. This leads to some very tense conversations and confrontations in their little group.

A couple things I'd like to point out: First, Natalie and Ash have only known each other for a month or two, and they're already engaged? Come on, guys. Things don't go that fast, even in Twilight. Second, a lot of the problems within the little group of Nat, Elijah, and Ash wouldn't be problems at all if everyone would just sit down and talk it out. If your girlfriend is avoiding you, what are you going to think? Why, she must be cheating on you, of course! That's the only logical explanation. It was painful to read.

I'd like to point out that the books are starting to feel like a Hunger Games spinoff. A bad Hunger Games spinoff. The rebellion, a president named Rose, different parts of the country rebeling and being crushed with impressive force - see what I'm getting at? I'm not enjoyjng it at all, let me tell you.

I saw no character development. Zip. Zero. Nada. The fact that 95% of the book was filler scenes of everyone on the run isn't helping things. It got boring after a while, and the characters were unbearably annoying. Ash, Natalie, Elijah - I don't care who the author decides to ship, or who the fans ship, or really how this all turns out. Having to be inside Nat and Ash's heads for their POVs is driving me insane. I kind of want one of them to get shot already so they'll shut the heck up. The plot lagged and the explosions/firefights hardly qualify as action. I wanted to like the series, I really did. 2.6/5

#rebellion #romance #monsters