Book: The Lost City (The Omte Origins #1)
Author: Amanda Hocking
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: Out Now
Rating: [usr 5]
Hello Lovelies!
Today is my stop on The Lost City book tour. I am so happy I signed up for this tour, because this book is about trolls. Not the ugly, warty green folk that live under bridges, but a whole society of trolls where they look just like humans, but bigger.
Here’s a brief synopsis (from Goodreads).
Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hocking returns to the magical world of the Trylle with The Lost City, the first book in the final Trylle arc.
Nestled along the bluffs of the forested coast lays the secret kingdom of the Omte—a realm filled with wonder…and as many secrets.
Ulla Tulin was left abandoned in an isolated Kanin city as a baby, taken in by strangers and raised hidden away like many of the trolls of mixed blood. Even knowing this truth, she’s never stopped wondering about her family.
When Ulla is offered an internship working alongside the handsome Pan Soriano at the Mimirin, a prestigious institution, she jumps at the chance to use this opportunity to hopefully find her parents. All she wants is to focus on her job and the search for her parents, but all of her attempts to find them are blocked when she learns her mother may be connected to the Omte royal family.
With little progress made, Ulla and Pan soon find themselves wrapped up in helping Eliana, an amnestic girl with abilities unlike any they have ever seen before—a girl who seems to be running from something. To figure out who she is they must leave the city, and possibly, along the way, they may learn more about Ulla’s parents.
Review
I loved this book from start to finish. It was a five star read for me. The main reason why has a lot to do with the fact that I have never read a book about a whole society of trolls before. It was so different. In this universe, there are literally two worlds, the troll world and the human world, existing alongside each other.
The human world does not know the troll world exists. The trolls live on the outskirts of humanity, but they are very human in so many ways. They are vegan and can cook up some seriously amazing food. They are scholarly and have places like the Mimirin dedicated to the study of trolls and their history. Cars, computers and cell phones are things they use, just like humans. And don’t think they won’t partake in a bit of Riverdale every now and again.
When this strange creature called Eliana drops into Ulla’s car, who knew where this story would take them? There’s the part where Ulla feels she must protect this girl, but she also needs to find the truth of who she is herself. What’s strange is that this strange girl says she is from a city that the troll world calls a myth. But is it really a myth, or is it deemed so because no one has ever returned from this place? At the end, you will still be asking that question, because it leaves you with a mighty cliffhanger to prepare you for the actual adventure.
This book is a bit like S. A. Hunt’s Burn the Dark series (aka Malus Domestica, a series I am absolutely obsessed with) in that the first book lays down the background to the story and the characters in it. The next book is where the adventure begins.
Considering my obsession with Burn the Dark, if I am comparing The Lost City to S. A. Hunt’s series, that should tell you how much I really liked The Lost City. Let me just put it to you this way, Tor Books is aware of my obsession and actually sends me the advance copy of the next installment in the Malus Domestica series. Book Two hasn’t even been released onto the market yet. I already have Book Three. Like I’m that kind of crazy obsessed.
Don’t expect any jam packed thrills in this first book. She saves that for the last bit of the book as a teaser to prepare you for what will happen in the next one.
I had so many questions at the end. For instance, following Eliana seems to be her only answer. But is she following her to save her, or to find herself? If Ulla is from this mythical place, what kind of troll does that make her? Heck, what kind of troll is Eliana? That’s what I really want to know. So many questions left unanswered. That’s what hooks you.
Like I said, I really loved this book, because I’ve never read a book about a whole troll society before. It caught me from the very beginning, because I kept thinking how interesting it was that this book was about a troll society and it wasn’t about a bunch of big green, ugly, scary monsters. It was about a whole society of beings told from a very unique perspective.
The next book can’t come fast enough.
You don’t need to read any of Amanda Hocking’s earlier books to jump into this book. This is book #1 in this series. No previous knowledge is necessary. BUT this book will make you want to pick up the other books. I know I will be ordering all of them.
You can pick up a copy of The Lost City at any of these Perfectionist Wannabe preferred retailers.
