Cover Image: The Lost City

The Lost City

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Due to St. Martins Press refusal to address the remarks made by their employee regarding Palestine, I will not be reviewing this book.

This in no way has anything to do with the author. But I refuse to support anything from SMP because of their refusal to address a major issue at hand.

Was this review helpful?

This book has been collecting dust on my NetGalley shelf for ages, and I've felt so guilty about it. But today, I learned of some of the violently racist things a Wednesday Books employee has been spouting and thought it was time to clean house on here.

I will be reviewing this book on Goodreads and Amazon at a later date since the author has absolutely nothing to do with this. But I will not be promoting any books from Wednesday Books, St. Martins Press, or other related Macmillan imprints.

Anyone who tolerates racism is not okay with me.

Was this review helpful?

When this book was announced, I about lost my mind. I have loved Amanda Hocking all the way back to the original Trylle. And getting to keep that world going and alive was one of my favorite things. I'm pretty sire I requested this one the day it went up on here haha.

This world is onw of the coolest and most exciting I've read. And I loved getting to see more of it. Especially from a perspective that seemed to be more on the outside and not necessarily the "good guys" in previous books in this universe.

Every time we're introduced deeper and deeper into this world. I'm always awestruck how much more I fall in love with it.
And she always writes the best characters. They are dynamic and complex. And I fall so hard for their tale and can't turn the pages fast enough

Was this review helpful?

I have liked other Hocking books in the past but I was not a big fan of this one. It felt completely flat for me. I will not be continuing the series.

Was this review helpful?

"The Lost City" by Amanda Hocking is the first book in "The Omte Origins" series, set in the same universe as her previous Trylle Trilogy. The book follows the story of Ulla Tulin, a young woman searching for answers about her identity and heritage.

Hocking's world-building is once again immersive, with rich descriptions of the world and its various races. The characters, including Ulla, are well-developed and relatable, and the plot is fast-paced and full of intrigue.

The book introduces new elements to the universe and expands upon the existing lore, making it a must-read for fans of Hocking's previous work. The resolution of the story sets up the rest of the series and leaves the reader eager for more.

Overall, "The Lost City" is a highly enjoyable young adult fantasy novel with engaging characters, an immersive world, and a mystery that keeps the reader hooked. It's a great start to "The Omte Origins" series and a must-read for fans of Hocking's previous work.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. Amanda Hocking is a good author and I will check out her other books. She has also written: The Kanin Chronicles, returns to the magical world of the Trylle Trilogy with The Lost City, the first novel in The Omte Origins—and the final story arc in her beloved series.

"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."

I enjoyed the writing style overall, and liked the characters. The world building was okay, but hope it will be better in the next book.

Was this review helpful?

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

Was this review helpful?

Many years ago I went through a pretty big Amanda Hocking phase. I read almost every single one of her books I could get my hands on, which at the time was the Trylle series and the My Blood Approves series, followed by Watersong. I still haven’t read her Hollows books. Then came the Kanin Chronicles. I devoured them all so quickly. While things in her stories could be deeper or could be more complex, they were all extremely compelling.

I liked the stories she crafted and wanted to know more about the characters. And it seemed like she was writing the books so quickly. When books would be released they were coming out like a month or two apart. Yes, granted, at first that was because they had been self-published to rampant success, and then when the books were picked up by a bigger publisher, they re-released them quickly. But even with the Kanin, and now with the Omte, the books were scheduled to be released fairly close together. It’s interesting to have an author who completes a trilogy and then the publishing begins. Of course, that makes the wait between series sometimes take a whole lot longer.

But anyway, I was curious to return to the world of the Trylle and the Kanin, so obviously I had to get my hands on these books, and thankfully I was able to get approval for the whole Omte trilogy via NetGalley (so yes, the reviews for the others are coming soon-ish).

The Lost City builds out this world even more, with callbacks to the previous trilogies as well as interesting new characters to follow. Plus we get to learn more about another one of the tribes, which is cool. I like seeing how the different cultures are similar and how they differ.

Also, honestly I really enjoyed that Ulla wasn’t a smaller character. I like that the main characters we focus on have been different with each series. One more of a diplomat, one more of a fighter, one more of a scholar/caregiver. It’s nice to see how they each fit into the world, while also being a bit unique.

This was a good first book to a trilogy, giving us a little bit of mystery, those buildups of friendship and romance and intrigue, and of course giving questions that won’t be answered until the trilogy continues.

Yes, I am writing this review like a year after reading the book, so it’s a bit of a vague review, but I can say that this book intrigued me, and made me want to jump into the next one as soon as I could.

Was this review helpful?

While I loved the original Tyrelle series this one just didn't do it for me. I was expecting more. maybe I was just nostalgic about the old series and misremembering but this was a letdown from that.

Was this review helpful?

Man, Amanda Hocking seriously has me in a death grip with her troll books. They are so utterly unique and interesting. Every time I think I know everything there is to know about the Trolls, their world, the characters, she surprises me all over again.

Was this review helpful?

Overall, I say that this is another successful start to a new series by Amanda Hocking. I am so excited to get to know Ulla more and continue on with her story in the sequel (which is thankfully out sooner rather than later). Hocking's writing took on a new style in this book, appearing to be more modern and fast-paced which aided the novels slow-moving plot. The plot may have been slower-paced but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it. I loved learning more about the troll people and their histories, making a world that I already loved richer. The characters, with the exception of Ulla, weren't as strong for me in this book but I hope that my attachment will grow in the second book. Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for providing me with a copy of this book!

Was this review helpful?

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

Was this review helpful?

I went into this, not really knowing what I was getting into, as I haven’t read any of the Trylle series books or other connected series. However, this was good! I was actually surprised to see it’s set in “our” world—though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it urban fantasy.

I do wish there had been a bit more backstory to the world building, which is something I assume I’d get if I read the other books, but overall this was quite enjoyable! It reminded me of some of the old school YA books I enjoyed reading in the late 2000s, however the representation is much more up to par with what we expect to see now.

I would have liked a bit more romance, but that is just personal preference. Because of that, I’d say this book is easily suitable for younger YA readers. I’m looking forward to reading more!

Was this review helpful?

This is a first book in a new urban fantasy YA series. This was entertaining but also just meh. I felt certain pieces of the story were predictable. I hadn't read the Trylle series, so maybe that's why I felt a disconnect.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately this one just wasn't for me. I felt a big disconnect between the characters and the writing for so long that by the time things picked up I just wasn't engaged in the story anymore. I do, however, think this series will fair much better with younger readers I'm just bit too far outside of the target audience.

Thank you for sending the e-ARC to give it a try though!

Was this review helpful?

I love this book and universe so much. It was everything I imagined and more.

The new characters are all fantastic and their interactions and relationships are perfect.

Was this review helpful?

Sorry, I really couldn’t get into this and ended up DNF’ing it very early on. It read as too meandering and fluffy for my taste. I have enjoyed the authors earlier work, but I think I probably have just grown out of it as I aged out of the primary target audience.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to St.Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for my copy of The Lost City in exchange for an honest review.

I have read other books by Amanda Hocking a while back and really enjoyed them. The Lost City is a good series starter that will draw readers in and make them want to find out what happens next. The characters were well thought out and interesting, and helped me become invested in the story.

I will definitely recommend this on to any of my friends that enjoy the YA Fantasy genre.

Was this review helpful?

Abandoned as an infant, Ulla, a troll, has always wanted to know where she came from...and who her parents are.

In this beautiful fantasy from Amanda's Bestselling world of Trylle, you're going to follow Ulla to Mimirin where she has secured an internship at Mimirin where she may be able to find out her ancestry.

What I like about this novel is that it is set in our current day, and Amanda writes like she's a mix of Holly Black and Dhonielle Clayton with humorous and sweeping honey filled descriptions.

Was this review helpful?

*Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the complimentary copy for my honest review*

I was expecting a lot more out of this books after really enjoying the series before this one. This book felt like it wasn't even written by the same author and that really disappointed me. There was no excitement to it and honestly didn't really feel like a fantasy to me, it was so mundane. All of the actions is in the last like 5% of the book so you feel like you wasted all your time reading most of it.

Was this review helpful?