Member Reviews

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.

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*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.

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I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As much as the orphan sent to save the world trope is a bit over done.. This was a great read.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

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As far as a series start, Hocking definitely gave her readers something to clamour for more of. Though I have never entered into the world of the Trylle until now, I was captivated. I am looking forward to what comes next.

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**3.5 Stars**

FYI, this is a spinoff series from the original Trylle series. While I read the first book in that series forever ago, I remember pretty much nothing about it so basically I read this with no background and had no issue reading this new series. I think this works well as a new standalone series, but I am sure it wouldn't hurt to read the first series to fill in world building background.

Ulla wants nothing more but to find out about her mysterious birth parents and jumps at the opportunity to intern at the prestigious lineage database. Little did she know that the answers she longs for are much harder to find than she expected, and she finds herself with a stowaway as well an amnesiac girl who is a mystery herself.

I really loved how the side characters were just as detailed as well as important to the storyline as the main character Ulla, and I loved the group dynamic. We have Hannah the stowaway 12 year old full of spunk and sass, Pan the helpful attractive guy who seems to love a mystery, Illiana who has no memories but lots of enthusiasm and crazy abilities, and (my favorite) Dagne, the curmudgeonly roommate who was full of sarcasm and droll friendliness. Together they made for a ragtag team of researchers and mystery solvers that compliment each other perfectly.

While the main character (as well as most of the characters) are older than 18, the content was super PG and the writing style was fast paced and super approachable so I can see why this would be classified as YA. I found the book light and fun, something I was able to speed through in a day and I look forward to reading the rest of the series as pure escapism reading.

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This was a great book and im happy I gave it a chance. Wonderful, engaging characters and nice worldbuilding. I was impressed. I look forward to reading more from this author.

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This was a fun addition to Amanda Hocking's troll-verse! It's been a long time since I read the Trylle and Kanin series, but it was easy to fall back into this world and this story, following a new type of troll. This book was quick and fun to read, though in the end I don't think it's very memorable. It was a really fun time, though!

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This book was such a fun read. I really enjoyed the characters and can’t wait to read more by this author.

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Oh, Holy Trolls! I was so thrilled to be granted access to the new trilogy in the TRYLLE world. This trilogy is part of a set of trilogies that occur in the troll world that Hocking created.

I read the Trylle novels SO LONG AGO, but that did not matter. This book was so well done that it was easy to fall back into the Troll mythos and submerge myself in their lives.

The Lost City follows Ulla, a mixed-species troll girl who has very little information about her past. Abandoned by a baby, she was taken in and raised by innkeepers until she was old enough to go work as a nanny to a wealthy purebred family. She is well taken care of by the family, and given the opportunity to explore her heritage when she is admitted into an internship that gives her access to historical records that could help her find her parents and solve the mystery of her birth. There are several twists and turns along the way. Some are obvious - I mean, we know things are coming by the way the book is set up, while other things are thrown in and totally change the course of the book unexpectedly!

One of Ulla's nanny charges - Hanna - sneaks her way onto Ulla's trip and throws a wrench in her plans. This leads to an entire subplot that was enjoyable and so CUTE!

There is so much I love about The Omte Origins - the first being the REP IN THIS BOOK/TRILOGY. We have a fat MC, precocious kiddo, an ACE (asexual) side character, and a girl who can't remember who she is.

I cannot even explain how HAPPY I was that I was reading about a fat girl. BEING a fat girl this was incredibly relatable. I'm not one to get super hung up on the MC tropes - I typically enjoy the book for what it is - but this MC was detailed, nuanced, and all-around really well fleshed out. Sometimes I LOVED Ulla, sometimes I really disliked her. That was beautiful though because we don't all ALWAYS enjoy the people we love or are friends with. I definitely would have been friends with Ulla and Dagny. The friendships that develop in TLC are tentative - except for Eliana and Hanna, but they show solid foundations and I am eager to see how they deepen in The Morning Flower.

The action in the first novel is limited, as this really was an opener to the world so we get a lot of back stories, dialogue, and forward moving progress. There were lulls in the novel, but they did not last long and they really did provide information that was important and useful!

I am totally excited to pick up TMF now and continue Ulla's story!

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Having previously read Hocking's work, I was excited to see read The Lost City. However, I don't know if it's because I read the other works when I was younger but it wasn't as engrossing to read. While the writing flowed well, the entire story felt more monotonous compared to the Trylle series. It lacked the excitement needed to keep a reader engaged in the story and made it easy to end up skimming the book. From the characters to the story progression, it just felt lacking especially when compared to Hocking's earlier work. In the end, this story just wasn't for me.

eARC was kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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It took me a bit to read this book, but the world building was absolutely phenomenal. I’m so glad I got the chance to read this!

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The Lost City is the first book in The Omte Origins series, and I was drawn into the magical world of Trylle.

Ulla is a nineteen-year-old girl who has been abandoned by an Omte Warrior, and taken in by a family that manages an Inn.

I enjoyed this magical story, and liked the world building, and thought that Ulla was a well developed character.

*many thanks to Wednesday books and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

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This was a 3.5. This was hard to try to rate for me. I have been a fan of Amanda Hockings books since early 2011. When I saw that she was coming out with another Trilogy in the Trylle world. It felt like it was taking a while to get to the storyline. I am glad that we get to follow Ulla. Hopefully this book was a build up to the story line and that it will get more into it as the books continue. I will be continuing with the series.

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I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I was not sure what to think of Ulla as the story began. She lacked a direction but it did not stop her from being a multi-dimensional character. She was abandoned as a child and was raised by a couple who did not have children. Once she was old enough to take care of herself she heads out on her own. She was a live-in nanny for a short time than takes an internship to help her find information on her parents. She takes Hannah on of the children she a nanny for and the intent was to drop her off with her grandparents. We all know about the best intentions and plans nothing ever goes as planned. So will she find out about her parents? Will she be able to keep Hannah safe? You will have to read to find out.

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I can not wait for the other books in this trilogy. I have not read the other 2 series set in this world but I am going too. I really enjoyed her writing style. I am very picky with YA fantasy. Sometimes it’s way too over the top or just the same story over and over. This book was unique and I would definitely recommend!

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I liked the expansive world building. I thought the romance in it was cute. There could have been more action at the end though.

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This book looked and sounded like a high fantasy, but it’s actually an urban fantasy. That in and of itself isn’t necessarily bad, but I am pretty picky with my urban fantasy and had I realized that was what this was I would have passed on this.

Nothing much really happens in the story. Everything you need to know is basically in the synopsis, so there’s not much of a point in reading this unfortunately. Ulla spends the entire book trying to find information about her mother and learns little more than she did at the beginning.

Eliana was one of the most annoying characters I have ever come of across and I failed to see how her presence or storyline benefited the plot at all.

I just felt like I spent the entire book waiting for something interesting and of consequence to happen. It felt like the story took the entire book to even get started.

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This was a fun surprise. I haven’t thought about the Trylle world in along time and this is et in that world. You can absolutely read this with having read that series, it is in the same world but completely a standalone for all intents and purposes. This was an intriguing read from the start and once it got going I was officially hooked.

This book is a fantasy adventure with a hint of a potential romance. It is 100% right up a typical Amanda Hocking read and I loved getting to know a whole new cast of characters. It has been years since I read the Trylle books and I had no issue diving into this so it can totally be for a brand new reader with no issue.

A book full of intrigue and finding yourself. I loved that a big part of the story line is not elating what you are define who you are. The characters are fixed on where they come form, or better yet, WHO they are related to, but even that withstanding they spend a good amount fo the book truly becoming content with who they are as a person even while continue the search for answers.

I loved the mystery and I am looked. I want answers as to where the story is going and I cannot wait to dive into the next book.

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Although it took me a while to finish this was a fabulous book and I am excited to read more from the author!

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Amanda Hocking isn't one of my go-to YA authors but the premise of this book sounded interesting. The world building of the isolated city of Kanin and the trolls was interesting and definitely unique. But there are a lot of things missing. Urban fantasy isn't my favorite - but if you enjoy it you may enjoy this seires!

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