The Lost City

Ulla, a troll, was abandoned as a baby. She was raised by an older couple who were childless. When she was able to take care of herself, she set off on her own. For a while, she was a live in nanny. Then she decided to search for information on her parents.
She left for Merellä taking Hannah, one of the children she nannied, with her. The plan was to drop Hannah off at her grandparents on the road trip. Hannah had different ideas and snuck back into the car.
Ulla and Hannah arrived in Merellä and ran into trouble when someone fell on their Jeep. They later found out that a girl, Eliana, was the one who fell on their Jeep but she had some memory issues. Hannah befriended her. Ulla continued working and searching for information on her parents.
Ulla also continues to help Eliana try to figure out who she is and to keep Hannah safe.

I love Amanda Hocking. Her Trille series is an awesome read. This book is a sister series to it. Both are set in a fictitious world that intertwines with our world. By Ms. Hockings description of this world, it is easy to see it being just around the corner.
I am in love with this new series. I love the way the characters are portrayed. I am intrigued about how that message got written into Ulla’s book when it never leaves her side. Her love interest with Pan is so endearing. Ulla’s sense of family, when she didn’t really have one, makes her a strong, gentle character.
I cannot wait for the next book to come out. I certainly hope it will be soon.

The Lost City is the first book in The Omte Origins series and is a spin-off of Amanda Hocking’s Trylle trilogy. I absolutely love Amanda Hocking and was thrilled to get an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

The heart of this book is a coming-of-age story with Ulla quest to find out her true identity. Ulla is a richly developed character who begins the story lacking direction and insecure. Abandoned and left in the care of an elderly couple when she was a baby, Ulla does not know where she belongs and does not feel like she fits in.

Ulla is determined to find out who her parents are and goes on an internship to Mimirin in the hopes of uncovering information about her heritage. There she meets a variety of trolls, from Pan, the handsome guy she gets to work with to Eliana, the amnesiac with unbelievable powers. She learns a lot from her internship and just as much from her new relationships. As the story progresses, Ulla grows and develops into a more secure and confident person.

I love the world that Hocking created. The setting is described so intricately and vividly that it is impossible not to be drawn in. The book provides a ton of information about the troll tribes and their histories, and it can be overwhelming at times. However, it is necessary in order for Ulla to figure out where she came from. Providing this plethora of information gives depth to the setting and characters.

I also like how Hocking integrates some familiar characters into the story. After finishing the original trilogy, I wanted to find out what happened to some of the characters, and this book tells you! Of course, this doesn’t take away from the fabulously unique and new characters in the story. Ulla, Pan, and Eliana are fascinating new additions to the Trylle world.

Hocking’s writing style is engrossing with a perfect balance of character-development, world-building, and plot-progression. The way in which Hocking writes – her use of dialogue, imagery, her intricate attention to detail – makes for an immersive read.

Fans of Amanda Hocking will enjoy the story. (If you’re not an Amanda Hocking fan, check out the Trylle series. It’s fan-tabulous!) Readers who enjoy young adult fantasies with dynamic characters and masterful world-building will also love this piece.

Well, Hocking has done it again! Merella is a beautifully depicted world, unlike anything I've ever read in other fantasy novels. There are so many unique and fascinating parts to Merella, making it an absolutely interesting place to discover as a reader. Of the amazing aspects were the citadel, the archives, and the Midsommer festival. The Ogonen could make for a story in and of themselves! Pan's description of the caste system in Merella as a chess game was beautifully done and allowed the reader to infer more is to come later that could upset not only Merella, but the entire Trollian society. Hocking's worlds are absolute specialty and I love following her journeys.

Ulla is quite a dynamic character that seems to learn more about herself as the story unfolds. At first, she appears to be an insecure, timid young woman who sets out to find her family. She initially describes herself with unlikable traits, but later, she begins to evolve and find strength and security with her body. She was left abandoned as a baby and later becomes a caretaker for Finn and Mia for their five children. Her relationships are how she secures a special posting at Merella, which is an endeavor motivated by learning who she is and where she came from. The story takes hold when she arrives at Merella, with a young stowaway in hand, meeting new people like Dagney (an edgy roommate with her own story to tell) and Pan (quiet, hardworking, with his own backstory to explore). By the end of the novel, Ulla is a strong and courageous person, which I imagine will be a similar description to her mother in the next book.

Some heartfelt feedback not to be included in a public review. The first 15% of the novel was a tough read. Although the intent of the beginning was to situate the story within the original Switched novel, it read a bit choppy and cluttered. I'm wondering if the connection needs to be so intentional? Finn and Mia are not as integral to Ulla's story. However, they may become important later so the review was necessary. Only time will tell. Some of the story line dragged a bit, mostly with Ulla explaining what she was doing throughout the day. The story picked up whenever there was interaction with Eliana, Hanna, Dagney, Pan, and the mysterious man. At first I could not connect with Ulla with some of her identity descriptions, but later this shifted, which I assume was the intent for her.


I provided my editing notes if you'd like them:
Notebook Export
The Lost City
Amanda Hocking
10: Inhemsk
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directly me as he spoke, instead only peering at me from the corner of
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Missing "at"
11: Archival
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“I’ll let you get guys get to work,
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Extra "get"
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Thanks for you showing me around.”
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Remove "you"
13: Fables
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Over the course the next three centuries
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Missing “of”
16: Runaway
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“Dagny probably means that I was spent the whole day slaving over the pies,”
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Remove “was”
19: Avanor
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appraising for me a moment,
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Appraising me
21: Visitors
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“Where you are fromare there lots of dangerous big cats and kuguars around?”
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From and are combined
23: Bazaar
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unvailable.”
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Unavailable
25: Chambers
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continuing
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Continue
26: Chess
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“Then hit me:
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It hit me
29: Trust
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“If I don’t even who it is, how can you possibly find them?”
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Missing “know”
30: Tabled
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her.“Oh,
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Need space
34: Symbolic
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or twice fairy tales,”
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“In fairy tales” ?
35: Shadow
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“If I was trouble,
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“It” was trouble?
38: Disarray
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“But I’m not going worry about
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“Going to worry”
39: Ransack
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but I’d be deal
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Remove “be”
44: You Again
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pouring of the Mimirin
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“Out of”
48: Night Terrors
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to yhe loft
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“The”
49: Celebration
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on the hand,
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“On the other hand”
57: Myths
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anything earlier would blasphemous.
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“Would be”
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His picked
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“He”

This book was received as an ARC from St. Martin's Press - Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I absolutely loved this book and the concept behind it. The book really reminded me of similarities to the plot of Frozen in when Anna meets Kristoff in search for Elsa but instead Ulla meets Pan in search for her parents. Being abandoned no matter the circumstance is a tough pill to swallow and you will stop at anything to know where you came from. Then Pan and Ulla meet Elliana that has a special gift and hires Ulla and Pan to help her escape and if they want to accomplish everything, they must ban together and leave the city. Ulla throughout the journey concentrates on her job and will stop at nothing to find out more about her parents and answer the universal question, who is Ulla and where did she come from? I could not get enough of this book and I know our teen book club will be talking about it a lot as well.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I love love love the Tyrelle series and this book fits in perfectly. It was so great to go back into this world one more time. Amanda Hocking delivers a rapid-paced, suspenseful, gripping, well-written and perfectly executed fantasy. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time that I ended up staying awake until 2am to finish it!

I can’t highly recommend this book enough!