The Heartless City

The Heartless City by Andrea Berthot

Have you ever wondered what world would be like if many people had Dr. Jeckyll's affliction? Even worse - if they couldn't control it. That's exactly what this story is about and trust me - you want to read it.

The story is told from Elliot's point of view. A boy, who wanted to wipe his ability to feel and instead he became a strong empath. He's trying to mute his ability with alcohol, but then he meets Iris. A girl who is different than all other women in town. She's not afraid.

The problem with Hydes is that they're unpredictable. If you got infected, you might change at any time and attack everyone around you reaching for their heart. Because the heart is what Hydes eat.

With women it's different - they can't be infected, they can only die. So why isn't Iris afraid?

OK, so there's instant love in this book. It bothers me too, but that's a minor issue in this case. The book reads so well you simply can't stop.

The overall mood of the book, descriptions of London, they feel perfect. You almost want to look around and make sure no Hyde wants to leap for your heart.

Obviously the story revolves around Elliot and Iris. Elliot's father is working for Lord Mayor and he's goal is to find the cure for the epidemy. Iris, on the other hand, is a waitress, whose mother was helping Dr. Jeckyll while he was working on his serum. They're both hiding from Lord Mayor and it seems destiny doesn't care about that. Iris has a great personality, she's strong, independent and smart. She has a plan and she wants to fulfill it.

It was nice to see that the support characters haven't stayed in shadows, that you could see they also have their own life, desires, secrets. They also can actually help solving the mystery. You can't just walk by these people, after reading the story you will remember them all, not just the main characters. All of the characters are well-developed and interesting.

The main villain - Lord Mayor was a typical dark, power craving tyrant, who wanted to rule over the whole London. He wouldn't hesitate to torture or kill someone who stood on his way. His own son was terrorized by him so much, he even left his loved ones in need.

The ending was exciting, filled with action and tension. Everyone gathered in one place, all of them having a role to play. Yes, it might've been predictable, but it was still well written. This book is really worth your time. Pick it up and read it!

Review was published on Goodreads and Amazon. I will go live on my blog on 2015-11-23 - link for that below.

update: blog post already published, review also posted in several G+ communities

I love this book, I did an all nighter to finish it
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The Heartless City (great title and cover) is one of the best tales of the story Jekyll & Hyde I have ever read.

The characters are relatable, the writing is fantastic, its filled with love, horror, drama, and betrayal. I feel sad when I read parts with Cam but I guess that means I feel like i could actually meet these characters. The only thing that I think could change is that they should have brought in Iris's dad ( who I can't reveal) into the book at the end. To sum it up: It starts in London with Henry Jekyll who was a brilliant doctor, a passionate idealist who aimed to free mankind of selfishness and vice. He’s also the man who carelessly created a race of monsters.
Once shared secretly among the good doctor’s inner circle, the Hyde drug was smuggled into mass-production - but in pill form, it corrupted its users at the genetic level, leaving them liable to transform without warning. A quarter of the population are now clandestine killers - ticking bombs that could detonate at any given moment.
Thirteen years after the quarantine boy named Elliot meets a girl called Iris who changes everything he knows. I am so happy I was given the chance to read this book, I cant wait to see if a second novel comes out! I highly recommend it.

In the late 1800s Dr Jekyll wanted to create a drug to eradicate evil from human nature. Instead, he created a serum that did the opposite. The serum stripped him of his conscience, sympathy, and compassion, it made him incredibly strong and handsome. Dr Jekyll kept his serum a secret and took it every weekend for years, ravaging the streets of London. Then he decided to share it with a group of trusted friends. One of those friends got arrogant and greedy. He tampered with the serum and made it into a tablet. He started manufacturing and selling the tablet all over London. It wasn't until after this that the side affects became apparent. The new tablets effects were much harsher. It didn't just strip the users conscience and make them stronger, it turned them into massive beasts that only wanted one thing, to kill. The tablet also changed the users genes forever. Anytime after they took it, they could turn into the beast anytime and against their will. After a horrible incident, back in the 1890s, between Dr Jekyll (while he had the serum in his system) and Virginia, she had taken off and moved back to America. In 1903, Virginia and her three year old daughter have managed to sneak back into the quarantined London. Virginia had studied under Dr Jekyll, she was the first to know about what he had done. Lady Cullum had begged Virginia to come back to London and search for a cure. Lady Cullum never begged for anything, and she was the closest thing Virginia had to family, so she had agreed to come back and search for a cure. Fast forward several years, a lot has changed. There is still no cure, London is nothing like it used to be. A group of teenagers have discovered some dark secrets. Now they are trying to save the city. Ok so this book was nothing like what I expected it to be. It was not creepy or scary. There was not much mention of the beasts except a random hey we can't go outside because there might be a beast out there. It was all about this group of teens who are trying to be themselves and not let the world tell them what they have to do. Iris is the main one who thinks something more is up and wants to try to fix London. She tries to convince her new friends, but no one really believes her, they help a little but are more concerned about themselves. They are trying to survive the evil within the walls. There was some mystery to the book, but nothing earth shattering. I had figured out most everything before it was revealed. It was a good story, but there were a lot of points throughout the story I just felt bored and wished it would kick up the pace and move on to something else.

First off, STUNNING cover. I absolutely fell in love with the cover before reading the description. It is truly a work of art. This is such a unique take on Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I actually enjoyed this novel thoroughly.

The prologue, which takes place in 1890, gave me so much background and a lot of details that I thought was absolutely helpful while reading this book. Simply outstanding writing and I'd definitely read more from Andrea Berthot!

Virginia is a strong woman. After being raped by a man she admired, seeing him work on a horrible drug, being shunned from her hometown in Atwood, Kansas and having a daughter by the man that raped her -- she still held her head high. Yes, she definitely had wounds, some open and many healing, but she pushed through the best she can which I admired about her. Even throughout the story I loved her hard-work to find a cure for the Hydes.

Lady Mary Cullum is a strong woman. In a time when woman were looked at as inferior she carried herself with such grace and royalty. I enjoyed her even through her death because everyone spoke so highly of her. Dr. Henry Jekyll seemed like a man that wanted to do good, but after his first taste of bad he became twisted and fell into the trap of evil.

Iris was the kickass heroine that everyone loves and adores in a story. She was headstrong, strong willed and determined to right the wrongs in London. I loved how brave she was. Even when she found out who her dad was she didn't freak out. Iris is such a sweet girl. I totally enjoyed her character.

Elliot was the guy that every one adores and hopes gets the girl. At first he seemed shy, but once he began to embrace his powers he was the perfect guy! I loved him when he felt ashamed and overwhelmed. I loved him when he opened up to Iris and connected with her. I hated how his father treated him. He definitely was a debby downer, but once he met Iris, his life changed for the better.

The romance between Iris and Elliot was absolute perfection! They both were different since they had "abilities" and they naturally melded so well together. They helped one another learn new things about their abilities and they just were too damn cute! I totally hope they get married down the line.

Cambrian seemed to be a quiet kid at first, but once his secret was revealed I was able to understand him better. He felt ashamed of who he was because of who he liked and because his father was downright rude, dismissive and abusive he wouldn't allow himself to truly live. I felt bad for him throughout the story, but he finally stood up for what he loved and gave it to his dad. I loved that ending!

Philomena, even though only fifteen, was a spitfire character! She was outspoken and had her own mind. She knew what she wanted out of her life and wasn't going to allow society to make her into anything but what she dreamed.

Lord Mayor Harlan Branch is seriously craziest man ever. All that he did just to stay in power was ridiculous. All that he did to his son was pure evil. He was the most aggravating character ever! I can't believe how far he took things, but I'm so happy with how things ended for him. He deserved and definitely by who gave it to him!

This was such a phenomenal read! I definitely hope to read more about Iris and Elliot soon because their world is just fascinating and they are stunning together.

Such a crazy intense emotional book!

A solid 4.5 stars.

This book grips you from the very begining. I would not call this a retelling of a classic, but it is a what if, taking place after Jekyll and Hyde ended. I love this kind of book if it is done well, and this one certainly was. Taking a story everyone knows and turning it on its head, looking at things from a new perspective, breathes life into tale that some people find dated, old, or uninteresting. I could see people reading this book, and then going to read or revisit the story it is developed from.

There are several things I liked about this story. First, there were several plots points I guessed before they were revealed in the book. But, because I guessed correctly some things, when the twists came I was truly suprised. The false sense of security really added to my enjoyment. I also loved that the lead male was more sensitive, and the female was more tough and physically powerful. Way to challenge gender roles, especially in a Victorian novel! Finally, I liked the two morals I found in the book, Emotions and Empathy are powerful and not something to be ashamed of or repressed, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.

All in all, excellent read

*I received this book through netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Urban meets History in this superb novel by Andrea Berthot...

Imagine Jekyll and Hyde today, Imagine a drug that could rid us of our vices... of our selfishness. Now imagine it all goes seriously wrong turning humans into Monsters (zombies who go for hearts instead of brains).

This was a great book that flowed well and kept you wanting to continue. The characters held their own and brought an up to date classic to the YA readers. If you love the Victorian era, but wished it was a bit more modernized, you would enjoy this story. I wouldn't say it's too steampunk, but I could see people who enjoy those stories getting pleasure from reading this book.

Great writing, interesting plot, good characterization. Very enjoyable read.