Review: Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Pages: 476

Challenge: None
Source: Own
Buy the books: B&N / Amazon 

My Rating:

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. -summary form goodreads.com

Maybe it was my love for The Mortal Instruments or maybe it was just my mood, but I was expecting a little more out of Clockwork Angel. Don't get me wrong, I still very much enjoyed it, but I was not feeling the whole, "OMG! BEST BOOK EVER" vibe I've been seeing around the blogger-sphere!

The plot was simply alright. I felt like the author started off right with her awesome world building and a kick ass back story. She even spaced out the action scenes long enough for me to take a sincere interest, but towards the middle I found myself skimming through… and that’s never a good sign. The ending and mysterious nature of the characters is what kept me flipping the pages.

Tessa in my opinion rocked! (I think I like her more than Clary- TMI). I’ll be honest and say that I had a very difficult time in accepting the love interest between Tessa and Will. I don’t know why but it just felt so forced and rushed. Also, what he says to Tessa at the end was just RUDE. Who does he think he is?!

Something that bugged me beyond belief was the similarities between Will and Jace (TMI). I knew that there would be similarities between the two characters since they‘re related…. but really?! They’re practically the same person! Brooding attitude towards life and how much they hate themselves… Come on!? I know it’s the same type of back story, but this is supposed to be a whole different series. In regards to teams, I think I’m leaning more towards Jem. Hopefully we get a little more of him in book 2.

Review: City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)

Title: City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry 
Pages: 541
Challenge: YA Series


My Rating: 

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight. As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost? -summary from goodreads.com

Wow…. Just wow. What can I say about COG that hasn’t already been said. This was such an intense story.... in a good and in a bad way.

In this last installment, we pick up right after the events in book 2. After making their forbidden journey into Idris, Clary and Luke meet up with the rest of the gang and some new characters. They're introduced to Sebastian, another Shadowhunter, and Cary meets Amatis, Luke's sister. Then continues the epic final battle versus Valentine, and let me tell ya, it was AWESOME! *slight spoiler* I felt all giddy inside knowing that the Downworlders and Shadowhunters were working together against Valentine.

It was nice to finally get Clary's moms point of view and find out all the hidden secrets and what really happened. I enjoyed reading about all the characters! You really grow to love them and their relationships. But let me warn you.... There were certain scenes that did make me cringe. I'm talking about Jace and Clary. Deep down, I knew that Clary and Jace weren’t related, but that didn’t make the kissing scenes easier to read. I felt so torn; I loved it when Jace gave in to his emotional side and went in search of Clary (especially since he spent the majority of the book being a complete jerk)…. But at the same time I was praying they wouldn’t kiss… You're cheering for the same people that gross you out when their together... does what make sense? I don’t know, it just felt so wrong to me.

With that being said, I still loved the story and the ending! What can I say, I'm a sucker for happy endings. Plus, the Simon and Jace humor charm from the past 2 books is still present and very strong.... even during the darker parts of the novel they were both hilarious! Overall, this is an awesome ending to what I thought was a trilogy. It turns our book 4 City of Fallen Angels released earlier this year and you can bet your bottoms I will be buying it this weekend :)

Review: City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)

Title: City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret McElderry
Pages: 453
Challenege: YA Series

My Rating:

A murderer is loose in New York City... and the victims are Downworlder children. Clary Fray and her fellow Shadowhunters have a strong suspicion that Valentine, Clary's father, may be behind the killings. But if he is the murderer, then what's his true motive? To make matters worse, the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, has been stolen, and the mysterious Inquisitor has arrived to investigate, with his eyes vigilantly targeted on Clary's brother, Jace. Clary will need to face some terrifying demons and even more terrifying family decisions. No one said that the life of a Shadowhunter would be easy. -summary from goodreads.com

Awesome, but not as good as the first. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great sequel, but sequels hardly ever live up to their predecessors. City of Ashes picks up right after book one. Clary’s mom continues to be in a coma, Jace is being a jerk and avoiding Clary, but I don’t blame him; he has so many things going on in his life. First he finds out he’s attracted to sister, secondly the Maxwell’s pretty much shun him out of their family, and lastly, his father is a crazy ex-shadowhunter who will stop at nothing to have him at his side.

After a couple of chapters I came to the realization that I was leaning a bit more towards “Team Simon”. You know when that happened? After the fey court scene; I felt so bad for Simon!... I was totally ok with the fact that Clary was honestly trying to move on; she was willing to give Simon a fair chance at her heart. I admired her for it; I knew how hard it was for her to accept her circumstance with Jace. We see Clary grow so much not only as a shadowhunter, but as a person as well. She truly is a worthy heroine, especially towards the end- the ship scene. Omg! I’ll say this- Clary kicked ass.

Overall, City of Ashes was a great continuation to TMI storyline. The only thing I’m not feeling is Jace/Clary sibling relationship? Am I the only one that feels a bit frustrated that we’re at the end of book 2 and still no info? I thought we were on to something when the inquisitor recognized one of Jace’s scars but then of course, she died. How convenient! I know, I’m a big baby, but I am seriously going to pick up City of Glass right after I’m done with this review. I need to know what happens… it’s not an option, it’s a must. 

 

Alex Pettyfer offered the role of Jace wayland? OMG! Please excuse me while I run out of my work office to scream my lungs out in ecstasy!

If you've read my review of book one of The Mortal Instruments, you'll know that I am completely in love with Jace Wayland! To be honest, when I heard they were making the books into movies, I was a bit hesitant... I didn't think anyone would be fit to play the role of Jace, but after reading this article, I think I might just "Midnight" the movie after all :)haha!

Taken from http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/01/alex_pettyfer_offered_another.html

Attention, out-of-touch parents! If you want to plan ahead on knowing your tween and teen daughters' movie crushes, start reading up on Alex Pettyfer. Not only is the British model turned actor about to appear in next month's DreamWorks/Touchstone adaptation of the James Frey and Jobie Hughes young-adult sci-fi novel I Am Number Four, but Vulture hears that the 20-year-old model-actor also has the offer to star in another YA-franchise coming to the big screen: Screen Gems’ adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series. In fact, insiders tell us that Screen Gems chief Clint Culpepper feels so strongly about casting Pettyfer in the supernatural love story that he only wants to green-light the film if he can land the actor. Negotiations are expected to begin late this week, and a formal announcement could come as early as next.
For the uninitiated (translation: old), Clare's series is about a female teen who falls in with a tribe of "Shadowhunters" who track down and kill demons loose on the streets of New York City. The first installment, City of Bones, quickly became a best seller when it was released in 2007, and it’s easy to see why: The books are basically Twilight with demons instead of vampires. Headstrong teen girl as main character? Check! Hot-guy love interest kept at bay by a Terrible Secret? Check! Best guy friend secretly pining in the wings? Check!

A breakdown of the character Pettyfer has been offered, the sarcastic Shadowhunter Jace Wayland, calls for a heavily inked-up teen with strange symbols all over his rippling, muscular body. Fortunately, Pettyfer already has seven tats, including a Celtic cross on his chest, Arabic script on the inside of his right arm, and Chinese logograms on his lower waist; it's casting Kismet! As for the heroine, Clary Fray, last month Mortal Instruments director Scott Charles Stewart (Priest) cast 21-year-old starlet Lily Collins (who was in Priest, as well as The Blind Side). Insiders familiar with the situation say that Screen Gems now wants to polish its script a bit, but plans to start shooting the film in March, provided a deal can be made with Pettyfer.

So what do you guys think? Will Alex Pettyfer pull it off? :) Let me know!

Review: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)

Title: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 485
Challenge: YA Serires Challenge

My Rating:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know.... -Summary from goodreads.com

This is a must read for urban fantasy and paranormal romance fans! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and was hopelessly sucked in. I had heard soooo many things about this book, both good and bad; but I’m super glad I picked it up and now have an opinion of my own... 3 words: I Loved It!

First let’s begin with the basics; in this story we follow Clary; 15 soon to be 16 years old, who has an extremely overprotective mom and she soon discovers that it’s for good reason. Clary’s different from other ordinary teenage girls, she see’s things other people can't see. When her mother is taken, Clary is thrust into the awesome kick ass world of shadowhunters, demons, vampires, and other creatures. Clary, along with some help from her best friend Simon, must quickly seek the truth to her heritage and past, if she is to have any hope in rescuing her mother as well as any hope for her own survival.

As a character, I really liked Clary; she is a take-charge person. She made a fine heroine because she was believable. Sometimes she was a bit of a weakling, she required protection, she craved comfort and attention, but those are the things that make a teenage girl real. At the end, all loose ends came together; Clary proved to us that she was brave, loyal and moral.

Simon and Jace are wonderful, with Jace being especially captivating. There are just so many things that make him stand out. Jace is insanely witty and sarcastic, courageous to the point of being fearless, strong, and unapologetic. His upbringing is his strength and his weakness. He's such a complex character, who’s been through so much and lost even more, so he shuts everyone out, refusing to let himself care. Well, that is until Clary comes along. Something about the two of them together… they really bring out the best and worst in each other.

The attraction between the Clary and Jace began innocently and it evolved to a natural point. I loved the scenes that Jace and Clary had together! I would literally find myself laughing out loud to the one-liners Jace would say. Gosh, that boy is great… I seriously found myself thinking (more than once), “Damn, he’s made of Ink and Paper!”

Overall, City of Bones is an action packed, character driven novel of friendship, love, loyalty, and betrayal and the consequences of knowing the truth. This fabulous book is filled with paranormal creatures, endearing characters, hot romance and unexpected twists that will leave you gasping for more! The only "bad" thing I can say about the book would be the shocking twist at the end. Its one of those endings that leaves you just hoping it’s all a trick because you don't believe the author could really be that cruel. Hopefully future books will resolve this issue, but I guess I’ll just have to wait and see :) but I’d still recommended this book to everyone!