City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments, Book Four

Publisher: Walker

Format: Paperback

Published: 7^th April 2011

Number of Pages: 448

Book: Bought

Genre: Dark Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Blog: Cassandra Clare

Clary is back in New York and life is good: she’s training to be a Shadowhunter and is finally able to call Jace her boyfriend.  But nothing comes without a price.  When Jace inexplicably begins to pull away from her, Clary is forced to acknowledge that she herself has set in motion a chain of events that could lead to the loss of everything she loves.  Even Jace.

Love.  Blood.  Betrayal.  Revenge.

The stakes are higher than ever…

Review:

Finally Clary’s life is working out.  She’s training to be a Shadowhunter, she has the perfect boyfriend and her mom and Luke are getting married.  Just as she starts to think that her life can’t get any better, everything changes.  Jace starts to pull away from her.  A baby shows up, dead, contaminated with demon blood.  And it seems that an unknown supernatural baddie is after Simon…  Can Clary figure out what’s going on, and her part in it?  Before it’s too late?

Ok.  This is officially one of my very, very, very favourite series.  Ever.  I just love the humour, the action, the romance, the paranormal, um, ness.  And just when you think Cassandra Clare has reached her very best, she just goes and brings out a book like this.  I officially love Cassandra Clare.

Now, all the characters have just come such a long way since City of Bones.  Clary is one of the most improved: she is kick-butt-awesome!  She can now completely take care of herself, no longer the damsel-in-distress.  Jace has also changed, but differently: he’s damaged, scarred by everything that’s happened between him, his father and sort-of-brother.  He’d still die to protect others, Clary in particular, but you can see how much it’s all hurt him.  Yet, through it all, his smart-aleck responses crack me up.  And his sweetness… by the way, can I have a Jace?  As for Simon: love him!  He, too, has that brilliant snarkyness that makes me laugh: he’s the best!  Isabelle has come leaps and bounds from that petty, jealous, rather mean girl from CoB, and is now nice… and very brilliant!  Magnus and Alec are the cutest, especially when Alec is jealous.  Alec has totally grown into himself now, sure and confident.  And Magnus is just so amazingly eccentric! 

There are a couple of new baddies, both of who are horrible and made my skin crawl.  I may have even hissed a little at one of them: I get angry when they hurt my favourites.  Plus a familiar face pops back in, leaving me terrified…

With its non-stop action and addictiveness, it’s not hard to see why City of Fallen Angels has left me desperate for more.  I just couldn’t put it down: I picked it up as a go-between two review books, and then found I couldn’t stop reading.  I finished the book in a matter of hours, which is pretty impressive, even by my standards.  I just love the worlds Cassandra creates, the characters and the humour.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do without my Shadowhunter-fix!  Plus, I’m going mad, trying to figure out what’s going to happen next!  Because…

Well, this isn’t giving anything away, but can I just say…

WORST.  ENDING.  EVER.

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Finding Sky by Joss Stirling

Need by Carrie Jones

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Vampire Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Parajunkee's View)

Happy Reading

Megan

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments, Book Three

Publisher: Walker

Format: Paperback

Published: 22^nd June 2009

Number of Pages: 496

Book: Bought

Genre: Dark Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Considerable Violence, Death, Some Swearing

No Alcohol, Drug References

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

Amid the chaos of war, the Shadowhunters must decide to fight with the vampires, werewolves and other Downworlders – or against them.  Meanwhile, Jace and Clary have their own decision to make: should they persue the love they know is forbidden?

Review:

To save her mother, Clary has to go to Idris.  The problem with this plan?  Jace doesn’t want her to go.  And so Clary misses the legal portal opened by Magnus Bane.  The result: she has to create her own, very illegal one.  This crime could be punishable with death.  To make matters worse, Valentine arrives, with an army to crush the Glass City and all in it.  But can the hatred between the Downworlders and Shadowhunters be put aside to save all their lives?

Just when you think this series can’t get any better, it just goes and does.  Cassandra Clare creates such a vivid, realistic world that it’s like I actually travel there.  Every time I open one of her books, I’m whipped away into a new life.  And then there’s her storylines.  Well, let’s just say that they blow me away.  There are so many twists, so much action, humour, romance, suspense, despair: I was literally never bored and putting down the book was the hardest thing to do.

And I just love seeing how her characters have grown over the three books, with every new character being just as strong as the main ones.  Clary, in particular, has grown a lot stronger, and with her newfound gift is a force to be reckoned with.   Jace... well, what do you say?  I love him!  His sense of humour, his sarcasm, his soft side, that stubborn streak.  Just: love him.  And then there’s Simon, the Daywalker, who is definitely my favourite male-best-friend-from-a-book.  His irony is brilliant, and whenever he and Jace are together I end up in stitches.  But one character I just have to mention is Magnus Bane: I love him, with his sparkly hair and rainbow-leather pants.  Plus he and Alec are the sweetest couple – even if neither of them will admit it.

And now for the darker side: Valentine.  I can’t read, see or hear that word without hissing, growling or flinching.  His evilness is so lifelike I actually feel like he is trying to destroy the world.  He’s just one of the bad-guys that makes you scared for the characters all the way through the book.  And he’s just so mean.  I hate him.  He isn’t real, but I hate him.  Cassandra Clare is honestly that good.  Oh, and there’s a new face for the evil guys.  Who may be even worse than Valentine, something before City of Glass I hadn’t thought possible...

I laughed, I cried, I feared, I loved, I hated.  Twists and turns left me breathless.  Questions screamed in my head.  My heart pounded.  I loved every single second of all four-hundred-and-something pages. 

Now, from what I understand, this was meant to be the final in The Mortal Instruments series.  I can see how: the loose ends were all tied up, all the niggling questions answered.  However... I am so glad that it isn’t the end!  I just love the entire Shadowhunter world.  The mythology, folk lore and pure imagination that go into these books is astounding, and I just want to jump into the pages and live there forever.  Since that’s fairly impossible, I’ll settle with my copy of City of Fallen Angels. 

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Night World by L.J. Smith

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

The Vampire Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Parajunkee's View)

Off The Shelf Challenge (Hosted by BA Reading Challenges)

Happy Reading

Megan

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments, Book Two

Publisher: Walker

Format: Paperback

Published: 7^th July 2008

Number of Pages: 416

Book: Bought

Genre: Dark Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence

No Alcohol, Drug References

Haunted by her past, Clary is dragged deeper into New York City's terrifying underworld of demons and Shadowhunters - but can she control her feelings for a boy who can never be hers?

Review:

I read City of Bones and I was addicted.  The moment I finished the book I ran upstairs to get City of Ashes.  Although the big twist at the end of the first didn’t surprise me, I needed to know more.  So much so that I didn’t even think to write a review after I finished the second because I just had to read City of Glass.  This series is just one of those that are impossible to put down.  And even when I’m not reading them, I’m thinking about the characters.  I’ve even started to dream about Shadowhunters, but of course not of myself being one.  And, may I just say, City of Ashes was even better than its predecessor, something I hadn’t even thought possible. 

Anyway, onto my actual review.  City of Bones left the Clave suddenly without the Angel’s Cup, and the Cup itself in Valentine’s clutches.  It also left Clary and Jace reeling in the revelation that they’re siblings.  City of Ashes begins with Clary accepting her Shadowhunter heritage and struggling against the feelings she has for her brother, Jace.  Simon faces problems as well; both with his own love for Clary and an unforeseen ‘change’ that honestly completely surprised me.  And, to make matters even worse, Valentine is back with yet another nefarious scheme that will change the Clave and the world of the Shadowhunters forever.  He’s after the Mortal Sword, another Mortal Instrument, and wants to turn it bad.  To do this could forfeit the already precarious agreement between the Downworlders and Shadowhunters, as to turn the sword, he needs the blood of a Child of Lilith, a Child of the Moon, a Child of the Night and a Child of Lylic...

Just when you think this series couldn’t possibly be any better, it just goes and does.  It kept me on the edge of my seat, and refused to let me go.  There’s more action, more mythical creatures, more emotion.  Just amazing everything. 

Clary is by far a stronger character now, and not so much a damsel-in-distress (I hate female leads who go running for the guy every time there’s trouble).  She’s funny, smart, brave and emotionally strong.  I love her!  Now, Jace, I love even more.  He’s sarcastic, ironic and hilarious.  Does anyone else seem to laugh at entirely inappropriate places because of Jace?  The scenes between the two bounce between being so beautiful it hurts and then very awkward.  Romantic scenes between siblings shouldn’t be so absolutely romantic and amazing.  Yet I’m sensing something underneath the surface here, hiding: I don’t think everything’s as it says it is...

Simon is the best friend a girl could hope for, and the scenes between him and Clary are real and perfect.  Plus, he’s just so cute and nerdy!  Now, another duo whose dynamics are just incredible are Alec and Magnus, the gay warlock with glitter in his hair and rainbow leather trousers.  Magus is just the best warlock ever, and is also wonderfully sarcastically funny.  Oh, and they’re so cute!

Somehow, Cassandra Clare has created characters you can either completely fall in love with or hate with all your heart.  How she does this?  I have no idea.  But somehow she does, and I commend her for it.  She is by far one of the best authors I’ve come across, and I love every minute of her books.

By the way, how does Clare manage to make me cry with laughter one second then just cry the next?  And as for her plots, well, let’s just say that while at some points they’re mildly predictable, at others I’m completely thrown.  Her stories never disappoint you, from start to finish.  Cassandra Clare: one of my very favourite authors ever!

I’m going to get back to City of Glass now.  Love this series...

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

The Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Vampire Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Parajunkee’s View)

Off the Shelf Challenge (Hosted by BA Reading Challenges)

Happy Reading

Megan

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments Series, Book One

Publisher: Walker Books

Format: Paperback

Published: 2^nd July 2007

Number of Pages: 448

Book: Bought

Genre: Paranormal, Dark Romance, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Mild Swearing

No Sexual, Alcohol or Drug References
Author's Blog: Cassandra Clare

Clary Fray is seeing things: vampires in Brooklyn and werewolves in Manhattan.  Irresistibly drawn towards a group of sexy demon hunters, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City - and the dangers of forbidden love.

Review:

Clarissa Fray’s your average girl, with her artistic mother and her slightly-geeky best-friend Simon.  Then, one day when she and Simon are hanging out at the club Pandemonium, she witnesses a murder.  Only, no one saw the people she knows were there, the ones she saw walk through the crowds with knives, the ones she saw kill the blue-haired boy.  When her mother is kidnapped, and Clary finds a demon in her house, she’s suddenly dragged into a new world; the world of the Shadowhunters, demons killers.  And before she can get her mother back, Clary will have to accept some hard truths about herself, the people she loves and the world as she once knew it...

City of Bones has every supernatural being you could want in one book.  Vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, faeries, super-human-demon-hunters: you name it, City of Bones has it.  Then there’s the action, fighting, suspense, humour and – of course – the romance.  I’ve never come across a book that’s quite so effective in making me laugh one minute and be scared for my characters’ lives the next.  The world Clare created was so real, and – more than that – I actually felt like I was there.  I even found myself wanting it to be real: I want to live in this world!

The mythology is absolutely incredible, and I loved the idea behind the Shadowhunters; they were intriguing, and I cannot wait to learn more about them and their legacy.  As for the characters, well, they were outstanding.  They were realistic, filled out and created so well that I ended up loving someone I hated, and hating someone I loved.  I honestly felt like I knew them, Clary in particular, by the end of the book, and I was actually terrified for them at times.  All this is a sign the author has done an amazing job, and that her characters are perfect. 

I loved Clary, and how much she grew through the book: she went from a ‘mundane’ to a Shadowhunter.  Even though she was sometimes the damsel-in-distress, she more than made up for it by being brave, loyal, determined and smart, as well as wonderfully witty and funny.  A perfect lead girl.  And I loved her best friend, Simon, with his adorably cute, dorky ways, and the way his sense of humour constantly had me laughing.  Plus, he had a few surprises up his sleeve...  Now, Jace was withdrawn, distant and unable to love, no, scared to love.  He honestly believed that “to love is to destroy”, as his father told him when he was a little boy.  Despite that, he was brave, self-confident, sarcastic, ironic and slightly cocky.  Oh, and very, very, very funny.  And I loved him! 

All the supporting characters were amazing, and the villain was the perfect bad guy.  To top it off, they were just as real-feeling as the leads, which is just how I like them.   

This book’s amazing: I even found myself jotting down quotes, just so I could look over them later and either laugh or go “aww”.  The writing is just that good.  I could read thousands and thousands of pages about Clare’s world.  Then again, I have the next two books, and the prequel... maybe that’s a thousand pages altogether...

Everyone said the ending was terrible: an OMG worthy event.  I guessed it, quite a way before it was revealed.  Nevertheless, I was still ‘OMG’ing when it happened for real... well, in the book.  I may also have screamed a little.

Yes, the twist is just that bad. 

A book that makes you laugh, cry, scream and shout, that is chock-full of paranormal beings and mythologies, and the writing is enough – I quote – to make Holly Black’s “toes curl with envy”.  This book has put The Mortal Instruments onto my ‘Favourite Series’ list, as well as my ‘Amazing Worlds’ list. 

I loved it, if you hadn’t gathered.

Oh, quick afterthought: do not, under any circumstances, read synopsises or reviews of City of Ashes before you finish City of Bones.  Please, don’t: so many people have and then said it ruined the ending.  Trust me, after reading this book, I know that it honestly would.

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices, Book One) by Cassandra Clare

Night World by L.J. Smith

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Horror and Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Off The Shelf Challenge (Hosted by BA Reading Challenges)

Happy Reading

Megan