Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare: review

Goodreads rating: 4.25

Hardcover, 476 pages

Published August 31st 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry

ISBN

1416975861 (ISBN13: 9781416975861)

http://theinfernaldevices.com/index3.html

Series

The Infernal Devices #1

Characters

Theresa Gray, Magnus Bane, William Herondale, James Carstairs, Jessamine Lovelace ...more

Setting

London, England, 1878 (United Kingdom)

Literary awards:

Romance Writers of America RITA Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Romance (2011), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Favorite Book, Favorite Heroine, Young Adult Fantasy, Goodreads Author (2010), Voya Perfect Ten (2010), RT Reviewers' Choice Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Paranormal/Fantasy Novel (2010), The Inky Awards Nominee for Silver Inky longlist (2011)

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

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.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

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: James, 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. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

5/5

Oh my goodness... SO AMAZING!! I was apprehensive about this book, totally unsure of what to expect. But it was absolutely brilliant! It was so different than the City of Bones series, but at the same time there were so many things that were the same and so familiar. I cannot wait for the second book to come out, and the third...

Cassandra Clare has a way of making me jealous. Her writing style is so great and I wish I had the talent she did. Maybe in time, I'll be half as good as her. And I can only imagine how much time it took for her to research London during this time period, but it was totally worth it because the streaming of facts was seamless, as if she had actually lived during that age. 

Reading this book made me realize how much I miss reading new work of hers. I can read the Mortal Instruments over and over, but it's never the same as reading the twists and turns and surprises for the first time. This satified a craving that I didn't even know I had! 



I get the feeling this is going to be a great series, up there with the City of Bones trilogy. I'm very satisfied with how different this one was from the other series and I'm excited to see where it's going and when my questions are finally answered. I seriously can't wait until the next one comes out... December is still so far away!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I'm a late bloomer

 It's hard to be believe, me being a teen paranormal fanatic and everything, that I just recently started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My parents were super strict on what I could watch on TV and in 1997 I was only 6. But that's no excuse. Anyway, this post is to start a sort of discussion if anyone feels like commenting. About how much you love it, hate it, how hot Angel is. Anything! Because of Buffy and Angel, Xander and Willow, I've fallen in love with this series. I'm only on season 2, but the ending of the show was already spoiled for me. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching demons and vampires and whatever else get slayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

I also wonder if the volume of Buffy the Vampire Slayer YA novels are any good... Anyone?

Anna Dressed in Blood giveaway from Courtney Allison Moulton

Courtney Allison Moulton (the awesome author of Angelfire and the upcoming Wings of the Wicked) told me when I met her that I can follow her blog but I should know that she basically only holds contests. You don't see me arguing, because here's another amazing giveaway! Check it out here. It ends August 3rd at 10 a.m. so get crackin'!

Kiersten White + Andrea Cremer + Stephanie Perkins signing in Oceanside recap

Signing with three of the coolest and cutest YA authors out there!

A couple days ago, I had the amazing honor of attending Kiersten White’s launch party for her new release Supernaturally at the Barnes & Noble in Oceanside, CA. Along with her were Andrea Cremer, who also had her book Wolfsbane released that day, and Stephanie Perkins, who we're all waiting for to come out with her newest book Lola and the Boy Next Door. They all read passages from their books. Kiersten read a part from Supernaturally that involved an ugly unicorn. As always, she was hilarious, and the word bleep was involved in the passage. Andrea Cremer read a section around the middle of her book with Calla and Shay involving her indecision with just about everything. Stephanie Perkins read from Anna and the French Kiss, the part where St. Clair touches her leg in the movie theater… there were audible sighs people. Literally no one talked or took pictures. It was beautiful.

After that, they opened it up to questions, and there was a character question, another about publishing. There was one where I’m not sure what the question was, but Stephanie mentioned the fact that Andrea has a PHD, and Stephanie said all she thinks about is “I love boys.” Maybe you had to be there. But I remember the last question the most, where someone asked about the author’s own awkward relationships since they write about so many of them. Kiersten declined, asking if we had a couple of days. Andrea explains hers below, as well as Stephanie. It was priceless. Hopefully the video works on this thing! And by the way, I sincerely apologize for my hideous geeky goat-like laugh. I really REALLY need to work on that. Hopefully it won't interfere with your enjoyment :)

 

And what’s a launch party without chocolate? At least that’s what I thought to myself when Kiersten pulled three huge chunks of chocolaty goodness out of her magical bag of tricks. You should have heard the “oo’s” and “aah’s” from every woman enclosed in that tiny space of a ten-by-ten square. Too bad I was never in contention. The first gigantic bar went to the person who had traveled to the longest to get to the signing, and it turned out to be a girl from New York! I hope for her sanity that the signing wasn’t the sole reason for being there. The second one went to someone who had read the books the most. Kiersten kept going up in the numbers and this one girl never put her hand down; her answer was that she’s an avid reader… Me thinks that’s a bit of an understatement. Then we all waited in line to get books signed. Let’s just say I had #84 out of 112, but I finally got it all signed. And I have a surprise for you guys once I get either 50 or 100 followers. So if you want to see what it is, please get the word out! I must say it's pretty awesome.

If I Die/Spellbound dueling giveaway hosted by the authors.

I found out about this giveaway through Rachel Vincent's blog, who is the author of the YA series Soul Screamers. Vincent and Cara Lynn Shultz are holding contests for each others books. You can win a signed ARC of If I Die here and a signed ARC of Spellbound here. I'm not sure when it ends so get to it, and good luck guys!

*I am not holding this contest, I'm simply passing it on.*

Personal Demons book 3 title release

Lisa Desrochers has just announced that the title of her third book in the Personal Demons series will be........

I've read Personal Demons, and Original Sin is on my shelf to read sooner rather than later, so you'll get that review soon. And I must say I love this title!

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa: pre-release review

Goodreads rating: 4.66

Paperback, 386 pages

Expected publication: October 25th 2011 by Harlequin (first published October 18th 2011)

ISBN

0373210361 (ISBN13: 9780373210367)

Series: 

Iron Fey #4

Characters

Puck, Grimalkin, Prince Ash

Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.

To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

5/5

AMAZING!!! There are seriously no words for how awesome and crazy good The Iron Knight was. The action never seemed to stop and I nearly cried a few times. Ash's journey to earn a soul pulled roughly on my own; Julie Kagawa is a genius. Getting to know Ash, the real Ash, is something you don't want to miss. I'll post a longer review closer to the release date. Get your hands on this book as soon as possible people! And doesn't Ash just look absolutely gorgeous on this cover?!

Dark Days of Supernatural Tour: My Stop

In June, I happened to be in Michigan for the Dark Days of Supernatural stop at Schuler's Books in Lansing, Michigan. There I met a few fellow book bloggers (before I even had a blog) and talked with them before the signing. I also ended up meeting Kristi, of the famous Story Siren and she took some pictures of me with a couple of the authors.

Me and Veronica Roth (Divergent)

Me and Josephine Angelini (Starcrossed)

Aprilynne Pike (Wings series), who I met at Vroman's in Pasadena, California, as well as Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses) were there. And as a special surprise, I also met Courtney Allison Moulton (Angelfire) and Aimee Carter (The Goddess Test), who gave me a piece of her gum! Okay, it was cool for me. Not only that, but after everyone got their books signed, I went out to dinner with them and had an amazing time getting to know the authors behind the books I love. And might I say they're really awesome people. I hope to see them all again soon, and hopefully they'll remember me and I won't look like a total dork.

I wish I had been able to go to more of these signings, but the good thing for you is that I'm going to the launch party for Kiersten White's Supernaturally, signing with fellow YA authors Andrea Cremer who's the genius behind Nightshade and Wolfsbane as well as the lovely Stephanie Perkins, who wrote Anna and the French Kiss and the highly anticipated Lola and the Boy Next Door. It's at the Barnes and Noble in Oceanside on July 26th at 7 p.m. if you're in the area. To say I'm excited would be underplaying it. It would be even better if it wasn't 2 1/2 hours away with a trip down the 405 (Carmageddon area, for those of you who don't know). At least I'm dragging my boyfriend along. He usually just finds a cool psychology book somewhere far, far away from the signing. Hopefully I can get pictures for you guys!

Divergent (Divergent #1) Veronica Roth: review

Goodreads rating: 4.49

Hardcover, 496 pages

Published May 3rd 2011 by HarperCollins Children's Books

ISBN

0062024027 (ISBN13: 9780062024022)

Series

Divergent #1

Characters

Four, Tris

Setting

Chicago, Illinois (United States)

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

5/5

If I could give this more than a 5 I would. It was simply amazing. I had a lot of thinking to do for this one. So much thinking that I decided I needed to read it again to give you a proper review. It was much better than I expected (I was unaware of the hype it was receiving) and I felt like I raced through it the first time. The truth is, I just couldn't get enough of Four... [sigh]... or maybe it's that this book is simply made of awesome sauce.


Where to start... Well, first off, I had no idea what to expect coming into this. As I said, I was unaware of the hype it was getting. I became a fan of the HarperTeen Facebook page and ended up winning an ARC of Divergent on the date it was released. That's when I came over to Goodreads and checked out the ratings. I'm not a dystopian connoisseur. My only experience with them was Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth series, and I don't even consider that really dystopian. And recently I delved into The Hunger Games trilogy, and so far Divergent is still my favorite. After reading Divergent for the first time, I also read Across the Universe by Beth Revis, and both were very different dystopian views. I guess it's become a sort of craze that started for me with Incarceron, when I didn't even know what dystopia was. What I'm trying to say is, I'm not going to lump this into a dystopian vs. paranormal pile, because truthfully, it was an amazing book overall.


I can only imagine the man hours that went into this thing. Like me, Roth wrote most of Divergent in college. And it's not like it's a short novel. Sometimes, I think it's almost easier to create your own world. There's no guidelines to follow or facts that you have to get right. Everything comes from your head and no one else's. I guess I can see that's why some of these dystopian novels fail so miserably. Ideas we think are good ones, may not appeal to our target audience. That was not the case here. Roth builds a world in a place known to everyone at least in the United States, and a place I've thankfully visited so I know a little about the area (the ferris wheel for instance; the sight of that is burned into my brain thought it's been years since I've been to Chicago). She created a place where most everyone is put into factions at the age of 16 (who needs a driver's license when you can be Dauntless?), and these factions have different personality traits. It's not complicated really, though if I was forced to choose I'm not sure which I would pick. I want to say Dauntless, but only because I can't imagine myself in the other ones. Am I Divergent?

Beatrice in the beginning was so boring for me the first time through. She was dull and constantly chastising herself for being the tiniest bit selfish. I know that her faction is selfless, but I mean she can't even look at her reflection in the mirror? Veronica Roth, you are terribly, amazingly brilliant. Her growth was clearly visible and I can't wait to see what happens to her in the next installment. To be truthful I hope the next one isn't as heartbreaking. I can't take much more bloodshed. Roth creates such a beautiful world, in both character and in landscape. It might seem crazy, but I want to live in her dystopian world.
 

I guess I'll have to move on to spoilers now, because the synopsis doesn't give you much to run with. Believe me with this one, you'll want to be surprised. I very highly recommend this one. If you haven't read it, well, what are you waiting for?!

This is a sad day... Borders Books is officially out of business

Well, that's it then. Borders Booksellers is closing the rest of their stores and boarding up (pun intended?). Borders is the only actual bookstore I go to anymore, since B & N never comes out with very many coupons for their non-paying members. Yes, there's still Amazon, but there's just something about walking into a bookstore and having the satisfaction of buying a book at the counter with a coupon in hand. But it's two sides of the same coin; I'm sad that in a few months I won't be able to shop at the one near my house anymore and relish in it's amazing stock of books, but in these next few months I'll be able to stack up my bookcase with discounted books. It may be a selfish way of looking at this, but hey, at least I'm helping them close out quicker. Goodbye Borders, you were loved. *tear*

Here's one of the many articles in case you're interested: http://tomsriver.patch.com/articles/borders-closing-all-remaining-stores-assets-liquidated-by-september-2