Review: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Normally I'd be a bit worried when I get told my favourite book trilogy is getting 3 more books to it.  OK, I get really really REALLY excited first and THEN I get worried.  Why? Are they going to be a let down and taint the 1st 3 books and will I be disappointed?

Well I shall just tell you now that no way was this a disappointment.  Not in the least.  It was brilliant and I was clawing my way through the pages and racing along the chapters to see what was going to happen next.  I know that it probably isn't that big a shock for a book addict like myself to read something quickly but honestly this book series is the best sugar rush going.  It's funny, deliciously sweet and divinely well written.  It had mystery and intrigue as well as plenty of action (both kinds of action if you catch my drift *wiggles eyebrows*).

BEWARE: I am trying to keep this review and comments spoiler free but you most definitely will need to have read the 1st 3 books as it's too difficult to discuss the 4th book without reference the others. Sorry folks!

The story continues on from the aftermath of the final battle scenes in City of Glass after a few months of healing and learning to deal with the lives lost and changed since coming back to New York.  This includes more than just new romances and and new foes but also new challenges for Clary as she learns to develop her natural Shadowhunter skills, for Simon learning about his new life as a vampire and the rest of the Shadowhunters that are trying to help rebuild the World of the Shadowhunters since the Battle of Idris. 

I loved feeling welcome back into this world and still feeling like there was new stuff to learn and find out.  Plus the laughs were still as form as ever from all sides. The end had my heart racing and pulse pounding in my ears. I can't believe that I'm going to have to wait til the next book comes out to see what happens next! It's almost a crime making me suffer that long wait!

Rating: 10/10
Published by Walker Books
Available here and at all good book stores

Fictional Husbands: Denver Beck

Even while reading this book I knew I wanted to do a Fictional Hubby post on Beck because she was just more and more my type as the book went on!  I loved him because his sense of humour was dry and sarcastic like my own and yet he had a real sense of honour and family in a disfunctional world that was the Demon Trapper life.  He loves what he does because it's one of the few constants in his life that he's really good at and he knows it.

He doesn't pretend to be the sharpest pencil in the box and even sometimes uses it to fool those around him that don't think much of him.  It often works in his favour to let be assume the worst in him and then he doesn't have to make much of an effort.  Why do more to impress those that don't think much about you to begin with!

If I was shallow I would tell you about his his looks, his cocky attitude that makes him come off like a smooth operator that has charm and style.  His cool guy James Dean ease of presence and scruffy 'Dean Winchester' sexy bad boy image...but i'm not shallow *looks around* WHAT? I'm really not....Seriously!

Fine! He's a hawtie and it's not my fault that I just appreciate a finely craft Demon Trapper hot guy. :-D

He's loyal, he has charm, he's good looking (bonus), he's a real hero and he's just damn cool!

Top Ten Mean Girls in Books

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!


This week is the top ten mean girls in books: all those bad girls that you love to hate and hate to love.  Bitches, general nasty girls or ones that just seems to annoy in general


1. Isabel in Shiver:  To be honest she's my favourite character but mainly in Linger as she develops and we understand why she's the mean girl really.  However she was a real meanie to Grace in Shiver and thus is on the list
2. Savannah Snow and her friends in Beautiful Creatures: It was the whole gang of girls at the school that are mean girls but she is the clear ring leader and is just awful to Lena in that whole book and deserves to be brought down a beg or two in my book!
3. Mia from the Vampire Academy Series:  I'm thinking of mainly Mia from the 1st few books as she was a SERIOUS bitch to Rose and Lissa.
4. Veruca in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Bratty, self centered and a generally bad egg
5. Marcie Millar in Cresendo. She's just so annoying in every way.


I really couldn't finish this one this week! if you have any mean girls you would have added to your list then comment below!!!

Review: Forsaken by Jana Oliver

This book really appealed to me mainly because I have a real love for the TV show ‘Supernatural’ and the idea of average people that take on the battle against evil against hard times and gritty landscapes.  Plus having a female lead that has to deal with being a teenager as well as being looked down upon by her peers and elders just because she doesn’t fit the mold is a double hardship for anyone to bear.   

Riley Blackthorne is a kick ass girl that doesn’t take crap from anyone; least of all from Beck who has a cocky attitude and a bad boy sense of style.  So he’s basically awesome and I fell in love with him right of the bat.  How can you not!  If, like me, you are a fan of ‘Supernatural’ Beck is pretty much a perfect mix of Dean and Sam Winchester in all the right ways.  PERFECTION.

Back to the story and we start with Riley “trapping” as many demon trappers in training might do but it goes very wrong and lands her in a heap of trouble and unwanted focus.  The last thing a female trapper needs especially when her dad is her teacher and a well respected trapper himself.  After the immediate aftermath of this trap gone array Riley’s world takes a huge shift after tragic events.  She has to reconsider her whole life and how she wants to go forward in her trapper training and the mysteries that start out as odd goings on and soon become much more sinister.  Riley has a great mind for a mystery and its wonderful getting to see action heroes that sometimes have to fight against everyday battles like school bullies and finding finance to pay the rent rather than continual supernatural foes (though she has some great battles of those kinds as well).  

The world of a demon infested Atlanta is gritty and dirty and really reflects the life as a trapper.  It’s not all fun and action like the TV show within the book Demonland that makes trappers all appear glossy and shiny but it has its draw backs.  High turnover of clothes, low chances of having any real connections outside of the world of trappers,  big risks everyday at being maimed or killed and having to deal with rules and traditions of the trapper Guild and the Church itself that make the concept of right and wrong hard to fix on.  

The mythology of demons and their classification is fairly easy to grasp which I was thankful for because having too much detail about all the evil hierarchy would have just lost me and taken away valuable pages from the action and emotional turmoil’s of our main characters, Riley, Simon and Beck.  Riley and Beck have intertwined lives and they often clash but you get the strong feeling that they would gel so well if only the two could get past their own fears of being vulnerable.  It’s the strengths they have as fighters that they both respect in each other but it’s the main reason they find it so hard to be exposed to one another.  Hard times but at least Riley has some other romantic ventures to follow and I truly approve of them.  Simon is the "perfect" guy in Riley's trapper world and has a sense of morals that few people can claim to hold but you often wonder if he is just a bit too perfect or right for her at that moment in her life.  Only time will tell.

I loved the ride of emotion and unfolding plot and never felt I was just drifting along in the story.  It always felt like crashing waves of highs and lows and a real adventure that you didn't want to leave.  It's an honest account of the hardships of losing loved ones as well as a fantasy world of demonic beings that need containing; just another job for a trapper to do.  It's not ever seen as a glorified role either but a vocation and a calling for those that follow the path.  There is honour among the those that do the hard graft and a sense of family.  At the core of the story is a tale about society as a whole.  The world is corrupt and not all the evil is in the form of demons but it's all about the way in which people survive the world and the other people within it.

Rating: 8.5/10

Published by Macmillian Books and is available here and at all good book retailers

IMM: In My Mailbox [14]

In My Mailbox is an epic feature run by The Story Siren and my links go to Amazon UK but other book sellers are out there too!

I'm at home for a few days over the Easter break and then visiting other family so probably a big post next IMM once i've spent all that over time cash on books.

HA HA

Bought

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

I've been waiting for this book for SO LONG! So excited and I've already started it.

HAPPY READING! XOXO

Top Ten Rewind: Top Ten Places to Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!

1.  In bed in still warm PJs straight from the dryer: Best thing ever.  Nuff said.

2.  On a train:  I often use the train or tube when on in and around London and having a book with me is a must at all times.  It’s an easy and portable way of being able to ignore the fact that you may not have a seat on the train, that the tube is all stuffy and overheated in the summer or that you are getting strange looks from other people in your carriage and you don’t quite know why. 

3.  In a school Library when you really should be revising: So many days of my University years and 6^th form school days were sent strategically angling myself between bookcases and the librarian or teachers eye line so I could read my own fiction books behind well placed science textbooks.   It’s a great skill to have.

4. Next to someone else that is reading the same book as you:  It’s quite a joy to know that the person next to you is smiling for the same reason as you.  It’s like a secret code between you both.  It’s even better if you don’t know the person and you both have this one common moment to share.

5. At work, when you should really be working: Sometimes something naughty can be very nice.  I used to have a book tucked under my till at work on the slow Sunday’s at the bookshop to read until a customer appeared.

6. In the park/back garden on a sunny afternoon.  There is nothing better or more blissful than just feeling that warm sunny feeling on your feet as you dip into a good book

7. On a long car journey.  I love to read in the car and I know some people just CAN’T read in a moving vehicle but I can and love it.  Plus it’s nice to not have to do the actual driving once and a while.

8. On a plane:  Long journeys and bad movies on planes means the perfect place to read.  No one really wants to talk on planes I find and so you can get lost in a book as the time flies by.  I bought Breaking Dawn on a plane journey from the UK to Florida and read over half of it before having to stop myself and save some for the rest of the vacation!

9. In a queue to pay for said book:  It shows that you’re keen and plus sometimes the sales assistant see’s what you’re reading and makes recommendations.  Well, that’s what I used to do anyway.

10. Walking to work: I should warn that this one is probably quite dangerous and a hazard.  Always check before crossing roads etc. VERY IMPORTANT!  However I used to work to and from work at least once a week and it took about 40 minutes or so and as the journey was pretty straight I would always get a chance to read a good chunk of a book that I just couldn’t put down with little interruption. 

IMM: In My Mailbox [13]

In My Mailbox is an epic feature run by The Story Siren and my links go to Amazon UK but other book sellers are out there too!

Very exciting books this week I must say

Won

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

I won this a while ago over on Book Chick City and I'm so excited to read it because I've heard great things

Gift

Jessie <3 NYC by Keris Stainton

Die for Me by Amy Plum

Both gifts from the Book Angel that is Emma over at Asamum Booktopia.  CAN NOT WAIT to start both these!!!!

Happy Reading

XOXO

Review: Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Though this isn’t a new release I’d heard really good things about it for a while now and knowing that my fellow blogger buddy Andrew over on PewterWolf was a big fan of the books I was keen to read something with such high praise from someone I knew had good book taste.  The story is set in a Victorian period English country home against a dark Gothic backdrop of mystery and legend.  Much like Gothic genre books and poetry of the day this is a dark story that is full of secrets, betrayal and paranormal goings on.

Lia and Alice our twin sisters with a younger brother Henry and having lost their mother at a young age when begin this book at the graveside of their father that has recently died under strange circumstance.  Already the mystery starts and draws you in and as each piece of the puzzle appears we learn that his death was not as simple as it may seem and that Lia and Alice are more than just sisters; they are the next chain in a family prophecy that ties them to a history that is bigger than either of them.  

 From the point of view of Lia we find out what the prophecy is and her part in it all as well as how the rest of the people in her life are connected or affected by what she discovers.  

Though really loving this book and the continual twists as they unfolded and the drama that unfurled from each reveal I was left feeling slightly disappointed that the ending didn’t have more of a bang.  I was almost expecting more than actually happened.  It was by no means a bad ending because it left me wanting more and eager to buy the next book but it felt like this book was building up to a big battle or event but really it is a gradual build to the next book when I was expecting more....now.  

This shouldn’t deter you from reading it because it really is a well written story that feels realistic in its setting and the Gothic genre.  Having read Gothic works at University I can honestly say that this book feels like a modern telling of a Gothic story.  You have a great sense of the era and location through the details but you can easily engage with the characters even though they are of a different time.  It’s a great telling sign of a writer that understands both her audience and her characters and finds a way for them to connect.

The divide between good and evil is often hazy because of the dual nature of the prophecy and the twin sisters strained relationship as the true meaning of the prophecy becomes clear and this is a key factor in Lia’s world.  She has a choice but she is up against a fate bigger than herself and her will is pulled from every angle between her love of her family, friends, Sonia and Luisa, and her heart, James, and her unchanging place in a foretelling part in events that could change or even end the world.  I would definitely buy the next book Guardian at the Gate to see where this whole mystery is leading and I feel that something big is on the horizon for both the sisters and not all of it is good.

Rating: 7/10

Published by Atom Books and is available here and at all good book sellers

Top Ten Books I'd Like to See Made Into Movies

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!

This week features books that i'd love to see be made into movies.  It might feature some that have been picked up to be MADE into movies or the like but aren't actually out at the cinema for me to spend loads of my hard earned cash on tickets to see over and over again

1. The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan I love these books and think that the UK needs a really good action fantasy movie that isn't Harry Potter.  Plus butt kicking and scary times set in London can never be wrong!

2. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead I won't even lie; I just wanna see Dimitri on the big screen. *points at self* Shameless googley eyed staring at screen!

3. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman Sorry but The Golden Compass is NOT the same book.  The ending isn't even the same so as far as i'm concerned it hasn't been made into a movie *sulks*

4. Noughts and Crosses by Marolie Blackman I think this would be such a wonderful and dramatic film if done right and handled with care over the tough issues in the plot and undertones of the book. 

5. Rockoholic by C.J.Skuse yes, yes i keep going on about this book but really I just want to see it as a movie so I could potentially be Jody IN the movie.  I have the experience and I can bring my own Curly Wurly to the table!

6. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare I know everyone is uber excited for the City of Bones movie that is already in production but I'd really just love to see this book brought to life and win an Oscar for set and costume design at the very least!
 
7. White Cat by Holly Black This would make an EPIC movie just because the idea is some simple and brilliant with the twist of magic in there!  A mystery in the tradition of great crime dramas like The Maltese Falcon or Chinatown (If you don't know these movies then ...well go rent them or something. they are classics).

8. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl  The setting alone of the deep south and mysterious small and older towns in America would be visually stunning to warrant a big screen viewing

9. Bye Bye Baby by Caroline Sullivan  This is a true tale of one girl's love for the Bay City Rollers.  Thinking I've lost my marbles??? Well, I read this after being recommended it from a tutor at college after him hearing of my My Chemical Romance interests *cough*obsession*cough* and it's a wonderful telling of loving music, growing up and just having fun and hard times as a Bay City Roller fan.  It's very enjoyable

10.

I'm leaving number 10 empty just because there are MANY of the books I love that really SHOULD be made into movies but I just don't think a movie could do it justice or would only ruin my ideas of mental images I've built up/

So number 10 is empty out of loyalty to those books :-)

Future Feature: Fictional Hubbys & Wifeys

Over the Valentine’s period on my blog I was making blog entries entitled ‘Fictional Husbands’ posts where based on some rambling jokes on twitter with some other lovely blogger friends we “called dibs” on our favourite YA and fictional characters in books and TV and film.  On my blog each day I selected one of my favourite characters and basically declared my love for them and why I wanted them to be my ‘fictional husband’.  In part it is a post to claim them and in part a way to plead my case for why they’d be a good candidate for the post of a ‘fictional husband’.

Now comes me begging for help.  I got some fab responses from my posts and now I want more.  I’m calling for posts like these from all you guys.  It doesn’t have to be just male characters; I welcome anyone to ‘claim’ any fictional other half and I will likely be renaming the posts to include this idea.  I’m possibly thinking of posting the blogs on a Friday because ‘Friday; I’m in Love’.  

The post doesn’t have to be long, maybe just a few paragraphs to make it interesting but write as much as you want.  It should include what character you’ve selected, why you love them, why you think they’d be a good ‘husband/wife’ and anything else like the moment you came to this conclusion, if it was a certain scene in the book or who you picture in your mind when you read about them if at all.

If you want to take part or have any other questions then just drop me an email or a tweet so I can work out how many people want to take part and when I can start this feature up on my blog.  Once I have a list of who would like to be involved and if they know what character they want to post about then I can get going.  Don’t worry about it if someone else picks your character because the post is just as much about why you choose them as which character you have picked.

Thanks for all the help

IMM: In My Mailbox [12]

In My Mailbox is an epic feature run by The Story Siren and my links go to Amazon UK but other book sellers are out there too!

So I have skipped a week I think along the way but to be honest I haven't had much to write about sadly.  I'm being a bad little blogger at the moment.  Real life has unfortuntely taken over a WHOLE lot and much to my annoyance I've lacked Internet in the flat I'm living in and now the un-named provider I ordered a Dongle for Internet access decided it wouldn't clear my purchase and only told me a week after ordering it and the day before it was meant to arrive.

Work at the chocolate shop (my day time work; yes: it is awesome and no: i don't eat chocolate and sweets all the time) has become very busy with 2 big holidays and 2 big weekend events that we've had stalls at so long hours.

Also on another note the new flat isn't really working out well at all.  Don't like where it is, the noise level is awful all night and you hear everything and very isolated living so sorting things with letting agent and it looks like i'll be leaving this place and either moving back home temporarily and then finding somewhere better suited.  Stress but it's better than the other options.  Trust Me.

RIGHT. On to the Mailbox!

Gift

Just one so far from the lovely Leanne at Leanne Luce: YA Forever who brought me a little something to lift my spirits.  Along with a cuddly purple unicorn (awwwwwesome) she saw this

Confused: well don't be.  We've kinda been on the look out for old and random Western Novels because ....well....we are massive Vampire Academy fangirls and Dimitri reads them in the book.  I might actually read this too.

Hope to have more books and happier news in my next IMM post

HAPPY READING

XOXO

Also my bookcase is featured over at Kirsty's awesome blog The Overflowing Library.  Go check it out and comment, follow and enjoy!

Top Ten Book Covers I Wish I Could Redesign

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!

This week is Top Ten Book Covers I Wish I Could Redesign (you know..those AMAZING books with horrid covers or those books with a so-so cover that you have an interesting concept for)

1. His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman ADULT covers:  They are just so dull and uninteresting compared to the children's covers and don't have that same pulling power which is a shame because they are books that appeal to both audiences

2.The Fallen & Leviathan by Thomas E.Sniegoski: To be honest as visually appealling these covers are (and i'm not complaining about seeing a bit of skin) it just looks cheesey and aiming to sell just based on the sexy guy on the cover, apart from the wings behind the hot guy I wouldn't have a clue what the book is about and I think a cover so sell the story as well as the book.

3.The Vampire Diaries: Book 1 by L.J.Smith: It's just soooo picking up on the Twilight bandwagon with these reissues of the Vampire Diaries books and they make me quite glad that they then changed to feature the TV cast on the covers.  

4.Any Cook Book with a "celebrity" chef on the cover:  I'm so fussy with cook books and think the only thing on the cover of cook books should be food.


5.Mills & Boon books: Cheesiest worst covers ever.  Some are so bad that I can't even bare to post a photo.  Sorry but if you REALLY feel the need to see them then google and amazon can help you out. At best these book covers should just be a blank colour because I think the embarrassment factor would most put off someone from buying and reading them.  I haven't ever read these so can't say if they are any good but I just want to be able to avoid the awful covers in bookshops. Selfish but honest

6.1984 by George Orwell:  I've seen many versions of this book cover but most don't come close to capturing this great book.  I can't even think how it could be done but its both terrifying and amazing to read

7. Entice by Carrie Jones: I was drawn in by the first cover with the dramatic lips in gold dust but the 3rd book left me less than impressed.  I understand that they are following a cover theme started in the 1st book but it looks like a bad version of the 1st book to be honest.  Maybe it's just me but I can say that I've bought both books because I want the covers to match and to see what happens next.  

8. Before I Die by Jenny Downham:  I really wish that this version of the book cover wasn't even available because I just don't like it nearly as much as the version with the dandelion or the sepia photograph cover.  The title and the story pretty much tell you it's going to be a weepy book so the cover could be pretty simple to be just as effective.


9.The Goosebumps books by R.L.Stine: I want to redesign these covers for selfish reasons so that a whole new generation could enjoy these books

10. The Midnighters by Scott Westerfield:  The covers are just not nearly as exciting as the book itself and the idea is really interesting and clever.  The cover need to be darker with an edge or horror and danger like the stories

Review: Succubus Nights by Richelle Mead

I’m a big fan of Richelle Mead’s work on the Vampire Academy book series and as it came to an end I was recommended this series by a fellow VA fan girl as it had the same addict nature and engaging characters but with more ‘grown-up’ aspects.  By grown up I mean sex; lots of very explicit sex.  So this is DEFINITELY not a YA book.  After reading the first in these series I went out and bought the second straight away and it has been sitting on my To Be Read pile for an age and a day but I promised Krystal on Bookshelf Banter that I would read it next and I couldn’t put it do.  Quite literally as I was walking to work and reading it at the same time; risking grazed knee and falling flat on my face just because I couldn’t stop reading!

Richelle’s writing is so engaging for me as a reader and she is a writer that knows how to set up a mystery and let it unravel itself.  It never feels forced and the characters have a natural feel to them that makes you want to learn about them and their woes.  Georgia is a Succubus on the top of her game and her evolving relationship with Seth, the talented but socially shy writer she adores, makes her balancing act between her life in Seattle as a bookstore worker and her life in the world of immortals a hard line to follow.  The real mystery this time is about this very thing for Georgina,  when the immortal world crosses over into her mortal life and in very bad and dark ways.  She has to work out how and why this dark element in ruining her friend’s lives to explain who it is and stop them.  

One of my favourite parts was the introduction of a new character from her past called Bastien who is a male version of a Succubus and Georgina’s companion and friend in many of her past adventures.  He’s funny and lovable, almost like his spell is being cast on me just by reading about his character.  As ever the plot is a mystery of sorts with many layers and threads that tie to together in the end but in unusal ways.  I find myself feeling sorry for Seth so much as he just seems to bare the brunt of most of Georgia's exploits emotionally but doesn't have a reaction that justifies the errors or actions that she makes.  It's almost annoying that he doesn't at least shout or get angry more.  At least you'd expect it but Seth is a very different kind of guy.  He is understanding to the extreme and I think because of this very unusual life they both lead and relationships with other people that they work so well. They have a balance in their lives and deal with things as head on as they can, mostly.

All in all I really enjoyed this book and how the characters didn't seem rehashed or uninteresting for a second book.  They felt like old friends that were staying for a visit and even though they have gone you know that the next book will be another wonderful visit with delicious new antics and seductive scenes of Succubus 9-5 working days.

Rating: 7.5/10
Published by Bantam and is available here and at all good book shops