Review-Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel

Author: Cassandra Clare

Published: 31 August 2010

Pages: 478

Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis provided by Goodreads:

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 Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to riding 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 anther 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 dark secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile mood keeps 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 or helping her new friends save the world....and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

My thoughts:

I was so excited when I first saw this book in the store because it was the cover that caught my eye. When I realized that it was a book related to the Mortal Instruments series, I was a little bit turned off because there was something about the look of them that I didn't like. But then I noticed that Clockwork Angel was stating that it was the prequel to the whole series and I really got excited. After waiting until I was finally finished with school, I put Clockwork Angel on my list at the library.

I was slightly let down by this book because I felt there was something lacking. I like the characters enough and the story line and the action but I wanted there to be something more and I just can't seem to put my finger on it. Maybe I was hoping that Will's past would be revealed at the end or something epic; discovering Will's past is the main reason that I will be reading the next book in the series. And I will probably pick up the Mortal Instruments series because I've heard amazing things about them.

Did you read it? What did you think?

Side note: This is my 100th post!!!! Also I am coming up on 200 followers and I was thinking of doing a giveaway? What would you like to win?

Waiting on Wednesday (14)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly awaiting!

This week I chose Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough because I just finished Once a Witch and it was so good. This cover is also pretty amazing and gorgeous! I'm super excited for the next one to be released which is:

August 01, 2011!!!

Synopsis provided by Goodreads:

The adventures of Tam and Gabriel continue with more time travel, Talents, spy works, and of course, the evil Knights.

Since the gripping conclusion of Once a Witch, Tamsin Greene has been haunted by her grandmother's prophesy that she will soon be forced to make a crucial decision-one so terrible that it could harm her family forever. When she discovers that her enemy, Alistair Knight, went back in time to Victorian-era New York to destroy her family, Tamsin is forced to follow him into the past. Stranded all along in the nineteenth century, Tamsin soon finds herself disguised as a lady's maid in the terrifying mansion of the evil Knight family, avoiding the watchful eyes of the vicious matron, La Spider, and fending off the advances of Liam Knight. As time runs out, both families square off in a thrilling display of magic. And to her horror, Tamsin finally understands the nature of her choice.

EEEEKKK!!! So excited! What are you waiting for?

Review- Starcrossed

Title: Starcorssed

Author: Josephine Angelini

Published: 31 May 2011

Pages: 496

Rating: 4/5

ARC from NetGalley!

Synopsis provided by GoodReads:

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is-no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood...and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together-and trying to tear them apart.

My thoughts:

This is the first modern retelling of Greek mythology that I've read and I really liked it. It starts off with the main character, Helen, who seems to be this really shy girl who does not know her own strength and beauty. She thinks she too tall, too awkward, too ugly and pretty much a freak in her small town and high school. As soon as the Delos family moves to town, she starts having these nightmares of walking through a desert, looking for a river. The first time she sees Lucas Delos, all she wants to is kill him and she is even seeing these three women in the background who are crying blood and encouraging her to kill him. No matter how hard she tries to stay away from him, they're like magnets pulling toward each other.

After a few chapters, the book goes into the whole explanation of why they want to kill each other and what happened during the Trojan war to make all the houses of the gods want to see each other die. This part was kind of confusing and I felt like I needed to watch the movie Troy (you know, the one with Brad Pitt) because I recognized so many of the characters names from the movie in the book. I was able to understand enough to where I could understand the story line.

And then it just gets absolutely amazing after that. The discovery in the end was just so heartbreaking I still don't want to believe that it's true. Angleini did an amazing job of setting up the the scene for the next book. Which only makes the wait that much harder because this books hasn't even been released yet!

I definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy the supernatural genre. It's a good change of pace from reading all those vampire and werewolf novels!

It's Monday! What are you reading? (28 March 2010)

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a weekly event hosted by Book Journey. For more information, follow the link and check out her blog!

Last week I read:

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Currently reading:

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search-and the stranger-will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tasmin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all.

Also reading this week:

Bloody Valentine by Melissa de la Cruz

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

What are you reading today and this week?

Review- Spirit Bound

Title: Spirit Bound

Author: Richelle Mead

Published: 18 May 2010

Pages: 489

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis provided by GoodReads:

Salvation has it's price.

The words stunned Adrian for a moment, but he kept going. "You're lying. What you're describing is impossible. There's no way to save a Strigoi. When they're gone, they're gone. Dead. Undead. Forever.

Robert's words weren't directed at Adrian. They were spoken to me. "That which is dead doesn't always stay dead..."

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has returned to St. Vladimir's-and to her best friend Lissa Dragomir. It's graduation and the girls can't wait for their real lives outside of the Academy's cold iron gates to finally begin. But even with the intrigue and excitement of court life looming, Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri. He's out there, somewhere.

She failed to kill him when she had the chance, and now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart he's hunting her. And if Rose won't join him, he won't rest until he's silenced her....forever.

But Rose can't forget what she learned on her journey-whispers of a magic too impossible and terrifying to comprehend. A magic inextricably tied to Lissa that could hold the answer to all of Rose's prayers but not without devastating consequences. Now Rose will have to decide what-and who-matters most to her. In the end, is true love really worth the price?

My thoughts:

I really love this series; it's one of my favorites out there right now. It has action, adventure, romance, comedy, vampires, magic, undead creatures, betrayal, angst, darkness. Pretty much all the most desired qualities in one series.

Although Spirit Bound was not my favorite in the series, I enjoyed Shadow Kissed and Blood Promise more, it acted as a conduit to the last book. It certainly set the stage for whatever is going to happen next.

I love that they're finally out of the academy and I also love the connection with her dad. I always forget that she is half vampire and whenever her Moroi father comes into the scene, its a nice reminder of who Rose is and where she comes from. Dimitri made me so upset in this book and I just wanted to shake him and scream, "Get over it already!!!!!" I don't want to give away any spoilers so I'm not going to explain what that was about.

The ending was so good and it definitely left me hanging and super excited to read the next one. But I will also be sad cause it will be over and go into my usual post series depression until I can find another one to wrap my head around.

In My Mailbox (10)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren. For more information on how to participate, follow the link and check it out!

This week I bought:

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
My Bloody Valentine by Melissa de la Cruz

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

I have had all these books on my wish list for at least a year and I just finally bought them. I didn't get any books for review this week or from the library. I own so many books that I haven't read yet that I just need to read them already.

What did you get this week?

Book Blogger Hop (3) and Follow Friday

The book blogger hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word. This amazingly fun weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books! Follow Friday is hosted at Parajunkee's View. Hop on over and join the fun!

This week's question for the hop is:

If you could physically put yourself into a book or series, which one would it be and why?

I have to choose 2 series for this question because there is one character who I would love to be and another character who is practically me.

The character who I would love to be is Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series because she is such a badass and she is not afraid to speak her mind. She is a very strong character that speaks to women and says, "Don't be afraid to be who you are and stand up for what you believe it even if it means getting in trouble every now and then."

The character who is practically me in every way is Lizzie from Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble series. She is clumsy, talks her head of to absolute strangers and isn't afraid to globe trot for the supposed man of her dreams. This series is so crazy hilarious and more than once I found myself saying, "I would do that or I have done that."

This week's follow question is:

Inspired by the inane twitter trend of #100FACTSABOUTME, give us five book related silly facts about you.

1. I can never for the life of me remember author names. And I mean like ever. I can remember the title of the book and how the cover looks but the author always escapes me.

2. I prefer paperbacks to hardcovers. I think I don't like to be responsible for the jackets and I lose them all the time.

3. To go along with number 2, I really enjoy used books. I enjoy the smell of them, as if they've been in a library for a really long time.

4. I really hate it when people try to talk to me while I'm reading. It's like I want to shout, "CAN'T YOU SEE I'M READING!"

5. I always prefer to have a nice hot cup of coffee to sip while I'm reading.