Review: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Hardcover, 424 pages

Released: April 5, 2011

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

ISBN13: 9781442403543

Other places to find the book:
Goodreads.com
Amazon.com
Book Depository.com

City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever.

Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

My Thoughts:
*** Be forewarned, as this is book 4 of a series, there will be spoilers ahead!***

I never wrote up reviews for the first three books of the series, but if I had I would have given them 5 stars. In terms of writing style, Cassie Clare is one of my favourite writers. That being said, it also means I have high expectations.

It took about halfway into the book to really get into it. Maybe I was spoiled with all the action in the previous books? Here, there was a lot more world building, new & important characters and Simon played a larger roll. The world has expanded to include a group called Praetor Lupus who act as guardians and Lilith who is the mother of all demons. I was hoping to find out more about the White book, the Seelie Queen and see more of Magnus. Simon just doesn't do it for me, he seemed flat plus his two-timing dating issues dragged on for too long. Jace and Clary were lacking luster here too as Jace is dealing with issues, trying so hard not to become his dad.

Full of twists and turns, I enjoyed the ride for a while but the ending left me confused. (Spoiler alert) If Simon's mark makes him untouchable, how did the demon expect to trade his life for Jonathan's and still live? As she is known to be a schemer, I figured a loop hole would have been found, but no. Did she do it expecting to become a martyr?

I finished the book rather frustrated and not in a good way, not anxious for answers from the next book. Will I read #5 when it's out? Darn right! When reviewing The White Cat  last year, I also felt is was too much world building so I'm hoping this is the case here too, because I absolutely LOVE that series now (I gave 5 stars to The Red Glove).  

Review: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Hardcover, 496 pages

Released: May 31, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

ISBN13: 9780062011992

Other places to find the book:
Goodreads.com
Amazon.com
Bookdepository.com






My Rating: 3.5 / 5

My Thoughts:

I had a love hate relationship with this one. I should start off by saying that the book is full of elements I love...  Greek mythology, angst, love, fate, an object with magical powers just to name a few. In fact, if I were to write a book, I would have thought that it would contain many of the same elements. So why did I not love this book?

The story is loosely based on the Greek characters Helen of Troy and Paris whose actions are what sparked the Trojan War.  The Fates are determined  making the demi-god descendants repeat history. In Starcrossed, Helen has grown up with her father on a small island. Her mom suddenly up and left them when she was young, leaving no trace, not even pictures of her, behind. Helen tries to blend in with the crowd, knows that she can do some things too well, like running, and struggles to appear normal. It is when the Delos family moves in that the pieces of the puzzle really begin to make sense. With the help of Lucas, she discovers her family secret and that she plays a key role in keeping the world alive.

Starcrossed incorporates variations on the myths we know. The Trojan War did not end with the wooden horse, but rather a deal was made. The character names Helen, Cassandra, Hector etc left little to the imagination, but a couple of my many annoyances were that it took Helen forever to realize her role in all of this and that she is basically Helen of Troy reincarnated. Also Cassandra's foresight is never doubted. I actually think that the book may have been even more enjoyable had the story been in its own world, rather than borrowed from myth. I loved seeing the story veer on its own course.

One thing I noticed is that trying to write characters tied together by fate is hard! Helen and Lucas begin the story about to kill each other. This is out of character for Helen, who is trying to be a wallflower and she has no idea why she feels so much hatred.  It's not an easy task to make a character come alive when their actions are being forced upon them and for this reason I found them flat, even the romantic connection between her and Lucas.

Once Helen discovered who she was and was no longer trying to push back her special abilities, she was a great, kick butt character. The middle of the book, where they are teaching her to fight is fabulous. This is where the book gets good, pages were quickly turned and we learn all about the real story of the war. This is also where I was hoping to have the story take off. I knew going in, this was book one of a trilogy, so I was expecting a major cliffhanger but rather it ended without a bang, more of a WTF.

Oh how I wanted to love you Starcrossed :(

Teaser Tuesday - July 5, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

'Night, Dex,' she murmured while she could still speak.
'Night, Em,' he replied, but she was already gone.
Eight days to go, he thought, eight whole days. Almost anything could happen in eight days.

Can you tell this is a story full of angst and complex characters?


One Day (Movie Tie-in Edition)
Published May 31st 2011 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Movie is out August 19th

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? July 4, 2011

It's Monday! What are you reading? is a weekly event to celebrate what we are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week. Feel free to join in this weekly event if you'd like as well as use the picture above. Thanks Sheila for hosting!

Last week:

It wasn't a great reading week. I finished City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments, Book 4) and Starcrossed, both books I was so eager to read but left me feeling unfulfilled.

This week:

In need of a good, pick me up, I switched it up and decided to go with an adult love story. Last night I started One Day and am loving it. A story of a guy & girl who have just graduated & are now trying to figure themselves out now that adult life is here. They get together on July 15th and being such a meaningful day, each chapter is written on a July 15th. I'm only a few years in, but according to the synopsis, the book covers 20 years of their life.

AND I'm so so excited to finally read Forever! I'm always nervous when a series that I've so much ends though!

 

What are you reading?

Time For The Canada Day Blog Hop!

I can't believe that summer is finally here! It's time for BBQing, sitting outside in the backyard reading ... oh and I'm sure letting the kids run wild at the park will be a daily routine too! We have no big plans this summer but I do have many fun day trip ideas: the Toronto Zoo is a must every year, it's been a while since I've visited the CN Tower (even though I work down the street from it!), a Toronto Argos football game, plus maybe a trip to Niagara Falls and a stop at the family cottage! Happy Canada Day everyone!

To celebrate, you can win a $10 Gift Card from bookdepository.com!  Since this is in honor of Canada Day, there will be TWO steps in this giveaway (and you must do both!) To enter, leave a comment with the name of a Canadian author (click here if you need some hints) you love, then fill in the form below.

Next Stop: Pass The Chiclets