The Window by Amelia Brunskill

The Window by Amelia Brunskill

Published: April 3rd 2018 by Delacorte Press

Anna is everything her identical twin is not. Outgoing and athletic, she is the opposite of quiet introvert Jess. The same on the outside, yet so completely different inside–it’s hard to believe the girls are sisters, let alone twins. But they are. And they tell each other everything.

Or so Jess thought.

After Anna falls to her death while sneaking out her bedroom window, Jess’s life begins to unravel. Everyone says it was an accident, but to Jess, that doesn’t add up. Where was Anna going? Who was she meeting? And how long had Anna been lying to her?

Jess is compelled to learn everything she can about the sister she thought she knew. At first it’s a way to stay busy and find closure . . . but Jess soon discovers that her twin kept a lot of secrets. And as she digs deeper, she learns that the answers she’s looking for may be truths that no one wants her to uncover.

Because Anna wasn’t the only one with secrets.

I am not going to lie, whilst I had this on my TBR, it wasn’t high on my radar. I haven’t really seen a lot of people talking about it – so I picked this up for my kindle on a bit of a whim because of the mood I was in. I am so glad I did because this book was just amazing in SO MANY different ways, and I feel that a lot more people should be reading it already!

I think my favourite aspect of this book was the way in which it was written. Interspersed between each of Jess’ chapters was a couple of lines from Anna, slowly telling the story. With the clues that Jess was trying to figure out, and the snippets of Anna’s story in between, the author managed to create a mystery that really had me guessing right up until the very end. I was constantly changing my theories and I love the way that this book twisted and turned and kept me on my toes. As soon as I had thought I had something figured out, something happened and everything was put back on its head. Fragments of what happened to Anna, and the clues that she left behind were constantly being questioned by Jess, and it left the reader wondering if Jess was reading too much into things, or if something really did happen to Anna… and it also put a lot of focus on the grieving process and what was happening to Jess throughout psychologically.

Grief plays a HUGE part in this book – especially the grieving process. I loved the way in which the author featured various different grieving processes and represented the idea that everyone grieves differently and that there is no wrong way to grieve. Whether it is trying to find closure, accepting what has happened and moving on or even trying to find a second chance amongst everything that happened, everyone in this book processed things differently and it added an extra element to the story itself.  Having said that, the author also managed to weave in the idea of whether grief can be taken too far and just how low we can sink when we are grieving.

I also liked the fact that the author didn’t just represent grief through the loss of a friend/daughter/sibling through death. The author used various plot points to highlight different forms of grief and loss – loss of innocence, self worth, love and relationships and childhood. Everyone was facing different issues and processing it in different ways and showing different forms of grief, even within their everyday lives.

The author also wove in different societal issues that we face today and showed how one can affect another and how that in turn can affect something else. It was written in such a way that focused on teens trying to find themselves and navigate the world around them and the way in which it can sometimes go completely wrong – Alcoholism, the date rape drug, death, corruption, pedophilia, blackmail, sexual assault. Brunskill tied everything together and this book contributed, I think, in a huge way to the discussion of various issues and I really think that, young people especially, should be reading this book.

I also loved the way that this book focused on good things in amongst the bad. The sibling bond that Jess and Anna had was beautiful. Being twins, they had a different kind of special bond, that often left people feeling a little left out, but it was a bond that stuck right up until the very end, and even after Anna’s death. They were loyal to each other, as many siblings are (myself and my brother included) and I loved the fact that it showed that, even though you might not always get along with your siblings or see eye to eye with them, they’ll always be there for you in the end.

The ending was extremely bittersweet. I don’t want to give too much away, but the development and the changes that Jess went through throughout the book, and the point that she had gotten to by the end was both heart warming and heart breaking. I was left ugly sobbing in the corner – that’s all I’m saying.

All in all, I loved this book. It was poignant and heart breaking, but also bittersweet right up until the end. It focused on so many different issues and wove them all together pretty seamlessly. I gave this book 5/5 stars

Tarnished by Kate Jarvik Birch

Tarnished by Kate Jarvik Birch 

Published: December 1st 2015 by Entangled Teen

Freedom comes at a cost…

Ella was genetically engineered to be the perfect pet—graceful, demure…and kept. In a daring move, she escaped her captivity and took refuge in Canada. But while she can think and act as she pleases, the life of a liberated pet is just as confining as the Congressman’s gilded cage. Her escape triggered a backlash, and now no one’s safe, least
of all the other pets. But she’s trapped, unable to get back
to Penn—the boy she loves—or help the girls who need her.

Back in the United States, pets are turning up dead. With help from a very unexpected source, Ella slips deep into the dangerous black market, posing as a tarnished pet available to buy or sell. If she’s lucky, she’ll be able to rescue Penn and expose the truth about the breeding program. If she fails, Ella will pay not only with her life, but the lives
of everyone she’s tried to save…

I loved the first book in this series. I thought it was unique and well written and I was looking forward to seeing what the author was going to do with this world she had created and how she was going to develop it. However, this book fell completely and utterly flat for me. I was left feeling so disappointed and wanted to punch the characters.

One of my biggest issues with this book was the plot – in a lot of ways, it felt too convenient and predictable. From Missy being right there when Ella wanted to escape the safe house in Canada (with no explanation as to how she got there and why she was there), to the easy way these characters just strolled through the story and the way that Ella’s plan to get Penn just fell into place without any issues whatsoever. The plot really suffered in this book, and I struggled to pick the book up throughout.

I loved the unique idea of people (namely women) being owned as Pets. Having said that, I was expecting this to be more developed in book 2. We had gotten a pretty good look at the life of Pets and what they’re expected to do, but we have no idea how America got to the point of allowing this kind of legislation through. The world needed to be developed more to make it plausible. The America that was presented to us was very much like a modern day America…they had just allowed people to becomePets (slaves). What happened to the constitution, the people who uphold the law, the supreme courts and everything else that would stop this kind of bill from being passed? Especially genetically engineering people to be pets – where are the ethics? Scientific ethics etc. Nothing about this was written in a plausible way.

Another major issue I had with this book was Ella. She was naive to the point of being a 10 year old child and a lot of her actions were extremely stupid. I physically couldn’t get on board with her actions because they all felt extremely stupid and I didn’t agree with her reasoning. The love between Penn and Ella is really too insta lovey for me, so using love as the reason to return and get him (even after everything he sacrificed to make sure she got OUT of America) just… I wanted to bang my head against the wall, ok? I struggled. Her naivety about EVERYTHING else throughout the whole book, despite everything she had been through in book one and the things she had seen, also left me struggling to pick up the book if I had put it down.

Missy was another aspect of this book that I struggled with, but I did sort of like her. She was constantly sacrificing herself for Ella and protecting her. She was definitely a strong character – but her actions made no sense to me. She openly admitted to not liking Ella in the first book. She suffered and went through a lot to get to Canada and then she just decides to help out Ella (eve after miraculously being there with no explanation). Nothing she did was explained and I honestly don’t know why she did what she did throughout the book.

All in all, this book suffered severely with second book syndrome. The plot was underdeveloped and all too convenient, the world building itself was completely lacking anything that would make it plausible and the characters were naive to the point of me wanting to bang my head off the wall. I gave this book 1.5/5 stars (half star for Missy).

 

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Published: February 8th 2018 by Gollancz

I am a Belle. I control Beauty.

In the opulent world of Orléans, the people are born grey and damned, and only a Belle’s powers can make them beautiful.

Camellia Beauregard wants to be the favourite Belle – the one chosen by the queen to tend to the royal family.

But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favourite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that her powers may be far greater – and far darker – than she ever imagined.

When the queen asks Camellia to break the rules she lives by to save the ailing princess, she faces an impossible decision: protect herself and the way of the Belles, or risk her own life, and change the world forever.

This book was one of my highly anticipated reads for 2018. I was completely drawn in by the beautiful cover and the blurb had me intrigued – as well as all the amazing reviews this was getting! I absolutely loved this book! It was magical in so many ways, whilst highlighting so many social issues.

The world building in this book was phenomenal! It was magical, lush and vivid and I was never left struggling trying to picture anything! I could easily envision the treatments, the rooms, the city itself, the characters and it was a world that was easy to get lost in.

I liked the representation of beauty in this book – both the good and the bad sides. I liked the fact that Clayton represented the idea that beauty is ever changing and that the trends are set by a select few in our community and that everyone is always clamouring to have the last thing. I also liked the fact that Clayton didn’t shy away from the ugly side of beauty – the unhealthy body images that are constantly being presented and the fact that people are willing to change their bodies to extremely unhealthy lengths, just to be trendy, was very reflective of today’s society. Camellia tried to advocate for a natural and healthy body type, but was constantly being shut down, which, again, is constantly taking place in society. Beauty was painful and expensive to uphold and it really reflects everything about the beauty industry in today’s society.

Aside from beauty, Clayton also represented other societal issues – Media influence, sexual harassment/assault, rape culture, Politics and power in politics etc. Clayton managed to weave in various issues and represent them in a way that mattered and didn’t feel flimsy. I also like the fact that Clayton had LGBTQ representation throughout in various places.

I largely enjoyed the plot, but I’m still not sure where this series is heading? Books usually have an end game/a goal that the characters are trying to reach by the end of the book/series and it’s their journey to get there and the challenges that thy face throughout. I can’t say I really know where this series is going and what the characters are ultimately setting out to do because it was never made clear. So,while the plot itself was good and had good twists etc. it seems a little lost in where it’s going.

I would have also liked to have seen a little more development in certain plot points – specifically things like the crying in the teahouses. It is mentioned throughout the book and we are reminded at various points throughout, but I feel that the answer to what it was and what was really going on should have been more fleshed out. The author could have made more out of the mystery.

I liked Camellia as a character. She had no issues questioning things that she knew wasn’t right and she ultimately stayed true to herself throughout, despite what was being thrown at her. I liked the fact that she tried to do the right thing and made things right that she knew she had done wrong. I also loved her interaction with Auguste! They were hilarious and sassy and really helped to lift the mood when various plot points had brought it down. I found myself laughing at them often and always looked forward to when they would verbally spar!

I would have liked to have seen more of a relationship development between Remy and Camille. I enjoyed the tentative relationship that they had the and the judgyness that came from Remy regarding Camille – but I would have liked to have seen them get to know each other a little more (especially Remy) and I would have liked to have seen Remy’s perspective change a little bit more fleshed out – especially because of the ending.

I have a love hate relationship with Sophia. She was well fleshed out and I liked the subtlety of her actions at the beginning, which became more erratic and obvious as the book carried on. She was conniving and manipulative – I can’t wait to see what the author is going to do with this character.

I loved the ending! I was not expecting things to go down the way that they did and I was not expecting a certain character to be at the middle of it! I was pretty shocked when I found out what had happened and I felt betrayed! The ending wasn’t predictable at all and I loved it!

All in all, I absolutely loved this book, despite the few issues that I have with it! The characters were mostly well fleshed out and the world building was just magical and amazing! I gave this book 4/5 stars.

 

Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Published: July 1st 2014 by Entangled Teen

Perfection comes at a price.

As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.

Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows… and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating.

But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving… and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death.

For fans of Kiera Cass’ Selection series and Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series, Perfected is a chilling look at what it means to be human, and a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous—and dangerous—bow.

I have had this on my TBR for AGES! I have also had it on my kindle for the longest time. So, when I was offered a place on the blog tour for the third book (which releases in a few days), I thought it would be a great time to FINALLY pick this series up. I actually really enjoyed this book, and I am totally bummed at myself for not picking it up sooner!

I liked the concept of this book. The idea of certain humans being raised to be ‘pets’ (and those people being exclusively women) was unique. It was very reflective of society today in the way in which they have expectations of how they are to act and present themselves and what is expected of them b their ‘owners’ – they were expected to be thin, beautiful, have shiny hair, hold themselves in a certain way, have multiple talents, etc.But of course they weren’t allowed to speak for themselves. It is very reflective of the way in which some parts of society still see women and I liked the fact that it was compared to slavery in its own way (which it basically was).

I also liked the fact that the author didn’t shy away from using language that really drove home the fact that these people were considered pets and, therefore, property. She repeatedly used phrases such as ‘pets’, ‘Kennel’, ‘Trained’ etc. It made me extremely uncomfortable in places that humans were considered this way, and I liked the fact that it made me stop and consider it.

What I also like about this book was the fact that a lot of people in the society were vehemently against the idea of keeping humans as pets, despite the fact that the MC didn’t really understand that she was a slave in her own right. Whilst a lot of dystopian books focus on MC’s who are a part of the rebellion to change the society they are in, this book wasn’t like that. It took a lot of convincing from people outside of the MC’s usual life, along with other aspects, for her to really understand what was going on.

This book, however, was a little predictable – much like a to of the books written around this time period,I think. I had already guessed from relatively early on why the previous girl had been sent away and I was expecting the ending to happen in the way in which it did. I also felt like the ending was a little too easy (Don’t want to give away spoilers) and I would have liked to have seem more of a challenge for the characters to face.

I would have also liked to have seen the characters be fleshed out a little more. I felt that they were a little superficial and I struggled to really connect with them. The relationship between Penn and Ella was eye roll worthy because of the insta love and I felt like that could have been developed much better to be a slow burn, as opposed to what it was.

All in all, despite a couple of issues, I enjoyed this book. I liked the pacing of it and the plot overall and the way in which it reflected aspects of today’s society. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

 

Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau

Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau

Published: March 13th 2018 by HMH Books for Young Readers

A congressman’s daughter who has to be perfect. A star quarterback with a secret. A guy who’s tired of being ignored. A clarinet player who’s done trying to fit in. An orphaned rebel who wants to teach someone a lesson. A guy who wants people to see him, not his religion.

They couldn’t be more different, but before the morning’s over, they’ll all be trapped in a school that’s been rocked by a bombing. When they hear that someone inside is the bomber, they’ll also be looking to one another for answers.

This book was one of my highly anticipated releases of March. Especially with whats currently going on with #MarchForOurLives, I was excited to see how the author tackles this subject. However, I found this book to be extremely predictable and too stereotypical to have really added anything to the current discussion. I felt that this book should have been much more complex than it was in so many ways than it was and it was just left lacking .

My biggest issue with this book was just how stereotypical all of our main players were. There was no real depth to any of the characters beyond their stereotypes and some of the characters really don’t change or take ANYTHING from the experience they went through and shared. The author did include a diverse set of characters – but they needed to be fleshed out and developed beyond the social stereotypes and the predictable secrets that they were holding onto. From Jocks who are in the closet, to a congressman daughter who feels like she is trapped being a person that she doesn’t want to be, to a teen who ha lost his mum and hates the whole world (and the friend he has who is trying to save him from himself), to the muslim who is IMMEDIATELY blamed for the situation without proof and the student who is bullied to the point of suicide – the characters are a wide cast of different people, but I wanted to get to know them on a deeper level and not just for their ‘secrets’.

I feel like this book tried to introduce too many social issues and didn’t actually talk about them in any great detail. I would have rather the book focused on 1 or 2 and had actually discussed them in depth, as opposed to touching on various and not bringing anything to the bigger discussion. I also liked the fact that Charbonneau introduced a political aspect with the legislation that Diana’s father was trying to pass (I don’t want to spoil it), but, again, I think it could have been discussed on a larger and deeper scale in a way that would have mattered.

I liked the fact that Charbonneau brought together a band of people who would usually have NOTHING to do with one and another and stuck them in a situation in which they had to rely on one another to get them through the situation. Especially when the characters find out that one of them is responsible for the bombing and the way that they had to continue to rely on each other whilst trying to figure out who it was.

This book was also too predictable for me. I already knew who it was right from the very beginning chapter of that character and I had guessed why they did it. It was too obvious in the way in which certain things were described and the things that they did – so, in this sense, I would have liked a bit more of a whodunnit that would have had me guessing throughout.

I would have also liked to have seen more psychologically repercussions after the event. I felt that only one character really showed any sign of struggling to come to terms with what had happened, whilst I felt that a couple of other really took nothing away from the experience itself. It annoyed me that there didn’t seem to be any character development at all and it was almost like nothing happened for them.

All in all, I struggled with this book. I felt like it could have added a lot more to the current discussion if it had been executed in the right way, as well as added something to other discussions such as suicide awareness and homosexuality in sports. I struggled to connect emotionally to any of these characters and it was just too predictable. I gave this 2/5 stars.

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Published: March 13th 2018 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they’ll find seven months after the invasion?

Meanwhile, Kady’s cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza’s ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha’s past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.

With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken.

I’m not going to lie, I don’t even know where to start with this review. Obsidio is a book that I had on pre order since last year May – so you can imagine my reaction when this baby FINALLY reached my door! Words cannot even describe. I loved this instalment so much and I am feeling bittersweet about it because it is the final book in the series. I am no ready to let go of this world and the characters and, honestly, I call for a spin off. Like… I need more!

Like with Illuminae and Gemina, I loved the layout of this book! It is so unique from everything else out there and it was easy to follow, despite the layout. It was fun, eye catching and is a huge reason that I fell in love with this book. The book itself is HUGE, and the layout really helps to cut through that amount of pages and really makes it a quick read, despite the size (or maybe I was just too obsessed?)

I also loved the fact that the characters from the previous book started to come together in this one, whilst also introducing us to new characters at the same time. The story of each and every one of these characters began to weave together as they got to know each other and become a part of their every day lives. All of the previous characters, along with the new characters, retained their unique personalities, so it was easy to see who’s perspective we were reading from. Each and every single character brought something new to the story and they all had their own purposes throughout – even as things and circumstances changed.

I loved Aidan’s character. The authors managed to weave him into an extremely complex character (considering the fact that he’s AI). He’s lovable in his own way, but then commits really horrific actions that has the readers struggling to deal with. His character is really morally grey, and will have the readers questioning their own morality. He was programmed to think and act logically, and save the most amount of people – so while his actions were horrific, they saved the most amount of people… I love the fact that readers are struggling to really decide if he is evil or not, a protagonist or an antagonist and I loved the fact that he brought something extremely complex to the story that could generate a debate for both good and evil.

The plot, like the first two book, was just fantastic. It was full of twists and turns that I never even saw coming; character deaths that I wasn’t expecting(don’t worry, no spoilers) and an ending that I really just reeled at. This book was a rollercoaster from beginning to end and I was just hooked the whole way throughout – I finished in less than a day, which had my husband really questioning how I managed to read that many pages in such a short amount of time.

This book even had me ugly (and I mean UGLY) sobbing in a corner… TWICE! I’m not going to mention what happened, either time, but it broke me… and then broke me all over again for completely different reasons and I really struggled to deal. I love the fact that the authors managed to suck me in completely and really had me invested in the plot and the characters to that extent.

Another thing I found relatively amusing (and actually pretty clever) was the way in which the author paid homage to OTHER AUTHORS throughout. Whether it was Claire LeGrand, Danielle Paige, Alex London amongst others, I thought it clever how they wove the names into the story, along with something that linked to their respective book series throughout. I had fun picking them out as I read.

All in all, I absolutely LOVED this instalment! I’m still up for a spin off after the ending and… I just want more from these characters and this world. I am not ready to say goodbye just yet – if ever! I gave this book 5/5 stars.

Rebel Springs by Morgan Rhodes

Rebel Springs by Morgan Rhodes

Published: July 15th 2014 by Razorbill

Auranos has been conquered and the three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now unwillingly united as one country called Mytica. But alluring, dangerous magic still beckons, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the world. . . .

CLEO is now a prisoner in her own palace, forced to be an ambassador for Mytica as the evil King Gaius lies to her people MAGNUS stands to eventually inherit the new kingdom but is still obsessed with his feelings for his adopted sister, Lucia LUCIA is haunted by the deadly outcome of her breathtaking display of magic that allowed her father to capture the kingdoms JONAS watches at the palace gates, a troop of rebels behind him, waiting for him to tell them how he plans to overtake King Gaius When Gaius announces that a road is to be built into the Forbidden Mountains, formally linking all of Mytica together, he sets off a chain of cataclysmic events that will forever change the face of this land.

Since the final book in this series was recently published, I thought it was probably a good time to return to this series! Whilst I found the plot enjoyable, there were other aspects of this book that I really struggled with which were ultimately a let down.

As mentioned, I enjoyed the plot. Despite the jumping between various PoVs (characters who are located a various different places on the continent(?)), the plot was extremely easy to follow and it was interesting watching all the various points start to come together as the characters begin to have similar goals – albeit for different reasons. I liked the magical aspect of this book and the mystery that surrounds the watchers, the kindred etc.

I enjoyed the various different PoVs! I feel that Rhodes did a great job of making each voice unique and, in doing so, the voices didn’t bleed together. I could easily put the book down mid chapter (which I try not to do) and come back and remember who’s PoV I was reading because the voices are unique. They all have their own personalities and each one brought something different to the story.

I am so intrigued by the prince of Kaesia. We don’t get to see a lot of him in this book, but he is such a mysterious figure and I cannot wait until we find to more about him and what is role will be in the bigger picture! I am also low key ready to jump aboard a particular ship if the canon develops – that is all I am saying.

I struggled with the romance element of this book. A lot of it felt forced and I wasn’t really getting any of the feels from the characters who were claiming to be into Cleo. I liked the fact that Cleo and Magnus’ relationship is one that will probably grow and develop as the series continues because it is a slow burn that I will probably enjoy more. I honestly don’t understand why everyone keeps flinging themselves at Cleo because there hasn’t really been a build up of emotions before declaring love – I feel like Cleo needs to arm herself with a bat so she can keep them all away!

Despite the fact that I enjoyed the plot, I am relatively sure I have already figured out the complete end game based off of the prophecy – I just don’t know whats going to happen to actually get there. Everything clicked into place when the prophecy was revealed and I wish that there was more of a mystery to the plot – it was a little to predictable in this sense.

Another aspect of this book that I don’t really understand is the skepticism of magic. A big portion of the book is the characters denouncing the existence of magic and them being skeptical about it… despite the fact that IT IS IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES!! This literally makes no sense to me. They have seen magic and that it exists, but they still refuse to believe it? This elicited a lot of eye rolling from me.

All in all, while I enjoyed the plot and there were intriguing aspects, there were still some flaws that I felt could have been addressed. I am looking forward to picking up the next book in this series and finding out how things will play out to the ultimate end goal. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

Everless by Sara Holland

Everless by Sara Holland

Published: January 2nd 2018 by HarperTeen

In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

I was extremely excited when I got my hands on this book. I loved the premise of this book and I was excited to see that other people had loved it as well. However, this book just didn’t live up to the hype for me. I was expecting something more than what I was given and I was left feeling relatively disappointed.

This book was extremely slow. I felt like it plodded along at a glacial pace and nothing seemed to be happening at all. Various things that were revealed as the book continued didn’t all come together until the last sort of 100 pages and I felt like things could have happened before this point to really help kick start this book. I had already guessed what was going to happen and who Jules was, so the ending wasn’t all that shocking for me either. There was one aspect of the ending that I wasn’t expecting and it didn’t really affect me in the way that it was probably supposed to because I had never felt a connection to that particular story plot (Don’t want to give away too many spoilers).

The whole thing felt extremely repetitive. Jules was doing things that a normal castle worker/person in her job would be doing and she was constantly getting angry at things that she was making no attempts to change. I felt like it was on a bit of a loop and it started getting old relatively quickly. I struggled to connect with her because I found her to be whiny and annoying – so I didn’t really care about what was going to happen to her.

There was one aspect of the book that didn’t make sense wen it tied into the ending. A good portion of the book is spent with Jules fawning over someone she can’t have but has been attracted to since they were children – basically written in a way that she was in love with him. So when the ending went down in the way that it did, I was extremely confused because it went against everything else that happened within the book and the other character relationships etc. It felt a bit whimsical and fickle in a sense.

I was drawn to Liam, more than his brother, from the beginning of the book. I have a thing for dark, broody characters (apparently there is something wrong with me?) and I didn’t really care for his more light hearted brother – who I felt that we were supposed like. I had guessed what Liam had done relatively early on, so when it was revealed at the end, it also didn’t surprise me as it probably should have done.

All in all, I found this book to be a bit predictable and slow – I was expecting better based off of the hype. I loved the premise and the idea behind blood being tied to time, but I really wish that something more had happened. I gave this book 2.5/5stars

 

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Published: August 31st 2010 by Simon & Schuster

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Timesbestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them…

I picked this book up as soon as I had finished City of Glass (as per Clare’s recommended reading order). I had heard from a lot of different places that The Infernal Devices series was a lot better than The Mortal Instruments, so I was extremely excited to pick it up. However, whilst it was mostly enjoyable, it didn’t blow me away the way I was expecting it to, which left me a little disappointed.

As mentioned, whilst I enjoyed the plot as a whole, I wasn’t completely hooked on it. It was fast paced, easy to follow and had some slower moments to help balance it out. I found the plot to be typical Shadow Hunter world, which was easy to step back into. I also enjoyed the steampunk aspect of the book, which is something I wasn’t particularly expecting.

I wasn’t entirely invested in the characters. Whilst I am interested in knowing what Will’s story is and why he is the way that he is and what happened, I’m not emotionally connected to any of them. None of them were stand out unique – which is another reason that I wasn’t entirely hooked on this book. I am also not committed to either #TeamJem or #TeamWill as of yet, but I do have an idea as to who I will eventually commit to – as well as an idea of what is going to happen to Jem by the end of the series.

I did like the fact that we got to see Magnus again! I did read somewhere after this that Magnus is the only character who has been in every single book so far – so I guess it wasn’t all that surprising to see him again. I do like the fact that we got to see more of his character from a different time period and to see his similarities and differences between TID and TMI.

The time jump between The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices was a little off putting and difficult to get into. I picked this book up straight after finishing City of Glass, so I struggled to make the transition between current day Shadow Hunters and 1878 Shadow Hunters. I think the time difference between City of Glass and Clockwork Angel also stopped me from really getting into the story because I kept forgetting that we had gone back in time.

All in all, whilst this book had an enjoyable plot, I wasn’t totally hooked and blown away like I was expecting to be. I am still looking forward to reading the next instalment because a lot of people have said that they are great books. I gave this book 3/5 stars

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Published: March 24th 2009 by Margaret. K. McElderry

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 pursue the love they know is a mortal sin?

I picked this book up and put it back down a couple of times before I finally got to the end. I wasn’t really in the mood for it the first couple of times that I picked it up; but after watching some of the shadow hunters series on Netflix, I decided it was finally time to revisit this book.

As with the previous books in this series, it was relatively predictable. I knew what was going to happen before it did and I also knew the truth about the whole Clary/Jace situation before it was revealed. Whilst the book was predictable, it was easy to get lost in the world of the Shadow Hunters again and I enjoyed revisiting these characters.

Speaking of Clary and Jace; despite the fact that I knew the truth about their situation, I loved the angsty romance scenes that Clare wrote between them. It was easy to get swept up by them as a couple and I was rooting for them throughout the whole book. I love them as a couple and I am excited to see how their relationship will grow and develop in the next books.

Can I also mention how adorable Alec and Magnus are? I have been rooting for them since the very first moment and I love the way that they overcame various obstacles as the series continued! I am so over the moon ecstatic that they actually managed to get their stuff together and the little snippet of them at a certain point in the book actually elicited a cheer from me – which got me some weird looks from my son!

I enjoyed the fact that we finally got the whole back story as to who Valentine really was and how things escalated to the point that they did. I liked finding out the backstory and how each and every character linked together and how the events came around full circle to explain what was going on in the current time. I felt like it really helped tie the book and the characters up.

I do feel that the ending was a little too easy? The characters went through a lot and was constantly being thwarted by Valentine, so I felt that the ending should have come around a little differently. Things slotted into place too nicely and I would have liked to have seen more of a fight for the ending that came around.

All in all, whilst predictable, I really enjoyed this book. It was fun read and an easy way to get back into the shadow hunter world. I loved revisiting these characters and I am looking forward to seeing how things will develop in the next books. I gave this book 4/5 stars.