March Wrap Up

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great month. I have definitely had an amazing month, and when I look back through it, I feel like March has been extremely long. In amongst everything I managed to read, I also managed to binge watch Vampire Diaries up until about episode 8 in season 5. So… I’ve definitely gotten through a lot this month!

Read:

• A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess – (Read in Feb, reviewed in March)
• Mercy Rule by Tom Leveen (Read in Feb, Reviewed in March)
• Lies that Bind by Diana Rodriguez Wallach – ARC, DNF, 1 star
• The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell – 3 stars
• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – 5 stars
• Circle of Ashes by Elise Kova and Lynn Larsh – ARC, 5 stars
• City of Glass by Cassandra Clare – 4 stars
• Captive by Jex Lane – Adult, Review on Goodreads, 4 stars
• Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare – 3 stars
• Everless by Sara Holland – 3 stars
• Rebel Springs by Morgan Rhodes – 4 stars
• Obsidio by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman – 5 stars – Review to come
• Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau – 2 stars – Review to come
• Sire by Jex Lane – Adult, Review to come on Goodreads, 5 stars
• Broken by Jex Lane – Adult, Review to come on Goodreads, 5 stars
• Stone Sentinel by Jex Lane – Adult, Review to come on Goodreads, 5 stars

Started:

• Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

Bought/Acquired:

• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
• Everless by Sara Holland
• Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves
• Obsidio by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
• Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger – I ordered this second hand and when it came, I found it is signed!!
• Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
• The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
• Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan
• Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

ARCs/Review Copies:

• Twice Dead by Caitlin Seal – ARC, Netgalley
• Circle of Ashes by Elise Kova and Lynn Larsh – ARC,Received from the Authors
• Age of Azmoq: The Valantian Imperium by Rajamayyoor Sharma – Review copy received from author
• Unraveled by Kate Jarvik Birch – ARC, Netgalley

Beta:

• Rock – A – Bye Baby by LRW Lee

Goodreads Monday:

• March 5th – Spies, Lies and Allies by Lisa Brown Roberts
• March 12th – Echoes by Alice Reeds
• March 19th – Violent Ends by Shaun David Hutchinson
• March 26th – Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

 

Other posts:

• Cover Reveal: Circle of Ashes by Elise Kova and Lynn Larsh
• Cover and Synopsis Reveal: Spies, Lies and Allies by Lisa Brown Roberts (GR Monday post)
• Cover Reveal: Echoes by Alice Reeds (GR Monday Post)
• Cover Reveal: A Bond of Sovereigns and Souls by Karen Tomlinson

Book of the Month:

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Published: January 2nd 2018 by LBBFYR

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

I hope you all had an amazing month like I did! Feel free to add your links to the comments so I can check them out!

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.

January Wrap – Up

Hey guys!! I feel like January went really slowly… almost like it didn’t want to end AT ALL!!! Or is that just me? I have been ill for the most part of it, which is probably why it went so slowly for me! Anyway, because I was ill for the beginning of January (like couldn’t get out of bed ill), and I fell ill again, and my son was ill and my husband fell ill (with the man flu), I didn’t have such a great month reading. However, I did get through some books, and here they are…

Read:

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley – Doyle – 3/5 stars – This was my first read of 2017 and I was pretty disappointed…

Wanted by Betsy Schow – ARC , 5/5 Stars– This is by far one of my favourite series out there so far! This is the second book and I LOVED it

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – 4/5 stars – This was my first time reading Clare and I had a ball!!

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare – 4/5 stars – Again, I had a great time reading this!

The Lost Girl by Candy Atkins – 5/5 Stars – I was sent a signed copy of both the first book in the series and this one as well… and ironically enough it got lost in the post. They had to send it again!!

Last Stand by Rachel. E. Carter, ARC – 5/5 stars – This was the final instalment in the series… and it was everything I wanted and so much more!!

Books Started:

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare – I did start this book, and then I stopped about 1/4 of the way through to beta read something. When I came back to it, I found I was no longer in the right mood for it. I didn’t want to force myself to read through it when I was enjoying it because I know I won’t like it if I do! I will come back to this when the mood takes me 😀

A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess – I am currently reading this and, whilst I am enjoying myself, it hasn’t blown me away.

Book Haul:

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin – Illustrated Edition

The Lost Knight by Candy Atkins

The Lost Girl by Candy Atkins

Heir of Thunder by Karissa Laurel – The author actually approached me with a review request for this one 🙂

Last Stand by Rachel E. Carter

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

Special Blog Posts:

Roseblood by A. G. Howard – Release Day Blitz

The Black Mage Series by Rachel E. Carter – Cover Reveals

Goodreads Monday:

This is a weekly meme that I host on my blog, so I am going to add this section to my monthly wrap up!

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins – January 2nd

The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin – January 9th

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven – January 16th

Proof of Lies by Diana Rodriguez Wallach – January 23rd

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth – January 30th

*phew* finally got to the end of this post!! Unfortunately I didn’t have a great reading month, but I am hoping the February will be better!!

How was January for you guys? Let me know in the comments!

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Published: July 2nd 2015 by Walker Books

Love and power are the deadliest temptations. Haunted by her past, Clary is dragged deeper into New York City’s terrifying underworld of demons and Shadowhunters – but can she control her feelings for a boy who can never be hers?

I absolutely loved the first instalment in this series, so I immediately cracked open this book when I was finished. Despite this book not being the most original thing out there, it was still a really fun read and I still really enjoyed myself reading this!

I really liked Clary in this book. Despite everything that has happened to her throughout the first book and even what happens to her in this book, she still remains basically the same person who she has always been. She struggles to come to terms with how she feels about Jace, which is understandable, but she still stood by him and protected him when he needed her the most – which I think is a really strong character trait to have! I did feel sorry for her in certain places within this book and I cannot wait to see where he journey takes her next! Especially after finding out how different she really is!

I felt really sorry for Jace throughout this entire book! It seems like everything and everyone is against him, despite the fact that he hasn’t actually done anything wrong! It was just one bad thing after another after another and he started to take it out on those around him who were trying to protect him! I get that, but I was still a little miffed about it! I do, however, think there is something fishy about the fact that he and Clary are brother and sister… that is to say, I don’t believe that they are related. I just don’t quite know why or what yet!

I also felt really sorry for Simon! Poor sausage… after everything that happens with Clary and the Seelie court etc. That had to go and happen to him! Really? I don’t want to give too much away, but I was not expecting it – especially with the amount of protection that he normally has! I definitely felt better for him toward the end after he had spoken to Clary and everything else that happened!

All in all, I really quite enjoyed this story, the plot and the characters both alike! It wasn’t the most original thing in the world, but I still had a fun time reading it and I cannot wait to carry on with the series! I gave this book 4/5 stars!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Published: July 2nd 2015 by Walker books

Irresistibly drawn towards a group of demon hunters, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City – and the dangers of forbidden love.

Well, excuse me whilst I go and kick myself for not having read this sooner! Extremely disappointed in myself right now! I was completely hooked by this book. It was a fun and quick read.

I really liked Clary as a character! She has no idea what is going on, or what has happened/what is happening, but she manages to stay strong throughout the book. She is definitely one of those characters where I could easily imagine myself being friends with her. I did feel really sorry for her, especially because her whole life is not what she thought it was. She has no idea who she really is and everything is sort of sprung on her all at once! She also seems to have a lot of luck where fighting comes in – she seems to be someone who is handy in a sticky situation! Let’s adopt her…

I also really like Jace, despite the fact that he rarely shows how he is truly feeling. It is easy to understand why he is the way that he is when his backstory is revealed and I basically wanted to wrap him up in some bubble wrap and spring lovey emotions all over him just so he feels like he belongs and is wanted. Despite that, he is still a really strong, kick butt character – another handy person to have about when there are demons lurking in the shadows.

I was not convinced by the fact that Simon so easily believed Clary when she first told him everything that was happening. She tells him about demons etc. and he believed her no questions asked – which is really unrealistic, in my opinion.

Can we just talk about the plot twist glory that happened in this book!! Everything that happened toward the ending left me with a hanging mouth and pretty dang shocked!! I did not see half of it coming and I still cannot believe that I haven’t read this book sooner! I don’t want to mention too much, in case there is a reader who has yet to read the book, like myself, but I loved the twists that happened and I really cannot wait to see what happens next!

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I really do wish I had read them sooner because it was EPIC! I gave this book 4/5 stars!

September Wrap Up

Hey guys! It is time to wrap up the month of September! I managed to read a total of 9 books this month! Which is more than I thought I had read. One of those books did not get reviewed on my blog because I was so angry with it. It was insulting. Anyway, lets do this!

Read:

• Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova – I received an ARC of this via Sourcebooks Fire, 4/5 stars
• Dear Charlie by N. D. Gomes – I received an ARC of this via Netgalley, 5/5 Stars
• With Malice by Eileen Cook – 2.5/5 stars
• Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi, 4/5 stars
• The Lost Knight by Candy Atkins – I received a review copy of this book via Xpresso Book Tours, 4/5 stars.
• Pretty Wicked by Kelly Charron – I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley, 5/5 stars
• Winning by Lara Deloza, 3/5 stars.
• The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey, 4/5 stars, review to come!
• Jenna’s Truth by Nadia L. King, 1/5 stars (If I could give it 0, I would!). I feel like I need to explain this book. This book was never reviewed on my blog – I received an ARC of this via Netgalley. However, it was 34 pages long, and it was insulting to anyone who had ever been the victim of bullying, cyber bullying and sexual assault. If you really want to read the review I wrote for Goodreads’ sake, you can find it here.

Books I acquired in the month of September:

Physical:

• Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill
• Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi
• Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
• Spelled by Betsy Schow
• Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
• Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
• Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
• Winning by Lara Deloza
• The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
• The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich
• Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
• The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas
• The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Kindle:

• Pretty Wicked by Kelly Charron – ARC
• A Mortal Song by Megan Crewe – I won this at her release day party on Facebook
• These Great Affects by Andrew Toy – This book doesn’t actually have a Goodreads Page. It is also an ARC.
• Consurge by D. T. Dylan – ARC Provided from the author.
• Jenna’s Truth by Nadia. L. King
• Escape from Witchwood Hollow by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek – Review copy provided by the author.
• Everlasting Flame by Katelyn Anderson – Review copy provided by the author
• Oak and Mistletoe by J. Z. N. McCauley – ARC provided by the author

Special posts:

Spotlight: Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

Cover Reveal: Emerge: The Judgement by Melissa A. Craven

That’s it for me this month!! *Phew* I thought this post was never going to end!

How was September for you guys?

Find me here:

Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

 

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted here! To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Link back here and don’t forget to link me up so I can see what you have on your TBR’s!

Hey guys!! *Phew* I am so glad I survived this weekend, but I am dead tired today because of it! I was at a wedding this week, so congrats to the happy couple, but as you can imagine… tired!! Anyway, without further ado, here is a book that is actually sat on my shelf and one that I literally cannot wait to get to!

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Published: August 31st 2010 by McElderry Books

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 have never actually read a Clare book (except for the first in the Magisterium series, which she co wrote with Holly Black), so I’m feeling a little left behind!! I have heard so many different versions about which order I should read her books, that I am just going to go with what I got and the way I want to read it!

What do you guys think about Clare’s books? 

Find me here:

Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and Bookish

Hey guys! It’s freebie week! So, I was scrolling through the TBR pile on my Goodreads and I found a lot of series that I need to start! Like… a lot a lot. So, I have decided to do my TTT on top ten series I need to start reading… soon! In no particular order:

10.  Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Published December 8th 2014. I have been meaning to read more of Armentrouts work since I read Don’t Look Back almost 2 years ago. Clearly I need to get around to it!!!

9.  Avery by Charlotte McConaghy. Published February 2nd 2015 by Random House Australia. I have heard so much about this book and I have been meaning to get to it for a while! It definitely looks unique – plus the cover is a bonus!

8.  Storm Siren by Mary Weber. Published August 19th 2014 by Harper Collins. I have been seeing this book floating around a lot lately and it is definitely something I want to read myself and make up my own mind about!

7.  Into the Light by Aleatha Romig Published June 14th 2016 by Thomas and Mercer. Ok, so this was only very recently published, and I have been trying to catch up on my series recently so that I can start some new ones, but I still need to read this book!!

6.  The Outliers by Kimberly McCreight Published May 3rd 2016 by Harper Collins.  Again, this book was only published earlier on this year, but I have heard so much about it since then and I cannot wait to grab my own copy!

5.  Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarry Fisher. Published January 7th 2015 by Hoover Ink. I actually already have a copy of this on my kindle waiting for me – I managed to grab a freebie from Amazon! Can’t wait to get stuck into it!

4.  Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. Published December 11 2012 by Razorbill. This is another book that I have been seeing a lot of recently, despite its publication date coming from 2012!

3.  City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. Published March 27th 2007 by Margaret K. McElderry Books. I have never actually read a Cassandra Clare books that she wrote on her own. I read the Iron Trial a while back, which she co wrote with Holly Black, but this is a series that I clearly need to start! Preferably before someone decides to hit me around the head with this book!

2.  Air Awakens by Elise Kova Published August 27th 2015 by Silver Wing Press. Again, this is another book I have waiting for me on my kindle. I am an impulsive buyer with no self control and it just ends up with me having books pretty much everywhere waiting to be read. Just like this one!

1.  The Queen of All the Dies by Laura Thalassa. Published January 15th 2015 by Lavabrook Publishing Group. This book has been hyped up by pretty much everyone who has read it! I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

So thats it! What did you guys choose to do this week? Feel free to leave links and comments and I will check them all out!

The Copper Gauntlet by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black

Callum Hunt’s summer break isn’t like other kids’. His closest companion is a Chaos-ridden wolf, Havoc. His father suspects him of being secretly evil. And, of course, most kids aren’t heading back to the magical world of the Magisterium in the fall.

It’s not easy for Call . . . and it gets even harder after he checks out his basement and discovers that his dad might be trying to destroy both him and Havoc.

Call escapes to the Magisterium — but things only intensify there. The Alkahest — a copper gauntlet capable of separating certain magicians from their magic — has been stolen. And in their search to discover the culprit, Call and his friends Aaron and Tamara awaken the attention of some very dangerous foes — and get closer to an even more dangerous truth.

As the mysteries of the Magisterium deepen and widen, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take readers on an extraordinary journey through one boy’s conflict — and a whole world’s fate. (Goodreads)

I have had this on my TBR for over a year – ever since I read the first book in this series. I really enjoyed the first book (looking back on my review) and I knew at the time that the second book was something I wanted straight away. So, to say that I DNF’ed this book is disappointing. I was expecting a lot more than what I was given

This book was pretty much a mash up of all the Harry Potter books. We have our Harry, Hermione and Ron in Callum, Aaron and Tamara and Draco in the form of Jasper. Voldemort is played by a character called Constantine Madden – who, it turns out, placed his soul in the body of Callum. Surprise surprise. Our loved Hedwig is now a chaos ridden wolf called Havoc. The philosophers stone is an Alkahest. Callum even runs away from home after his dad nearly almost pulled a Vernon and Petunia Dursley in the sense that he wanted to lock him in the basement – granted, the Dursleys didn’t want to experiment on Harry… just lock him up. The Magisterium is Hogwarts and of course Hogwarts the Magisterium is Harry’s Callums home. Do you see where I am going with this? Oh, I almost forgot, they all run off to save Sirius Callum’s dad, who pulled a Snape and stole the Alkahest from Gringotts the Collegium. Yeah… it’s a rip off to say the least!!

What made it worse was the fact that I felt no connection whatsoever to the characters in any sense. In fact, they bugged me to death and I found them extremely boring! If I could have, I would have slapped all of them … multiple times! Ron Callum was bugging me with his evil overlord rubbish, whilst Harry Aaron and Hermione Tamara bugged me even more! I felt like this book was written for children in the middle school rather than a young adult book!

I don’t think it really helped that I haven’t read the first book in this series since I first read it over a year ago. Obviously I have read a lot of books in the time between then and now and I think I have just lost the plot in the sense that I can’t remember really what happened in the first book anymore. I felt confused. I think the first book is definitely worth a reread if you really want to read this book!!

I was really disappointed that I was given a knock off of my childhood! I expected more from this book and in that sense, the authors just didn’t deliver! I gave this book 1/5 stars.