Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare

GoodReads Summary:
The Shadow Market is a meeting point for faeries, werewolves, warlocks, and vampires. There, the Downworlders buy and sell magical objects, make dark bargains, and whisper secrets they do not want the Nephilim to know. Through two centuries, however, there has been a frequent visitor to the Shadow Market from the City of Bones, the very heart of the Shadowhunters’ world. As a Silent Brother, Brother Zachariah is a sworn keeper of the laws and lore of the Nephilim. But once he was a Shadowhunter called Jem Carstairs, and his love, then and always, is the warlock Tessa Gray. And Jem is searching through the Shadow Markets, in many different cities over long years, for a relic from his past.
Follow Jem and see, against the backdrop of the Shadow Market’s dark dealings and festival, Anna Lightwood’s doomed romance, Matthew Fairchild’s great sin, and Tessa Gray as she is plunged into a world war. Valentine Morgenstern buys a soul at the Market and a young Jace Wayland’s soul finds safe harbor. In the Market is hidden a lost heir and a beloved ghost, and no one can save you once you have traded away your heart. Not even Brother Zachariah.
Review:
Will there ever be a Shadowhunter book that I don’t love? Unlikely. I even love the ones I don’t like that much. That sounds like nonsense, but unless you are part of the Shadowhunter fan club, you wouldn’t quite understand.
This particular novella collection, Ghosts of the Shadow Market, was not my favorite of the novella bind ups, but I still really enjoyed it. I think I love Jem a bit more because of this book. The Infernal Devices was never been my favorite series, I liked them well enough but I don’t love the time period it was set in. So I really enjoyed getting to see Jem on his mission throughout the years. I completely adored any and all interactions with Lily Chen. She had me cracking up. I especially loved the stories with Alec and Magnus (duh!)
Overall, I really enjoyed getting some further insight into the Shadowhunter world and particularly The Dark Artifices tidbits that were given. There were some hints at what will be happening in the final (?) Shadowhunter series, The Wicked Powers, and I just ate it all up. So, if you like the Shadowhunter universe go pick this up and you won’t regret it.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Summary:
In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother.
Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of a nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.
The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris-but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?
When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim has ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee-even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned…
Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the world in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments.
Review:
This was an excellent conclusion to The Mortal Instruments. The story was wrapped up just enough to be satisfying, but with enough loose ends to know that we will be getting more from these characters. If I were reading this before all the other books were out in this world, I would be dying for more, but knowing what happens in later books I think this was a perfect ending because it leaves all the right loose ends that will be answered in The Dark Artifices. This was a reread for me. Check out my review for the previous book here.
I’m not going to ramble too much in this review. if you want more of my thoughts of this story check out my reviews of the previous books in the series. I feel as if I’ve talked about these characters enough that I don’t need to write too much about them.
Overall I loved all the characters. I’m very invested in them at this point. I think Clary really grew and I think she and Jace grew together as a couple. I liked seeing this development with them because they were honestly so annoying when they were younger. I loved the supporting characters as I’ve mentioned before. Alex and Magnus are the absolute best and I loved their struggles and developments and seeing them figure out who they are together despite their differences was great. Simon is still a million percent my favorite character in this series and I really thought Cassandra Clare was going to do him dirty like that, but she saved herself and I’m excited to read about him in the later books. I also totally ship Simon and Isabelle so hard. I think they’re so good for one another.
There are two new characters (well several but two that need mentioning.) that are introduced in the beginning of this book (which I didn’t like but I’ll talk about that later) Emma and Julian are two characters that I know will be important in TDA, but I didn’t like the way they were introduced. I didn’t like that this book started with them. I would have preferred the story start with Clary and Jace and squad instead of new characters that had me wondering WTF was going on. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Emma and Julian, I just didn’t like that we started Heavenly Fire with their point of view. I liked how it ended though because it left all the perfect loose ends to lead into TDA with these characters.
City of Heavenly Fire probably would have gotten five stars from me on GoodReads had it not been for the narrator. For some reason that I can’t think of because it just makes no sense to me, the narrator was changed. The narrator of this final book was different from the last book and I really didn’t like that. I may have liked the narrator more had I been listening to something else, but the change in narrators really bothered me so I noticed quite a few things I didn’t like. First, the narrator has an English accent. This isn’t something that usually bothers me except that these characters live and grew up in New York. None of them are English in any sense. Along with that, some of the characters were narrated without an English accent and some with it. For example, Clary was read without an accent but her mother, Jocelyn, had one and this just really bothered me because it was totally different from the previous book. There were a few other voices that were weirdly accented and it just really bothered me. I couldn’t forget about it through the whole thing. I think this really affected my enjoyment of the story sadly, but I still liked the book and I would like to try to find something else with this narrator and give her another try.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

*Want to buy this book? Just click the image of the book cover! As Amazon Affiliates we will get a percentage of any purchase, feel free to support us.

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Summary:
The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace freed from captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing, so is the boy she hates: her brother Sebastian, who is determined to bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.
The Clave’s magic cannot locate either boy, but Jace can’t stay away from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s magic has wrought-Jace and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other.
Only a few people believe that Jace can still be saved. Together, Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabell bargain with the Seelie Queen, contemplate deals with demons and turn at last to the merciless weapon-making Iron Sisters, who might be able to forge a weapon that can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. If the Iron Sisters can’t help, their only hope is to challenge Heaven and Hell-a risk that could claim their lives.
And they must do it without Clary. For Clary is playing a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?
Review:
Okay, I’m starting to remember why I was such trash for this series when I was in high school. I’ve been rereading all of the Shadowhunter books now that I’m older and with the newly release Queen of Air and Darkness. Check out my review for the previous book here. I haven’t been loving the last few books, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It might even be my favorite of the TMI series. I will let you know my thoughts once I finish listening to the final book, City of Heavenly Fire.
I think the best part of City of Lost Souls is the fact that Cassandra Clare has somehow made me actually care about Sebastian. Reading about Clary being around him and interacting with him and learning more about him, we somehow come to love him. I think this is really interesting because I can get behind a good villain, one that lets their humanity show and has a good backstory, but Sebastian doesn’t have any humanity. He does have a really good backstory, but the horrible things he’s done should make me not care about that. Somehow Cassandra Clare writes this book in such a way that I start to actually care about Sebastian and that’s crazy to me.
I also started to hate Clary a little less in this book. She sort of actually started to think about her actions before reacting. I started to appreciate the lengths she will go for those that she loves (READ: Jace). I think she really went through a lot in this story, had to think about a lot of hard things, make hard choices and was made better for it.
I think Jace’s story was the hardest for me. He really got the shit end of the stick. I felt so bad for him, being pulled into Sebastian’s world without the ability to make any choices for himself. I liked seeing him overcome this though.
Once again, I still loved the supporting characters more than the main characters. I was fully invested in Magnus and Alec and was super sad with the drama they were going through. I absolutely adore Simon and Isabell, I ship them so hard. I also ship Jordan and Maia. I like that they’ve overcome their past. I also really liked that we get to see more of Clary’s relationship with her mother. Jocelyn is an interesting character and I liked seeing her deal with Clary becoming involved with everything Jocelyn never wanted. Jocelyn and Luke are also goals. The best friends to lovers story ever.
Overall, the characters once again overcame some really hard and traumatizing things. I think there was so much growth with all of our favorite Shadowhunters and I really enjoyed this book. I’m interested to see if I like the final book better or not.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

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Blogmas Book Review – City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Summary:
The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.
But nothing comes without a price.
Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her. His mother just found out that he’s a vampire and now he’s homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse that’s wrecking his life. And they’re willing to do anything to get what they want. Not to mention that he’s dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other one.
When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.
Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.
Review:
Once again, I’m underwhelmed by this book. I honestly remember loving these books so much. I thought I would start to enjoy them more now that it wasn’t icky for Jace and Clary to love one another. That was not the case. Clary was still as annoying as ever and Jace joined her ranks in this book. It was one of my least favorite tropes where a character keeps information from another character ‘for their own good.’ But it’s NOT for her own good. It just causes drama and makes me annoyed at the characters I’m supposed to love. It honestly seemed like Clary developed more in City of Fallen Angels and Jace regressed into an insecure teenage boy. This was annoying because I previously liked Jace a lot.
I listened to the audiobook for this one and I think I will continue to do so with the rest of the series. I liked the alternating narrators. The only complaint was that the male narrator read a little bit faster than the female, so listening on 1.5 speed was perfect for the female narrator and just a smidge too fast for the male narrator.
I enjoyed seeing Clary develop further into her role as a Shadowhunter. I liked seeing her  finally come into this world she so desperately wants to be a part of. The fact that she is being trained in this story was something I enjoyed because all too often characters just are suddenly good at things, but that wasn’t the case here. She was taught things like fighting and languages and other essential knowledge.
Once again, I love the supporting characters. Alec and Magnus are goals, even when they’re fighting they’re still more interesting than Clary and Jace. Isabell is still a kick ass girl that exudes confidence and fearlessness and takes no shit. Simon is honestly my favorite. His story arc is the most interesting to me out of all the characters. He just wants to be a normal guy and can’t seem to catch a break.
The villain in this book is similar, but still different from the first books. He is such a hated villain. He’s honestly just pure evil and he’s up there with Voldemort for most hated in my opinion.
Overall, I didn’t love this book. I liked it, didn’t love it. I’m hoping I like the next books better or I might just lose faith in the reader I used to be.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

*Want to buy this book? Just click the image of the book cover! As Amazon Affiliates we will get a percentage of any purchase, feel free to support us.

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Summary:
To save her mother’s life, Clary travels to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters-never mind that by doing so she is breaking the Law, which could mean death. Even worse, Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by Shadowhunters who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight. Luckily, Clary finds an ally in the mysterious Sebastian, who holds a strange attraction for her. As Valentine musters a demon army, can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their ancient hatred and work together? And can Clary harness her newfound powers to help save them all-whatever the cost?
Review:
Honestly, I remember loving this series so much when I first read it. I read this series for the first time years and years ago. I remember anxiously awaiting the release of each new book because I couldn’t get enough of the story.
Rereading this series so many years later has been interesting. Seeing these characters and this story that I loved so much through older eyes was nostalgic, but also somehow disappointing. I definitely didn’t love this story as much as I did when I originally read them.
First off, our love interests. I’m not going to spoil anything for those who may not have read this series so I’m going to be a little vague here. But I definitely don’t feel the same as I used to about our love interests. It honestly just seemed a little gross to me that they couldn’t seem to stay away from one another. I’m usually all for the forbidden love trope. But just not in this way. I think maybe I feel differently because I knew about the twist going in. I’m wondering how I’ll feel in the rest of the books now that it won’t be gross anymore.
Clary pissed me off for pretty much the entire book. It wasn’t until the last hundred or so pages that I started to not hate her. She was annoying and selfish and childish for most of this book. She causes most of her problems
Jace was not as bad. He was annoying with his “I have to protect you because I know what’s best” attitude. But he actually is an experienced and talented Shadowhunter.
The thing that surprised me the most was that I found myself liking the supporting characters more than the main characters. I loved watching Simon grow into his new self. Finding more confidence, being less awkward. Getting over Clary has done wonders for him. Alec was my favorite for character development. He’s starting to accept who he really is and not care who knows about it. I loved seeing him grow into himself. Isabelle was so fabulously sassy and stylish. She kicks ass. She knows she isn’t like other girls and flaunts it. There are so many more that I loved. Luke, Amatis, Magnus, so many others. I love that they’re so well developed and they all have an important part in the story.
Even our villains. They’re excellently evil. Passionate about what they believe in, despite their beliefs being murdery and crazy.
I didn’t love this book like I used to. There were things I liked and didn’t. Overall it was an entertaining story and I’m excited to see how I like the rest of the books in the series.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

*Want to buy this book? Just click the image of the book cover! As Amazon Affiliates we will get a percentage of any purchase, feel free to support us.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Villains

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week we talk about our top ten with a different topic provided by Jana. This week’s topic is top ten – Villains (favorite, best, worst, lovable, creepiest, most evil, etc.) I’m going to go with a combination of all the options. This list will include some of my favorite villains, who are the best and the worst at the same time, but also loveable. Some will be the evilest and maybe a little creepy too. Villains are some of my favorite and a great Spooktober topic!

 

1. The Darkling, Grisha Verse by Leigh Bardugo – Anyone that knows me knows that I miiiight be a little obsessed with this series and the Darkling. He’s such an excellent villain. Attractive and mysterious, he lures you in before pulling you into the dark side. A backstory that gives him a human side. He’s excellently developed and I just love him.
2. Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – Creepy, downright evil, this guy is just the worst in all the best ways. He’s a character that I love to hate.
3. Maven Calore, Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard – A loveable villain in the first book. Before we’re blindsided by the fact that he’s actually the villain for this series. I loved him in Red Queen and HATED him the rest of the series. Aveyard made him loveable and personable and I still love him a little even though he’s pure evil.
4. Tea, The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco – Tea is made out to be the villain in this story but as we read we find out that she’s doing what she really believes in, despite the fact that she knows it will upset pretty much everyone. The minute she finds out she’s a bone witch she’s already given a stigma of being bad.
5. BeiTech, The Illuminae Files by Aime Kaufman & Jay Kristoff – I think this interesting twist of making a corporation the villain of the story is really cool. Though there’s more to this villain I won’t spoil anything. I think this was a well thought out and well-executed villain.
6. Empress Celestine, The Shattered Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima – There’s still much to learn about this particular villain, but so far she’s very intriguing. She’s the worst, but I find myself liking her more as we get deeper into the series.
7. Nova/Insomnia, Renegades by Marissa Meyer – The main character who is a villain, but seems to start to have conflicting feelings about being a villain once she finds herself surrounded by heroes.
8. Martin Chatwin, The Magicians by Lev Grossman – Martin is just the worst. He’s basically psychotic on top of being pure evil.
9. Adelina Amouteru, The Young Elites by Marie Lu – Adelina was one of the first characters that made me realize I might like villains more than I thought.
10. King of Hybern, ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas – This guy sucked. He was actually the worst and I hated everything about him. Greedy and selfish, not satisfied with what he already has so he has to stir up all kinds of drama.

Who are your favorite, best, worst, most evil villains?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Fall TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each week we talk about our top ten with a different topic provided by Jana. This week’s topic is top ten – Books on My Fall 2018 TBR.

1. The Mara Dyer Series by Michelle Hodkin – I’ve heard so many good things about these books. I bought them recently and I really want to get around to reading them.
2. The Emerald Sea by Richelle Mead – The third and final book in The Glittering Court series I’m excited to pick this one up and see where Tamsin’s story takes us.
3. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare – I’m rereading all of Clare’s books before Queen of Air and Darkness comes out in December.
4. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab – With all the bloggers that rant and rave about this book and the rest of the series I’m a little ashamed to say I haven’t read it yet. I have all of them but haven’t managed to pick them up for some reason.
5. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert – Another book that my fellow bloggers have brought to my attention. It’s sitting on my shelf begging me to pick it up.
6. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard – I’m rereading this series since buying the final book, War Storm. Glass Sword is next up for this series.
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – I’m due for a reread of the series. I just had a baby so I think I’m going to read them out loud to my daughter, an attempt to make her a baby Potterhead.
8. The Assassins Blade by Sarah J. Maas – I bought this book of novellas, finally. I’m not ready for the heartbreak it’s going to cause but it’s on the list.
9. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo – Another book of novellas that I’m super excited to dive into.
10. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – Bookstagram led me to this series. I’ve heard mixed reviews but I really think I’m going to like it.

What books are on you TBR list for the upcoming season?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

GoodReads Summary:
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know…
Review:
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is a well-known book in a series that is loved by many readers. I am one of those readers that loves this series. I read this book for the first time years and years ago. Since then I have read all of Clare’s other books as well. I’ve also had to get rid of my books and recollected the entire series once again. Since completing my recollection, along with the upcoming release of the newest book (Queen of Air and Darkness), I knew I wanted to reread all of her books so that the stories are fresh in my mind but also so that I can finally take the time to review them all.
I’m really glad that I decided to do this reread because I found that I had forgotten more than I thought I had. I remembered the basic storyline. Shadowhunters (created by the angels) keep the downworlders (werewolves, vampires, fairies, etc.) accountable for their actions and make sure they’re following the laws. They also hunt demons that manage to find their way into our world. The story is set in a realistic world with the fictitious world belonging to the shadowhunters skillfully interwoven with our own. Clare builds an incredible world that is somehow hidden alongside the real world. The world is believable and almost makes me question whether or not something like that could really exist, hidden from most people.
The characters that make up this story are something else. Clary is our main character. A girl who finds out that her mother has been hiding her true heritage from her to keep her safe from her psychotic father. Clary will always have a special place in my heart, but during this reread she kind of annoyed me a few times. When she finds out that there’s this whole other world out there she doesn’t hesitate for a second before involving herself in as much crap as she can. I understand one of her loved ones disappears, but she does this even before that happens. She gets herself into situations that she’s completely unprepared for and with this, puts the other’s she’s with in danger to appease what she wants. Other than this, Clary is determined and strong. Being thrown into the insanity that is the shadowhunter world, she does pretty well for herself. She’s smart and clever with a tendency to find herself in ridiculous situations but also to get herself out of these situations. She’s fiercely loyal and just a little reckless. All of these things combine for a very interesting girl.
Our love interest, Jace Wayland. He’s everything you want from a book boyfriend. Attractive but also standoffish and a little bit of a jerk. Dangerous and full of secrets. Mysterious but also makes himself vulnerable to Clary with his horrible past that’s left him a little damaged. I liked learning about Jace and seeing him open up to Clary throughout these pages. I’m excited to reread the rest of the books and read more about him to see what else I’ve forgotten.
There are too many supporting characters for me to name them all but I want to point out that there here. They each have such distinct personalities that we see shine through the background. They all play their own parts and add so much fun and craziness to the story. I loved that they are all fully developed and each has their own dramas going on outside of the main storyline. We get to see these characters grow and overcome their own personal struggles and I loved that.
The plot twists in this story were crazy. I knew what they were because I’ve read this before but they still snuck up on me. There were a few minor ones I’d forgotten too. Cassandra Clare is an excellent writer. I’m excited to continue the series.
If you haven’t read any of The Mortal Instruments books you are truly missing out. I had the pleasure of reading the 10th-anniversary edition and the illustrations were beautiful. I liked having this special edition because it just added that much more to the story. Overall, everyone should read these books. They take place in an amazing world with wonderful main characters and even better supporting characters. I’d recommend to anyone for sure.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

*Please be aware that the book cover on this post is a link to purchase this book through Amazon. Feel free to purchase with our affiliate link (just click on the book cover) to support us!

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Bookish Mash Ups

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Every week there’s a new topic where we get to choose our top ten and write about it. This week’s topic is top ten books I would mash together. I think this is a wicked interesting topic. I’m not sure how I’m going to go about it, so in no particular order, here goes!

1. Rose Gardner Investigations by Denise Grover Swank & Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich – These are books about an aspiring private investigator and books about a bond enforcement officer. I think Rose and Stephanie would make one hell of a hilarious pair.
2. Renegades by Marissa Meyer & Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti – Two different types of superhero books. Both with similar abilities, sort of. But the worlds they take place in are pretty different. I think it would be interesting to see these two worlds collide.
3. Meant to be Broken by Brandy Woods Snow & One Small Thing by Erin Watt – Both are novels involving girls who are struggling with their feelings about a guy. Both thinking that their feelings are wrong and should be stifled and ignored. I think the two female main characters would be great friends and would be able to help one another immensely by sharing their experiences.
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson & The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith – These are both murder mystery sort of books but with a ton of different subplots along the way. I think they would be interesting to see together. Seeing the characters with their hugely different personalities would be funny.
5. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson & Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson – This is a choice for similar reasons to above except these are young adult murder mysteries. Again, the personalities in these stories would make for an interesting read.
6. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas & Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch – If the Sara(h)’s wrote a book together I would be able to die happy as soon as I finished it. These specific books would be so cool to see together. In ACOTAR, there’s Fae with seasonal courts and magical abilities and in Snow Like Ashes there are different kingdoms for the seasons with different sorts of magical abilities. I think they would mesh well together with the similarities in the stories.
7. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare & A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest – Both of these series have a great variety of supernatural characters like vampires and werewolves and others unique to their books. Their also both full of headstrong characters that strive to do the ‘right’ thing at all costs. I would love to see these characters and worlds collide.
8. The Young Elites by Marie Lu & Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – These two came together in my head because of their magic systems. Both books have people with abilities that are not accepted in their worlds. Both have fantastic villains. Now that I’m typing this, I would LOVE to see the Darkling and Adelina join forces and run the world.
9. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins & Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow – I really think that Charlie could have been another character in Impulse. She for sure could have been a fourth perspective in that story. These characters could all relate for sure.
10. The Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead & A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands – I obviously had to throw my two favorite vampire worlds together. I think these worlds would be awesome to see together because of the different ways that vampires are created and the similarities that are already there.

This week’s topic was a hard one for me! I had a ton of fun looking at my shelves and thinking about all the different worlds I love colliding. I tried to pick bookish worlds that already had a little bit in common. I wanted my mashups to mostly make sense. Which bookish worlds would you want to see collide?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Popular Books That Lived Up to the Hype

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Every week there’s a new topic where we get to choose our top ten and write about it. This week’s topic is the top ten popular books that lived up to the hype. This is going to be a fun one for me because I frequently buy or read books because of the hype.

1. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead – I read this series book by book when it was first released. But even back then there was so much hype that was all accurate. This series still gets hyped up all the time, which says a lot right there.
2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – If you read any of my posts on a regular basis you already know how obsessed with this series I am. It’s one of my absolute favorites. I jumped on this bandwagon pretty early and had to wait for each book to be released which made it ten times worse.
3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas – After reading ACOTAR I knew I needed to check out her other series as well and I’m super glad I did. I can’t wait for Kingdom of Ash to be released.
4. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – I originally got these books from the library a few years ago and loved them so much I had to buy my own set.
5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare – The first two or three books were already published and I had to not so patiently wait for the next three. But I also had to wait for the Infernal Devices and now I’m not so patiently waiting for Queen of Air and Darkness.
6. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – I am realizing that I am easily convinced to buy books. I bought this one not too long after it came out and have had to wait for each book to come out. Now that the whole series is out I somehow haven’t managed to reread them all.
7. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James – I totally bought this series for the hype. I wouldn’t say they’re the best books in the world, but I’ve enjoyed them enough to read them more than once.
8. Cinder by Marissa Meyer – I love a good fairytale retelling so when I heard the hype for these I obviously had to see what the deal was.
9. The Gender Game by Bella Forrest – Once I signed up for Kindle Unlimited (after I got my Kindle as a Christmas gift from my mother in law) I saw this series all over and eventually gave it a shot. I’m glad I did, these were fantastic books. I love everything Forrest writes.
10. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon – I was super late to jump on the bandwagon for this one. I read this last month and I was just blown away.

This is my top ten for this week. What popular books have you read that lived up to the hype?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Antonia’s Top Ten Tuesday- Series I’ve Given Up On

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week is top ten series I gave up on or do not plan to finish. This is mostly going to be series I gave up on but would probably revisit eventually because I don’t have a ton that I’d refuse to read again.

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon– I read the first book and liked it but as soon as I found out the main characters are apart for 20 years between the first and second books, I refused to read further.
2. The House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast– This is one I’d absolutely be happy to reread eventually. It just felt like the series was being dragged out so much that I completely lost interest in waiting for the new books to be published.
3. The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich– This is one that Amanda continuously pushed on me. I read a few and, while I really did enjoy them, I never loved them quite enough to read the entire twenty-five book series.
4. The Covenant series by Jennifer L. Armentrout– I love her books and really liked the start of this series but for some reason couldn’t get past the second book when I first got them a few years ago. I’d like to actually get through this series finally.
5. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare– I loved these books but couldn’t make myself finish the last two. There was just so much happening and it felt like it went in a direction that I thought was unnecessary. I’ve always kind of thought this series should have stopped after the first three books.
6. The Argeneau series by Lynsay Sands– This one I absolutely still plan on picking up again. There’s just so many books that I got a little sick of it for awhile. She’s currently working on book 29 and I stopped somewhere around 16.
7. The Halo series by Alexandra Adornetto-I liked the first book and Amanda loved the rest of the trilogy; I just never liked it enough to take the time to read the other two books.
8. The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith– This is another one that I felt dragged on too long. I always thought the original series was perfect until more books were added on and they brought in ghost writers and all that nonsense.
9. Evernight by Claudia Gray– This is another series that Amanda loved but I couldn’t get into despite liking the first book.
10. A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin– I tried reading the first book. I tried starting from where I’d left off in the show. I absolutely could not get into these books and do not plan on trying again.

 

Well these are y top ten for this week. I’d love to see your own list. Thanks for reading.

-Antonia

Lady Midnight – Cassandra Clare

Summary:
In a secret world where half-angel warriors are sworn to fight demons, parabatai is a sacred word. A parabatai is your partner in battle. A parabatai is your best friend. Parabatai can be everything to each other-but they can never fall in love.
Emma Carstairs is a warrior, a Shadowhunter, and he best in her generation. She lives for battle. Shoulder to shoulder with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, she patrols the streets of Los Angeles, where vampires party on Sunset Strip, and faeries-the most powerful of supernatural creatures-teeter on the edge of open war with Shadowhunters. When the bodies of humans and faeries turn up murdered in the same way Emma’s parents were when she was a child, an uneasy alliance is formed. This is Emma’s chance for revenge-and Julian’s chance to get back his brother Mark, who is being held prisoner by the Faerie Courts. All Emma, Mark, and Julian have to do is solve the murders within two weeks…and before the murderer targets them.
Their search takes Emma from sea caves full of sorcery to a dark lottery where death is dispensed. And each clue she unravels uncovers more secrets. What has Julian been hiding from her all these years? Why does Shadowhunter Law forbid parabatai to fall in love? Who really killed her parents-and can she bear to know the truth?
The darkly magical world of Shadowhunters has captured the imagination of millions of readers across the globe. Join the adventure in Lady Midnight, the long-awaited first volume of a new trilogy from Cassandra Clare.
Review:
Oh my god this book. You know that feeling when you finish a book that you really really liked and you feel almost broken hearted that it’s over. That’s how I feel right now. I can’t believe I just finished it. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare was just shy of seven hundred pages. I read it in one day and all I can think is, “What the hell just happened?” I’m sure many of you have heard of her first series, The Mortal Instruments or even her second series, The Infernal Devices. Well, I read both and this book, Lady Midnight, the first book in The Dark Artifices Trilogy was by far, without a doubt my favorite out of all nine of her books in the first two series, which is really saying a lot because I’ve loved every book that Cassandra Clare has written so far.
Lady Midnight has many characters that we’ve met before; I think that was one of my favorite parts. I knew all these people already. I definitely didn’t love them as much as I do know, but they were familiar to me. I met them in The Mortal Instruments series during the huge battle in Idris. I also immensely enjoyed the fact that Clare brought characters from the first two series into the third. We got to see Clary and Jace from the first series, as well as Jem and Tessa from the second series. I love that she made all the characters that I loved in her other books interact with the newer characters that I just fell in love with in Lady Midnight. The Blackthorns are a chaotic bunch that you really can’t help but love, and there’s Emma Carstairs, who might as well be a Blackthorn. They’re all such relatable and funny characters that they pull at your heart until you spend your whole day off reading about them and falling more and more in love with the whole family and their craziness. I won’t go into extreme detail because you need to read this book and love them too.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve read any of Cassandra Clare’s other books so I either forgot or blocked from my mind how crazy good she is at completely blowing my mind. Lady Midnight was full of insane plot twists. I love books that can genuinely surprise me with where they’re going and this book did it more than once. Clare has a habit of leading you to think that you know exactly where the storyline is going until finally everything is revealed and you were completely wrong the whole time and you’re sitting there just yelling at the book because of the whirlwind of emotions running through you, or maybe that’s just me. I tend to get overly attached to fictional characters. Cassandra Clare is very good at making extremely attached to the story she’s telling.
Last I have to mention how crazy it makes me that I have to wait an ENTIRE YEAR FOR THE NEXT BOOK. The second book in this trilogy isn’t expected to come out until April of 2017. WHY DOES SHE DO THIS TO ME?! That’s really my only complaint about The Dark Artifices Trilogy so far. I’m going to keep this review short because its past midnight and I really should be sleeping already. That and my lack of details better make you feel the desperate need to go to the bookstore and buy this book so that you can love it as much as I did. I would suggest the library but this is a new book so I’m not sure they’ll have it yet.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

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Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Sequels

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where every week we give our top ten on a specific topic. This weeks topic is Top Ten Sequels I Can’t Wait To Get My Hands On. I’m a little excited for this one because there’s so many series that I read that I just can’t wait for the next book.

1)Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout– This is the final book of the Lux Series. I fell in love with this series within the first couple of pages of Obsidian. This is a series I think anyone and everyone should read. Opposition is expected to come out August 5, 2014

2)The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead– Ah! I just want this book to come out already! Number four of the Bloodlines series is expected to come out November 19th, 2013 which is very soon. I just don’t want to wait anymore!

3)Age of X Series by Richelle Mead– The second book in the Age of X seems like it doesn’t exist. There’s been no title released, or date of expected publication. The first, Gameboard of the Gods, came out this year. So, there’s probably a while to wait for the second.

4)City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare– What I believe is the final book of The Mortal Instrument Series is expected to come out in May of 2014. I can’t wait for this book. Mostly to see how the series will close and where everyone is going to end up. If you haven’t read any of The Mortal Instruments Series you should give it a try.

5)Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare– This is the first book in a series of three. It’s expected to be published in 2015, but there isn’t anything more specific than that. The trilogy is supposed to be kind of a companion to The Mortal Instruments. The series is called The Dark Artifices. I’m excited to read them and see how things turn out.

6)Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich– I’m obsessed with the Stephanie Plum series. I’ve read every single one of them. Most more than once. I’m excited for the twentieth book to come out because I know it’ll be good. It’s release date is posted as November 19th, 2013.

7)Unsouled by Neil Shusterman– Unsouled is the third and final book of the Unwind Trilogy. This book is actually currently out, I just can’t afford it yet. I’m excited to read it though, when that does eventually happen.

8)Vampire Most Wanted by Lynsay Sands– Expected to come out February 18, 2014 the twentieth book in the Argeneau Series will be just as good as the nineteen before it. This series doesn’t need to be read in order. Just pick one up and let it take you on the ride that is the Argeneau’s.

9)Revealed by Kristin and P.C. Cast– This is another book that’s already out that I’m too poor to afford. I’m happy for this series to finally be over. I think it was dragged on a little too long. But I’m excited to see where it’s left off.

10)The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey– The sequel to The 5th Wave is expected to come out in May of 2014. I’m especially pumped about this book coming out because I was really attached to The 5th Wave. It was an amazing book, and I’m hoping the second will be just as amazing.

These are my top ten, what are yours?