Sunday, July 22, 2012
Review of City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (Spoilers for books 1-4)
WARNING! SPOILERS FOR BOOKS 1-4 MAY BE INCLUDED
Title: City of Lost Souls
Author: Cassandra Clare
Release Date: May 8th, 2012
Source: Walmart (I know, I know)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Format: First Edition Hardback
Pages In This Edition: 534
Rating: 4/5 Stars
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"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 Isabelle bargain with the sinister 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 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?
Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series."
Title: City of Lost Souls
Author: Cassandra Clare
Release Date: May 8th, 2012
Source: Walmart (I know, I know)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Format: First Edition Hardback
Pages In This Edition: 534
Rating: 4/5 Stars
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"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 Isabelle bargain with the sinister 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 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?
Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series."
Review:
I'm in love with Cassandra Clare's writing style and characters. For that reason (and also because I need my yearly dose of Jace's amazing snarkyness) this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2012. The Mortal Instruments Series has long been one of my favorites, and this book was just another great addition to an already great series.
Let's start with the characters. I have absolutely love all of them. Jace and Magnus are my favorites because of their wit and humor, but every single character this author puts on the page has something that I love. The depth to her characters astounds me; it's like a onion that has endless layers to peel off. I have no idea how she keeps it all straight. She must have endless notebooks full of traits for all of her characters or something. I would love to ask her how she develops her characters. Also, how does she think up the funny as hell dialogue?? I bet she could write for a stand-up comic.
Pacing and plot: the first was okay and the second was great. The pacing was the only problem I had with this book. I felt like the first 200 or so pages were kind of slow, and the only thing that had me keep reading was the characters and the dialogue. Thank god it didn't last that way forever. By the middle of the book I was on the edge of my seat. If fact, I finished that last 250 pages all in one sitting. I was even posting chapter updates on Twitter because I was so excited. The plot was definitely great. Clare is great at crafting an amazing story. The twists and turns in the plot have me guessing all the time, which is super important in a book that is as long as this one is. I was sad at the end though because of a certain thing. Maybe this will be worked out in book six though. I sure hope so!!
This wasn't my favorite book in the series (City of Glass is) but it's still good book to read. Now all I have left to do is wait for book six to come out. A WHOLE YEAR. I'm going to die. Definitely pick this up if you are a fan of the series. Stick with the beginning and I'm sure you'll love it. :)
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Review of Harmony by Sonya Bria
Title: Harmony
Author: Sonya Bria
Release Date: June 1st, 2012
Source: Publisher (In exchange for honest review)
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Cambio Publishing
Pages in This Edition: 234
Buy it: Amazon (Available as an Ebook) And Paperback HERE
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"A Curse.
It started with a curse centuries ago placed upon the House of Ulster:
One more powerful than I will come,
She alone will break the spell.
With her as guide the dark will align.
Destiny.
If someone told you that you were the key to an ancient tragedy, what would you do?
Sophie is a high school senior with only two things on her mind, graduating from Jefferson High, and moving on, leaving the death of her mother firmly in the past. But the past is not done with Sophie, and she finds herself suddenly thrust into a tragic, Irish love story centuries old. Does she have the strength to accept her part, confront her own past, and rely on someone long forgotten?
Ian is a vampire with only one thing on his mind...Sophie. For years, he has watched over Sophie, and protected her from the darkness surrounding her mother's death. He would like nothing more than to forget the past, but his fate lies with Sophie and her destiny. Can he help Sophie confront her nightmares and not fall in love?
Choices.
Sophie and Ian will discover that they also have a connection-something that could bind them together forever or rip them apart. What will they choose?"
Author: Sonya Bria
Release Date: June 1st, 2012
Source: Publisher (In exchange for honest review)
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Cambio Publishing
Pages in This Edition: 234
Buy it: Amazon (Available as an Ebook) And Paperback HERE
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"A Curse.
It started with a curse centuries ago placed upon the House of Ulster:
One more powerful than I will come,
She alone will break the spell.
With her as guide the dark will align.
Destiny.
If someone told you that you were the key to an ancient tragedy, what would you do?
Sophie is a high school senior with only two things on her mind, graduating from Jefferson High, and moving on, leaving the death of her mother firmly in the past. But the past is not done with Sophie, and she finds herself suddenly thrust into a tragic, Irish love story centuries old. Does she have the strength to accept her part, confront her own past, and rely on someone long forgotten?
Ian is a vampire with only one thing on his mind...Sophie. For years, he has watched over Sophie, and protected her from the darkness surrounding her mother's death. He would like nothing more than to forget the past, but his fate lies with Sophie and her destiny. Can he help Sophie confront her nightmares and not fall in love?
Choices.
Sophie and Ian will discover that they also have a connection-something that could bind them together forever or rip them apart. What will they choose?"
Review:
I hadn't heard anything about this book before I got the chance to review it (as is usual with books not published with the big six publishers) but once I heard the premise I became intrigued. I love books with Irish folklore/guys with Irish accents and so I thought this book would be a good fit for me. The only thing that had me worrying was that vampires were involved. More on that later.
Harmony started out fast paced enough. The prologue was super cool and all "back-in-time-like" and had me wondering where the story was going to lead from there. I think the pace was definitely what I liked most with this book. There never really was a point where we could sit back and relax as readers, because there was some kind of action always happening. I LOVE faced paces in books, so I was super happy with this.
Onto the characters: I liked some and disliked others. Characters I liked: Sophie, Ian, Max, and Emily. Why? These characters were believable and they way they were told in the story had me picturing it all in my head like it was a movie. I especially like Ian, mostly because I go head-over-heels for Irish accents and gentlemen, and he is both. Sophie is nice enough for a protagonist, even if sometimes I wonder how she believes all she is told so easily. And of course Max and Emily, Sophie's "human friends" were cute and though kind of one dimensional they did their jobs. Characters I didn't like: Grandma, and all the old characters from "way back when." Why? I don't like the grandma character for one reason. She does things that any person in her right mind wouldn't do. I don't want to give too much of the story away, but the way her choices are rationalized just don't sit right with me. And I don't like the old Irish characters because of lack of back story and overall confusion regarding basically everything having to do with them.
Reasons this book gets 3.5/5 Stars: Great romance, a good yet unpredictable ending, a spin on the now classic vampire YA paranormal romance thing, and a face paced adventure that has me wondering if there is going to be a sequel. If this sounds like your book, be sure to check it out!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Publisher: Little Brown
Pages In This Edition: 417
Rating: 2/5
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?"
Author: Laini Taylor
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Publisher: Little Brown
Pages In This Edition: 417
Rating: 2/5
On the Cover:
Beyond the Cover:
Summary from Goodreads:
"Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?"
Review:
When this book first came out, it had a bunch of buzz. Usually, for me, that means I'm going to love the book. So when after months of thinking about reading it but not getting a chance, when I saw this at the library I grabbed it right away. It sounded really interesting, so I was super excited. I read the first hundred and fifty pages no problem.
But then the romance entered.
I'm sad to say this is just one of those books that I had to skip large portions of to get anything out of the experience. The dialogue between Karou and her friends is great, and the world that Taylor created is so creative and creepy. But then LOVE had to happen and then I hated the book. It wasn't that I'm not a fan of love at first sight, but seriously, I just didn't like the way it was put together. I fell terrible for giving a book with such great opportunity and writing such a negative review, but I couldn't even really finish the book because the romance put a sour taste in my mouth for some reason.
I wouldn't say this book was outright terrible, because there were moments where I loved the writing and such, but I just can't stand the way the couple interacted. If this book had more fantasy and less super predictable romance, I may have given it four stars, with the romance, it gets two. :/
Thursday, July 5, 2012
July TBR/Currently Reading
These are the books I hope to be reading this month! Feel free to link up your July TBR stuff. :)
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Mystery Blogoversary Giveaway Winners and Prize Reveal!
The giveaway for my first ever blogoversary has ended! I'm happy to say that there were about a hundred entries. :) Thanks to anyone who participated or spread the word. And now.....(insert drumroll) the winners are Sarah Cruz and Monica Lopez! I'm going to be sending them a email right after I get done writing this post and they have 48 hours to send me there mailing addresses before another winner is chosen.
And what exactly did they win? One of them is walking away with a hardcover of Dreamland Social Club by Tara Altebrando, and the other a hardcover of The Death Cure by James Dashner! Since Sarah was the first name I drew then she gets to pick which one she wants. :)
Thanks again guys and here's to another amazing year!
And what exactly did they win? One of them is walking away with a hardcover of Dreamland Social Club by Tara Altebrando, and the other a hardcover of The Death Cure by James Dashner! Since Sarah was the first name I drew then she gets to pick which one she wants. :)
Thanks again guys and here's to another amazing year!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Against All Odds Blog Tour--Giveaway and Guest Post
Today on the blog I'm happy to say that I'm a stop on the Against All Odds Blog Tour! I was instantly interested when I heard about the book (maybe partly because the main character and me share the same name.) Stay tuned a giveaway and guest post!
About the Author And Book:
Aliaa El-Nashar is a 21 year old girl studying languages at university. Grew up in Kuwait and is currently residing in Cairo, Egypt. Loves to read, write and draw.
"The Story revolves around:
-A boy called Damien who seems to have it all. He's rich, good-looking and athletic. He's also arrogant, obnoxious and a major player. Damien is one of 5 children who seem to not get along, until one day Damien meets Alexis and his life is turned inside out.-A girl called Alexis who has trust issues due to her parents. Her best friends mean the world to her, and she refuses to date anyone that doesn't fit completely in her 'Perfect Guy' list.
They're thrown together a lot and start to face inner demons they've hidden away for so long."
Check out HERE for the Goodreads link.
Guest Post:
"Hello guys! I get asked a lot what made me write ‘Against All Odds’ by friends. The story is quite complicated, to be honest I never intended it as an actual book. After spending the summer of tenth grade reading every Meg Cabot my friend owned, as well as complete the ‘Harry Potter’ series she had owned at the time – not all 7 were out obviously – I had developed a craving towards writing. I used to write before, a lot actually, to the extent I had 5 ongoing stories on Quizilla. But I never completed any of them due to the fact that I have the attention span of a goldfish. However, that didn’t mean my style wasn’t improving, and I reached a level where my friends were actually interested in reading what I come up with.
My English class teacher was the best. No really, he was. He’d give us around 8 or so assignments per term and sometimes I hand in one or two. I almost never did my homework for that class because I believed creativity can’t be forced. If I wrote it because I had to, it was so mundane and dull so I refrained till I was inspired. It helped that the English teacher didn’t mind, just as long as two or more essays were submitted per term, so I was good. He’d wanted a descriptive essay, and one day – almost a month after he’d given us the assignment – I was inspired. I had the perfect plot, this girl staring into a fog of sand thinking her friend was lost to her for good. I then described her feelings, the atmosphere, her physical appearance and wrote a minor description to what led her to that point where she’s staring at said friend who nearly fell off a cliff.
As I was reading the essay before going into class, a friend of mine decided to read it as well, and for some reason she really liked it. She begged me to write more and so I decided to work on it. I gave the characters names and background stories as I thought of the plot that led to the cliff incident and how things turned after that.
I started writing non-stop, but most of my new entries were on my hard drive ‘Buffalo’ and as I was nearing the end, Buffalo died a tragic death. Meaning, all my updates were lost. I felt so upset for a while that I stopped writing altogether. I think it was the end of eleventh grade where I found my old notebook and decided to give writing it another shot, but as I started to reread the first few chapters I didn’t like where it was going, so I started fresh, cancelled out some characters and added others. New background stories were made, though the plot was the same, I just changed how they got there. In the middle of math class – and many other classes really, I wasn’t that fond of school - I would sneak the notebook under that table and start writing, where another friend saw me and decided to read what I was writing. She got interested and nagged me incessantly for new chapters, before I knew it, a few months later and voilà! The book was done!
~Aliaa"
And that's it for the guest post. Now for the giveaway! As part of the blog tour, Aliaa is helping me by giving away two ebook copies of her book! This is an INTERNATIONAL giveaway for two copies of Against All Odds. Check out the Rafflecopter below to enter!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Blogger Spotlight (1): Princess of Pages
I decided I wanted to start doing posts where I spotlight a blog I love or a blog I have just discovered. So when this morning I found that a new up and coming blogger had highlighted me by nominating my blog for an award, I thought the best way to start doing these posts would be to spotlight her.
So the blog I want you guys to check out is.... Princess of Pages!! The author of this blog is Maria. She is just starting to really work on her blog, so I'm sure she would love some followers to help get it going. I haven't known her for long but she seems like a really sweet person who wants to share what she think about books. So click the link and check it out for yourself. :)
So the blog I want you guys to check out is.... Princess of Pages!! The author of this blog is Maria. She is just starting to really work on her blog, so I'm sure she would love some followers to help get it going. I haven't known her for long but she seems like a really sweet person who wants to share what she think about books. So click the link and check it out for yourself. :)
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About Me
- Alexis Ladig
- Hi I'm Alexis and I love sharing my love of reading and writing with the world.This blog is an outlet for me to express myself and my opinions, and show other bookish people some awesome things to explore in the world of literature!
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