Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare

4.5 STARS

I just got myself back into the Shadowhunter world! I’ve read this book a few years ago when it came out and didn’t finish the prequel series. I guess I wasn’t as invested back then or I wanted something different… That period is over now!! I just finished the second book in the Dark Artifices series and wanted to be back into the universe of demons and angels.

I remembered that I loved this series but I was a little weary getting myself back into it again. I knew that the plot had a huge love triangle and I despised those with all of my being! This was not as bad as I thought! The love triangle is not strong in this one (maybe it will be bigger in the next book…) Anyway, I found myself liking it as much as I did back then.

Following the death of her loving aunt, Tessa Gray travels from New York to London to live with her wayward brother. Once she arrives, however, she finds herself drawn into London’s dark side, a world where an uneasy truce between an ancient race of warriors known as Shadowhunters and supernatural creatures called Downworlders allows for the former to hunt down the demons that threaten everyone. Tessa soon finds that she herself is a Downworlder, but no one ever seems to have known one quite like her. Taken in by a group of Shadowhunters residing at the Institute, she meets gorgeous Will, whose snarky humor hides a dark secret, and equally gorgeous (but in a different way) Jem, whose sweetness hides a different dark secret. Chaos ensues after Tessa agrees to use her ability to help the Institute in exchange for them finding her brother.

While reading this one right after Lord of Shadows, I can see that nowadays Cassandra Clare works her character a little better. While Will, Jem, Tessa and the rest were not bad characters at all, I enjoyed their personalities and interactions, the characters of The Dark Artifices do have deeper development as well as a better understanding of their actions. I can see that Miss Clare evolved in her writing over the years. But like I said, the characters here were far from being bad, just different.

I love the steampunk style that she gave to this Victorian London! I love London and England, and I was glad that the story took place somewhere else than America. We can finally see something different than what we are used too. Also, since the story is a prequel it’s interesting to see how the Shadowhunters worked back then. How Tessa reacts to women fighting and bossing around in a period of time where women were suppose to please the husband and keep quiet. Here, they are as strong as the men and take command when time calls.

The story unfolded quite well! It was well written as always and the romance did not overtake the initial story. It was just a nice addition to the plot. The only thing I thought was that the book is too short… I wanted more!

In general, if you like The Mortal Instruments or just the book by Cassandra Clare in general, this one will not disappoint. The love triangle doesn’t bother for now…

Enjoy guys!

Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) by Cassandra Clare

5 STARS

“I need to be whole again. Even if it doesn’t last.”
“It can’t last,” she said, staring at him, because how could it, when they could never keep what they had? “It’ll break our hearts.”
He caught her by the wrist, brought her hand to his bare chest. Splayed her fingers over his heart. It beat against her palm, like a fist punching its way through his sternum. “Break my heart,” he said. “Break it in pieces. I give you permission.”

And it’s finally here!! I was waiting for that book for so long!! A whole year! (LOL) Still, when it came out I told myself I would read it slowly so to not finish it too early and wait for the final book… That did not happen! I finished it in 4 days… And I was taking breaks to make it last longer. Anyway, I quite enjoyed that one but it was a little different then what I’d expected.

“There is truth in stories,” said Arthur. “There is truth in one of your paintings, boy or in a sunset or a couplet from Homer. Fiction is truth, even if it is not a fact. If you believe only in facts and forget stories, your brain will live, but your heart will die.”

The story takes place two weeks after where Lady Midnight ended. We follow Emma, Julian, Cristina and Mark (as well as their siblings; Livvy, Ty, Dru and Octavian) as they take Kit Herondale under their wings as a new Shadowhunter. Just as they thought times would be more calm, there comes the students from the Schomolance (Diego’s friends and colleagues) for investigating what happened with Malcolm Fade and find his body. The Shadowhunters eventually find out that newcomers are suspicious and maybe there is more than meets the eye. And so they embark into another long adventure.

The story in itself was great but the middle lacked a little. The beginning of the book was enchanting. We were meeting with our beloved characters once more and I couldn’t wait to learn what has happened after the finale of Lady Midnight. The story started strong! Clearing what has happened in the last book and giving some answers as to some of the questions we may had. The middle part was… Okay I guess. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, but a little long for some chapters. There were alot of different point of views in the book (Emma, Julian, Marl, Cristina, Kit, Ty, Diana… To name a few!) And I found myself wanting to skip paragraphs so I could get to the stories I cared more about… Some character’s arcs were not as enticing as some others… But then comes the ending and DEAR GOD what and ending!!! 0.0 I’m still in awe!

The new addition, Kit for instance, were great to follow and interesting. But the main problem with this book is the enormous amount of characters. The Mortal Intrusments had alot, but we followed their stories through the eyes of a few characters. The Dark Artifices does it differently and it can get quite long or even hard to follow. I was into the story of Emma and Julian (obviously) but not that much in the story of Ty…

Cassandra writes beautifully as always and I found myself lost in her intricate descriptions! She is amazing at writing fantastic land and describing fantastical creatures.

Overall, I loved this book!! The way she wrote the story can be compared to City of Ashes, so if you liked this one, you should like Lord of Shadows. (Also if you liked Lady Midnight, you will definetely like this one too!) The next one is scheduled to come out in TWO FREAKING YEARS!! That is way toooo long… I guess I’ll have to wait patiently… Which I’m not good at!

Enjoy guys

UPDATE !!

Ok, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted something here. Not that long, just a couple of days but for me it is long (:P)

So Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare just came out!!!!

You guys don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this book… A whole YEAR!!! It’s not that bad but for someone who reads fast and have no patience at all, it’s soooooo long!

Anyway, this book is around 700 pages and I’m trying not to read it too fast, to enjoy it mostly and let the story sink in. So I won’t be posting much until I’ve finished it! Maybe next week I’ll be here again. Since I’m a masochist, I’ll probably finish the book this week-end… And then have to wait TWO FULL YEARS for the other one!

Anyway, I’ll post the review soon!

Big Love!

Full Tilt (Full Tilt #1) by Emma Scott

2 STARS  Did Not Finish 65%…

Alright… This book wanted to be so much more than what transpired through my reading… And that is disapointing! It wanted to be sad and happy at the same time. Heart-wrenching and beautiful all together. An epic love-story and a cute relationship. Well all that fell short! The author was trying so hard to grip the reader with her dying hero (SPOILER) that honestly, I felt like she was forcing the sadness down my throat and so I didn’t feel anything! The characters were so, so blend!

Jonah was supposed to be cute and sweet and all man, but he was just boring and no personnality came out of him. I found myself thinking ‘What a bad hero is this!’ Kacey was no different. She was sdescribed to be bubbly and say everything that came to her mind and that ended up being just annoying!

The story was not well-paced for me. It happened all too fast. No ‘real’ relationship building actually happened. Jonah was just kind ot Kacey and Voila! Love story. Euh no! Doesn’t work that way!

It was just a boring and disapointing read. The book wanted to be so much more but the writing and story did not live to what the author wanted to create. And it showed…

Sorry… Enjoy guys!

Mayhem (Mayhem #1) by Jamie Shaw

4.5 STARS

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book about rockstars and college people. This one didn’t disappoint! I loved it for the most part of it! I have to say that some things were a little cliché and I did roll my eyes once. But it could have been way worse. In general the story was great and well written and the characters were not stupid (which is very important in a new adult book!)

The story follows Rowan (a.k.a Peach) who just happened to find out that her boyfriend of three years cheated on her. She then decided to forget him by making out with the leader of a band , Adam (Ouuh hot!!) But only for this one night. Rowan then takes the decision to not see him again since her heartbreak is kind of new to her and she doesn’t trust Adam. While in her french class in college, who walks in? Adam of course! And that is where their story of tutoring and cute love begins!

This is not an insta-love book so don’t worry! Their relationship is building through friendship and lust! The two of them are completely lusty for eachother and some of the scenes were hot as hell. That is a big win! I like love or flirty scenes but lately, I find that they are all the sames… So when a book comes that adds different situations where characters flirt with eachother, I have to give it a star!

Rowan was a good heroine! She was funny (I laughed out loud quite a few times) and she was not those stupid little college girls that take bad decisions! I was scared at one point where I thought she would take a big big bad one, but she didn’t. Her conviction of staying friends with Adam was believable even though she couldn’t deny having a big crush on him. His player side turned her off since her last boyfriend cheated on her. It took a long time for them to give in, which is more likely in real life!

Adam was sooooo cool! The perfect rockstar with a gentle heart! He was not annoying or an complete asshole. He was straight forward to Rowan about who he was and was so cute to her. He called her Peach! (I don’t know why I like that nickname!) He was not your typical rockstar with a big ego. Only a man with a rockstar style and a kind soul to those he cared about. He was good!

Rowan friend Dee was so cute too! She was outspoken and all what Rowan was not! Somewhat of a cheerleader who sleeps around and doesn’t really care about a relationship but also an awesome friend! She was not a bi*** and was ready to do anything for Rowan! I liked her bubly personality and her funny side. She was quite loud but not enough to be annoying. The bandmates were also perfect! They were like brothers and even though I wanted to know more about Adam and Rowan’s growing relationship, I didn’t mind the interactions with the band. They were likeable and funny too!

If you are looking for a light and funny love story to read for the summer, this one is good!

Enjoy guys!

The Bird and the Sword (The Bird and the Sword #1) by Amy Harmon

Did not finish… 56%

3 STARS  

This is my third try with a book written by Amy Harmon and the other two didn’t win my heart either. I tried really hard with Law of Moses but I just couldn’t like it all! The characters and the story did not do it for me… Even though the ratings were out of the roof!

I was willing to give a try for this one since it is a fantasy book and I like this genre very much. But like the other books that I’ve tried… This one fell flat! I really liked to first part and the premise. The story is about Lark, a gifted girl with the power to give words to objects and people (the words force them to do what she has told them to!) And in this world, the gifted are chased and mostly killed, because the common people fear their powers. Lark’s mother died while protecting her daughter and forced her to swallow her words and so Lark is now a mute. While cursing the son (Tiras) of the man who killed her, Lark’s mother inadvertatly joined their destiny together. Lark is the only one who can help him…

I mean the idea for the world and the story was awesome! I liked the gifted backstory as well as the fact that they are hunted down (little bit like the X-Men haha!) All the mythology of the story was perfect!

It was the story in itself that lacked… It was just not interesting! While I thought it was boring, I kept reading the book to learn more about the world not the story itself… And when I couldn’t learn anything new, well I gave up! If the story would have been a little more interesting, this book would have 4 stars and more!

The characters tas well were not that interesting… Lark was plain and acted like a child. I know that she was kept hidden most of her life and that she is mute. I just hoped that she would be a stronger character matched with the enormous power she has. I was a little disapointed in her unfolding story (since there was no unfolding whatsoever…) Tiras was ok, just pretty plain. Nothing that extraodinary about him that made me root for him!

Overall the story and the characters could have been a little more developped than it is right now. The world is sooooo interesting and the writing beautifuly done! I just wish there was more to the characters and the story itself. Maybe I’ll give it a try another time, we’ll see!

Enjoy guys!

Reclaiming the Sand (Reclaiming the Sand #1) by A. Meredith Walters

4.5 STARS 

This story was heartbreaking… in a good way!

“We were a perfect,messed up pair,
Flynn and I.”
It was so intense, emotional, heartbreaking, captivating, sweet, beautiful, romantic, unique and realistic! This book did something to my heart…really I couldn’t stop crying! I decided that I like this author a lot! And after reading another book of hers I can say that she prefers to use anti heroe in her books and this is what makes them so realistic!
This story is about Flynn and Ellie…

After years they meet again…But now Ellie starts to see things different..and she wants to give more in her friendship with Flynn…

First of all I would like to say that at the beginning I hate Ellie’s friends so much, they were so mean and bad..And sometimes I feel the same for Ellie. But the author managed to make me also feel sorry for her..And after some facts and after trying to know her more I can say that I forgave her in the end.. Omg my heart is bleeding for Flynn…poor Flynn..This moment I write my review I also cry…because I can’t stop thinking how people treat him…
Sometimes I wonder…Are there really so mean people??And why twould they do this?

Ellie is a typical bully who has to follow her friends even though her heart tells her that this is wrong. Teenagers are so mean and High School is the worst place for friends. Ellie was not easily likeable. She treated Flynn like he was nothing even though she liked him deep inside. She manages to find peace with her feelings but still, what she has done was horrible to him.

Flynn was kind and gentle. He is Asperger so life for him is really different but he still manages to get through it rather safely. He was bullied by Ellie’s friends even though they knew that he was different and instead of accepting it and see the sweetness in him, they humiliated him… That was so sad… But his naive side as well as his ability to forgive is what saved him from alot of things. He likes Ellie alot, but like he says, he likes Ellie when she is not with her friends!

Their moments together were so cute and sweet and so innocent at the beginning. And then it was sexy and passionnate. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a beautiful story unfolds.

Leanve comments if you want!

Enjoy guys!

Wicked (A Wicked Saga #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

4.5 STARS

I enjoyed this book so much! I am a big fan of pretty much anything Jennifer L. Armentrout writes so I was like ‘I WANT TO READ THIS BOOK!!’ (Even though I just find out about it 3 days ago…) It was great mix between a world we usally see in a Young Adult book but with scenes straight out of your favorite New Adult novel. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a young teen book! There are some explicit scenes not suited for a 12 years old. But I have to say that the world reminded me of The Mortal Instruments one, with the fae and magic and stuff. The action was ok, not too big and the romance was great! The characters are awesome sometimes, other times they are annoying (actually only the main character can be annoying!)

This is the story of Ivy, a Fae hunter. In this world, faes are wild creatures who suck on the life of human in order to survive. She is part of the Order, an organisation created to eliminate these creatures. One night Ivy is shot by an ancient, one the most powerful of the Faes. She then teams up with the newcomer Ren to hunt them down and find out what is going on in the streets of New Orleans.

The story evolves with a good pace and the action is well balanced. It’s not a hardcore action book but if you like fights and badass moves, you can find this in Wicked. The writing is great as always with Miss Jennifer. The only thing is Ivy is suppose to be funny in her comebacks and well, her jokes end flat 50% of the time… But if you can bypass that, the writing is great. It’s not juvenile and well suited for young adults. The romance is awesome (mainly because Ren is just swoonworthy…)

Ivy was an ok main character. She was badass in terms of hunting but kind of whiny regarding the rest of her life. The conclusions she comes to with her love interest… I litterally face-palmed myself! I was surprised since Jennifer usually writes great and strong female characters. This one was maybe the only exception…

But Ren was spot on!! He was just this manly and cute man. He was so sweet to Ivy when she was hurt and he took his time with her. It was not insta-love (maybe only insta-physical-attraction!). Their relontionship grew very smoothly. He was a little too protective though… That is his only downpoint.

Val, Ivy’s best friend, was ok. She is not very present in the book but from what I’ve read, she was well-written. The little Brownie Tink was funny (sometines just plain annoying but I think that goes with the character). The secondary characters were fine, they didn’t bother me at all!

So guys, you can leave comments if you want to!

Enjoy!

Vicious (Sinners of Saint #1) by L.J. Shen

2 STARS Did Not Finish 56%

I thought I was enjoying this book. Truth was, after a while, I just thought ‘I really don’t like this story at all!’ And I stopped reading it… I didn’t care about anything in the novel. Not the story, not the character, nothing…

The characters were blend and forgettable. Even Emilia who is suppose to be strong was, well… weak. And what to say about Vicious (or Baron) other than he was a real jerk!! I know it’s written in the summary the he is a big a**hole and I thought that maybe I wouldn’t mind since I did like Bully. But this was another level of jerkiness! He was just plain mean and Emilia still wanted him (?!? What the hell girl!) The story was boring too, just bullying after bullying (and sex in between). This was a big MEH… for me.

Amour, Amour (Aerial Ethereal #1) by Krista Richie

5 STARS

I just LOVED this book!! It’s been a long time since I’ve read a good New Adult book and this one falls right into the ‘amazing’ category! The first few pages drew me in instantly. I began reading the book at a hair salon while waiting for my hair to be ready, and when my hairdresser told me to come wash my hair I didn’t wanted to get up.

This is the story of Thora, a gymnast who has landed an autidtion in Vegas for the Aerial Ethereal troup for their show Amour. Going to Vegas all on her own, couch-surfing in order to have a roof and auditioning for one of the biggest show out there, were the most daring things she’d ever done. On her first night in Vegas she meets Nikolai in a club where he dare her to a handstand and the loser has to pierce the other one. Thora loose to him and got her peircing (I’m not telling you where but it’s a hot scene!!) She finally finds out that Nikolai is the lead artist in the troup she is audtionning for. And that is where their story begins.

It was awesome!! I loved the way Miss Ritchie plays out her scenes! I mean, the first chapter drawn me in like a vaccuum! The writing is great, especially for a new adult book. Most of the times, the new adult genre is falling into the trap of writing in a childish way even though it’s aimed at older audiences. This one didn’t fall into the trap! I could relate to what Thora was saying, her fears of becoming a woman and the idea of freedom she is desperatly searching for. The circus world was something really interesting. I haven’t read alot of books where the action surronds a circus and it was a good experience! I just to point out that Miss Ritchie mentions Le Circle de la Lune which is probably Le Circle du Soleil and I’m not sure if it’s because she didn’t had the rights to use the name or it was a real mistake… Anyway, good nonetheless!

The characters were awesome! Thora was great as a main point of view. Her thoughts were not childish and her decisions were those of a 20 something years old. She was funny and shy at some points and also an avid reader (Like me!) I relate to her alot for her past experiences with boys and her aversion to close contact. She didn’t love Nikolai instantly, there was a building to them even though they were attracted to eachother physically pretty fast. But attraction is not love, just it’s begginning!

Nikolai was a great love interest! Dear God, was he hot!! I’m not going to say too much about him since it might be spoilerish but let’s just say that he is not one of those controlling boyfriend that we hate so much. He is a family man with a good artistic side. He was real gentle to Thora as well as pushing her to do better in her acrobatics!

Nikolai’s family was also great but I thought they were maybe too much characters. I know it’s suppose to show his love for his family but still. The only character I despised was Shay, Thora’s best friend. He is the WORST! I know he is suppose to be sarcastic and straight-forward but this is beyond that. He was harsh and there was even a scene where he confronts her and tells her that she is not good enough and a whore and everything. Who says that to their bestfriend?!? He litteraly the antagonist of the book (even though there is not suppose to be one..) And Thora loves him anyway… He was not my favorite character at all!

Very good read!

Enjoy guys!