Carnival of Souls (Melissa Marr)

Title: Carnival of Souls

Author: Melissa Marr

Publisher: Harper (HarperCollins)

Length: 306

Rating: 3.5/5

Mallory is raised by witches in the human world and trained to hate daimons, never knowing that she is one, and that her real father is the daimon ruler of The City. At the heart of The City is the exotic Carnival of Souls, where once a generation, fighters vie for a spot in the ruling elite. Kalab and Aya are some of the last remaining fighters. But when Mallory’s daimon father discovers where she is, all three teenagers are dragged into the centuries-long war between daimons and witches, where they must fight for more than just their lives.

This book was addicting and The City and Carnival of Souls was intoxicating. But, it was hard to keep up with all the cultural and otherworldy differences, especially when the first person view point kept switching characters. While the relationships between the characters were a driving force to keep reading and often surprising, they often seemed to develop a little too fast. But maybe that’s an otherworldly cultural difference I didn’t understand.

The worst part about this book is that it ended just when it got really good! The book felt like the first half of a really good book, lots of wading through the set-up details, but I didn’t want to stop reading when it ended. What a tease.   

City of Fallen Angels (Cassandra Clare)

Title: City of Fallen Angels

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Length: 424 pages

Rating: 4.5/5

Writing reviews for sequels or any book that isn’t the first in the series is tough. It’s not like you’re going to randomly pick up book four, even if City of Fallen Angels is awesome (which it is, of course). And I can’t tell you what happens- that would give away everything that happened in the previous books, and then you wouldn’t want to read them…and you might hate me.

All I can say is that yes, this is book four of a trilogy…which is now going to be six books instead of three. Normally I would snort at this. I’ve learned not to question Cassandra Clare. She knows how to toy with your emotions. Bring on more books! (I haven’t devoured an author this much since that summer I read everything written by Tamora Pierce. Someday I’ll devote a post to her amazingness as well.)

Non-spoilers:

1.      LOVE the crossover from Clockwork Prince (book two of the prequel series- The Infernal Devices). If you’re looking to jump on this fabulous bandwagon, I suggest you read Books 1-3 of Mortal Instruments, then Book 1-2 of Infernal Devices and then City of Fallen Angels. And then City of Lost Souls, because it comes out next in May 2012. Got that? GO!

2.      Stop toying with my heart Cassandra! So much drama and angst. The world of Shadowhunters certainly is a messy one. I just a tiny bit hate that every main character finds someone to fall in love with or fall out of love with- it’s just so paired off at points. Come on, now. But whatever, I love it.

3.      Clary on this cover scares me. Cassandra (have you noticed we’re now on a first name basis?) must love it (see her website- I adore her level of fan interaction btw) but WHAT are Clary’s eyes doing?

4.      Simon is growing on me. And again, new (and good-looking!) characters are introduced to spice things up.

5.      Cliff-hanger ending, naturally. Killing me here. Book 5: May 8th

If you're not on this bandwagon, jump on it!

City of Glass (Cassandra Clare)

Title: City of Glass

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Length: 541 pages

Rating: 4/5

In the third book of the Mortal Instruments series, things are heating up. Clary is still determined to save her mother, even if it means illegally entering the City of Glass, the ancient home and heart of all Shadowhunters. And despite her herculean effort to get there, no one seems happy to see her, especially not Jace, who is determined to defeat Valentine without putting Clary in danger. Valentine’s threat to destroy the world they know looms closer, but it seems as unlikely that Downworlders and Shadowhunters will team up to fight him as it does that Clary and Jace will ever resolve their issues. Saving the world is always harder than it seems…

Even though very little time has passed since Clary first discovered she was a Shadowhunter, she’s grown a lot. All of the characters have grown a lot since the first book, which is partially why it’s so rewarding to keep reading. That and you know, the conflicts in the story: the conflict between Valentine and his children/the world, and the conflict between Jace and Clary. My mind spent a good majority of its reading time trying to decipher ways to solve these conflicts.

This book also introduces a few new characters to feast your eyes upon, namely Sebastian, the good-looking but seemingly-too-suave-to-be-true Shadowhunter. I also became more attached to old characters like the always-loyal Simon and I-want-him-as-my-own-uncle-Luke.

Occasionally, it seems the more inept the adult characters in a book, the more I like the teenage characters (maybe because they’re forced to take things into their own hands). This is one of those books. Adults are always tied down by the past. Kids look past this and see the future. Here they see a world where Downworlders and Shadowhunters can live in harmony, a world without corrupt laws and evil guys like Valentine. So of course, the kids are the ones actually getting stuff done, rather than just talking about maybe, possibly, something happening.

As to the angst expressed in my last two reviews, FINALLY, it is resolved. The series could end here quite happily, but of course it doesn’t. There are more books to come, and yes, I will be reading them!

Movie?! Movie?! Movie?! Not soon enough!

City of Bones (Cassandra Clare)

Title: City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Length: 485 pages

Rating: 4.5/5

On a night like any other, Clary Fray and her best friend Simon go to the Pandemonium Club in New York City for some dancing. But then Clary witnesses a murder by a few tattooed teenagers, and Simon doesn’t see a thing. Next thing you know, Clary’s mom disappears and Clary is attacked by a huge, creepy demon. Modern New York City isn’t all that it seems as Clary is thrown into the world of Shadowhunters, warriors who rid the world of demons, in a search for her mother. Why can Clary see demons and Downworlders all of a sudden- iosn’t she just an ordinary mundane? Where is her mother and who is this evil Valentine everyone keeps talking about? And why is Jace, Shadowhunter extraordinaire, so hot?

I told you in my review of Clockwork Angel (first in the prequel series to this series) that I would do what was necessary to get my hands on this book. I suffered through almost five CDs (not because they were awful but because I’m incapable of actually paying attention to audio books) before finally flying to Michigan to borrow the book from a friend (okay, full disclosure, I was visiting said friend, CD player in tow, and she just happened to have the book). So while the first hundred pages or so are rather blurry on the details, the rest was pretty awesome!

It’s crucial for me to like the main character of a book. I loved Clary. She’s snarky and funny and just the right amount of clueless (much like Tessa…). When the going gets tough, she rises up to it, and never backs away from a challenge, whether it’s breaking into a hotel full of vampires or not sleeping for 48 hours (or more? Does she ever sleep?).

Clary’s world is completely turned inside out and what’s great for the reader, is that everything we know is turned inside out too. It's set in modern New York. Kinda cool to think of other-worlders running around behind our backs (also creepy, but that’s where Shadowhunters come in).

The Shadowhunters in this book are the coolest teens EVER. Jace, Alec and Isabelle are attractive and pretty much run around New York killing demons without parental supervision. Talk about teen empowerment. Jace is the epitome of awesomeness: he’s brooding, mysterious and great at killing demons and making Clary crazy.

And in case Clary’s world didn’t become crazy enough, things get crazier. I can’t wait to dig into City of Ashes, the second book in the Mortal Instruments series.

Also, movie? Yes please. Can't wait!

Spoiler alert!! Don’t go any further if you haven’t read this book.

Stop reading!

Have you read this book?

Okay, you can keep reading.

What, Star Wars, WHAT?

That’s all. Please tell me it’s a lie.

No, I’m kidding- don’t tell me anything!

Clockwork Angel (Cassandra Clare)

Title: Clockwork Angel

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster)

Length: 478 pages

Rating: 4.5/5

This is the most exciting/tense/keep you reading/eyes keep jumping to the bottom of the page to find out what happens next book I’ve read since The Hunger Games. And it’s just the prequel to Cassandra Clare’s famous Mortal Instruments series. You know a series is great when its prequel get a series! Although I have yet to read The Mortal Instruments series (the line for the first one, City of Bones, at the library is rather long, but after loving this book and learning the next one in the prequel series isn’t out yet, I requested the City of Bones audio book because its line was shorter. I don’t really like audio books, but that’s how much I liked this book).

Now to focus on the book at hand: Clockwork Angel, the first in The Infernal Devices series. Tessa Gray travels to London to find her brother, the only family she has left. But he’s gone missing and she’s kidnapped by the Dark Sisters, who teach her that she has the power to transform into another person. Because in this Victorian London, magic is real, populated by Downworlders like vampires and warlocks. The Dark Sisters work for the Magister, the shadowy leader of a nefarious The Pandemonium Club, who wants Tessa as his bride. Tessa escapes and takes refuge with a group of Shadowhunters whose duty is to rid the world of demons and protect humans. Among these Shadowhunters are the fearless and volatile Will, and his best friend, the calm yet hiding a deadly secret Jem. Naturally, Tessa would much rather marry one of them than the creepy Magister. Now Tessa’s on a mission to find her brother and take down the Pandemonium Club.

I thought I was over paranormal series for a bit. Turns out, I’m not. Tessa’s got the characteristics I like in a heroine: determination, hidden talent, small amount of wide-eyed innocence, spunk, and a great character arc through the book. The boys Jem and Will are the perfect compliments/foils to each other and to Tessa, and while there was a little romance, it was refreshing that the story didn’t revolve around it. While some of the plot twists were expected, Clare’s suspenseful writing kept me turning page after page, and I was still surprised quite often. And I was left with many questions and an overwhelming desire to read the next book!

If you’re looking for a new series, this is your book.