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!

Emily’s Best Books of 2011

My top five (where I cheat and make it a top seven by including the first in certain series) Click on the title to see my review:

1.      Divergent: Dystopia set in futuristic Chicago that involves bravery, love, and self-discovery.

2.      Clockwork Prince (Clockwork Angel): Tessa, paired with two handsome and confusing demon-slayers, finds herself in a battle against evil in Victorian England.

3.      Crossed (Matched): Dystopia in which Cassia must decide between safety and freedom.

4.      Unearthly: Clara is part-angel with a mission to save a boy. But what if she likes a different boy?

5.      Epic Fail: Modern-day Pride and Prejudice mixed with your favorite CW show.   

Not actually published in 2011 but some top picks from books I read this year:

6.      Going TooFar: Jennifer Echols at her finest with this love story between a good boy and a rebellious girl.

7.      The HungerGames (Catching Fire and Mockingjay): Dystopia where kids are set against each other on live television.

There are so many great books I haven’t yet gotten a chance to read, so look for more great reviews of 2011 books in the new year. Special thanks to all my blog readers thus far- Happy New Year!

Clockwork Prince (Cassandra Clare)

Title: Clockwork Prince

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Length: 498 pages

Rating: 4.5/5

Actual text from my friend Meredith: “Have you read Clockwork Prince? I just finished it and I almost died like twenty times ahhhhh I need the next one RIGHT NOW!!!!”

I went out and bought this book the day it came out. To do it full justice however, I didn’t read it for several days because I had to reread the first book in The Infernal Devices series, Clockwork Angel, before I let myself read the new book, hence the above text message. My response to Meredith after reading? “Just. Finished. The. Book. O.M.G. Dyyyyyyyyinnnnnnnnggggggggggggg. I now need to read everything I possibly can about the book online.”

If these girl-ish squeals won’t convince you to read the book, I don’t know what will!

How about a short summary (short because I dare not give anything away!): In Victorian England, Tessa continues to search for a way to destroy the evil Magister with the help of two handsome Shadowhunters, Will and Jem. But the cunning Magister always seems five steps ahead, and Tessa must also fight to save her home from falling into the wrong hands, as well as trying to sort out her confusing feelings for both Shadowhunter boys.

Some things to consider:

1.      Cassandra Clare loves love triangles. And bad boys with dark pasts. Win-win? Only if Jem and Will don’t kill me with their awesomeness first. The character growth in this novel is great.

2.      All the good people in this book are young, while the evil people are old. Youth power! I refuse to grow up!

3.      Anyone else feeling a love connection between Cyril and Gabriel? What? Don’t give me that look of exasperation. Everyone else is pairing off…

4.      The poetry. Clever, brilliant, beautiful, but so much of it that it comes across as just a little too pretentious for me. The only thing that actually bothers me about this series thus far is the excessive amount of poetry.

5.      The cover is beautiful, and the perfect darker compliment to those of the Mortal Instruments series.

Go read Clockwork Angel, then Clockwork Prince. You won’t be disappointed.