March Wrap Up

For the month of March I didn't get as many books read as I would have liked due to the fact that I was moving house and many of my books ended up in boxes, boxes which I was only just about to unpack last weekend. And because I was moving I had no internet for two weeks, so rather than going back and trying to write full in detail reviews of the books I have read I will instead wrap them all up in one post.

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare and others.

In the beginning of march I finished reading the last five books from the Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. I didn't enjoy these short stories as much as I do enjoy her novels. I did, however, find that they gave a really interesting insight in the inner working of the Shadowhunter world as it was set in Idris as opposed to an Institute. I also loved that we got to learn so much about Simon, because who doesn't love Simon in all his dorkiness.

5/5 Stars

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

March was very much a Cassandra Clare month. I continued with my Shadowhunter fix by re-reading Clockwork Prince, the second book in the Infernal Devices Series. As this is a re-read it not really surprising that I give this book a 5/5 stars. My favourite thing about this particular book in the series is how much we learn about Jem as he quite often gets overshadowed by Will as a character.

5/5 Stars

The Aeneid by Virgil

My TBR Challenge for February was to read a poem but in February I was in a reading slump so it just didn't happen. Granted the Aeneid isn't a poem in the traditional sense that most people would call a poem, especially once it has been translated from Latin to English. But an epic poem is still a poem.

This book is a well loved classic for a reason as it tells the story of Aeneas fleeing Troy after it has been destroyed by the Greeks and follows his journey to establish a new kingdom and race that would go on to become the Roman Empire. This book is filled with propaganda for Augustus and the greatness of Rome,

5/5 Stars

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I have been wanting to read this book for a really long time but after watching the movie and becoming a sobbing mess I have also been putting it off. This book is very unique in how it is told as first of all, death narrates the story which gives a very airy feeling of how true some of the events in this book are. Secondly the book is broken up into multiple parts and within each of these parts there are a number of short stories which all amalgamate into the over all plot of the book. I loved this book as it made me laugh, smile and cry and cry some more. If you do plan to read this book, have a box of tissues ready, especially at the end

5/5 Stars - easily

I did read a few other books in March but I was able to write reviews for those so feel free to check them out.

Lady Midnight

Title: Lady Midnight

Series: The Dark Artifices - book 1

Author: Cassandra Clare

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

Number of Pages: 669

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: March 8th 2016

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 Shadowhinter. She lives for battle. Alongside her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, she patrols Los Angeles, where vampires party on the Sunset Stripe, and faeries - the most powerful of supernatural creatures - teeter on the edge of war with Shadowhunters. When the bodies of humans and faeries are found 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 by the Faerie Courts. All they 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 from falling in love? Who really killed her parents - and can she bear to know the truth?

Lady Midnight is an action packed and intense and for the first book of a series that is promising to be spectacular one. I hadn’t realised how much I missed a new Cassandra Clare book. Going into Lady Midnight, the assumption is that you already know the structure of the world that Cassandra Clare has created and as a result we don’t have to get a whole lot of world building allowing us to get straight into the story and learn the characters, and there is quite a few new characters to learn. Unlike previous books the characters grew up in the Shadowhunter world.

In the previous Shadowhunter books while adult presence has been limited, it is almost non-existent in Lady Midnight, the adults that are present have fleeting appearances and little sway and guidance over Emma, Julian and the rest of the Blackthorn children. As a result some of the old fashioned beliefs that the Shadowhunter’s hold onto do not apply to our characters. There are two obvious examples of this. The first is in the behaviour of the characters. All Shadowhunter’s grow up fast, it is a given, they grow up and fast because they die young. But our main characters have had to grow up more than others. They are this odd mix of having had to grow up too fast and still holding onto their child like dreams and ambitions. This helps to make the story both compelling and heart wrenching.

The other way this lack of adultness is seen, is in the presence of technology. Without adults forcing the Blackthorns and Emma into thinking that mundane technology is useless they have thrived under its influence. The characters make references to movies and use computers in a way that would stump our previous Shadowhunter characters, even those of the Mortal Instruments.

Cassandra Clare is a no-holds-bar author, you have no idea who can trust, or who is going to live; even the main characters are up for grabs. But so as to keep spoilers to the minimum I will just look at main characters.

Emma is very much a combination of Clary and Jace. She is reckless and stubborn, and constantly getting into trouble. Above all else Emma is loyal and driven with a need to find answers and work out who she is. Emma is slow to trust and care for others but when she does, it is final. Emma needs nothing more than to close the final chapter of one part of her life so that she can learn to live in the next.

Julian on the other hand is a mix of Will and Jem, he is quiet and reserved but rather than music we get art as his passion. But like with Will you never see the real him, you get his protective side that shows through and the absolution that he will put his family and Emma first but keeps secrets. He keeps secrets in the same way that Will does, they are perfectly put together but are the story progresses we see these secrets begin to unravel and pull him apart at the seams.

This book is neither slow nor fast despite its bulking size (669 – and it’s just the first book) it was a well paced and well written book. This is the best book Cassandra Clare has written so far and as her writing has grown and become even more amazing I am sure that her books will one day kill me. Cassandra Clare forces you to feel so much for her characters and then she rips your heart out with betrayals, lies, secrets and deaths.

Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel

Series: The Infernal Devices - book 1

Author: Cassandra Clare

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult

Number of Pages: 470

Publisher: Walker Books

Publication Date: 2010

Summary: When sixteen-year-old Tessa Grey arrives in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Friendless and hunted, Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Drawn ever deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated by - and torn between - two best friends and quickly realises that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

The Infernal Devices series is a prequel series to the Mortal Instruments. As a result we get some of the names we know and love such as Herondale, Lightwood and Fairchild, but we also get introduced to some new ones. 

The first thing that I loved about this book is the world. Cassandra Clare has created a world that it both a historically belivable one and is also filled with magic and mechanical inventions. Like with the Mortal Instruments, the Shadowhunters of the 19th century live a secluded life from the mundanes and believe themselves to be better than the Downworlders. 

 While their are cross overs between both the Infernal Devices and the Mortal Instruments their is no repetition in story ideas. In both series we are introduced to the Pandemonium club, yet the two are unrecognisable, while being creepily the same in the different era's. In the Mortal Instruments the club is simply a club that is frequented by Downworlders, Demons and Shadowhunters...in the Infernal Devices the Pandemonium Club has a far more sinister role. In this version of the club it is run by varying levels of Downworlders and Demons who seek to exploit the naivety of mundanes; they draw in the unsuspecting and use them as pawns.

The other thing that I loved that has carried through on both series is the presence of Camille, Magnus and Church. Having a small select few of the characters from the Mortal Instruments present helped to create a connection between the two series and also to help solidify that some of the characters are actually immortal. Knowing that some of the characters will still be alive in 130 odd years and watching them love and hate really brings the loneliness of immortality to life. Getting to experience a character in two very different time frames brings a new depth to the immortality of characters that most authors are unable to portray.

The role of women in this book is also a big topic. There are three main women: Tessa, Charlotte and Jessamine, each are very different and have very different understandings of how women should act. Charlotte is a Shadowhunter first and a lady second. She goes into battle and has the right to give her opinion. Jessamine is pretty much a spoilt rich brat. She strongly believes that women should sit around and look pretty, take care of their husbands and raise their children. 

Tessa has very traditional views to begin with, men make decisions while women are more reserved. These views, however, do not suit Tessa's personality type and she lives in a world of fiction with strong female characters. When she meets the Shadowhunters she is originally put off by their casual and forward behaviour, yet at the same time she is fascinated with the idea that women can be strong and fight to.

It is the character of Will, however, that is the most fascinating. Will as a character is arrogant, rude and just plain unpleasant to be around. Yet he can also be prone to moments of true selflessness and kindness. Like with his descendant, however, his cruelty towards others comes from a desire to protect others from himself and to protect himself from pain and suffering. Will is by far one of the deepest characters I have read about. Everything about him contradicts. He can't stand anyone, doesn't believe anyone deserves pity but the one person he cares about the most is the person who most depends on him and has his unwavering devotion.

Even if you didn't really enjoy the Mortal Instruments, this series may still appeal to you.

City of Glass

Title: City of Glass

Series: The Mortal Instruments - book 3

Author: Cassandra Clare

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Number of Pages: 540

Publication Date: 2009

Publisher: Walker Books

Summary: Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the anscetral home of Shadowhunters, to save her mother's life. Clary begins to uncover truths about her family and her past with the help of Sebastian, and Valentine begins to muster the full force of his demon army.

 Amid the chaos of war, the Shadowhunters must decide to fight with the vampires, werewolves and other Downworlders - or against them. Meanwhile, Jace and Clary have their own decision to make: should they pursue the love they know is forbidden?

This is probably my second favourite book in the series. This book was originally written as the final book of the trilogy before Cassandra Clare came to her senses and wrote more books. For this reason it is one of my faves. As an original ending to a series, this book tidies up a lot of loose ends, which is good when you consider that this series is now six books, as it means no story lines begin to drag. It also means the characters get a moment of finality before the next stage begins.

In this book we really get to see some character development. In this book the effects that the previous two books have had on the characters really begins to show. We begin to see the characters breaking round the edges and fighting to not crumble into thousands of tiny little pieces and just give up. Jace in particular is really pushed to his limits. As a character who has always been taught to be strong and unbreakable, it's humbling to watch him slowly break down and rebuild himself.

Cassandra Clare is a brave writer. She writes her stories as they happen. Rather than being an author who writes and smothers their characters so they all come out okay at the end, Cassandra Clare's writing is almost brutally honest. In many ways it's almost as if she is writing about what really happened. If the characters should be suffering, they will be. Happy moments are happening at the same time that the world is being ripped out from under the characters feet and thrown in the deep end of hell.

City of Ashes

Title: City of Ashes

Series: The Mortal Instruments - book 2

Author: Cassandra Clare

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Number of Pages: 411

Publication Date: 2008

Publisher: Walker Books

Summary: With her mother in a coma and her father hell bent on destroying the world, Clary Fray is dragged deeper into New York City's terrifying underworld of werewolves, demons and the mysterious Shadowhunters. Discovering the truth about her past was only the beginning. Now the fate of the world rests of Clary's shoulders, but can she master her new-found powers and control her feelings for a boy who can never be hers?

Like many books that are the second in a series, City of Ashes is not my favourite in the series. This book is very much about the changes that are happening rather than anything actually happening. This book is very focused on Clary and Jace and the rest of the characters learning about their new identities and how these new identities do or don't change who they are. I find this book to be very character and world driven rather than plot focused. We also meet the last of our main characters bar one other. 

Yet despite the fact that this book isn't so much a driving point in the plot, it is perhaps, in my opinion, the most important book in the series. It is in this series that we begin to see the importance of our main characters and get a feel for how much danger and chaos Valentine is going to bring to the world. We are also introduced further into the Shadowhunter world and meet even more of the downworlders and learn more about who the Clave is and what role they have. City of Ashes is very much Valentine's story. In this book we get to see more of Valentine and we begin to understand what he wants and how his mind works.

It is really hard to write a review on a book in a series you have read before, you can't write what you truly think and how you feel the book fits into the story objectively because you know what is going to happen next and when you have read the Mortal Instruments series as many times as I have you get to the point where you just simply can't fathom someone not having read the books.

And that is pretty much were I'm at...this book is not my favourite in the series but still I love it, I love the whole series and I highly recommend reading the series if you love fantasy, urban fantasy or paranormal books. For those of you who haven't read much fantasy, supernatural type books or want to forray into the magical worlds of such books, this series is a great place to start. With a main character who has always believed that they were human you get to learn about a new world along side them making it easy to follow and get lost it. This second book expands on the world and magical creatures that live in it and really brings them to life.

City of Bones

Title: City of Bones

Series: The Mortal Instruments - book 1

Author: Cassandra Clare

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Number of Pages: 443

Publisher: Walker Books

Publication Date: 2007

Summary: It's after dark in New York City, and Clary Fray is seeing things. The best-looking guy in the night club just stabbed a boy to death - but the victim has vanished into thin air. Her mother has disappeared, and a hideous monster is lurking in her apartment. With her life spiraling into darkness, Clary realises that she has stumbled into an invisible war between ancient demonic forces and the secretive Shadowhunters - a war in which she has a fateful role to play...

First of all I think I should start off by saying that the Mortal Instruments is my favourite book series and Cassandra Clare is my favourite author, therefore anything and everything written in this post is totally bias :)

I picked up this book to read for two reasons. First I want to re-read all the books set in the Shadowhunter universe before the release of Lady Midnight in March and secondly because this months TBR challenge was to read a book that was either a TV or movie adaption and this series is both. The TV show premiered today and the movie was released in August 2013.

Cassandra Clare creates a fun and sexy world of Shadowhunters. Her characters are diverse, her plot lines filled with brilliant minor and major story lines. Even in just this first book of the series each of the characters face some major challenges, challenges that shape and change who they always thought they were. While most of the character development that occurs in this book isn't really seen in until City of Ashes the ending of this book doesn't just leave you with the cliff hanger of what is going to happen next, but how the characters are going to cope. And I have never read a book that has invested me in the characters as much as Cassandra Clare's writing does. This book is driven forward as much by a compelling story line as it is by an amazing set of characters.

Cassandra Clare's writing style, however, is what I love the most about her books. Cassandra has such a creative way of writing. She balance show and telling well and fills her writing with creative, witty and just plain funny metaphors and similes that brings the Shadowhunter world alive and off and the page. In fact all her dialogue is written in a fun and enjoyable way that doesn't take from the seriousness of the situation nor make what is happening unbelievable (especially from Jace).

“It wouldn't be my move," Jace agreed. "First the candy and flowers, then the apology letters, then the ravenous demon hordes. In that order.” 

“The meek may inherit the earth, but at the moment it belongs to the conceited. Like me.” 

“Just because you call an electric eel a rubber duck doesn't make it a rubber duck, does it? And God help the poor bastard who decides they want to take a bath with the duckie. (Jace Wayland)” 

“Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt.” 

“Sorry, are you telling me that your demon-slaying buddies need to be driven to their next assignment with the forces of darkness by my mom?”

And that is just a small taster of some of the good lines in the book - this list doesn't even include some of the best. Mostly because I couldn't chose.

If you love Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy, any kind of fantasy, adventure, kick butt characters and books about worlds colliding this is totally for you. 

The Mortal Instruments

I am a huge book lover, and have decided that its time to come out from living only within the pages of a book and interact with the world. And I can't think of a better way than by talking (blogging) about my all time favourite series, ever...The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare!

Now for all those people who have only recently heard about the Mortal Instruments let me tell you what you have been missing out on.

There are six books in the Mortal Instruments series, and each one is more exciting and enthralling than the last. The story revolves around 16 year old Clary Fray and her introduction into the Shadowhunter world and her journey to save her mother and the rest of the world from the evils that are Valentine Morgenstern and Jonathon Morgenstern. And who are the Shadowhunters you ask...well they are your good old bad ass demon fighters of course. So with the help of the sexy and arrogant Jace, whip-wielding Isabelle, insecure Alec and nerdy, best friend Simon, Clary sets out to discover who she is and what her future entails.

This is my go-to series. I have re-read these books over and over and over. The best thing about these books is they really suit everyone. This series contains a well thought out plot and is filled with incredible detail, all without getting overly complicated and boring. Cassandra Clare has created a master piece in the Shadowhunter universe. I could probably write a whole book myself on how much I love the dynamics of this series. But I will stop myself before I scare people away.

I absolutely love this series and they totally deserve 5 out of 5 stars.