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.

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.

Witch Hunter

Title: Witch Hunter

Series: The Witch Hunter - book 1

Author: Virginia Boecker

Raing: 4 stars

Genre: Paranormal, Historical Fantasy

Number of Pages: 409

Publication Date: 2015

Publisher: Orchard Books

Summary: Elizabeth Grey may look harmless, but don't let that fool you. She can take out five necromancers with a single sword and slay a wizard at fifty paces.

But when she's found carrying witch's herbs, she is thrown into jail with no chance of escape. Only magic, which she's fought against all her life, can save her...

Now, with Elizabeth's chances of survival in the very hands of those she has been trained to fight, she faces an impossible choice.

This book has perhaps the most interesting premise I have come across in a long time. As soon as I picked this book up and read the back, I had to have it! The idea of reading a book where the main character is the witch hunter and the not the witch isn't that popular, not when the witches are in fact the good guys. Books where the main character is forced to reevaluate everything they have ever been taught are perhaps the books that I find the most appealing.

While the premise of this book was fantastic and the plot itself was interesting, I found that the writing itself let this book down. I didn't find Virginia Boecker to be have a particularly appealing writing style. She wrote in an almost simplistic or basic way. There were no lines that stood out, no creative metaphors and no impressive descriptions of scenes, characters or environments. However, Witch Hunter is her debut novel so it isn't surprising that there is room for improvement. Not many people can write a master piece on their first try.

My one complaint about the story line itself is in the way that Elizabeth Grey is described. Elizabeth is described as being a great witch hunter, the very best, an unstoppable force. Yet I found that we never quite got to see this in the book, Elizabeth seemed to be constantly run down, overwhelmed and only seemed to succeed when she had others to rely on or through the very fact that the author wrote the plot with her winning. However, because I did find the authors writing to be a little weak at times I feel that this would have come across better if she was a stronger writer.

I really look forward to seeing where this series goes next and how Virginia Boecker's writing improves.