Shadow Hunters Series Episodes One and Two Review

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No spoilers if you haven’t seen Shadow Hunters or read Mortal Instruments! (I’ll warn you before the spoiler-y part)

To see my review of the books click here.

Shadow Hunters has good effects for the most part. (Only one demon looked a bit hokey) The seraph blades were awesome!

So far the acting has all been good. The cast really looks like how I pictured them in the books! (Except Jace.) Jace is portrayed better in this version (even though movie Jace was way cuter) and the actor does a good job.

(See what I mean?)

They kept the characters’ personalities true to the book and included the humor! The new scenes were mostly good and nothing felt drawn out or boring. (Plus more Magnus!)

Overall: Good. 8/10 stars!

(Clary, Simon, Jace)

If you’re wondering how I’ve seen episode two already, its on the ABC family website! (I’m not sure it’s available in all countries though.)

Small spoilers if you haven’t seen the show or read the first book you might want to stop reading now!

I’m rereading the book along with the show!

Episode one is from chapter one to about chapter five.

Instead of Jace and Clary going back to her home, Simon comes to them. (Apparently the Institute isn’t protected from GPS..)

Episode two is from chapter five to chapter eleven.

(Jace, Alec, and Isabel)

Changes:

There’s a new Demon sub plot, they’re draining people’s blood.

Pandemonium is Magnus’ club. (Their way of getting Magnus in sooner.)

They changed things to make it look cooler for TV. (Clary’s in the first battle scene instead of witnessing it and there are multiple demons, not one.)

There’s more of the circle members, and we see Valentine’s side of things.

Runes can be hidden. So can Magnus’ eyes.

The Institute has a high tech look and is full of people!

Dot (the fortune teller who lived downstairs) is a Warlock and friend of Jocelyn and Clary.

Good Changes:

Luke is a cop.

Clary and company are 18 not 15.

(Marline is their age and a member of Simon’s band.)

Hodge is really fit!

Bad Changes:

Clary’s mom gave her a stele?! (No way would she do that!)

When Clary gets home from the club, her mom is there and starts to explain things.

Clary’s saved by Jace instead of killing the demon herself. (Why?!) It also wasn’t clear she’d been poisoned.

No sign of Max or Church.

Clary has a magical plot saving necklace. (Lets her know where people are.)

There’s another change, but I don’t want to spoil anything. It looks like there will be major plot changes for episode three though!

(Yes, I was so excited about this show, I made gifs!)

I plan to watch episode three! I hope they keep it good and don’t change too much!

Have you read the books? Seen the show? Want to?

Top Ten Sequels I Can’t Wait To Get

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A Song of Ice and Fire, Discworld, Grisha, Lunar Chronicles, Magnus Chase, mortal instruments, Percy Jackson, Red Rising, Saga of Recluse, Sequels I Can't Wait To Get, top 10 tuesday, top ten tuesday

 

Two in a row! I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I manage not to procrastinate two weeks in a row! (Who else is shocked?)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They come up with top ten lists that people can blog about every week.

I usually wait until an entire series is released before jumping in, because I hate having to wait to find out what happens next and this way I can just binge read the entire thing! But there have been a few times this year when I actually read a book in a series before they were all out. (A couple of times I was tricked!) And some of these are series I’ve been reading for years and they just keep on going.

1. The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)

Expected Release Date: Oct 8, 2015

Okay so technically it’s book one, but I’m hoping Percy Jackson or Annabeth Chase make at least a cameo appearance. Riordan’s new book features Norse Mythology and stars Annabeth’s cousin Magnus.

He’s living on the streets when his uncle tracks him down and tells him he’s descendant from a Norse god. To prevent the end of the world (Ragnarok) Magnus has to search the nine realms for a weapon.

I mean Rick Riordan and Norse gods (secretly hoping for a Loki appearance) I just know this book is going to rock!

2. Winter & Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #4 & 3.5)

Expected Release Dates: Fairest: Jan 27, 2015 Winter: Nov 1, 2015

I never expected to love Cinder, I mean cyborg Cinderella? But I do! And finally the last book is almost here! We also get a novella staring the evil queen Levana to tide us over for fall.

Things that need to happen: All of the couples live and are happy, obviously Levana is defeated and the Lunars freed. Cinder becomes queen of the moon and of New Beijing. Don’t want much, do I? Oh, and I want something nice for Iko too, she’s the best!

3. The Young Elites #2

Expected Release Date: ???

It doesn’t have a title yet, but I need it! The epilogue in the first one convinced me that the sequel is going to be even more epic than it’s predecessor!

4. Raising Steam (Discworld, #40)

Release Date: Nov 7, 2013 (Tiffany Aching: Unknown)

(I have a feeling Pratchett is going to make every one of my lists somehow.) Okay technically the next Discworld book that’s going to be released is The Shepherd’s Crown (Tiffany Aching, #5), but I’m not as big a fan of Tiffany as the regular Discworld and I still don’t own Raising Steam! (I’m hoping for Christmas) I’ve owned Thud since it came out, but I’m still saving it so technically that could be on my list too.

5. Six of Crows (The Dregs #1)

Expected Release Date: Oct 8, 2015

Yes, I know technically this is another first book of a series, but it’s in the Grisha universe, so I say it’s a sequel.

A crew of dangerous felonious misfits face impossible odds when they are pulled together to break into one of the most guarded places in the world. We have new setting, Kerch which is the opposite of Ravka and the center for all world trade. Also there will be a Grisha in the Dregs and the magic will be expanded upon.

My least favorite part of Shadow and Bone was the two “main characters” so I have high hopes for this novel, since it sounds like it’s staring people more like Sturmhound.

6. The Copper Gauntlet (Magisterium #2) / Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)

Expected Release Dates: Copper Gauntlet: 2015 Lady Midnight: Sept 2015

I loved the Iron Trial and I have high hopes for where the story’s going to go next! Since nothing’s been released about Copper Gauntlet, I’ll group it with Lady Midnight, which takes place five years after Mortal Instruments (See it is a sequel) and stars Emma Carstairs.

There are mysterious killings in the city and Emma is determined to investigate, because they are strangely similar to her parents deaths, but not only humans are being killed downworlders are too. After the fairy queen makes a deal, the shadow hunters stop whose doing this and they’re release Mark Blackthorn the stakes are higher than ever, because if they fail it means war. And they only have two weeks!

I don’t expect this to be as good as Mortal Instruments or Infernal Devices, but I’m hoping to see more of Tessa and Jem! I don’t like the sounds of her falling in love with her parabotai, I know it’s forbidden, and maybe she’ll convince me, but it’s not really doing it for me. I liked Mark much better!

7. Cyador’s Heirs & Heritage of Cyador (The Saga of Recluce #17 & #18)

Release Dates: May 20, 2014 & Nov 18, 2014

I know none of you have heard of these books, but I love Modesitte’s epic fantasys. (The Corean Chronicles is my favorite, followed by Recluse)

The novels in the Recluse Saga are written out of chronological order, but in pairs (can’t spell duologys) and I wait until both are out to read them. This story line takes place after Cyador fell, so sixth? chronologically. Another coming of age story with a young male protagonist who wields both chaos and order powers, but I know Modesitte will make it awesome!

8. Golden Son (Red Rising Trilogy #2)

Expected Release Date: Jan 6, 2015

I really liked the start of Red Rising and I expect Golden Son to be more like that. I have a feeling we’ll finally get to see the space battle I expected from the first one. My main problem with Red Rising was the main character, Darrow and I’m hoping that he matured through everything the first book put him through. ‘Now a part of the elite, Darrow tries to bring down their society from the inside.’ doesn’t tell me much, but the first novel was nothing like I expected, so I’m trying to go into this one without expectations.

9. Siren’s Fury (Storm Siren #2)

Expected Release Date: Jun 2, 2015

After that ending I needed more, but I’m not too eager to read this after the blurb. First it reveals something that was the main reason I wanted to read the book to find out. Then it tells us that the bad guy stole Nym’s powers. So the whole book is a quest for her to get new powers? I’m not so sure I care. The cover’s pretty though.

10. The Winds of Winter (A Song of Ice and Fire #6)

Expected Release Date: This Decade?

The first book came out in 1996 (That’s almost 20 years ago!) I want them to be good, but come on! I NEED to find out what happens already! It’s supposed to start with two epic battles and tying up all of thee to be continued-ness in the very beginning.

Honorable Mentions: Sequels I want, but there is literally no information on them yet.

Griever’s Mark 2 (My review of the first one) I loved this book and I NEED to find out what happens next!

Faerie Revolutions 2 (The Last Changeling) Another good book that left me wanting more.

The Shadow Ravens 2 (Cipher) I look forward to seeing what the other two authors will do with this interesting world.

Do you read series as they’re published or like me do you wait until they’re all released? What sequel is at the top of your for must have now list?

The Bane Chronicles By Cassandra Clare Mini Reviews

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author, Bane Chronicles, book, book reviews, books, characters, Downworlders, fantasy, fiction, literature, Magnus, Magnus Bane, mortal instruments, novel, plot, read, reader, review, Shadow Hunters, stories, story, write, writer, writing, YA, young adult

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Demons, Magic

Other Authors: Maureen Johnson, Sarah Rees Brennan, & Cassandra Jean

Pages: 528 (11 short stories)

Point of View: Third (Magnus Bane)

Released: November 11, 2014

Predictability: 4 out of 5 Stars (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

My Summary:

Magnus Bane is a warlock, meaning his father was a demon, so he processes magical powers and doesn’t age. His true age is a mystery, because he always lies about it. He’s the best character in the Shadow Hunter universe (Not opinion, fact) and we finally get to discover more of his history in this collection of short stories.

My Review:

These stories had such potential, the world of Mortal Instruments, and one of the best characters, Magnus Bane. A bisexual warlock with crazy fashion sense, what’s not to like? I feel these stories would’ve been more successful as a novel, with a part at the beginning dedicated to his early life.

Because they’re shorts I’m rating them out of five stars where 3 is just okay, four is good, and 5 is made me giggle repeatedly.

Book 1: What Really Happened in Peru (***)

In the latest Mortal Instruments books we’ve been teased with the story of why Magnus was kicked out of Peru. This short story is actually a series of short stories. It would’ve been better as one story and mentioning some of the other events, because as it was none of the stories were very good. I chuckled a couple of times and I enjoyed Magnus’ warlock friends, but it was disappointing overall. (And in the end we never find out why he was kicked out of Peru!)

Book 2: The Runaway Queen (***)

The problem with tales based on history, like the Titanic or in this case Marie Antoinette, is I know how it’s going to end. It feels like one of Magnus’ stories, “That time I was in a hot air balloon with Marie Antoinette.” Sounds like it would be a fun story, no? Surprisingly it wasn’t.  Too much time was spent on the set up and culture of the time, which had little to do with the actual story. There weren’t any interesting side characters aside from Axel and we don’t get to see much of him.

Book 3: Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale (****)

Set in London for the first meeting of the accords, (or one of the first) we meet Camille and Edmund Herondale. (This story really needed to be told from Edmund’s point of view as well, so it wouldn’t feel like he fell in love so quickly and his personality changed so drastically.) The characters were the best part of this story. Even the people we barely meet were great, like the mermaid in her tank who liked scones. On a very annoying side note, every instance of “fl” was replaced by “noindent” in the original eBook… (I’m so glad they fixed that)

Book 4: The Midnight Heir (****)

Tessa, Will and Jem return for this short story, set 25 years after Magnus last saw them. We first meet James Herondale, who is 17, drunk, and seemingly suicidal. It was good, but it felt more like a set up or a teaser for a book than a short story. I want to know what happens next! (Why would you leave Magnus, it was just getting good?!) Apparently the fourth series in the Mortal Instruments will feature some of these characters.

Book 5: The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (***)

Set in the late 1920s in New York where Magnus owns a speakeasy. No chuckles or good characters, but this was the first short story in this collection that felt like a proper complete story. (The best part was the tease about Magnus’ father. I wish one of these stories explored that further.)

Book 6: Saving Raphael Santiago (****)

Magnus decides to become a private detective and his first case is to find the missing son of Mrs. Santiago. Anyone who’s read Mortal Instruments knows what happened, but it was fun to see a younger Raphael.

Book 7: The Fall of the Hotel Dumort (***)

Magnus has been away from New York for two years. When he returns he finds a group of vampires in his apartment, but they look strange, almost sick. It turns out it isn’t just that small group but almost all of the Vampires in New York and they aren’t only sick they’re feeding often and leaving the bodies out in the street. We meet a couple of Magnus’ werewolf friends who are trying to keep things under wraps, but they’ve about had it. Predictable story and nothing special, easily skipped. (I hated the end.)

Book 8: What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything: (And Who You’re Not Officially Dating Anyway) (*****)

Alec is turning eighteen and Magnus wonders if and what he should get him for a birthday present. This story feels like the first Mortal Instruments books, witty, funny and just plain fun. I enjoyed seeing Magnus and Isabelle becoming friends. Also, I loved the slime demon.

Book 9: The Last Stand of the New York Institute (****)

Set in the 1980s when the circle is starting out, and the clave still believes them when they say they’re only killing downworlders who have broken the accords. When the circle comes to New York, Magnus vows to protect his friends and his city. We meet the young members of the circle Lucian, Stephan Herondale, and the Lightwoods. It’s nice to see another part of the history of the Mortal Instruments. I wish it had included more about the Uprising, but there’s only so much time in a short story. I enjoyed the ending with Jocelyn bringing a young Clary to Magnus and Tessa.

Book 10: The Course of True Love (and First Dates) (****)

This is the story of Magnus’ first date with Alec. I chuckled several times, it was fun watching the two meet and interact in all their awkwardness. Alec is a mysterious character in the main Mortal Instruments books, and it was nice to get to know him better, especially through Magnus’ eyes. I liked Magnus’ friend Catarina, a female warlock and nurse. She’s not in these stories nearly enough.

Bonus 11: The Voicemail of Magnus Bane (only available in omnibus of all shorts) (***)

This story is all of the voicemails left for Magnus after City of Lost Souls. It was amusing but all of the characters acted like they were drunk dialing. Many of them said things which seemed out of character or things they’d only think. Isabelle’s were the best, because she doesn’t really ever have a filter.

Verdict: I needed a quick fun read and these stories were just that. Nothing special, but still entertaining. The best part was definitely the cameos from other characters in the series, before this I never really understood what Magnus saw in Alec.

I realize I just did a short story review last week, but my reading slump continues. I’m not 81% into the book I started 10 days ago…

What’s your opinion on an expanded universe? Clare keeps writing more and more Shadow Hunter books, but she’s getting quite a bit of negativity saying she’s just doing it for the money.

I’d say as long as the books are good there’s no reason not to continue a series, though it seems like there’s always a point when a long series goes down hill. At least she’s using different main characters. I feel that the second half of Mortal Instruments wasn’t as good, but I loved the Infernal devices. I’m not sure how I feel about the short stories. I liked them, but I wouldn’t have paid $3 a piece for them. (I hear she’s writing another set of short stories this year about training to become a shadow hunter.)

Top 10 most read authors!

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Blogging has really been good for me to branch out my reading. (for years the only thing I read was the Harry Potter series on repeat) Then I found an author I liked and stuck with them until I’d read everything they ever wrote. (I chose prolific authors)

Since I procrastinate too much to do the official top ten lists I thought I’d come up with one of my own. My top ten most read authors.

Goodreads made this easy, (I didn’t even know about this feature until recently, so I’m sharing in case someone else hasn’t found it yet either.) Under the shelves there’s recommendations, widgets, ect. One of those is most read authors!

 

1. Terry Pratchett…… 48 Books! (My Favorite: The Color of Magic)

He’s obviously my favorite author, and for good reason. His books are hilarious, each one I crack up multiple times. They also have great characters and a cool world. As with most authors his first few aren’t as well written, but they’re still some of my favorites. There are also all sorts of magical craetures, warewolves, vampires, undeaad, igors, dwarves. All with their own Pratchett flair of course. My favorite was when he spoofed Twilight before Twilight even existed! (He’s that good) In Carpe Jugulum.

His main series is Discworld and there are multiple storylines, so you can pick up any number of books to start. My favorite story line is about the inept wizard Rincewind, who is a huge coward. His storyline starts the first book in the whole series The Color of Magic. (It starts kind of weird, but stick with it, it’s worth it!) My second favorite is the guards (which must be popular because they have the most books, and originally it was only going to be one book!) which feature the city guards as they solve mysteries. (Guards, Guards! Is the first book) The main character Vimes leads the guards, and he’s great. He says he’s not very smart, but he sticks with it. My third favorite is DEATH, yes that death. He has a granddaughter too. It starts with the story of Mort. The other storylines are the wizards at the college (which starts with Rincewind’s story Sorcery), the witches (which starts with Equal Rights), a young adult series staring a witch named Tiffany Aching, (The Wee Free Men) the new storyline of Moist Von Lipwig as his tries to improve the main city, Ankh Morpork. (Going Postal) There are also plenty of stand alones. (This was all done from memory, so if anything is wrong I’ve failed as a Pratchett fangirl!)

2. L.E. Modesitt Jr…… 34 Books! (My Favorite: Alector’s Choice (Book 4)

(I won’t even go into how inaccurate that cover is…)

Modesitte writes epic fantasy and I love his worlds and magic systems.

His main series is the Recluse saga (though he’s got like a ten series, in both fantasy and scifi). He writes Recluse strangely, the first 5 is like the main story line (and oddly not my favorite) but after that they jump back and forth in time with usually two books in each time line. My favorites are Cerryl (The White Order, Colors of Chaos) and Lorn (Magi’i of Cyador, Scion of Cyador). My favorite series is the Corean Chronicles, which is about aliens and magic. It’s hard to explain! (And I wouldn’t want spoilers.) It’s good, let’s go with that. He also writes the Spellsong Cycle where singing is magic and a woman from Earth winds up there. (I think that’s his only series to connect with earth), and his latest series the Imager Portfolio which has magic that can create items. And I’m sure there are more I’m forgetting.

3. Isaac Asimov…… 27 Books! (My Favorite: Prelude to Foundation)

(Most of these are short story collections, which have overlapping stories, so it really isn’t all that many) Asimov is my favorite short story writer! All of the plots of his short stories could’ve easily been novels. He had so many ideas! My favorite is the the robot books, (like I, Robot, which the movie was VERY loosely based on). He also wrote the Foundation trilogy, which he is best known for. He was working on merging the two when he died. (Aids from a blood transfusion in the 80s) Other authors have attempted to write the books he didn’t, but I can’t bring myself to read them.

4. Terry Goodkind…… 13 Books (My Favorite: Faith of the Fallen (Book 6)

Goodkind writes the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth, which I read because my sister liked it. (The tv show is rubbish) It’s a really good series even though the main character is like perfect and he sometimes gets a little preachy towards the end. (Not religious preachy, just righteous) But I can ignore all that, because they’re so good! I love the characters and how the main character Richard is always so tough, but that doesn’t make the plot predictable or dull in the least. The female main character kicks butt too, no one needs to save Kahlan. (Goodkind tried to end the series, but his next book flopped, so he went back to Richard and Kahlan, but my sister’s told me about the second series and I don’t think I want to read it.)

5. J.K. Rowling…… 10 Books (My Favorite: Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3)

Yes, I’m counting her short stories. I don’t think I’ve read any series more. (I’m joking about the think part. I have no clue how many times I’ve read and listened to these books!) If anyone hasn’t read Harry Potter yet, they should! Everyone should read it, at least to know what all of the hype is about. For once the hype is so worth it! I’m not a fan of the last book *don’t throw fruit* so I’ve only read that once. Did anyone else go to the bookstore at midnight to get one of the books? I did! Number 7!!

6. Rick Riordan…… 10 Books (My Favorite: Mark of Athena (Book 3)

How could this list not include Riordan? I just wrote a gush post about Percy Jackson, so I won’t say anything more except he has the best sense of humor! Riordan’s one author I’d like to know in real life!

7. Cassandra Clare…… 10 Books (My Favorite: Clockwork Princess (Book 3)

I didn’t read the Mortal Instruments until this year, because they didn’t sound like my kind of book. I was wrong. (It happens.) I’ve already wrote a post about these books, so I’ll just say I would love to be a warlock. How awesome are those powers?

8. Derek Landy…… 10 Books (My Favorite: Skulduggery Pleasant)

 

Again, I’ve already talked about them. I’m working on a post for the last books right now. I just have to get my hands on book Nine! It came out in August, I’m so behind.

9. Jim Butcher…… 9 Books (My Favorite: Summer Knight (Book 4)

My first foray in to urban fantasy. Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire, he’s in the phone book and everything. These books have a fantastic world, great characters, a sense of humor, and kick buttery. In other words, they rock! The Dresden Files are fantasy and mystery with tons of action! Dresden is a bit like Bruce Willis in the Die Hard movies, he always kicks butt, but he gets abused while doing it. The first 3 books of the series were great, but then they got even better! I haven’t liked the last few as much, they’re longer and they don’t seem to hold my attention as well. I still highly recommend this series! (Note: there is adult content in these books, mostly in the first one though. Harry doesn’t get lucky much after that.) Butcher also writes an epic fantasy series, which has been gathering dust on my shelf.

10. George R.R. Martin…… 9 Books (My Favorite: A Clash of Kings (Book 2)

Technically only 6 books, because goodreads counts short stories, but since his books are so long, (I’ve read 5774 pages by Martin) he still deserves to be on the list. The description of these books totally doesn’t sound like me, so it’s a good thing I started them years ago, with only the back cover to go on. I know there’s now a tv show everybody watches and raves about, but I can easily skip the adult content in the books (because wow, yeah lots of adult-ness) but it’s not so easy in a tv show. (which is on HBO, so I know it’s going to be very adult) Surprisingly there is little fantasy in these books. (I know you’ve probably heard about the dragons and the ‘dead like’ people) But most of the story is about various families trying to get the throne. (The Iron throne) There’s political intrigue, plotting, backstabbing, epic battles. (inbreeding) These books have it all! Why do I love them though? The characters! There are TONS of view points and oodles of characters and they are all so unique (I could never start a chapter and mistake one character for another) and there’s really no good and bad, but lots of gray. Martin writes for the ‘villains’ as much as the ‘heroes’ and I find myself rooting for both! My favorite characters are Tyrion, Jamie (surprisingly, once he gets a POV), Jon Snow, and Arya Stark. I know I didn’t list Dany, but I hate her storylines! Can anything else bad happen to the poor girl? (Note: Martin needs to write faster! The first book came out in 1996 and we’re only on book 5 now.)

This post got longer than I planned… Sorry for all of the book babble.

What are your top authors and how many books by each have you read?

 

Mortal Instruments, City of Heavenly Fire By Cassandra Clare

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author, book, book reviews, books, characters, City of Heavenly Fire, Clary, CoHF, Downworlders, fantasy, fiction, Jace, literature, Magnus, mortal instruments, novel, plot, read, reader, review, Shadow Hunters, stories, story, write, writer, writing, YA, young adult

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 752

Point of View: Clary, Emma, Jace, Alec, Magnus, Simon, Isabel, Maya, Jia Penhallow (done from memory)

Released: May 27th 2014

Predictability: 3 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)

Source: Owned 1-3, and 6 on Kindle

Click here for my review of The Bane Chronicles.

City of Bones Summary:

Clary is a normal girl who enjoys drawing and hanging out with her best friend, Simon. She’s at a club when she sees three other teenagers with strange tattoos murder a guy, but no one else can even see them. When her mother is kidnapped, (or dead, but she really hopes only kidnapped) she’s thrust into a world of Demons, Fairies, Vampires, Werewolves, and Warlocks.

Turns out those teenagers are Shadow Hunters and the man was a demon. Shadow Hunters keep the peace using a device called a stele to draw runes on themselves, which gives them special powers like grace and speed or invisibility to Mundanes. (Normal people, like muggles)

Series Review:

There are six books in the Mortal Instruments series (and a prequel trilogy, the Infernal Devices) and the last book has just been released. The series spans only six months, but it felt like longer to me. I liked the first `trilogy’ better than the second, though I liked Simon more in the second.

I enjoyed the Mortal Instruments series for the most part. There’s a bit too much romance and long descriptions for me, but that’s just my taste. The best part is the world the author has created and all of the unique characters. My favorite is the glittery bisexual warlock, Magnus Bane. (Yes, seriously. He’s the best!)

City of Heavenly Fire Review:

If you haven’t read the series up to City of Heavenly Fire don’t keep reading, there be spoilers below.

Sebastian’s attacking Institutes and using the cup to make more soldiers for his war.

Heavenly Fire was an exciting finale, which certainly didn’t seem as long as it was. I was so afraid to read it, (I didn’t want anyone to die!) but I’m pleased by the ending. It was a good and fitting conclusion to the series.

Emma Carstairs (who will star in the next series, the Dark Artifacts) gets her own point of view. She grew up a Shadow Hunter and is already quite skilled with weapons. Her best friend is Julian Blackthorn, a boy with six siblings. (Two of which are half fairy) I liked all the Blackthorns, they already have unique personalities. (Ty reminds me of Sherlock.)

I’m sad we didn’t get Sebastian’s point of view, because it would’ve been interesting to see into his mind a bit more. He’s a better villain than his father, more black and white, even though I think it was supposed to be the other way around.

Spoilers for Infernal Devices in this paragraph!

This book takes place mostly before the end of Infernal Devices, so Zachariah is still a Silent Brother. He doesn’t get his own point of view. His parts are mostly told by Jia Penhallow. (How disappointing!) I really wanted more Jem and Tessa in this book! (I guess I’ll have to hope for more of them in Dark Artifacts.)

My Ratings:

City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass – 9/10 Stars

City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire – 8/10 Stars

Book Review ~ Angelbound By Christina Bauer

Tags

Angelbound, Angels, author, book, book reviews, books, characters, Christina Bauer, demon hunter, Demons, fantasy, fiction, ghouls, literature, mortal instruments, Myla, novel, plot, prophecy, purgatory, quasi, read, reader, review, romance, stories, story, tails, world building, write, writer, writing, YA, young adult

(I included the back cover too, because the artwork is so awesome!)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Demons & Angels

Pages: 532

Point of View: First (Myla)

Released: December 17, 2013

Predictability: 5 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

Source: Funny story, I saw this book on sale for .99, but when I went to buy it, it wasn’t on sale anymore. I contacted the website, not because I really wanted the book, but because I thought they should know Amazon messed up. Well turns out it was my mistake and it had been on sale yesterday. The publisher Ink Monster sent me a free copy of the book anyway! (Which of course didn’t affect my judgement of this book at all.)

My Rating: 7/10 Stars

Age Rating: Older YA, due to one make out session. (Not sex, but parts are named.)

My Summary: [Sorry my summaries used to be a little longer winded]

Myla is a quasi demon (meaning part human) living in purgatory. Around twenty years ago demons invaded purgatory and left ghouls running things. Myla’s mom is super over-protective and won’t say anything about her life before the war with the demons or even about Myla’s father.

Myla spends most of her time at school, but every so often she’s called to duty. When a soul enters purgatory they can choose trial by combat. Since she was twelve Myla’s been required to fight to the death in the arena against theses souls. As the best fighter they save the nastiest ones for her, but she’s not your typical almost eighteen year-old. She enjoys her battles in the arena, particularly when it’s against a demon and she keeps extensive notebooks on how to beat the various demon races.

Myla’s best friend Cissy (who has the tail of a golden retriever, yes it does wag when she’s happy. Okay, enough about tails…) has a huge crush on a boy at school, so when said boy invites Myla and a guest to his party she can’t say no. At the party, abandoned by her friend, Myla meets the frustrating prince Lincoln. He’s a demon hunter who thinks all quasis are evil, but Myla can’t stop thinking about him and not just about punching him. Well, that too.

My Review:

I don’t know what it is about me and tail fascination. I’ve just always wanted one. So naturally the reason Angelbound caught my eye is the main character has a tail. (The author actually uses her tail to show emotion and humor too.)

The Good:

Angelbound is told in a fun voice with plenty of humor and I liked the strong sassy heroine, Myla. It might just be me, (because I couldn’t pry the book out of my fingers to go to bed.) but this book was a quick read.

Romance is a strong part of this book and it’s well done. Though the conversation where they got to really know each other is only told about afterwards.

Angelbound has interesting characters and good world building. The author takes her time to really make us care about the characters and to establish the world.

The Bad:

There are a few slow spots towards the beginning, but I’m glad I kept reading, because it quickly picks up. (This is the author’s first novel so she makes a few mistakes like repeating things that didn’t need to be repeated.)

I did notice several errors, but I’m very nit picky about that sort of thing and often find such in books. There weren’t many and they didn’t take away from the book.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. Will I read the next one? For sure! [And since I posted this I have.]

Sorry for not posting last week. We had some major storms here in Michigan and I didn’t have power for a few days. The good news is with not much else to do I read the entire Maze Runner Trilogy and since I had so much fun writing this review, I’ve decided to review that too.

Have you read any good books lately?