All Things Halloween Review - Lady Midnight

Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, # 1)

By: Cassandra Clare

Publication: March 8th 2016 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

786 pages

Genre: Young Adult (YA), Fantasy, Paranormal

Source: Borrowed from Holly

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Los Angeles. It’s been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to to discovering exactly what it was that killed her parents and getting her revenge.

Raised in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian Blackthorn. A series of murders in the city catch her attention — they seem to have the same characteristics as the deaths of her parents. Could the murderer be the same person? And her attention isn’t the only one caught: someone has been murdering Downworlders as well. The Fair Folk make a deal with the Institute: if the Blackthorns and Emma will investigate the killings, they’ll return Mark Blackthorn to his home. The catch: they have only two weeks to find the killers. Otherwise it’s open war between faeries and Nephilim.

The Shadowhunters of the Institute must race against time to catch the killers, even as they begin to suspect the involvement of those closest to them. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.

I've enjoyed Cassandra Clare's books in the past, but I have to say that they haven't all be hits out of the park for me. While I really enjoyed the first three in The Mortal Instruments series, I struggled with book 4, City of Fallen Angels. The next two in the series were good overall. Then I felt like Clockwork Angel had a slow start and followed too closely the pattern set by The Mortal Instruments. Thankfully, the remaining books in The Infernal Devices series drifted off the pattern I was worried about. While I loved Clockwork Prince, I did feel a little let down by Clockwork Princess. I felt like there were a few things that were cop-outs. And so I say all of that to say that I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Lady Midnight.

Yet the description pulled me in with the forbidden love relationship between Emma and her parabatai, Julian. Who doesn't love a good forbidden love relationship? And to be honest, I feel like the description is a bit misleading because Emma doesn't seem as aware of her feelings as Julian does. Because Cassandra Clare writes for so many different viewpoints in her books, you never know who will be narrating and so we get more insight into Julian in this area which wasn't what I expected at all based on the description. Of course, this was the aspect of Lady Midnight that I was most excited about, and it was the aspect that kept me reading to find out what was going to happen. It was also the part that let me down the most in the end. Although, I can't discuss why because of spoilers. Sigh.

Of course, there's also the mystery and adventure that Emma and crew have to figure out. Who is killing faeries (and sometimes mundanes) and leaving them with the same markings that Emma's parents were left with when they were murdered? Emma wants revenge so badly. And if she can just figure out who is doing this then she can have it. Cassandra Clare always does a job well done piecing together this aspect of her stories. There are clues that have you questioning the loyalty of several central characters. Although, I feel like I saw the big baddie coming based off a few things I picked up on that I don't think would be out of the question for most people to have picked up on as well. But there are always pieces of the puzzle that aren't revealed until...well they are revealed.

The cast of characters is vast. The Blackthorns: Julian, Mark, Livie, Ty, Dru, and Tavvy...plus Uncle Arthur. Each has a distinct personality although Dru did seem to be left out of the personality department if anyone was. Maybe we'll get more from her in the future. Emma of course. Cristina (a recent addition of the LA Institute). Malcolm (High Warlock of LA), Diana (tutor for the Institute) and a few stragglers: Johnny Rook, Kit, Diego, Kieran. Each is well defined. Some have secrets we still haven't uncovered. Some have played their parts and likely won't be seen again. And some are just getting started.

Favorite quotes:

-"Love means you see someone. That's all. ... When you love someone, they become a part of who you are. They're in everything you do. They're in the air you breathe and the water you drink and the blood in your veins. Their touch stays on your skin and their voice stays in your ears and their thoughts stay in your mind. You know their dreams because their nightmares pierce your heart and their good dreams are your dreams too. And you don't think they're perfect, but you know their flaws, the deep-down truth of them, and the shadows of all their secrets, and they don't frighten you away; in fact, you love them more for it, because you don't want perfect. You want them."

-"Emma is my parabatai," he said. "If you ever speak to her like that again, there will be blood on the floor of the Sanctuary, and I do not care if they put me to death for it."

-...the intractable certainty that no matter how many demons she had killed that night, her nerve had failed her when she needed it most.

-"No one is ever the villain of their own story."

-"The choices we make, make us."

I do have to say that yet again, I worried that Lady Midnight (and The Dark Artifices) was following a very similar pattern to The Mortal Instruments and The Dark Artifices. I don't want to spoil anything here, but I'll just put a few equations out there for you to consider. Emma + Julian = Clary + Jace; Mark + Kieran = Alec + Magnus; Emma + Julian + Mark = Clary + Jace + Simon = Tessa + Will + Jem; Diana + Malcolm = Hodge; Arthur = Henry; Tavvy = Max. I feel like I could go on, but maybe I'll stop here feeling like I've made my point. Obviously, there are some differences to each of these equations, but again, I'm not discussing them to prevent spoilers. I also want to say in regards to things that I feel are repetitive between each of the series is that I feel like Cassandra Clare really pushes the LGBTQ agenda. There's Alec (gay) and Magnus (bi-sexual) in The Mortal Instruments. We're also introduced to Helen and Aline in that series (both gay). And although neither are really present in Lady Midnight because of the relation of Helen (a Blackthorn sister), both are spoken of repeatedly. Of course Magnus from TMI was also present in TDA. And if I remember correctly, Woolsey Scott was also gay from that series. And now we've got Mark (bi-sexual) and Kieran (gay). It just feels like too much to me, and the description between Mark and Kieran was upped compared to Magnus and Alec.

Mentioning all of these past characters reminds me that most of them were present, seen, or at least mentioned in Lady Midnight. Clary, Jace, Magnus, Alec, Robert Lightwood, Jem, Tessa, Simon, Isabelle, Church. I appreciated the glimpses of them. A few times it felt like fan service to have them mentioned or present, and other times it felt genuine to the story for me. It's funny to me how Jace is talked about being the "Shadowhunter of his generation" when he's really only 5 years older than Emma and Julian. It doesn't seem like much of a generation gap to me.

One thing that I appreciated Cassandra Clare touching on is how ancient Greek used multiple words for love. Agape for unconditional, God-like love, philia for friendship love, eros for romantic love, etc. And I think this is something that the Greeks had correctly that we don't. We use one word for love. And so when we're talking about friendship love we might accidentally apply some romantic love characteristics to it. More specifically, we say things like "love is the most important thing" and we think that means eros...romantic love...finding someone who you are "in love" with and making that work...but that's not true at all. Agape could be considered "the most important thing" but not eros. Perhaps this needs to be thought out more and presented in a Discussions Only We Know post. While I appreciated Cassandra Clare mentioning these different kinds of love, I don't feel like she or her characters have the right priority when it comes to this. (Direct quote from Lady Midnight: "There is nothing more important than love. And no law higher.") Finding eros isn't the most important thing. It isn't the be all end all. Agape on the other hand....now that's different.

To be honest, things were bee-bopping along for me in Lady Midnight just fine until the end. I had a few issues that I knew I would mention in this review, like the repetitive themes and patterns that I've struggled with in Cassandra Clare's work. I also knew I would talk about the different kinds of love. But other than that, things were pretty good. Until the end. Until the "cliffhanger" (of sorts) that actually had me thinking that I don't want to read Lord of Shadows. I mean I do. I will. But at this point, I'm not excited about it. I'm not looking forward to it. I'm dreading it. And I honestly hate feeling this way about a book that I want to be excited about and anticipate diving into. And this feeling is entirely based off the end of Lady Midnight. Cassandra Clare has done this to me before so I don't know why I'm surprised. I'll get to Lord of Shadows eventually, but don't expect it to be one that I pick up to read as soon as it is released. Lady Midnight gets 4 Stars. Have you read Lady Midnight? What did you think? Let me know!

This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.

Waiting on Lord of Shadows

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices, # 2)

By: Cassandra Clare

Expected Publication: May 23rd 2017 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

704 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Nephilim, Angels, Shadowhunters, Faeries

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Sunny Los Angeles can be a dark place indeed in Cassandra Clare’s Lord of Shadows, the sequel to the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Lady Midnight.

Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she’d be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again?

And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace, and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters’ demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear—before it’s too late.

I don't usually feature a book 2 in a series before finishing book 1, but I am reading Lady Midnight right now, and I don't forsee any reason that I wouldn't finish it. What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Top Ten All-Time Favorite Fantasy Books

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten All-Time Favorite Books in X Genre.

1. The Dead-Tossed Waves (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, # 2) by Carrie Ryan
2. Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy, # 6) by Richelle Mead
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, # 6) by JK Rowling
4. Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, # 3) by J R R Tolkein
5. The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, # 1) by Suzanne Collins
6. A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, # 3) by George R R Martin
7. Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, # 2) by Cassandra Clare
8. Morning Star (Red Rising Trilogy, # 3) by Pierce Brown
9. Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin, # 3) by Robin LaFevers
10. The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, # 1) by Rick Yancey

I've been in such a contemporary mood lately that I really wanted to feature some of my all-time favorite fantasy books. If you're a long time follower of my blog then none of these picks will be a surprise. What are your favorite fantasy books? Let me know!

Waiting on Lady Midnight

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, # 1)

By: Cassandra Clare

Expected Publication: March 8th 2016 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

786 pages

Genre: Young Adult (YA), Fantasy, Paranormal

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Los Angeles. It’s been five years since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to to discovering exactly what it was that killed her parents and getting her revenge.

Raised in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family, Emma is paired as a parabatai with her best friend, Julian Blackthorn. A series of murders in the city catch her attention — they seem to have the same characteristics as the deaths of her parents. Could the murderer be the same person? And her attention isn’t the only one caught: someone has been murdering Downworlders as well. The Fair Folk make a deal with the Institute: if the Blackthorns and Emma will investigate the killings, they’ll return Mark Blackthorn to his home. The catch: they have only two weeks to find the killers. Otherwise it’s open war between faeries and Nephilim.

The Shadowhunters of the Institute must race against time to catch the killers, even as they begin to suspect the involvement of those closest to them. At the same time, Emma is falling in love with the one person in the world she’s absolutely forbidden by Shadowhunter Law to love. Set against the glittering backdrop of present-day Los Angeles, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches from the warlock-run nightclubs of the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica.

Finally a cover release and a release date! YAY! Although, I have to say that the covers for The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices were much better in my opinion. What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

Top Ten Authors I've Read the Most

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Authors I've Read the Most.

I expected this ask to be rather daunting, but it really wasn’t. Figuring out which authors I’ve read the most was pretty easy. Here they are…

1. Richelle Mead – (16) Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice, Bloodlines, The Golden Lily, The Indigo Spell, The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows, The Ruby Circle, Storm Born, Succubus Blues, Gameboard of the Gods, The Immortal Crown
2. Jessica Sorensen – (16) The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden, The Redemption of Callie and Kayden, The Destiny of Violet & Luke, The Probability of Violet & Luke, The Secret of Ella and Micha, The Forever of Ella and Micha, The Temptation of Lila and Ethan, The Ever After of Ella and Micha, Lila & Ethan: Forever and Always, Breaking Nova, Saving Quinton, Nova & Quinton: No Regrets, Wreck Me, Ruin Me, Tristan: Finding Hope, Delilah: The Making of Red
3. Abbi Glines – (16) Fallen Too Far, Never Too Far, Forever Too Far, Existence, The Vincent Boys, The Vincent Brothers, Twisted Perfection, Breathe, Because of Low, While It Lasts, Just For Now, Sometimes It Lasts, Misbehaving, Bad for You, Hold On Tight, Until the End
4. Colleen Hoover – (12) Slammed, Point of Retreat, This Girl, Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella, Maybe Someday, Maybe Not, Ugly Love, Confess, Never Never, Never Never Pt 2
5. Janet Evanovich – (10) One for the Money, Plum Lovin’, Finger Lickin’ Fifteen, Sizzling Sixteen, Smokin’ Seventeen, Explosive Eighteen, Notorious Nineteen, Takedown Twenty, Top Secret Twenty One
6. Maggie Stiefvater – (10) Lament, Ballad, Shiver, Linger, Forever, Sinner, The Scorpio Races, The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue
7. Amanda Hocking – (9) Switched, Torn, Ascend, My Blood Approves, Fate, Flutter, Wisdom, Hollowland, Hollowmen
8. Cassandra Clare – (9) City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire, Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess
9. Katie McGarry – (9) Pushing the Limits, Crossing the Line, Dare You To, Crash Into You, Take Me On, Breaking the Rules, Chasing Impossible, Nowhere But Here, Red at Night
10. KA Tucker – (8) Ten Tiny Breaths, One Tiny Lie, Four Seconds to Lose, Five Ways to Fall, In Her Wake, Burying Water, Becoming Rain, Chasing River

I’m pretty sure Lois Duncan and Lurlene McDaniel have to fit into this category too, but as these are both authors I read in my early teens and I wasn’t keeping up with my books read on Goodreads way back when, I can’t really remember which books I’ve read by them and which I haven’t. I KNOW Lurlene McDaniel surpasses 10 books read though. The ones I can remember reading for sure by her are: Six Months to Live, I Want to Live, So Much to Live For, No Time to Cry, To Live Again, Angels Watching Over Me, Lifted Up by Angels, Until Angels Close My Eyes, Till Death Do Us Part, For Better, For Worse. I know I read a few of the One Last Wish series and a few others. I just can’t remember which.

What about you guys? Which authors have you read the most? Let me know!

From the Ashes: City of Glass

From the Ashes is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know where I re-read books that I read before blogging and finally review them.

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, # 3)

By: Cassandra Clare

Published: March 24th 2009 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

541 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Angels, Demons, Vampires, Werewolves

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third installment of the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

City of Glass is going to be hard for me to review without spoilers. First off, the prior two books have had the major conflict going on about whether Jace and Clary are actually brother and sister or not. This was my biggest concern going into City of Glass the first time through. I wanted so bad for them not to be siblings. I mean for one if they turned out to be siblings I was going to feel slightly grossed out—more than I already did just reading about them potentially being siblings. I can’t tell you which way the book went. I can only tell you that if this aspect bothered you then just keep reading.

My first reading of City of Glass was years ago. I’m talking 6+ years ago. I’m surprised that I’m just now re-reading this series as it has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. But I do remember that there were aspects of City of Glass that I predicted fairly early on. I think one of the biggest twists was pretty easy to spot, and especially so since this was a re-read for me.

There’s so much going on in this book, and so many storylines have to come together starting from hints that were dropped in City of Bones and City of Ashes all the way through this book. Each character has a part to play and each part is of great importance. Alec and Magnus—while I like each character individually—officially annoyed me with this book. I guess truly Alec isn’t really my favorite at all. I enjoyed seeing Isabelle and Simon draw closer in this book. Even though this doesn’t spring into anything romantic at this point, I liked seeing them have a special sort of bond. All of the side characters: Luke, Amatis, Jocelyn, Sebastian, Maia had much to contribute to the book and the series up to this point. Each one feels fully fleshed out.

And of course we get more backstory on Valentine & Jocelyn—how she could even fall in love with a man like him. We find out more about the Circle. And we see why Jace and Clary have abilities and talents that no ordinary shadowhunter has. I liked that while Clary was involved in the final battle and saving the day, it wasn’t because she all of a sudden knew how to fight. Clary worked her magic in a way that was completely legit to who she was and what she can do.

There was one aspect involving Jace and a lake and a wish that I remember feeling like was too easy the first time I read this, and I can’t say I really felt any differently during this read-through. Especially considering the ending of Clockwork Princess.

***Highlight for spoiler: I do find it interesting that the major conflict throughout the first three books of this series revolves around Clary/Jace being in love with each other who they think for a period of time is their sibling. But yet when we find out that Jace isn’t Clary’s brother—instead Sebastian is—it still turns out that Sebastian has a twisted fetish about his sister in a very physical way. Of course we don’t know the extent of that at this point, but it’s there. End spoiler***.

I wish I’d taken notes on my favorite quotes, but since I was listening to an audiobook version this time through I decided not to worry about that. Audiobooks can be really hard to quote from sometimes.

All in all, City of Glass was a really good book. It was thought to be the series ender for The Mortal Instruments series until Cassandra Clare decided that these characters’ stories weren’t finished. I love how each piece of the puzzle from book 1, City of Bones, all the way through this book is tied together and means something. Very little is included that does not have a specific purpose. And even though I would have been happy with this book ending the series, I do think Cassandra Clare picks the right threads to pick back up and carry on with through the remaining three books. City of Glass gets 4.5 Stars. Have you read City of Glass? What did you think? Let me know!

From the Ashes: City of Ashes

From the Ashes is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know where I re-read books that I read before blogging and finally review them.

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, # 2)

By: Cassandra Clare

Published: March 25th 2008 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

453 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires, Werewolves, Angels, Demons

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

Despite The Mortal Instruments being a favorite series of mine, I have only read each book once—until now. I’m actually surprised that this series hasn’t gotten a re-read from me sooner, but until starting my From the Ashes and Upon Further Review features, I felt guilty for re-reading because re-reads didn’t benefit my blog any. Well now they do, and I think it is way past time for me to re-read this entire series. Here’s my review of City of Bones in case you’re interested in checking that out.

One thing that hit me while reading City of Ashes was truly how much of the details of this story I’d forgotten. While I remember the most major plot-points, I’d forgotten almost ALL of the little details. Usually with my favorite series, I know them backwards and forwards. But since I haven’t re-read this series until now and my original read through was somewhere close to 5ish years ago, I just don’t have this series ingrained as much as I’d like. I guess I actually forgot some big things too because I totally forgot that we meet Maia and Jordan in City of Ashes. I also forgot that Valentine had white hair. I mean I knew Sebastian had white hair, but I totally forgot about Valentine having white hair too. And while Jace’s sarcasm and wit is one of the things that stood out to me upon first reading, this time through, I was reminded how funny Simon actually is too.

One of the best things about City of Ashes my first read-through was wondering whether Jace and Clary would turn out to truly be brother and sister or not. I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t finished the series though. I remember being slightly sick to my stomach while reading City of Ashes for the first time because IF, just IF, they really did turn out to be brother and sister then that would be kind of gross. I was praying that they weren’t, because I didn’t think I’d want to read the series if they actually turned out to be brother and sister. And this was made even more awkward and uncomfortable the first read-through with how adamant Jace was that he didn’t care if they were brother and sister or not. Jace even tells Clary that they can be together anyway. And Clary bless her heart still obviously cares about Jace in a way that isn’t sisterly, but she can’t go there with him. She can’t disregard something so major just to indulge her desires. The whole thing is super awkward and the real driving force for me behind the first three books in the series.

Speaking of super awkward, Simon…bless him! Simon saw Clary’s feelings for Jace beginning to develop in City of Bones, but when it was revealed that Clary and Jace are brother and sister, he decides that it’s now or never to jump on the feelings that he’s always had for Clary. Obviously, Clary can’t be with her brother. So why not take this opportunity to step up and show her how he feels. While I won’t say that Clary was encouraging exactly, she definitely wasn’t discouraging to him either. She kind of let Simon take the reigns despite feeling a bit apathetic to the changes he’s bringing to their friendship all while knowing that the heat just isn’t there the way it was is with Jace.

One of the bigger things I forgot was the desperation that Jace feels. He’s so alone. He’s found out that his father is still alive, and he’s also a maniac set on destruction. He’s lost the possibility of being with the one person for which he’s developed the strongest feelings he's ever felt. While Clary can still be in his life, she can’t be with him the way he wants. And he’s lost his adoptive family as well. Although Isabel and Alec still have his back, Maryse has been cold to him since the revelation of him being Valentine’s son. Even Jocelyn who is supposed to be his real mother that he never knew he had is in a comma, and he finds that he just can’t connect to her. He feels like he’s lost and floundering. And I forgot how young he feels in this book. Jace even reaches out to Luke because Luke is essentially the only person left. His last option.

There were a couple of moments when I feel like having read City of Heavenly Fire things didn’t add up. Magnus makes a comment in City of Ashes about how he’s never seen one of the Night Children rise, but in City of Heavenly Fire we’re told that Magnus is the one who was there when Raphael dug his way out of his grave and offered him some donor blood to drink. Also, this one can probably be explained away, but the attack on the Silent City in City of Ashes doesn’t really explain how Brother Zachariah survived—apparently along with some other Silent Brothers—despite the statement being made that all the Silent Brothers were murdered by Valentine in this attack. That one was minor, but these are the kinds of things that bug me.

The scene at the Seelie Court is one of my all-time favorite scenes in the series. And if you have already read City of Ashes but haven’t read that scene from Jace’s POV on Cassandra Clare’s website then go read that as soon as you’re finished reading this review. I have no idea why that scene from his POV didn't make the final cut.

I find Cassandra Clare to be one of the most quotable authors that I’ve read over the last 5 years or so. So please bear with me while I share some of my favorites:

-"I don’t want to be a man," said Jace. "I want to be an angst-ridden teenager who can't confront his own inner demons and takes it out verbally on other people instead."

-"That’s sweet," said Maia. "That he loves his sister like that." "Yeah," Simon said. "It’s precious."

-"And you don’t think we’re smart enough to know the difference?" asked Simon. "I don’t think you’re smart enough not to get turned into a rat by accident."

-“That you freed a possible criminal by trading away your brother to a warlock who looks like a gay Sonic the Hedgehog and dresses like the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?”

-"I knew it," he said."You want to kiss me, don’t you?” (Jace to Simon)

-“You can close your eyes and think of England if you like.”

-“You shouldn’t have kissed me like that.” He had been leaning against the door frame; now he stood up straight. “How should I have kissed you? Is there another way you like it?”

-"You heard what the Queen said. She thought she was doing me a favor." ... "She wasn’t wrong."

-"It doesn't matter how many times you say it. It'll still be true." "And it doesn’t matter what you won’t let me say, that'll still be true too."

-"I remember you saying that growing up happens when you start having things you look back on and wish you could change. I guess that means I've grown up now."

-"Clary, I'm telling you he made his own decisions. What you're blaming yourself for is being what you are. And that's no one's fault and nothing you can change. You told him the truth and he made up his own mind what he wanted to do about that. Everyone has choices to make; no one has the right to take those choices away from us. Not even out of love.” "But that’s just it," Clary said. "When you love someone, you don’t have a choice."

-“Any uncle of yours is an uncle of mine darling sister...” –this one fittingly reminds me of Jamie and Cersie from A Song of Ice and Fire

-“I wish I could hate you.”

Like Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, there is so much that I want to discuss that falls into the category of spoilers. I don’t want to ruin anything for any readers that haven’t finished this series, so I’ll just say that I want to say so much more than I already have.

I feel like I’d be remiss without saying that I could do without the Magnus and Alec relationship. I’ve discussed how I feel about that before. I love each of the characters individually—especially Magnus—but the relationship doesn’t work for me.

City of Ashes is full of angst but the good kind. There’s emotion, forbidden and otherwise. I love the characters. I love the world building. And I even love the conflict, despite how awkward and uncomfortable it can be. City of Ashes gets 4.5 Stars. Have you read City of Ashes? What did you think? Let me know!

Top Ten Authors I Own the Most

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Authors I Own the Most.

Dude did anyone else have problems trying to come up with a title that didn't end with a preposition? Sheesh!

1. Richelle Mead– 15 Books: Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice; Bloodlines, The Golden Lily, The Indigo Spell, The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows (preordered not read yet); Succubus Blues; Storm Born; Gameboard of the Gods, and The Immortal Crown.

2. Jessica Sorensen–15 Books: The Secret of Ella and Micha, The Forever of Ella and Micha, The Temptation of Lila and Ethan, The Ever After of Ella and Micha, Lila and Ethan: Always and Forever; The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden, The Redemption of Callie and Kayden, The Destiny of Violet and Luke, The Probability of Violet and Luke; Breaking Nova, Saving Quinton, Delilah: The Making of Red, Nova and Quinton: No Regrets, Tristan: Finding Hope; and The Fallen Star



3. Cassandra Clare– 9 Books: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire; Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and Clockwork Princess



4. PC & Kristin Cast– 9 Books: Marked, Betrayed, Chosen, Untamed, Hunted, Tempted, Burned, Awakened, Destined



5. Stormie Omartian– 9 Books: The Power of a Praying Wife, The Power of a Praying Woman, The Power of a Praying Church, The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage, The Power of a Praying Kid, The Power of a Praying Parent, The Power of a Praying Husband, and The Power of a Praying Teen; Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On



6. Maggie Stiefvater – 9 Books: Shiver, Linger, Forever, Sinner; The Scorpio Races; Lament, Ballad; The Raven Boys, and The Dream Thieves

7. Colleen Hoover– 8 Books: Slammed, Point of Retreat, This Girl; Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella; Maybe Someday; and Ugly Love (preordered but not read)

8. JK Rowling– 7 Books: Harry Potter & The Socerer’s Stone, Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter & The Order of the Pheonix, Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows

9. Jane Austen– 7 Books: Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Emma, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, and Love and Friendship

10. Stephenie Meyer– 6 Books: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, Breaking Dawn; and The Host

This list isn't including duplicate copies. (I own the following series on audiobook also: Vampire Academy, The Wolves of Mercy Falls, Harry Potter, and Twilight.) This one was actually quite difficult just from hunting down all the books I own and such to see which authors I own the most. What about you? Which authors do you own the most? Let me know!