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!

City of Heavenly Fire - Review

City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, # 6)

By: Cassandra Clare

Published: May 27th 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry

725 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal

Source: Own/Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

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

Goodreads description--ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID.

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

Oh my goodness you guys! Now THAT is how you end a series. First let me just say that this book is MASSIVE! When it came in the mail I was so surprised at how large it was. Apparently, I knew at some point that it was over 700 pages because I’d featured it in a Waiting on Wednesday post before, but I guess that didn’t really sink in. I remember thinking that the beginning was slightly slow for me, but I was determined not to get bogged down so I pushed through and continued reading even when I might have found it easier to put the book down. The multiple narrators adds to the ease of putting this book down for me. While I like that Cassandra Clare writes from so many different perspectives within each book, I found myself getting frustrated with the narration swap at times. This is one of those books where not only are there mini-cliffhangers at chapter breaks but also within the chapter when the narration would change from one character to another. Things would be getting really good with one character, then there would be a mini-cliffhanger and she’d swap narration to a completely different character. I get the point. It’s designed to keep you coming back for more, but in reality sometimes I think that makes it easier to put the book down. When I’m reading from Clary and something major happens and then we swap to Simon, who’s not even with the other characters, I’m like “Meh, I don’t want to read about Simon right now. I want to know what happens with Clary. Oh well, maybe this is a good stopping point for the night.” But like I said, I was determined to blow through this book, and so I would keep reading regardless of those moments. But don’t be alarmed. That kind of pacing didn’t last too long. And as luck would have it, I was able to continue reading for large chunks of time—at one point I think I read 300 pages easily in one sitting.

At times I also worried about whether there were too many plot threads going at one time. I felt spread thin there for a bit and even wondered briefly if Cassie Clare could pull all the threads together by the end of the book, but I worried for nothing. I supposed with 725 pages there should be plenty of time to wrap up all the pieces of the puzzle. One of my favorite things about series and authors who do them well (Cassandra Clare being one of those authors), is when every single piece has purpose and how it all ties together from beginning to end. JK Rowling, Richelle Mead, and now Cassandra Clare are masters at this. It’s hard to say how much of the original three books was intended to tie in with these last three as well as the spin off series The Infernal Devices and the upcoming spin off series The Dark Artifices and how much she made fit after the fact, but either way the brilliance is to be applauded. It’s one thing for an author to foreshadow in book 1 events to come in book 6, but being able to reference the past and foreshadow the future as well as address the present in one singular moment takes this skill to a whole new level. Wow. Just wow you guys!

Speaking of The Dark Artifices, I absolutely adored the addition of Emma and Julian’s storyline. While I was worried about it taking too much of the focus, Cassandra Clare wowed me again. She proved to put in just enough of Emma and Julian so that I could feel like I know them, understand them, and am now invested in them. As if I wasn’t going to read their story anyway, now I know without a doubt that I’ll be all over Lady Midnight on release day of 2015. I loved seeing this piece of the puzzle now so that flashbacks won’t even be necessary when it comes time to start The Dark Artifices—though I’m sure there will still be flashbacks. I can already see conflict getting set up and plot points and I absolutely adored Emma and Julian’s relationship, and I am so excited about what’s to come with them.

In the same way, I absolutely loved all the tie-ins from The Infernal Devices as well. The references to the events of the past. The inclusion of Brother Zachariah. Seeing how Brother Zachariah is changed as it is happening. Finally seeing Tessa again. You guys know, that I wasn’t happy with the ending of Clockwork Princess. But now that I’ve had time to accept this ending, I was able to enjoy seeing more about Tessa and Jem than I though I would be. (Still Team Will though.)

One of my favorite things about this series and about Cassandra Clare’s writing in general is the wit. I love the sarcasm. I love the one-liners. And while Jace wasn’t as snarky in this installment of the series, the wit was still there. There was one scene fairly early on when Jace and Magnus were talking that had me cracking up. Both are typically funny and the combination was pretty good.

Favorite quotes (far too many of them, I'm aware):

”Friends don’t let friends keep calling their exes and hanging up.”

”It smells like heartbreak in here,” said Jace. “That’s the Chinese food.” [Magnus]

”Change yourself,” Alec said…

”Everyone should die with someone holding onto them,” Maia said…

”I only have two reactions to bad news. Uncontrollable rage and then a sharp left turn into boiling self-hatred.” [Jace]

”God knows we haven’t exactly been able to do all that much lately, but every time I kiss you, every time you touch me, it’s a victory, if you ask me. Sebastain, he did what he did because—because he doesn’t understand the difference between loving and having. Between giving yourself and taking. And he thought that if he could make me give myself, then he’d have me, I’d be his, and to him that’s love, because he doesn’t know anything else. But when I touch you, I do it because I want to, and that’s all the difference. And he doesn’t get to have that or take it away from me. He doesn’t,”… [Clary]

”Which body is that of young Longford? The one who killed his parabatai?” “There,” Jia pointed. “Why do you want to know?” “It is the worst thing I can imagine ever having to do. I would not have been brave enough. Since there is someone who was, I wish to pay my respects to him,” said Zachariah.

”We will stand bravely with you!” Malcolm announced. Catarina looked darkly at him, and he quailed. “Well, we will stand barely near you. Or at least within earshot.”

”Don’t look at me,” said Jace. “My adoptive father was a mass murderer. And I still worried about what he thought.”

”I loved you recklessly from the moment I knew you. I never cared about the consequences. I told myself I did, I told myself you wanted me to, and so I tried, but I never did. I wanted you more than I wanted to be good. I wanted you more than anything, ever.” [Jace]

”Sometimes it’s braver not to fight. Protect them, and save your vengeance for another day.” [Zachariah]

There was so much goodness to The Mortal Instruments series. The characters. The world. The storyline. The conflict. The resolution. The execution. The writing. All of it. Just extremely well done. I feel like I could go on and on talking about this series for quite some time, but this review has gotten long enough. Just know that this is the way you wrap up a series. I can’t wait to get my hands on the beginning of The Dark Artifices.

City of Heavenly Fire was a great ending to the series. The characters we love were all there in all the glory that caused us to fall in love with them in the first place. Cassandra Clare pulled all the puzzle pieces together and even set up the next series so perfectly. City of Heavenly Fire gets 4.5 Stars from me. Have you read City of Heavenly Fire? What did you think? Let me know!

Waiting on City of Heavenly Fire

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

City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, # 6)

By: Cassandra Clare

Expected Publication: May 27th 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry

733 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

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

Goodreads description--ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID.

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

What are you waiting on this week? Let me know!

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones - Movie Review

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Director: Harald Zwart

Written By: Jessica Postigo (screenplay), Cassandra Clare (based on the novel by)

Stars: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower

Released: August 21, 2013

130 minutes

Produced By: Constantin Film Produktion, Don Carmody Productions, Unique Features

Let me start off by saying that I go into any movie inspired, based upon, or made from a book expecting there to be differences. I've NEVER seen a book to movie adaptation where there weren't differences. And those differences can come in any number of variations from missing characters, meshed characters (meaning two characters turned into one), additional characters, changed scenes, missing scenes, and so on and so on. Sometimes the changes are due to money, time constraints, and various other issues of translating a book to the big screen. Because I expect these differences I don't tend to leave the movie disappointed because X character wasn't included in the movie or they left out X scene.

All of that being said, I actually think they did a pretty good job sticking to the book for the The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Of course, several things were different. They always are. They always will be. There was one line inserted into the movie that grated on me because of how much of the experience that line altered for the viewer, especially the viewer who has not read the books. But as irritating as that line was, I still feel like the rest of the movie outweighed the damage done with that line. So be prepared about that. And while that one line was the one thing I wish they hadn't decided to change (or in this case, include), I do think they can work around it in a way that doesn't completely ruin the experience, though the experience will be altered for the viewer who hasn't read the books.

Lily Collins did a great job as Clary in my opinion. I was expecting her to do well in this role, but she exceeded my expectations. And Jamie Campbell Bower, well he totally blew my expectations out of the water. I wasn't impressed with his performance as Caius in the Twilight movies, but to be fair, it's not like he had many lines or much screen time. But he's much skinnier than I pictured Jace, and I'm not really a fan of long hair typically. However, he totally pulls off the Jace sarcasm and one-liners in a way that I just wasn't sure he was capable of doing. Overall, I was super impressed. And even though he's majorly skinny, you'll also see how cut he is in one scene. Most importantly was the essence of Jace, and I really ended up being impressed with his performance.

The secondary characters were both good and unimpressive in varying degrees. I thought Robert Sheehan (Simon) did a decent job in some scenes, a really good job in other scenes, and then eh not so much in others. Isabelle (Jemima West) and Alec (Kevin Zegers) I was generally unimpressed with. Hodge, played by Jared Harris, was pretty much exactly what I pictured in my head. Lena Headly as Jocelyn did a decent job in my mind and goes to town with a refrigerator showing she hasn't lost all of her shadowhunter skills over the years. Jonathan Reyes Meyers does a decent job as Valentine. He's menacing and seductive when he needs to be. Truth be told, I could really only see King Henry VIII from The Tudors in his portrayal of Valentine. But whoever decided he needed those braids needs to be fired.

And then there's Magnus. I've heard differing opinions on Godfrey Gao's performance as Magnus. He truly didn't have much screen time all in all, but I was somewhat disappointed. I was hoping for more "umph" from his character. More outrageousness from his outfits (not wearing pants isn't not really the same thing as bright pink or neon green skinny jeans--not necessarily straight from the book descriptions, but something I could imagine him wearing with a matching shirt and perhaps scarf of some kind). And more of the blue sparks from his magic fingers. I get maybe that may fall into the category of the first paragraph I discussed above, but his character is just so out there. I'm hoping we see more in the future.

As far as special effects go, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones was much better than our first Twilight installment. (I can't help but to compare it to Twilight and I think a lot of people will do the same.) I even jumped at the creepiness from some of the demons. I thought the effects and fight scenes were well done. Kudos.

There are a few cheesy things. One line in particular involving talk about seeing an angel and a trick using the portal. But nothing compared to cheesiness we've seen in past book to movie adaptations. And nothing close to overboard.

I'll definitely be purchasing this for my collection once it's out on DVD/Blu-Ray. And I'll probably try to go see it in the theater one more time as well. I don't think that The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is getting the recognition that it deserves. And I hate to think that the other movies might not be made because it doesn't get the deserved press (City of Ashes is to begin filming next month to be released next year). I highly encourage fans of the book series to check out this adaptation as soon as you're able. There are some differences, but I think overall you'll be really impressed.

I'm rating The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie as 4 to 4.5 Stars. Have you seen the movie? What did you think? Let me know!

Check out my review of City of Bones (the book) as well.

From the Ashes - City of Bones

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.

In light of the upcoming movie, City of Bones is my pick for this From the Ashes post. City of Bones, the movie, is set to release August 21, 2013. And I have to say that it looks pretty good to me.

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, # 1)

By: Cassandra Clare

Published: March 27th 2007 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

485 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | Books-A-Million )

Goodreads description--Don’t miss The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, soon to be a major motion picture in theaters August 2013.

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

I'm actually extremely surprised that this is only my second time reading City of Bones. When I first started reading (post high school), I re-read almost everything I could get my hands on, and that was mostly because I didn't have the circulation of books surrounding me that I do now. City of Bones, and The Mortal Instruments in general, is definitely one that fits into the category of needing to be re-read multiple times. Since I've started blogging though, I feel very pressured to read "new" (to me) stuff so that I can review them on the blog. I don't have unlimited time available to me to read, so I do the best that I can. However, with the recent development of my "From the Ashes" feature reviews and with the upcoming movie release of City of Bones, I felt that it was past time that I take a second look at City of Bones.

One thing is for sure, I didn't have the details of City of Bones down as much as say Twilight or Vampire Academy--series that I've read upwards of 5 times or so. I had forgotten that Clary was fifteen at the beginning of City of Bones; however, she does turn sixteen during the book. And considering the book only spans about a week or so of time, that's not so bad. The beginning of the book was more confusing to me ironically enough because I remembered thinking that the "blue-haired-boy" wasn't really important from my first time reading it, being only a catalyst, but when Cassandra Clare switches to write from his POV, I was thrown off and thought for a second that maybe Jace had glamoured his hair blue or something. But obviously quickly figured things out. I felt a bit daft for a minute or two though.

Clary is a fairly strong leading lady. She doesn't have the fighting skills of Isabelle or Rose from Vampire Academy, but she has a quick mind and she stands her ground when it becomes necessary. Though reading through the book for a second time, I picked up on her jealousy of Simon's interaction with Isabelle and things like that more than I picked up on her developing attraction to Jace. I did notice more of Jace letting down his guard around her. He might be in the middle of being a jerk, but would stop to ask her if she were okay or place his hand on the small of her back--something to indicate that she was bringing him out more than you would expect.

Speaking of Jace, he's still one of my favorite characters. Between Jace and Will of The Infernal Devices, I tended to lean toward Will. Because truth be told, I like strong and dark a bit better than strong and blond (or golden as Jace is often described). But this time through, I found myself marking many passages where I just couldn't get over his sarcastic humor. I remember not understanding the Jace toward the end of the book. And can't say much about that without spoilers, but I was perhaps even more frustrated with it this time around while at the same time understanding it more. Does that make any sense?

I loved re-experiencing the other characters as well. Simon's quirky-nerdy self. Isabelle, who I originally read much meaner than I read her this past time, was awfully friendly to Clary all around, even when dealing with a bit of the female jealousy that's known to exist among our sex. I can't say I liked Alec any more this time around than I did the first time. And after having read about the close relationship that Will and Jem have from The Infernal Devices, it was hard for me to actually see or feel the parabatai bond/relationship between Jace and Alec in City of Bones. Maybe that will shine through more in the remaining books, but I can't really remember. And then there's Magnus Bane.

Oh Magnus, even when you frustrate the crap out of me, I still find myself cracking up at your jokes, your hilarious outfits, and your centuries-worth-of-being-alive wisdom. (Yes, I talk to these characters as if they're real people. So what?) I feel like I understand Magnus so much more from having read both The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. He's seen and experienced so much. (Kind of off the subject, but one of my neighbors has a Great Dane named Magnus. I call him "Magnus Bane, the Great Dane." Totally cheesy.)

Obviously, the ending to City of Bones completely blew me away my first time reading it. And truth be told, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading the series after that. While I won't include any spoilers, I will just say to anyone who might not have read The Mortal Instruments yet, keep reading. Just trust me. But since this wasn't my first time through, I must say that I was still left with a despair that these characters must be feeling. Yet, I felt like Clary handled the situation much better than I remembered, and much better than I think anyone could have expected.

I would be remiss if I concluded a review of this book without discussing the wonderful world that Cassandra Clare has created. Demons, vampires, werewolves, half-angel/half-human demon fighters, mundane humans...they all fit together into this world that is beautiful and intriguing. And I for one am thrilled to have not only The Infernal Devices as a spin-off series so that I can remain in this world a little longer, but I'm also thrilled about the upcoming The Dark Artifices spin-off series so that I don't have to worry about leaving this fantasy world any time soon.

Because I can't really talk about The Mortal Instruments without discussing The Infernal Devices to some extent, I can see so clearly how Cassandra Clare had not only the entire series planned out in her head from the beginning, but also at least a good portion of The Infernal Devices planned out as well. If that's not the case, then she's just brilliant about going back to the beginning of her story and tying in pieces that I would have never put together. She uses some of the smallest foreshadowing details that make the story that much better. ****Minor spoiler alert for Clockwork Princess (book 3 of The Infernal Devices): I was even wondering this time through why Alec has the dark hair and blue eyes that we find in the characteristics of Will when Will wasn't related even distantly to Alec. Will's sister, who just so happens to look just like him, is. Brilliant, I tell you. **End spoiler.

I gave City of Bones 4 stars on Goodreads when I first added it to my read-shelf, and upon my second reading, I find that this rating stands for me. Any reader who enjoys a well built world and a story that is worked and weaved like a tapestry from beginning to end will appreciate City of Bones and The Mortal Instruments. Have you read City of Bones? What did you think? Let me know!

Oh and here's the trailer for the movie coming out next week. There are longer trailers and such too if you want to look them up.

Top 10 Favorite Book Worlds

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic was a freebie. I decided to choose Top 10 Favorite Book Worlds.

 

  

1) Vampire Academy/Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

2) The Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

3) Harry Potter by JK Rowling

 

  

 

 

4) Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

5) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

6) Divergent by Veronica Roth

 

  

 

 

7) A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin

8) The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

9) The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

 

  

 

 

10) Graceling by Kristin Cashore

11) Partials by Dan Wells

12) The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkein

 

That's my Top Favorite Book Worlds. What are yours? Let me know!

Top 10 Favorite Covers of Books that I've Read

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Favorite Covers of Books that I've Read.

I did Top 10 Favorite Book Covers here. Some of these are similar, but that post had a few that I haven't read as well. And of course, I've read more book since the original post. I'm such a cover snob that I figured this topic deserved a second post.

1) The Mortal Instruments & The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

2) The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

3) Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

4) Beg for Mercy (Cambion) by Shannon Dermott

5) Cinder by Marissa Meyer

6) Firelight & Vanish by Sophie Jordan

7) The Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon

8) The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater

9) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

10) Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

11) Need by Carrie Jones

12) Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

13) Fallen by Lauren Kate

Those are my favorite covers of the books I've read. I didn't include any books in the series that I haven't finished so as to not cheat more than I already have. What are your favorite book covers that you've read? Let me know!

Clockwork Princess - Review

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, # 3)

By: Cassandra Clare

Published: March 19th 2013 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

568 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | Books-A-Million )

Goodreads description--Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?

Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

*Sigh* I can't believe this series is over! I've had some serious ups and downs with The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and with Cassandra Clare. It seems like just when I'm fully in love with everything going on I get smacked in the face with something and I want to throw the book I'm reading across the room. And I can go ahead and tell you right now that I'm going to have a hard time keeping this review spoiler-free. Speaking of spoiler-free, the inside jacket cover of my edition has a copy of a family tree, don't look at this too deeply until you've finished Clockwork Princess (unless you want to ruin the journey for yourself).

Let me start off with this...It's obvious that Cassandra Clare is well-read. Especially when it comes to the classics. Aside from the quotes added to the beginning of each chapter, these books are loaded with various quotes. Off the top of my head, we've got Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, A Tale of Two Cities (obviously), Shakespeare of various forms, Great Expectations and other Charles Dickens, Tennyson, Saint Augustine, Edgar Allen Poe...seriously, I could keep going. I loved this. Well the chapter heading quotes I could do without most of the time, but the quotes found within the happenings of the book I loved. It's one thing to be able to read the classics and appreciate them. It's another thing to in some ways recreate and retell them. And it's a completely other thing to recreate and retell the classics while bringing in appropriate quotes and happenings from many other classics at the same time. In this way, I find Clockwork Princess to be quite brilliant.

We left off Clockwork Prince with Will finally confessing his love for Tessa only moments after Jem proposes to her and she accepts. Talk about heartbreak and one of the moments I wanted to throw the book across the room. Jen @ YA Romantics says in her review that many of us were prepared for any possible outcome going into Clockwork Princess. She listed the following scenarios: Will dies, Jem dies, Will and Jem die, Tessa makes some sacrifice to save Will and Jem, Tessa ends up with Will or Jem. Or neither. And that's exactly how I felt going into this one. I felt like anything could happen, and like Jen, I felt that I wasn't likely to be satisfied with any of the choices.

In the end Cassandra Clare managed to in some ways surprise me by coming up with an option that wasn't even mentioned above--and I thought I covered all of my bases, right? Wrong. Guys, I hate to say it, but I still wasn't satisfied. I read Clockwork Princess with eager anticipation to see what was going to happen next and how everything was going to play out. In the end, I felt like the culmination, climax, and resolution were a bit of a cop-out. I know, I hate that I just said that, and I'm sure many will disagree with me. I felt like the way that the villain, Mortmain, was defeated was an easier solution than all of the build up to get there (although I'm hoping to hear this related into City of Heavenly Fire maybe). And I felt like Cassandra Clare kind of managed to avoid having to make the hard choices and actually make a decision about some of the bigger pieces of the overall puzzle--although the acknowledgements prove that she had this ending in mind all along.

I do love, and always have, the way Cassandra Clare weaves the two series (The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices) together, and I can already see her intertwining pieces that will fit in perfectly with The Dark Artifices (Lady Midnight, book 1 is scheduled for publication in March 2015).

I should also mention that I loved the addition of Cecily in Clockwork Princess. Although Cecily and Will have surprisingly little interaction, it was definitely nice to see the side of Will that she brought out and to see how alike they are in the frustrating and sarcastic ways.

Though I don't usually do this, I bookmarked several pages of sarcastic quotes--mostly from Will. I love this characteristic in him and Jace. So here are some of my favorites (spoiler-free, of course):

"I am not a certified idiot--" (Gabriel Lightwood) "Lack of certification hardly proves intelligence," Will muttered. (pg 27)

"You don't think I can fight," Tessa said, drawing back and matching his silvery gaze with her own. "Because I'm a girl." "I don't think you can fight because you're wearing a wedding dress," said Jem. "For what it's worth, I don't think Will could fight in that dress either." "Perhaps not," said Will, who had ears like a bat's. "But I would make a radiant bride." (pg 34)

"By the Angel, it just crushed Sophocles," noted Will as the worm vanished behind a large structure shaped like a Greek temple. "Has no one respect for the classics these days?" (pg 42)

"Sometimes one must choose whether to be kind or honorable," he said. "Sometimes one cannot be both." "Which is better?" Tessa whispered. Will's mouth twisted with bitter humor. "I suppose it depends on the book." (pg 68)

I marked a few others. Pg 123 has a great quote from Magnus that I won't include here. A laugh out loud quote from Will on page 551 but I also won't include because of spoilery. Henry had one and then Magnus has another.

All in all, I'm giving the Clockwork Princess 4 Stars. Have you read Clockwork Princess? If so, what did you think? Let me know!

Top 10 Books I'm Dying to Read

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Words that Make Me Pick Up a Book, but here's the thing, I don't think there are ten specific words that make me pick one up. Maybe there used to be ten words that did that, but not anymore. There are probably ten words that will immediately make me put one down though. HA! I should have done that topic. Anyway...here's my Top 10ish Books I'm Dying to Read... .

1) The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines, # 4) - Richelle Mead (expected release date November 19, 2013)

2) City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, # 6) - Cassandra Clare (expected release date March 1, 2014)

3) Cress (Lunar Chronciles, # 3) - Marissa Meyer (expected release date sometime 2014 )

4) Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky, # 2) - Veronica Rossi

5) This Girl (Slammed, # 3) - Colleen Hoover

6) Lady Mightnight (The Dark Artifices, # 1) - Cassandra Clare (expected release date March 2015)

7) Losing Hope (Hopeless, # 2) - Colleen Hoover (expected release date July 9, 2013)

8) Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin, # 2) - Robin LaFevers

9) The Dream Thieves (The Raven Boys, # 2) - Maggies Stiefvater (expected release date September 17, 2013)

10) Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits, # 3) - Katie McGarry (expected release date November 26, 2013)

11) Half-Blood (Covenant, # 1) - Jennifer L Armentrout

12) Origin (Lux, # 4) - Jennifer L Armentrout (expected release date August 27, 2013)

I could keep going people....but I'll make myself stop. What are you dying to read? Or what words make you pick up a book? Let me know!