Review of City of Fallen Ashes

City of Fallen Ashes

(The Mortal Instruments Book #4)

 

By Cassandra Clare

 

About
The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And - most importantly of all - she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine's Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war. Clary's best friend, Simon, can't help her. His mother just found out that he's a vampire and now he's homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side - along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls - neither of whom knows about the other one.

When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

Source: Goodreads

My rating: 4.5/5

My thoughts

Book 4 had a different direction than the others. Whilst the previous books focussed on fighting demons, here we saw more of the character's fights with themselves. Simon fighting the reality that he is a vampire, Alec wondering about his future with the immortal Magnus and Jace fighting for control over himself. We also see the semi-return of Sebastian; we all knew he wasn't completely dead.

Poor Jace and Clary. Just as things seem like they are getting better, it takes a turn for the worst. And took four ended, it does not look like their troubles are over any time soon.

Simon, as always, is the sweetest vampire there is. Well, as sweet as a bloodsucker can be! The story shows how we cannot escape reality. Simon can carry on playing in his band and going to school but no matter how hard he pretends to be normal, the fact is that he is not. He cannot stop his cravings for blood...and eventually he has to give in. To make matters worse, he has the mark of Cain upon him, so if anyone is truly cursed it is dear old Simon. He does seem to get the bad end of the deal doesn't he? At least he has Isabelle to make him feel better :P

Overall, a thrilling read, but I do hope Jace is cured soon. I don't think I can take any more of his moping around...

Zed (:

Favourite Quotes

By the time she came back to the training room, Isabelle and Jace had left the topic of dead Shadowhunters behind and had moved on to something Jace apparently found even more horrifying - Isabelle's date with Simon. "I can't believe he took you to an actual restaurant." Jace was on his feet now, putting away the floor mats and training gear while Isabelle leaned against the wall and played with her new gloves. "I assumed his idea of a date would be making you watch him play World of Warcraft with his nerd friends."
"I," Clary pointed out, "am one of his nerd friends, thank you."

Maybe that was the secret, he thought. Keep moving. Like a shark. Go to where no one can find you. A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth.
But that only worked if there was no one you cared about leaving behind.

Though Simon imagined Jace ran the gamut of facial expressions when he was alone with Clary, his default one around other people was a fierce sort of blankness. "He looks," Simon had once said to Isabelle, "like he's thinking about something deep and meaningful, but if you ask him what it is, he'll punch you in the face."
"So don't ask him," Isabelle had said, as if she thought Simon was being ridiculous. "No one says you two need to be friends."

"You look lousy," he said.
Jace blinked. "Seems an odd time to start an insult contest, but if you insist, I could probably think up something good."
"No, I mean it. You don't look good."
"This from a guy who has all the sex appeal of a penguin. Look I realise you may be jealous that the good Lord didn't deal you the same chiselled hand he dealt me, but that's no reason to-"
"I am not trying to insult you," Simon snapped. "I mean you look sick. When was the last time you ate anything?"

"Just think of yourself as someone who has two fathers for a while."
"You can't have two fathers."
"Sure you can," Simon said. "Who says you can't? We can buy you one of those books they have for little kids. Timmy has Two Dads. Except I don't think they have one called Timmy has Two Dads and One of Them Was Evil. That part you're going to have to work through on your own."

"Yeah," Jace said, "but youre a vampire. Blood isn't like food for you. Blood is...blood."
"That's very illuminating." Simon flung himself into the armchair across from the TV; it had probably once been a pale gold velvet but was now worn to the grayish pile. "Do you have a lot of other profound thoughts like that? Blood is blood? A toaster is a toaster? A Gelatinous Cube is a Gelatinous Cube?"

"Sometimes, Clary," he said, "love just isn't enough."

"Why," Jace said, "does everyone keep goddamn asking me if I'm going to break up with you? First Simon, and now-"
"You talked to Simon about us?" Clary shook her head. "Why? Why aren't you talking to me?"
"Because I can't talk to you," Jace said. "I can't talk to you, I can't be with you, I can't even look at you."

"Take it," Clary said, looking at Jace. "Take it and kill either her or me. It's your choice."
Slowly Jace bent down and picked up the knife.

But Magnus, he thought. You never told me. Never warned me it would be like this, that I would wake up one day and realise that I was going somewhere you couldn't follow. That we are essentially not the same. There's no "till death do us part" for those who never die.

Lilith spat. "You love each other- anyone can see that, looking at you- that kind of love that can burn down the world or raise it up in glory.

"Not really alive isn't dead enough for me," she said. "I'm going out there and I'm going to cut him into a thousand pieces."

Review of City of Glass

City of Glass

(The Mortal Instruments #3)

 

By Cassandra Clare

About
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 final installment of the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.(
Source: Goodreads

My rating: 5/5

My Thoughts

***Spoiler Alert***

The third installment in Mortal Instruments series is my favourite so far. Another action-packed series, although it is a lot darker than the previous books. In this story Clary manages to make her way to Idris, the homeland of the shadowhunters, despite Jace protecting (tricking) her into staying home.

My main question is how could Valentine mingle demon blood with his own baby's? What an evil, twisted man. When I read this, I thought this child cannot be Jace (or rather, I was hoping it would not be Jace). Usually I am very poor at spotting mistakes but in this case I guessed fairly quickly that Sebastian was the demon son. However that may not have been quite an achievement considering I could not figure out who Jace's father was.

Poor Jace, he must be utterly confused by now. He's been told the wrong identity twice, stumbles across his 'dead' father only to be told he was not his real father but had been tricked all his life, falls in love with Clary and then realises Clary is his sister and then that she is not! Phew, I am getting dizzy just trying to keep up, and that's only half of it. I can guess Jace will be very paranoid from now, trying to separate the truth from the half-truths and the outright lies.
Source: Picture

I thought I would list the main reasons I feel that this is my favourite as yet, and these are:

• Jocelyn is cured and awakens from her self-induced coma
• The truth is uncovered that Jace is not Valentine's biological son
• Someone finally beats Jace in a fight. Don't get me wrong, Jace is my favourite but every now and again even he needs to be brought down to earth
• I haven't read the next books in the series yet :P

As always, the book leaves you wanting more. Thankfully, there are two more published in this series and then I believe there is a separate series written by Cassandra Clare so that should take me to next week!

Zed (:

Favourite Quotes (just a few)
 
"Give him time. You did break up with him."
"I did not. He broke up with me."
"Because you weren't in love with him. That's an iffy proposition.."

"Look did you ask me to come all the way uptown just so you could stare at me like I was something in a petri-dish? Next time I'll send you a photo" [Simon to Jace]

"Even if you thought it would help the Clave," Simon said, "you'd never let them have her."
"What makes you say that vampire?"
"Because no one can have her but you," said Simon.

"...No human being can create new runes, or draw the sort of runes Clary can. Only angels have that power. And sine Clary can do that-well, it seems like a portent. Things are changing. The laws are changing The old ways may never be the right ways again. Just as the rebellion of the angels ended the world as it was- it split heaven in half and created hell- this could mean the end of the Nephilim as they currently exist. This is our war in heaven, vampire, and only one side can win it. And my father means it to be his."

Samuel's voice rose to a scream. "GO AWAY!"
Simon looked sideways at Jace. "I think he means it."
Jace shook his blond head in exasperation. "You had to make a crazy jail friend, didn't you? You couldn't just count ceiling tiles or tame a pet mouse like normal prisoners do?"

"She won't come out of her room," he said. "She thinks what happened to Max was her fault. She wouldn't even come to the funeral."
"Have you tried talking to her?"
"No," Jace said, "we've been punching her repeatedly in the face instead. Why, do you think that won't work?"

"...In fact, it wouldn't hurt if you just spent the next few days inside. You can lock yourself in your room like Isabelle."
"I'm not going to do that."
"Of course you're not," said Jace, "because you love to torture me don't you?"
"Not everything, Jace, is about you," Clary said furiously.
"Probably," Jace said, "but you have to admit that the majority of things are."

"There is no pretending," Jace said with absolute clarity. "I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there's a life after that, I'll love you then."

"You stole my memories," Clary said. "You took them away from me. You took away who I was."
"That's not who you are!" Jocelyn cried, "I never wanted it to be who you were-"
"It doesn't matter what you wanted!" Clary shouted, "It is who I am! You took all that away from me and it didn't belong to you!"

"I have given everything for this cause. My wife. My children. I have not withheld my sons. I have given everything I have for this- everything."
The Angel simply hovered, gazing down at Valentine with his weird, inhuman eyes. His wings moved in slow, undeliberate motions, like the passage of clouds across the sky. At last he said, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son on an altar much like this one, to see who it was that Abraham loved more, Isaac or God. But no one asked you to sacrifice your son, Valentine.

"I mean that I would never date a girl who insisted that I cut you out of my life, it's non-negotiable. You want a piece of all this fabulousness?" He gestured at himself. "Well, my best friend comes along with it. I wouldn't cut you out of my life, Clary, any more than I would cut off my right hand and give it to someone as a Valentine's Day gift."
"Gross," said Clary. "Must you?"
He grinned. "I must."

"I am a man," he told her, "and men do not consume pink beverages. Get thee gone, woman, and bring me something brown."
"Brown?" Isabelle made a face.
"Brown is a manly colour," said Jace, and yanked on a stray lock of Isabelle's hair with his free hand.
"In fact, look-Alec is wearing it."
Alec looked mournfully down at his sweater. "It was black," he said. "But then it faded."

"Patience, grasshopper," said Maia. "Good things come to those who wait."
"I always thought that was 'Good things come to those who do the wave,'" said Simon. "No wonder I've been so confused all my life."
"Confused is a nice word for it," said Jace

Review of City of Ashes

City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments #2)

By Cassandra Clare

About
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.

Source: Goodreads

 

My Rating: 4.5/5

My Thoughts
Again, a fantastic read by Cassandra Clare. In book #2 there are more uncovered secrets, more adventure and of course more confused feelings. Most surprisingly, Simon steps up and becomes more confident, self assured and well, a bit of a badass considering he won't die!

I loved the scene with the faerie queen, although I sympathise with Simon. He finally thinks there is a chance with Clary considering Jace is her brother, but his hope is short-lived. Although I must say, I am glad Clary gave Simon a chance...We get to see more of Magnus, who is frankly hilarious.

The Mortal Instruments series is highly addictive and I look forward to reading more of Cassandra Clare's other books (:

Favourite Quotes:

"I didn't know you were bringing the mundane."
His blue eyes flickered uneasily over Simon.
"That's what I like about you people," said Simon. "You always make me feel so welcome."

Jace put his head in his hands. "Tell Isabelle no."
"But she thinks it's a good idea," Alec protested.
"Then tell her no twice."

Something inside Clary cracked and broke, and words came pouring out.
"What do you want me to tell you? The truth? The truth is that I love Simon like I should love you, and I wish he was my brother and you weren't, but I can't do anything about that and neither can you! Or do you have some ideas, since you're so goddamned smart?"

He smiled at her. It was a sad smile with something else underneath. "Ypu know what the worst thing I can imagines is?"
She blinked at him. "No."
"Not trusting someone I love."
She put her hand on his sleeve. He didn't move away, but he didn't respond to her touch either. "Do you mean-"
"Yes," he said., knowing what she was about to ask. "I mean you."
"But you can trust me."
"I used to think I could," he said. "But I get the feeling you would rather pine over someone you can never possibly be with than try being with someone you can."

Review of City of Bones

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments
#1)

 

By Cassandra Clare

About

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

Source: Goodreads

My rating: 4.75/5

My thoughts:

I feel as if I am being too generous with m recent reads but they have all been so amazing! City of Bones was a brilliant read, the characters were witty, plot was surprising and it was nicely paced; not too fast to confuse you and not so slow that you get bored. Not that you would get bored of Jace *sigh*

Yes, I have fallen into the Jace Wayland fanclub and I am not ashamed to admit it. My latest book boyfriend; and I didn't think anyone could match up to Augustus Waters from the fault in our stars! Not that the two are alike, oh no. Jace is slightly vain, blunt, a leeetle bit arrogant, very sarcastic but can also be quite charming. Hmm, I am not painting a very good picture of him am I? Well, I guess you will just have to read the book for yourself to find out more. Although I can tell you he has the whole bad boy/tortured soul thing, with the closed-off feelings attitude. That is until he meets Clary.

I was surprised to find that I liked both the male and female protagonists of this story, usually it's just one or the other. However, Clary is the exception. Born with shadowhunter blood but has no awareness of the shadowhunters, vampires, demons and the other 'mythical' characters her world is made of until one night in Pandemonium where she sees something or someone otherwise invisible. And that is where the story begins

I don't want to give too much away here because I feel as if you are worthy of reading this yourself. I'm beginning to sound like Valentine....who, you ask? Read and find out.


Favourite Quotes:

"I was laughing at you because declarations of love amuse me, especially when unrequited," he said.

Clary turned instant traitor against her gender. "Those girls on the other side of the car are staring at you."
Jace assumed an air of mellow gratification. "Of course they are," he said. "I am stunningly attractive."
"Haven't you ever heard that modesty is an attractive trait?"
"Only from ugly people," Jace confided. "The meek may inherit the earth, but at the moment it it belongs to the conceited. Like me" He winked at the girls,  who giggled and hid behind their hair.

Review of Indigo Spell

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3)

By Richelle Mead

About

In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.


Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.

Source: Goodreads

My Rating: 5+ stars!!!

My thoughts:

My favourite in the Bloodlines series so far, Indigo Spell was a fantastic read. Not just because of the Adrian-Sydney love/denial banter, but because Sydney finally breaks free of all her built in beliefs about the alchemists, the dhampirs, morois, Magic and the warriors. Sydney uncovers truths that change her world and her way of thinking. We get to see her internal battles waging between rule-breaking and her curios nature.

This novel was focussed more on Sydney and the development in her character, so we do not get to read much about Jill, Eddie and the others. And where Sydney is, Adrian is soon to follow. They make the sweetest couple/friends and Adrian's comments left me bursting into laughter on the (very quiet) trains!

Overall, a must-read so ...go read!

Quotes I liked:

"No one really knew her, Sydney." The sorrow in his voice broke my heart. "They all thought she was some Draconian bitch. They never knew how funny she was, how sweet she could be. You can't....you can't imagine how much I miss her. She didn't deserve to die like that. SHe was the only one who understood me- even more than my own parents. She accepted me. She saw the good in my soul. SHe was the only one who believed in me."

"There's more," added Ms Terwilliger.
Really?
"More than hunting an evil witch who wants to drain me of my life and power?"

"The Alchemists' beliefs are my beliefs," I said quickly.
She arched an eyebrow. "Are they? I would hope your beliefs would be your beliefs."
I'd never thought of it that way before, but I suddenly hoped desperately that her words were true.

Zed (:

Currently Reading

Hello all!
 I haven't written a review for quite some time, but I am currently reading Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead and my only thought is why I took so long to begin this! I didn't expect anything less than outstanding from one of the Bloodlines series but this is truly so much fun to read. I am trying not to gush but Adrian Ivashkov and Sydney's constant love/denial banter is hilarious.
Cannot wait to post this review, actually I can wait because need this book to last as long as possible..


Zed x

Review of Among the Shadows

Among the Shadows

(Ash Grove Chronicles, Book 3)

By Amanda De Wees

About:

Just hours after Joy and Tanner’s daughter is born, Tanner finds himself in a world where Joy doesn’t know him and their baby doesn’t exist. But when he thinks he has found the source of the magic that has undone reality, a heartsore Maddie makes a wish that alters history even further. With time now growing short for Tanner, he must try to win Joy’s trust and convince her that they have a future together—even though their past has vanished.

As the fabric of reality begins to fray, an old enemy arises amid the chaos... and Joy and her Ash Grove friends find themselves fighting to save the world as they know it. This thrilling sequel to The Shadow and the Rose and Casting Shadows will keep readers guessing as it races toward its astonishing conclusion.

Source: Goodreads

My rating: 5/5

My thoughts:

Reading the Ash Grove Series has enabled me to see Amanda De Wees develop as a writer and it’s great to see how as each book progresses there is so much more to offer to the reader. I believe Amanda saved most of the magic until last. My point is that this book was completely fantastic. There were so many twists and changes I became dizzy from the rollercoaster ride.

Among the Shadows demonstrated how one event can have a domino effect on subsequent events and the corresponding story. For example, I completely forgot that is was Sheila who dared Joy to pick the rose from the grave in the first place, triggering Joy and Tanner’s relationship to begin.

Usually I can guess what will happen next with most stories but Amanda kept me on my toes. Just as I thought Joy and Tanner’s problems had finally resolved, one technicality would change everything.

In previous reviews of Ash Grove Chronicles I have been quite harsh towards Tanner but I felt so sorry for him in the third book. This was probably because he suffered the most this time, yet he kept fighting for his family. First his wife forgets him and his past, his new-born baby is removed from existence, then his arch-enemy, Melisande, is revived and torches him so he goes blind and ruins his appearance. Not to mention the shape shifter Raven takes along Tan’s appearance and pretending to be him whilst staying with Joy and baby Rose.

I was glad of Raven’s change and to see him leave Melisande and opt for a less evil life. I am curious to know what became of ‘Ray’s’ alternate life.

Maddie has always been my favourite character in the last two books but her place at the top is now tied with Cavanaugh’s ghost. The ghost was unintentionally funny and I’ve noted a couple of my preferred quotes below.

As always I recommend the Ash Grove Chronicles to everyone, and now I recommend even more so after reading Among the Shadows. I look forward to reading more from Amanda’s work as I suspect she has many more surprises up her sleeves!

Zed (:

Quotes I liked:

• That’s the nuisance about gardens” said Melisande. “There are always pests invading them.”

• “No, Melisande,” came the calm reply. “I no longer find life with you pleasurable. And after living as a human with the girl and her child, my curiosity has been piqued.” The ironic note that was usually present in everything Raven said was gone; instead he sounded almost thoughtful. “There was something rather sweet in that life that was new to me, and I want to try more of it. To see what it is about being human that elevates their little lives into something almost poignant.”

• He had removed his top hat, evidently cut of some deeply ingrained gentlemanly reflex to go hatless indoors, even when he and his hat were equally insubstantial.

• Joy had started: “We have something important to tell you.” “We’re pregnant,” Tan blurted. “And we’re in love,” Joy added. To Tanner she said under her breath, “Maybe we should have opened with that.”

• “The best precaution would have been not touching my daughter.” Tanner looked at Joy adoringly, “Not possible, sir.”