Tag: Young Adult (Page 138 of 159)

BOOK REVIEW – City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare

August 19, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)
by Cassandra Clare
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

What a fun, exciting read! I was utterly consumed with COG and was driven nearly mad when I had to put it down. The story takes place in Idris making for a refreshing setting and story line.

So much happens that it’s almost overwhelming to think of writing a review. Another problem? I most definitely started City of Fallen Angels immediately after finishing COG two days ago, so my recollection of the story is foggy, that mixed feeling when you read two books so close together. Whoops.

Things have finally come to a head for every party involved. Clary and Jace, Simon, Alec and Magnus, downworlders and shadowhunters, etc. I felt a sense of triumph on more than one occasion. Everything that we could possibly question about the past two installments is addressed, and more than we could imagine is thrown our way-not overwhelmingly so, though. What I loved most is the amount of peril laced through each page of the story.

Nothing was an easy fight. So many times we readers become engrossed into a story only for it to end up falling short and dissappointing us. It happens more often than not, sadly, and I didn’t feel let down with the end of COG. It was tied up happily enough that we could go on with our lives if we so choose to, but it also left enough wiggle room to continue the series. What did Clare decide to do? Obviously she decided to keep truckin’. While I have read that some people wish she would stop here, I have to say I disagree. Yes, there is such a thing as leaving a story alone while you’re ahead, but I can’t help but feel a little sad at the thought of never reading about Jace and Clary again. I don’t normally become so invested in a longer series-I generally lose interest quickly, but not with TMI. Clare writes the stories so you get a little of what you WANT, but not as much as you NEED.

Also, for those who have read the Infernal Devices trilogy, we start to see the mention of more and more of the names from it. Herondales (yyaaaayyyy!!), Lightwoods, Brother Zacariah, etc. I LOVE that. I LOVED TID and as I am reading the next installment, COFA, more and more is being said about them. It gets me so excited and I start smiling like a loon. Thank God Magnus was present back then, because we wouldn’t get these cute reminiscent thoughts throughout the novel without him.

I’m not sure what my review was even about or if it even made sense, but the point is, I loved this novel and it was the best in the series yet. It is on-the-edge-of-your-seat good, and the romance was sweet and exciting. So for those of you who haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for?

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BOOK REVIEW – City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare

August 19, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4)
by Cassandra Clare
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

GAH! That ENDING! That ending will be the undoing of me. What is it with authors and these cliffhangers?? I swear..if it wasn’t for the fact that book 5 is on my ereader as we speak, I’d go mad. *Long sigh* Ugh Ugh Ugh.

I don’t know what was going on with the first quarter of the novel, I don’t. I feel like I was an outsider rather than a part of the story. It was so foreign to me for Simon to be on the forefront-like, as in every scene was from his POV for a LONG stretch of time. Somewhere along the way, though, the story came back to me and I wasn’t so much of an outsider looking in anymore. I was a living, breathing character like the rest of them, watching from the sidelines as if I had a hand in the adventure. I became invested and intrigued again.

Once I was, I again, couldn’t put it down.

I liked the pace of the story. Now that the truth is out in the open, everything is in a whole new light and totally relatable, making this a favorite whereas I just couldn’t give the first two installments anything more than 4 stars because of the supposed “untruth”. I just could NOT get past that in COB and COA, but now I am totally for Jace and Clary, and can’t get enough of them. Maybe that’s why I am rating this so high whereas others are rating it lower than all the others. I just feel that nasty weight lifted off my shoulders and I can just enjoy what’s going on in the story and not whether they’re going to commit incest or whether there is a loophole. For me, that was what consumed COB and COA, because I just wanted to get past it.

Clary. That drive she feels? I get it. I UNDERSTAND it. The passion and loyalty she feels for Jace…the urgency? I can totally and finally relate to her after 3 or 4 books and I LOVE it. I can FINALLY get on board with this chick. She gives off emotion that makes you want to help her or sympathize with her, unlike in the previous novels where it was all just talk-just words. Words can’t make me obsess over a book. ACTIONS and EMOTIONS are what make me swoon, and that is why I love Jace. He has never been anything less than passionate.

The tortured hero bit….some say it’s overdone in romance….but not me. I eat that shit up. The tortured boy/man who has a weakness for whom he loves..yea, well the overused tortured hero bit is a weakness of mine and a total favorite. Hell yeah, I can live with that storyline. Keep it comin’. I devour it.

And Simon…oooohh Simon. How you have developed. I am now an avid fan of yours. Many times the author feels the need to drag out the love triangle bit, making one guy pathetic and grovel all the time. I can’t say she didn’t pull the love x 3 thing a bit too long in TID, but here in TMI, Simon is moving forward and he has great contenders to choose from. I really enjoyed him in COFA.

So to sum up-a great romance with oodles of drama, suspense woven into every chapter, Simon’s interesting love-life, tortured hero, tortured hero, tortured hero (Oops! Did I say that already?), a creepy villain, a return, and a pretty cool ending. I retract my earlier statement-these endings are f***ing awesome. So to those who didn’t enjoy COFA- that sucks, but I really enjoyed it and found it to be one of my favorites in the series. I personally can’t wait to start the LAST novel available to us until 2014…and I can say with absolute certainty that it will probably end with a doozy as well. 🙂

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BOOK REVIEW – City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare

August 19, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5)
by Cassandra Clare
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

One spoiler for those who haven’t read COFA…

So…this one took me a while to finish. I’m not sure if it’s because I read so many TMI books so fast or if something in the story just didn’t do it for me. I do have to say that I didn’t have this problem with any of Jennifer Armentrout’s long series so I might have just rushed reading these instead of taking it easy after the awesome third novel.

I still love the Jace/Clary dynamic. Jace is so devoted to Clary and she loves him with a fierce passion that draws you in and keeps you there.

I love Jordan and Maia and Simon and Isabelle. I can even safely say that I now love Alec’s character and his new found vulnerability. These characters have grown and shaped into such fun people to read about. They banter and get themselves into precarious situations that are hard to tear away from. Even Sebastion-I like a good villain. He is beyond creepy and crazy, so we get a little insanity added to the story as well. I know that’s weird…liking a villain and all…but I do. He was the only thing that kept the otherworldly situation interesting for me.

Which leads me to my next point…I just couldn’t get into the otherworldly plot. Maybe it was the constant change of setting, but more than most likely, it was the idea that Jace was, once again, not himself. I mean, how many times do we have to toy with Jace’s mind? Yea, steal him away, add some peril to the story, but quit making him all….not Jace. I LOVE plot twists and romantic yearning for the other (Save me, save me, I’ve been taken! or We are in different places, but I yearn for you! or I’m supposed to kill you muahahaha), but enough with Jace losing his free will. Much like the brother/sister scenario, the free will bit is being a tad overplayed and it becomes boring or not as exciting.

Certain things happen that made me cringe, made me applaud, smile, laugh, and do the happy squeal. The ending was awesome (the way I wish it all would have been paced), and I loved the club scene. It was beyond gross and disturbing, and I found it to be highly entertaining. So much happens that I couldn’t possibly recap, but overall I can’t deny that this series (generally/most of the time) excites me, and I have grown to love all the characters-even the villains. So I can’t wait for the 6th novel to come out, and the wait/anticipation will be good for me. Bye TMI, until 2014…..

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BOOK REVIEW – Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

August 19, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Divergent (Divergent #1)
by Veronica Roth
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

*Re-read with my buddies Kristin (KC), Jennifer, Sarah, Maythavee, and Annie :)-my rating obviously stays 5 amazing stars*

It has been a long time since I have read a book where the romance takes a backseat to action and suspense and I have actually enjoyed it. It seems with these types of books that the author tends to write with a simplistic nature that, at first, is hard to get used to, but then ultimately becomes addicting and adds to the tone of the story. I found I was trying to immerse myself into the story on page one, but was having difficulty getting back into the simplistic writing style. But once I plunged head first into the story and embraced what was happening, I could not put Divergent down.

Tris is such a likeable female lead. She is hard and she gets gritty, but she ultimately loves. She doesn’t think so, but as the story progesses, we see her difficulties with the decision she chose and that crack in the armour that makes her human. She wanted to separate from a boring, selfless lifestyle where she was just another grey shirt that blended in, but never really belonged. But throughout her journey she shows guilt, anger, selflessness, betrayal-all the emotions possible-things she never thought she should be allowed to feel and things she never thought she’d feel again. Who can she trust? Who should she trust? All questions she must face daily if she wants to become initiated.

Four…ooohhh Four. I loved him! He was a great addition to the story and he was woven in perfectly. Not too much and not too little…just enough for me to flip through the pages (or in my case, SLIDE the pages)hastily. My next point-it has been such a long time since I have read every. single. page. without skimming. None. NO skimming. I skim even on my all-time favorite books, so this is quite a feat. Honestly.

This was a fun, gripping read that had me on the edge of my seat 90% of the time. I do wish some things had turned out differently, and I can’t say what-but in the end, I discovered everything I could ask for: suspense littered all throughout the pages, romance, betrayal, a few if-I-don’t-get-my-ass-outta-this-I-WILL-die moments, and a good family backstory. Yes, I loved her family. In other books like this I didn’t necessarily care what happened to the family. But in Divergent her family was solid and strong, and I found myself terribly addicted to what happens with her mother, brother, and father. So now I can’t wait to read Insurgent. I just hope it’s as good as the first.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Divergent #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Insurgent #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Allegiant #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea
Four: A Divergent Collection #0.1 - 0.4 *Four's Story*

BOOK REVIEW – Enclave (Razorland #1) by Ann Aguirre

August 19, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Enclave (Razorland #1)
by Ann Aguirre
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

While I am apparently on a dystopian kick, I found this book and decided it was the perfect solution as to what I should read next. As I read it got increasingly clear that while I was enjoying the premise, the writing wasn’t pulling me in. I liked the idea of Fade, of Deuce, of Stalker, but the author didn’t write in such a way that built the intensity of a scene or the passionate embrace we were supposed to connect with.

That is honestly the reason Enclave didn’t receive more than 3.5 stars.

More than once I would think, “Finally! The scene is going to be so grotesque I can barely stand it!” or “Kiss her you fool!”. Two totally different ends of the spectrum, I realize, but that is what the story provoked in me. But, as I said before, the author merely scratched the surface of the story. In situations where she could have really reached some emotional depth that would have made the story spectacular, she left the scene almost cold or unemotional-she barely scratched the surface of what was going on and it dramatically affected the story for me. There was so much more she could have done. I knew how I was going to write that statement, but now that I am almost 90% done with Outpost and it’s been 2 days since I finished the first installment, Enclave, my feelings for the series have changed drastically because of how much I love Outpost(#2).

All in all, this read had a lot of potential, but didn’t fully deliver for me. The characters were underdone and I didn’t care much for the Enclave itself. Once the characters broke free from the boring, restraining college, things started to get interesting-albeit not written to its full potential. Even when they were in the tunnels it was more exciting. Outpost (which I will have a review for VERY soon) has proven to be written with more heart and has turned out to be an altogether better story; I can’t wait to finish it.