City of Ashes #2 by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Paranormal Mix

Hardcover: 453 Pages

Published: March 25, 2008

Series: The Mortal Instruments

            1. City of Bones

            2. City of Ashes

            3. City of Glass

            4. City of Fallen Angels

            5. City of Lost Souls

            6. City of Heavenly Fire

Rating:★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

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 Down-world, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

My Review:

My initial thoughts about this book: I don't even like this book. So why do I kind of like it!?

Everyone seems to be in love with this series and I will admit the first book in this series was pretty good. After the unexpected ending of City of Bones, my interest levels had increased. I wanted to know more about Clary and Jace, their relationship and the back ground on the lore. Although I enjoyed reading this book, I did have some issues with the characters, the plot, and the background story.

While the writing has shown some improvement from the previous book, it wasn't engaging enough. I felt like a third person looking into the Mortal Instruments, where sometimes I would miss many small details that would turn out to be big deals. It is a big book and sometimes I found it to drag in some places.  

Not to mention the incest. I mean can you say EWWWWW!!? Jace and Clary like each other a lot. They spend time together even though they suspect that they are brother and sister. Like OMG!! That was just a HUGEEEE mood killer in this installment!! I guess that's why I rated this book with only three stars, and I honestly didn't see that twist coming.  Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling the hype with the second installment. However, I will be continuing this series just to see where the story goes. Hopefully, the ending isn't disappointing like The Infernal Devices.   

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Paranormal Mix

Hardcover: 485 Pages

Published: March 27, 2007

Series: The Mortal Instruments

            1. City of Bones

            2. City of Ashes

            3. City of Glass

            4. City of Fallen angels

            5. City of Lost Souls

            6. City of Heavenly Fire

Rating:★★★★

 Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

My Review:

            I have heard many good and bad things about this book/series. Either you liked it or you didn't. After reading this book I have to say I was definitely interested in this story. This idea of Nephilim, Shadow-hunters and demons was exciting and new. Plus the addition of werewolves, vampires, and warlocks made this an even more fascinating book to read.

            Clare is a 15 year old girl who is out at a club with her best friend, Simon. They are having a good time until Clare witnesses three scary looking teens murder someone. She screams at the top of her lungs and finds out she's the only one who can see them. Hysterical, she follows the teens out the club only to see the empty street.

            A few days later when her mother disappears and Clare is attacked by demons, she finally comes face to face with the three teens from the club. Jace is a Shadowhunter who saves Clare and brings her back to their headquarters. But what do the demons want from Clare? She is only a mundane who suddenly has the Sight and is on the most wanted list for the demons. Can Jace and the rest of the Shadow-hunters figure out what's going on before Clare is attacked again or will they fail and let Clare get captured?

            There were many twists and turns in this book that I didn't expect at all. I was surprised to see some of the events unfold in a different way than I originally thought. I liked the idea of Nephilim who were demon hunters and my favorite part was the ruins they drew on their arms. The concept of the ruins was very fascinating and I wish the author had elaborated more on that. Hopefully, the second book will have more explanations and I can't wait to continue their story. 

Movie Review:

Honestly, the movie kind of sucked. I was super excited when I found out that there was going to be a movie about this book! I couldn't wait to see who they picked for the cast and I was hoping the characters would match the descriptions.

Jace:

No. Just no. In the book Jace is supposed to be a drop dead gorgeous hunk of meat who could make ANY girl fall for him. This ^ is not a drop dead gorgeous hunk of meat. This ^ is okay. I was so disappointed when I saw James Bower playing the role of Jace because I wanted it to be Alex Pettyfer. 

(Ohhh! You gorgeous man! *fans herself*)

And isn't Isabelle supposed to be more prettier than Clare???? Clearly, not in the movie!

                                           

Clockwork Princess #3 by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Angels, Nephilim

Hardcover: 565 Pages

Published: September 5, 2013

Series: The Infernal Devices

            1. Clockwork Angel

            2. Clockwork Prince

            3. Clockwork Princess

Rating:★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis: 

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.

My Review:

Jem and Tessa are getting married. Jem and Tessa are getting married. Jem and Tessa are getting married. *hyperventilates* Doesn't matter how many times I say this there are two things that will never chance. 1. I can't register the fact that they are getting married. 2. They will get married regardless of my yelling. Ahhhhhhhhhh! Nooo! Why Clare!? Why do you make me go through this!?

 

Clearly I am not happy about this. I like Jem, but I don't want Tessa to marry him. She loves Will and Will loves her. But Will is stupid and he let Tessa go. So screw YOU Will you deserve to watch the girl you love marry someone else. Even though she doesn't love him. Ahhhhhh! So much craziness I love it! 

While planning for her wedding Tessa gets kidnapped by Mortmain who wants her powers to take over the world. Her powers will give him the ultimate power to defeat the Nephilim and rule. However, Jem is getting sicker by the day and isn't able to come to her rescue. When Will shows up looking for Tessa all of their feelings come flooding out. They truly love each other, but it's too late now. Will screwed up and Tessa won't stop the marriage. Tessa is able to find her brother as well who happens to be in cahoots with Mortmain. While being kidnapped, she was taken somewhere far away and had no way to come home. Living with her crazy psycho evil brother was hard enough, but when he wanted her to forgive him for his wrong doings and live like a family, Tessa blew up at him. How could she forgive her own flesh and blood for kidnapping her, hurting her, and lying to her only for more power? Not to mention he killed so many innocent people while Tessa was trying to save them. 

This series has been an emotional roller coaster ride. I enjoyed every minute of it and it's sad to see it come to an end. But the end was mind blowing and I am completely satisfied. Sure there were things along the way that I hated, but the entire concept was pretty cool. I was surprised at the end, but the epilogue was the most heart wrenching.  

After Tessa and Will defeated Mortmain life for the three went on a they had planned. At the end when Tessa is speaking of the life she had lived with Will right until his last breath was very heart wrenching for me. I loved how Will's love for Tessa and his personality never changed. When Will looked at Tessa and Jem for the last time, smiled and died, I was a sobbing ball of a mess. I have never cried at the end of any book. EVER. So when I realized that I was crying at the end of this one I was shocked and speechless. Just an amazing end to a wonderful series.  

Clockwork Prince #2 by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Angels, Werewolves, Nephilim

Hardcover: 502 Pages

Published: December 6, 2011

Series: The Infernal Devices

            1. Clockwork Angel

            2. Clockwork Prince

            3. Clockwork Princess

Rating:★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In magical Victorian London, orphan Tessa found safety with the Shadowhunters, until traitors betray her to the Magister. He wants to marry her, but so do self-destructive Will and fiercely devoted Jem. Mage Magnus Bane returns to help them. Secrets to her parentage lie with the mist-shrouded Yorkshire Institute's aged manager Alyosius Starkweather.

My Review:

As much as I loved the first book in this series I wasn't feeling it in the sequel. It was a good book with lots of action and drama, but I just couldn't really see the point in the second book.

Do they find Mortmain? No.

Do they find out where he might be hiding? No.

Do they find out what Mortmain wants Tessa for? No.

Do they find out what Tessa is or how she has such strong powers? No.

Do they find Tessa's brother? No. (The whole point of the first book was that Tessa was looking for her brother... soo where he at?)

Do Tessa and Jem have something going on? Yes.

Do Tessa and Will have something going on? Yes.

Do I hate love triangles? Yes, with a passion.

Do you get my point? Hopefully.

            So after moving in at the Institute with the Jem, Will and the others, it has taken some time for Tessa to fit in, but she finally has. She has agreed to use her powers to help the Shadow hunters fight Mortmain and save the world only if they help her find her brother. Turns out things aren't always as they seem. There are traitors in the mist and they will do anything to kill Tessa and get her out of the way. They still don't know how or why Tessa is so powerful, but they know for sure that she can defeat Mortmain.  

            To defeat Mortmain, Tessa must learn to fight like a Shadow hunter. Day and night she trains with Will and Jem. Spending so much time with these two hot guys you would think Tessa would fall for one of them, but she falls for both guys. At heart Tessa will always love Will, but he doesn't want to be with Tessa and pushes her away at every opportunity. And by the end of the book I was so furious that my copy of this book was thrown across my room. I refused to read the ending because I was speechless. Yes the ending was jaw dropping and no I didn't like it at all! I'm surprised at Tessa's choice and hopefully the third book gives us more answers than questions.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Angels, Nephilim 

Hardcover: 479 Pages

Published: August 31, 2010

Series: The Infernal Devices

            1. Clockwork Angel

            2. Clockwork Prince

            3. Clockwork Princess

Rating:★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In a time when Shadow hunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadow hunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them....

My Review:

Cover/Summary:

            The cover and summary is what caught my attention and made me want to read this series. I am a huge fan of Clare and her Mortal Instruments series was amazing. So when I found out about Clockwork Angel I knew I had to read it. Clare has a way of creating unique lovable characters that capture your attention and make you love them. The interesting world Clare created about Shadowhunters and Downworlders truly fascinated me. I loved this idea of hunters and the writing style was captivating.

Plot:

            The plot takes place in London and the details of the scenes were captured beautifully. Tessa, an American girl who has come from New York to London in search of her brother, Nathaniel. After arriving she discovers he is nowhere to be found. Then suddenly she is captured by the Dark sisters who want something from her. She learns fairly quickly that there is a whole new world she didn't know about. She learns about Downworlders, Nephilim, and Showhunters and is thrown into their world without having any say in the matter. But in order to find her brother she must learn to live in this new world, learn to fight, and accept her new reality because if she doesn't she may never find her brother. As always there is something bigger and scarier happening behind everything that is going on and Tessa is somehow in the middle of it all. Tessa will learn to survive and sometimes finding answers is a risky task even if it means the answers leading to a dangerous path.

Characters:

             Tessa was an okay character. I have noticed that in the beginning of any series I don't like the main female characters because they are so stupid and immature. Tessa wasn't always stupid, but she did make poor choices. At first I thought her character was going to be a whiny little girl, but towards the middle of the book she became stronger and I started to like her spunk. As for the other characters I have to say that they were amazing. Will and Jem were my favorite. Although I HATE love triangles (and I didn't like that in this book) I was surprised to find myself liking both guys and which ever one Tessa ends up with I will be happy. Will is kind of  distant and mysterious, while Jem is more friendlier and encouraging. I liked how Jem and Will were best friends regardless of their differences and had each others backs no matter what. Their friendship reminded me of my friendship with my best friend and that's why I enjoyed this book even more.

Overall:

            An interestingly cool topic about Shadowhunters. I liked how the author incorporated angel facts and history into this book. The politics and culture of the Shadowhunters was captivating and descriptive. Yes this book was freaking long as heck, but the ending was worth the wait. My jaw had hit the floor and I was yelling, screaming, and squealing with delight. I truly enjoyed reading this book.