Review: Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: August 31st, 2010
Series: The Infernal Devices
How I Served It: Hardcover
How I Got It: Own

Summary:
"In a time when Shadowhunters 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 Shadowhunters—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...." --- Goodreads


Review:
So this is kind of a re-read.  I say kind of because honestly, I didn't remember any of the things that happened despite the fact that I'm fairly positive that I read this when it was released back in 2010.  Pretty sure this either means that I'm getting old or going crazy, but that's an issue for my roommate and a bottle of wine to handle. Anyway, I read/loved the original Mortal Instruments series.  I'm actually pretty sure that I read Clare's work back when it was a fan-fiction, but I can't swear to that (like I said, I'm getting old).  I read the fourth book Clare popped out but haven't been able to get myself to read the fifth; is it worth it?

Clockwork Angel reminded me why I really liked the first three books.  It had that same spark and levity to it, a love triangle that I didn't hate on contact and characters who all have some serious issues.  It's a lot like Degrassi, but with supernatural stuff, and set in Steampunk London.  Now, my feelings on steampunk vary vastly.  I loved the Gail Carriger books, but for the most part don't love the other steampunk stuff.  I know Angel had/has a huge following from non-steampunk people, so maybe that's why I liked it?  It doesn't focus on the cogs and gears but rather just allows them to be in the background.  That makes sense to me.

Review: Princess of Thorns

Title: Princess of Thorns
Author: Stacey Jay
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: December 9th, 2014
How I Served It: Kindle eBook
How I Got It: Stalked it on goodreads for months, then bought

Summary:
"Game of Thrones meets the Grimm's fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?" -- Goodreads

Review:
I loved this book.  Couldn't put it down from the minute I picked it up.  This is the book that forced me to learn how to master the Kindle app for my iPhone.  I've always loved girl-power books where the girls kick ass or dress up as guys to infiltrate an army.  This was like taking the Lioness (Tamora Pierce) books and amp-ing up all of the things I loved about them.  It's definitely not a book for everyone, and I really don't think it can/should be sold as a fairy-tale retelling, but I will recommend it to anyone who loves losing themselves in ink (or pixels, whatever floats your boat).

This is not a retelling of Sleeping Beauty or really any fairy tale. Yes, Aurora is the daughter of a woman presented as Sleeping Beauty, and Niklaas a twelfth son of a mad king, and there are hints of Rapunzel and a few other famous princesses, but this isn't a retelling as much as it is a new adventure that hints at familiar roots.  At the start of the novel Aurora has disguised herself as her brother Jor in an attempt to win an army to storm the palace of the ogre queen.  Aurora is the rightful queen but the ogres took control through murder and bloodshed and literal soul-sucking.  The ogres aim to invoke a prophecy that will doom the world but requires the blood of a fairy-blessed briar-born child... which as far as I can tell really just means Aurora or Jor.   Ogre Queen Ekeeta has kidnapped Jor (not knowing that it's Aurora who is fairy blessed), and it's the mission of the novel for Aurora to save her brother.  Hence the need for an army.

Review: Heir of Fire

Title: Heir of Fire
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: September 2nd, 2014
Series: Throne of Glass #3
How I Served It: Hardcover
How I Got It: Library

"Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy. 

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?" -- Goodreads
Review:
 Okay, so I'm not good at regular updates. Sorry. Life's been weird, I'll be better! 

You know what my main issue was?  Television. It came back. All of my lovely melodramas and comedies and soap operas that are socially acceptable because they're on ABC, they all came back to me a torrent of LEDs and long lost sisters and murder. Maybe I'll start reviewing television too. This is my catch all blog after all...

So anyway, I've been reading the Throne of Glass series since it came out. It was one of the first times that I trusted a Goodreads recommendation. I liked the first one okay, but adored, ADORED, the second one. It was the romance.  Call me thirteen, but I love a will-they, won't-they, snarky relationship. Basically all of my favorite pairings in any genre started with mistrust and sarcasm.  So I loved the caelena/chaol pairing. And I really liked the increased level of intrigue and the revelations about what was really going on in the palace and everything. Suffice it to say that Crown of Midnight and I were tight, we got along great, it was a happy read. 

Review: Mortal Heart

Title: Mortal Heart
Author: Robin LaFevers
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Published: November 4th 2014
Series: His Fair Assassins #3
How I Served It: Hardcover
How I Got It: Purchased

"Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has..." -- Goodreads

Review:
First thought upon finishing this: Damn.

Second thought: I don't know how to feel.

I love and have loved LaFevers's trilogy since the second I picked up Grave Mercy.  To be honest I might have even fallen in love after reading the Goodreads summary. I have been waiting for Mortal Heart for what feels like forever (I'm melodramatic, remember?) and I'm having a lot of difficulties accepting that this trilogy is over. A LOT OF DIFFICULTIES.

Review: The Perilous Sea

Title: The Perilous Sea
Author: Sherry Thomas
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: September 16th 2014
Series: The Elemental Trilogy #2
How I Served It: Audiobook (Read by Philip Battley)
How I Got It: Borrowed (Library)

Summary:
"After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny - especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.

Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that throws into question everything he believed about their mission. Faced with this revelation, Iolanthe struggles to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies - or forging a divergent path to an unknowable future." -- Goodreads

Review:
I liked the first book in this series - Burning Sky.  I know it got some really mixed feels from most people, and I'm definitely not saying it was perfect or without faults, but I liked it. I liked the way the relationship between Titus and Iolanthe/Fairfax grew and I liked the overarching plot line.

I feel basically the same way about The Perilous Sea.  It was far from perfect, but it made me happy when I was reading it.  It's one of those books that has a lot of heart.  Yeah, there are a lot of plotholes and eye-brow raises, but it's easy to ignore them and just smile.  I like books that make me smile.

The Perilous Sea is written in a kind of cool way. It bounces between the present and future (or present and past depending on how you view it).  At the start of the future-y time, Titus and Iolanthe have lost their memories and are stuck together in a desert.  The only thing they both know is that they must avoid Atlantis.  In the present-y time, they're facing a severe conflict of interest. Wintervale has suddenly begin to display immense amounts of elemental magic leading Titus to believe that it's Wintervale and not Iolanthe who is the prophesied savior. Talk about trouble in paradise.

Review: The Poison Study

Title: Poison Study

Author: Maria V. Snyder
Publisher: Mira
Published: March 1st 2007
Series: Chronicles of Ixia #1
How I Served It: Paperback
How I Got It: Purchased (YA Fest in Easton PA, April 2014)

"Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison...

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear..." -- Goodreads

This series has been on my 'To Read' shelf for basically forever, so when I heard the author was going to be at the YA Fest in Easton PA I was pretty pumped.  It's not exactly an easy book to find (in print I mean, I know Amazon has a great bundle deal on the kindle), and I dig having my books signed.  So I bought my copy of The Poison Study when my (totally awesome) creative writing professor brought me to the fest and then put it in my book box which is where it sat through Finals and Senior Week and Graduation and the first half of summer.  It became 'that book I was going to read next' for months.  Kind of like Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Laini Taylor, I swear I'm going to read it eventually...).  I don't know why I had such issues cracking the spine.  I live for medieval-y assassin books - the third books in the His Fair Assassins and Throne of Glass series are legit my most longed for reads of 2014.  Poison Study should have been something I was super excited to crack open... but I basically had to force myself to sit down and read it.