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.

TTT - Top Ten Most Anticipated Debut Novels For 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish.

I'm actually signed on for that Artsy Reader Girl's 2015 Debut Author challenge (12 debut YA authors in 2015), so this TTT may end up being an incredibly useful reference for me in coming months!  I tried to pick a couple of obscure ones so that my list isn't a mirror of everyone's, but... we'll see.  Right now the only debut books that are really being promoted are the ones being published in the first half of the year, so I'm sure as time passes there will be even more books to be excited about!

Top Ten Most Anticipated 2015 Debut Novels (in my opinion)

(in order of release dates)

1. City of Savages - Lee Kelly

     February 3rd, 2015

     As someone who works in midtown Manhattan and lives in Brooklyn, the idea of cannibals in the subway tunnels really doesn't sound that absurd or futuristic ;P.  I feel like this book could be to Manhattan what Neverwhere was to London.  Or well no, not at all, but I like the idea of setting a futuristic story in a familiar place.  I'm sure it's been done before, but I can't think of any that I've read that turned the island of Manhattan into a POW camp (and didn't include zombies).

Review: Branded

Title: Branded
Author: Abi Ketner & 
Publisher: Month9Books
Published: June 25th, 2014
Series: Sinners
How I Served It: e-book
How I Got It: Purchased, amazon

Summary:
"Fifty years ago The Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society. 

To punish the guilty, he created the Hole, a place where sinners are branded according to their sins. Sinners are forced to live a less than human existence in deplorable conditions, under the watchful eye of guards who are ready to kill anyone who steps out of line.

Now, LUST wraps around my neck like thick, blue fingers, threatening to choke the life out of me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit, and the Hole is my new home. 

Constant darkness. 

Brutal and savage violence. 

Excruciating pain. 

Every day is a fight for survival. 

But I won’t let them win. I will not die in the Hole. 

I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter. My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story." ---Goodreads

Review:
Once again I find myself saying that I really, really wanted to like this book.  The premise just sounded... different?  I mean, dystopian is so in right now that it's hard to find anything truly original, but the idea of people being branded with their sins and condemned to live as inferiors... it just sounded like something vaguely fresh.  And the whole 'falling for the one person you're not allowed to love' thing is the basis of nearly all of my favorite books. So, when I used that stupid '1-Click Buy' button on amazon to purchase Branded, I had pretty high hopes.  I so wanted to fall in love with this story.  I didn't expect it to be a Pulitzer Prize worthy work of life-changing fiction.  I didn't want it to be, I just wanted an escapist story filled with angst and romance and all of the ya tropes we all hate to love!

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: The Winner's Curse

Title: The Winner's Curse
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Published: March 4th, 2014
Series: The Winner's Trilogy#1
How I Served It: Kindle eBook
How I Got It: That Stupid Easy 'Buy With One Click' Button

Summary:
"Winning what you want may cost you everything you love 

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. 

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 


Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart." --- Goodreads

Review:
Okay, I know this book has rave reviews and a cult following and obsessed fans but... I'm sorry I just don't get it.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it, it wasn't terrible, I even liked parts of it but... I'm just not getting why this book is such a phenomenon.  To be honest I don't even feel the need to read the sequel.  Please, disagree with me.  I want to love this book as much as everyone else did.  I want to understand but, I just... don't.

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. 

TTT - Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish.

It's also a lot harder than I anticipated to stay on top of in light of the holidays/stuff.  I have drafts for the past three sitting in my blogger, but none of them completed in time to post!  What I've come to realize through writing this post is that I had a serious Trilogy thing going in 2014... Maybe I'll start a Trilogy Thursday thing and bring you all up to speed on my thoughts :)

Top Ten New-to-me Authors I Found in 2014

     

    

1) Marie Lu - Legend, Prodigy & Champion
         I know, everyone's been shouting the praises of this series for years, my mother and brother (who doesn't read willingly) included.  Blame it on college, but I never really bothered to pick the books up until my post-graduation binge-read.  On the plus side that meant I was able to binge read all three books in one weekend without having to wait years and years between them.  Might make me seem like less of a fan and more of a bandwagon jumper but with this series that's exactly what I was.  I haven't read her newest book yet, but I'm on the library waiting list!