Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

“And there’s nothing wrong with being a lizard either. Unless you were born to be a hawk.”

As you may have noticed this post is later than usual. This is due to my very busy schedule because my life is beyond interesting. That last statement may not be strictly true but in all seriousness I actually was quite busy (for once). My time management skills are usually good so I’m slightly depressed they let me down. Anyway better late than never! I am going to attempt to get another post later this week, hopefully the April Fairyloot unboxing! Enjoy…

Synopsis:

These covers are sooo pretty. They definitely grew on me.

Soldier. Summoner. Saint.

Alina Starkov is a soldier. When her regiment is attacked whilst crossing the Shadow Fold – a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters – Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.

Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha – her country’s magical military elite – and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.

But as Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.

My thoughts…

I’m definitely late to the party with this series but I don’t care. This. Was. Amazing. Or at least a promising start. YA trash at it’s absolute finest and I was soaking it all in.

There is something or someone rather that is a big part of why I enjoyed this book so much: The Darkling. I don’t think I have ever loved a villain more but here we are. Probably a bad idea but I just can’t help myself. In my head he’s also slightly good, whether that is true or I’m spouting complete nonsense I do not mind. Let me have my fantasies.

As far as our main heroine, Alina, she is the usual plain Jane with some extraordinary gift that is meant to save the world, obviously. Pretty much to be expected really. Mal, for me, was a weird one. Like he’s cute and all but only really noticed Alina when she was taken away from him. Hmmm I guess I wasn’t here for that. A character I really enjoyed had to be Baghra. Who doesn’t love a cranky old woman who doesn’t give a single fuck? I found her a breath of fresh air, very refreshing.

The Grisha in general excite me, I think their hierarchy and abilities are so intriguing and I’m highly anticipating how their powers will come to play in further books. The Grisha are soldiers of the second army and they call themselves masters of the small science. At the top of their little hierarchy is the Corporalki (the order of the living and the dead) and within this you have Heartrenders and Healers. Next, there is the Etherealki (the order of Summoners) which consist of Squallers (wind), Inferni (fire) and Tidemakers (water). Lastly, is the Materialki (the order of Fabrikators) which has the Durasts and the Alkemi. Basically, a lot of words that I don’t know how to say but still, very interesting.

I didn’t find this book to have a lot of twists and turns but to be fair I wasn’t expecting them due to it being the first book. The uncover of The Darkling being the bad guy was definitely predictable (the name kind of gives it away) but it still hurt my feelings.

The book was mainly about establishing the world, introducing the Grisha and getting stuck in to life at the palace. It is by no means a master piece but I found it a very enjoyable first book to an exciting trilogy.

My Rating…

My rating is pretty high because I just got sucked into this world from the very beginning! I’m loving it. I’ve heard mixed reviews, mainly that how Six of Crows is miles above this series so if I’m loving this hopefully I will be blown away by the duology. High hopes indeed! A promising start, it gives me the same feelings I got when I first picked up Throne of Glass. Nothing will ever top that series but it’s great having something new to obsess over.

Keep reading xoxo

The Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

She was lost and found and wandering, all at once. At the cusp of dreaming, yet somehow never more awake.

Synopsis:

Published February 26th 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing. Hardcover, 827 pages. I am obsessed with this cover.

The house of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are creeping closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has ridden to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parlay, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

My thoughts…

Spoilers Ahead!

One word to describe this book: Overwhelming. It was so much to take in and get stuck into, in the best way possible. This book took me a while to finish (three weeks!!) but every time I picked it up I was instantly immersed in the world Shannon has created. Definitely took me a quick minute to get to grips with who everyone was and what roles they play but ultimately this stand alone fantasy was. Epic.

It took a chunk of the book to warm up to characters, probably because at times they felt really unrelatable (obviously dragon slaying mages and dragon riding fighters should be completely relatable), like Sabran was really cold at times and she just felt incredibly distant. However, fast forward a number of pages and I’m invested! My favourite characters were Tané, do I even need a reason for this pick? She was such a bad ass and evidently progressed as a better person by the end of the book. And Margaret. She wasn’t a main character but we do see a lot of her. She was lovely and kind but refused to be pushed around and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her. A character that had me guessing all the way through was Niclays. I was unsure for a whie where his character was going to go whether he was going to stay miserable or actually do some good for himself and I have to say his arc brought a tear to my eye. When he found out about Truyde my heart may have cracked a little. I LOVED the relationship that Sabran and Ead developed. I didn’t see it coming but I was here for it. Steamy to say the least.

As far as plot-twists and OMG moments there wasn’t a great deal that had me really shocked. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing and doesn’t mean it wasn’t a page turner because it definitely was. The relationship had me shocked, Aubrecht’s death hit me and Tané having the fucking jewel sewn inside her threw me but other than that I caught on to what was happening and where it was all going. I enjoyed near enough every minute.

Emotional moment? Surprisingly yes. I wont say them all but the number one thing that I was actually devastated about was Lintley’s death. I had read over that a good few times before it actually sank in. I didn’t believe it, it annoyed me so much like why? So so so close, the big battle was over and your just going to go and kill him off? He was going to get married! One word: Fuck.

Quick mention for Tané and her relationship with her dragon, Nayimathun, they were just amazing! I loved their bond and they never gave up on each other, showing all you really need in life is a big friendly dragon. Not much at all.

The only really problem I actually, which to be fair is very minor was that we got to the big battle with The Nameless One and it all seemed well… short. I felt like the main characters got off very easily. I felt their should have been a death of one of the main characters. Weird thing to wish for but it’s much more realistic to me . I know it’s fantasy but still if this shit were to happen in no way shape or form we are making it out without the need of some body bags. Other than that it was a brilliant read.

My Rating…

I couldn’t not give this a five stars. It was an epic fantasy series that yes, you need to pay attention and take a lot in but is beyond worth it. Progressing through you get sucked in and are constantly wondering where the storylines of these characters are going to lead.

I have never read any of Shannon’s other books but after this colossal monster I think I may have to pick some up. Phenomenal. Laura Eve, author of The Graces called it a feminist successor to The Lord of the Rings and I couldn’t agree more.

Keep reading xoxo

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

This post was meant to be my Fairyloot March unboxing. As you can see it isn’t. I am more annoyed than you. When I was uploading the pictures it wasn’t allowing me to make them smaller for some reason. It usually gives me the % I want to make it smaller by and it just wasn’t having any of it so hopefully that will right itself and I will get that out as soon as possible but for now enjoy the Red Queen.

The truth is what I make it. I could set the world on fire and call it rain.

Synopsis:

This is a world divided by blood – Red or Silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to seventeen-year-old Mare, a Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilits, it seems like nothing will ever change.

But Mare possesses a deadly talent of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of her potential, the Silvers hide Mare in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess. Knowing that one false move will mean her death, Mare must use her new position to bring down the regime – from the inside.

Now Mare has entered a game of betrayal and lies.

This is Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart…

My thoughts…

YA trash at it’s finest and not going to lie I was completely here for it. There was huge hype surrounding this book, mainly because the covers were gorgeous but then the bad reviews came creeping. This book definitely has some love but I have seen a whole lot of hate and while I can completely understand it I have to say, I really fuckin enjoyed it.

Before you rip me to shreds this book was mostly enjoyable because I was in the mood for it like I so wanted some crappy YA fantasy with love and drama and all that business. And I got it with Red Queen. Mare as a character was a bit bland like she is the same lead female character we see everywhere but I knew this when getting into the book because this was what I needed at the time. Don’t. Judge. Me.

You know what did piss me off though that I have to get out: the writing. I didn’t like it. I found there was unnecessary comments or declaratives that did not need to be there. It made me laugh but at the same time shut up. Mare shut up. JUST SHUT UP.

Everything was predictable. I’m not exaggerating. It was funny because I knew what I was getting myself into and while I got myself invested, I knew exactly what was going to come next. From the marriage to the betrayal to the “dead” brother not actually being dead. I knew it. All while I knew it, I was lapping this shit up. I don’t know what was wrong with me, looking back now I can see the issues, trust me I can, I get these bad reviews but at the time? Nope. Didn’t care. I was gulping down Mare, Cal and Maven like they were vodka shots and I was a raging alcoholic.

Cal. He is the only thing that I’m still gulping down and I’m not even sorry. I know what your thinking. Slut. And I don’t even care. He was like a cheap version of Dorian from Throne of Glass and I LOVE ME SOME DORIAN.

I’m not really going to delve into the plot too much because it is pretty much like every other story. Saddens me to say but there is a clear lack of originality. To be honest I feel bad because the whole reason I picked it up because I was in the mood for a shitty YA with characters that I knew were going to be copies of other characters and a storyline that wouldn’t take time getting to grips with. If this is a reason someone picks up your book. Yikes.

Does it make things better that despite all the crap I really enjoyed it AT THE TIME? Or maybe it’s the fact that it included ALL the crappy stuff that I did enjoy it. Either way I suppose not something someone usually wants to hear about their book. Oh well.

My Rating…

AGAIN. GIVE ME A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN. In reality this book is more like a two stars. Trust me I know. However, at the time I was like FUCK YES. Red Queen is what I wanted and while I recognise the bad I also appreciate that the bad is what I wanted. Like drugs. There we have it Red Queen is like heroin. Let a girl live. This book is very much like a watered down hunger games, a cheap divergent and a crappy EVERY OTHER YA book. Will I be continuing this series? Honestly, I don’t know. If I’m in the mood for heroin I guess this is a safer option. Seriously though I probably will revisit the series, I do love a shitty YA book and I know this won’t disappoint.

Keep reading xoxo

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare

“I feel myself diminished, parts of me spiralling away into the darkness, that which is good and honest and true-If you hold it away from yourself long enough, do you lose it entirely? If no one cares for you at all, do you even really exist?”

Synopsis:

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

My Thoughts…

Spoilers Ahead!

The first book in this series really took me on a whirlwind and the sequel was no different. It was full of emotional moments, oh my god moments, lovey-dovey moments and some chuckle-worthy moments for good measure. After the first book ended the way it did (my heart in bits) I knew that this one was going to take no prisoners and I was absolutely right, it grabbed me by the lady balls and swung me about until I had nothing left.

The love triangle is definitely in full-swing, we see Tessa and Jem getting closer and despite Will being a complete ass at the end of the first book, doesn’t deny the fact that he is head over heels for her. Love triangles are a difficult one for me. I don’t hate them by any means but they are a frustrating trope. I find it exciting that you don’t know who they will end up with but sometimes it can be quite uncomfortable to read especially when the two boys in question are BEST FRIENDS! Like can you imagine that in the real world? Excuse all the magic and demons and whatnot imagine THAT situation. No. Thanks.

The characters are a huge part of what I love about these books. The friendship between Will and Jem deserve a book of their own and Tessa is such a refreshing change from Clary (the mortal instruments). I also loved the more secondary characters, Charlotte and Henry being the most likeable people ever. Jessamine was a weird one, half the time I’m looking at the page when she makes a decision like is she for real? She was a character I so wanted to like but she didn’t half make it hard for me. We are also introduced to new characters, which I was not opposed to. Oh and can we all just take a minute for Sophie, she is amazing!

I realise though I have one slight problem with the trilogy, it is only minor for me and so didn’t hinder my rating but I find it slightly annoying that we have Tessa being all so new to the world and Will, the good looking, confident boy with all the secrets mirrors Clary and Jace for TMI and I’m not all that into it. I didn’t mention it in Clockwork Angel’s review, mainly because I forgot but I’m mentioning it now. At least I like these characters a lot more, that definitely redeems it but I guess you can’t get much more irritating than Clary.

Plot-wise I was pretty engaged and interested in what was going on but its the sub-plots that had my attention.

Something that I have to talk about is we now have a MARRIAGE on our hands. I love Will. Like I really love Will so when Tessa got engaged to Jem I was very conflicted. Don’t get me wrong Jem is absolutely precious so I wasn’t against the whole thing but my POOR POOR WILL. My emotions were all over the place, I didn’t know what to feel. And then to make my heart break even more when Tessa and will were arguing and he was proclaiming his love for her I DIED. DeHd. BuRiEd.

There was moments that literally made my heart swell aswell as shatter some of my favourites being Charlotte’s pregnancy (I love love love) and the romance between Gideon and Sophie, I am so here for it!!

Overall, this book had me up, down and all around, emotional turmoil does not even begin to describe what I was feeling. Was I excited to read on? Understatement.

My Rating…

I had to. I loved it. For me this tops The Mortal Instruments by a mile. Cassandra Clare completely got my heart with this trilogy and hit me right in the feels. I was beyond excited to reach the conclusion of the final book and find out what the fook was going to happen. So far I would definitely recommend this series.

City of Fallen Angels By Cassandra Clare

“There might not be so much of a difference between the side of Light and the side of Dark as you suppose. After all, without the Dark, there is nothing for the Light to burn away.”

Synopsis:

The Mortal War is over, and Clary Fray is home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and – most importantly of all – she can finally call Jace her boyfriend. But her happiness has come at a price…

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, 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. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary 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.

My Thoughts…

Spoilers Ahead!

So, this is the fourth instalment of the mortal instruments and I have to say: it was amazing. I felt much more immersed in the plotline than the previous three books, I was slightly unprepared for the whirlwind this book took me on but I was completely thrilled by it.

Something that was very prominent for me that I would like to point outfirst is the love plots to this book. There was definitely development for quite a few relationships. Obviously, we see a lot of Clary and Jace and I’m here for their relationship but my focus was not really on them. SIMON SIMON SIMON. It was so funny and so infuriating reading his scenes with Isabelle AND Maia but when it all came out it was so so so good. I’ve always been a Simon and Isabelle shipper so going into the next books I was incredibly excited to see their progression. And you can’t mention love with the mortal instruments without everyone’s treasures: Alec and Magnus. I love everything about them. I’m a big fan of young adult fantasies with a strong love element and this couple don’t disappoint. I was routing for them till the very end! One of my highlights of the book was:

“You could give me the past,” he said a little sadly. “But Alec is my future.”

This book lacked any teary eyed moments. There was no scenes that destroyed me emotionally , which I wasn’t too fussed about because to be honest I wasn’t expecting any necessarily but definitely in the next books I was hoping for something that would just break my heart. Is that weird? Tell me you get this? Like, you know it’s a great series when it shatters your soul.

What this book didn’t lack however was some nail-biting, piss-myself out of shock and excitement moments. It was filled with scenes that had me anticipating the next books and what would be the consequences of all these actions. From the whole Simon gobbling Maureen to the revelation of Kyle being Jordan it was soooo gripping! I can’t mention pissing myself without mentioning that last scene. We all knew Sebastian was going to turn up again but to end like that? SHOOK.

I wasn’t a fan of the addition of Lilith. Idk I just didn’t like her as a villain maybe we don’t see enough of her but she just wasn’t interesting to me and considering she’s all evil and might she was put down considerably easier than expected.

Overall, this book definitely had me excited to read on with this series. In my opinion Cassandra Clare definitely raised the bar with this one!

My Rating…

I think this book is my favourite one so far! This series is trash for teenagers, it has all the elements that we crave and I’m lapping all this good shit up to be honest. This one definitely raised my expectations for the next books!

Keep reading xoxo

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Plenty of humans are monstrous, and plenty of monsters know how to play at being human.

Synopsis:

This is the exclusive collectors edition hardback with bonus features inside because we are fancy on this blog.

Victor and Eli started out as college roomates – brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in one another. A shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death-experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horrible wrong. They become EOs, ExtraOrdinaries, leaving a body in their wake and turning on each other.

Ten years later Victor has escaped from prison and is determined to get his revenge on the man who put him there, aided by a young girl with the ability to raise the dead. Eli has spent the years hunting down and killing every EO he can find, convinced that they are a crime against God, all except his sidekick, a woman whose power is persuasion and whom he cannot defy. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the arch-nemeses have set a course for revenge – but who will be left alive in the end?

My Thoughts…

V.E. Schwab never fails to disappoint! Having already read the Darker Shades of Magic trilogy I definitely went into Viscous with high expectations, safe to say my expectations were met if not exceeded. The first thing I want to talk about is the characters. She has crafted such interesting characters that had me incredibly eager to read on. Without sounding to cliché there was so many layers to all of the characters and you never quite know everything about them. Victor and Eli, being main characters clearly show this, whether you love or hate them both leave you with so much intrigue. One of my absolute favourite characters despite her being a villain was Serena, she was so fascinating, I couldn’t help but love the whole bitch role, she honestly a whirl wind, a storm within herself, a force to be reckoned with and a complete bad-ass. Sydney and Mitch also were enjoyable to read, I cannot wait to see how they (especially Sydney) progress in the sequel.

The actual plot I found very enjoyable, I had just finished a very long series so coming out of it I wanted something to prevent me from falling into a slump and would grab my attention, which I certainly got. This book definitely gave a superhero vibe through out that I loved, if you however are not in to that sort of thing I don’t necessarily think you should be giving this a read. This is a twisted tale about friendship and bitter betrayal and I struggle to put into words how fucking good it is. The plot, the characters, the interactions, the absolute crazy shite that Victor and Eli come out with will leave you at a loss for words. You cant help but appreciate Eli’s intelligence all while wanting to punch him in the face for being so ignorant. The juxtaposition is mind boggling. Not to mention his idiocy makes you root for Victor even more, as far as anti-heroes go: I. am. all. For. Victor. You 100% will question his intentions and his true nature but your hope for him to be good and win is completely overriding your questions about whether he’s absolutely bonkers.

It was such a rollercoaster, a very dark, winding, slightly unhinged rollercoaster but I suppose those are the best kind. Maybe not the best but the most thrilling. It was amazing to read, the writing itself was easy to get through. I was never bored or confused and nothing was longwinded. The way we jump between the past and the present in each chapter was particularly enjoyable.

My Rating…

I mean there is nothing really else to say. Five out of five because it was AMAZING. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone! I’d recommend it to a half dead relative just to maybe convince them that they may develop some weird ability, they probably wouldn’t like me too much after but it’s all shits and giggles.

P.S. I do usually post on Sundays but I have quite a busy weekend so enjoy the early post you don’t know how lucky you are.

Keep reading xoxo

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1) by Cassandra Clare

Yes. Yes. Yes. It is what I am sure you have been waiting for… the last Goodreads review I will be posting on here. I do actually have a couple more but I think the time has come to stop with that. So, here it is: the last, the final, the ever amazing Goodreads review.

“One must always be careful of books,” said Tessa, “and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.”

~This review will have a non spoiler section and a spoiler section further on, there will be a warning before the spoilers.~

I really really enjoyed this book, it was so fun and interesting and has made me ALOT more excited to read on about the shadowhunter world.

This book does however include a love triangle, a trope that many love and many despise. If you fall into the despise category I would advise to STAY CLEAR of this because it is a huge part of the storyline.

I have to say I pretty much liked all of the main characters and a lot of the interactions were so enjoyable to read. I also thoroughly enjoyed the time period it was set in, I found it so interesting to read, particularly how the treatment of people (especially women) differs to nowadays.

We follow our main girl Tessa, who I have to say is ALOT less annoying then Clary thank sweet baby Jesus, and her coming from America to London and her discovery of the shadowhunter world and everything in it. We also get to see her development with her own abilities and she meets a bunch of interestig characters; the good, the bad and the fookin weird.
We get to see her experience romance, action, magic and betrayal dun dun duuuuun.

I gave this book a four stars because I liked it a lot but there wasn’t enough OH MY GOD moments, so I am definitely anticipating that for the next two books but I have really high hopes!

~Spoilers~

So, this book took me on a journey and I was loving every minute!
I would first like to point out that I LOVE that Tessa LOVES books, I think that brings abit of joy to everyone involved.
Tessa, Will and Jem. The love triangle is pretty evident and extremely significant to the story. Obviously we have to have a Will, that arrogant ass hole that we all just love and to be honest I was so shipping him and Tessa throughout most of the book even though Jem is literally the nicest boy ever (kind of hate myself for it but oh well). BUT when we got to the end of the book and Will said some things to Tessa, YOU KNOW WHAT I’M ON ABOUT, I was like FUCK NO. I was rooting for him so bad to let his walls down and ughhhh he was just so horrible. I honestly don’t even know what to do like he’s gonna have to do some serious making up. I’m in some SERIOUS turmoil at the moment.

Send help.
Anyway back to the actual plot.

We see Tessa discover and develop her powers because she’s part Warlock, I’m very interested to find more about her though because we definitely haven’t heard the full story.
We see her come into the institute and meet the whole gang: Charlotte, Henry, Jem, Will, Jessamine, Thomas, Sophie and Agatha.
Also I hope Jessamine gets some well needed character development because I want to like her but my God it’s bloody hard like I do at some points and then others I’m like really bitch?

Even though a lot of the book for me was a tad on the predictable side one thing that really wasn’t was Nate’s betrayal like idk if it was just me that didn’t see it coming? It just hit me and I was like NO WAY. Lawwwd it was so juicy.

So, when all the shit did hit the fan and everyone was tricked and it was just the girls, Nate and Thomas left in the house I was like this is so not going to end well.

Obviously it didn’t.

Poor Agatha, I mean I wasn’t too hurt by her death because she wasn’t a character we got to see really but oh well, what did hit me was Thomas. I was so not expecting to feel as sad as I did. I think it was the whole being inlove with Sophie and then saying to Will that he wasn’t a shadowhunter, it all just hit me in the feelings.

When Tessa was threatening to stab herself, ofcourse I didn’t want her to die but the way she was so willing and just acted like a bad bitch I was like YES GURL.

Also need to mention Jem. Like he deserves the world. He is too precious. What I can’t get over though is he is literally DYING. Like are we going to see him die? Will it be in the books? I don’t know whats going to happen to him let alone the relationship with him and Tessa. I just don’t know how I feel about it all.

The whole romance has maybe kind of taken over the other plotlines for me to be honest at the moment but I’m not mad.
I can’t wait to read on with this series, I’m loving these characters so much already!
I have enjoyed this first book more than the first two books of the mortal instrument series (the third was pretty damn good so idk).

Which series did you prefer and why?

Keep reading xoxo

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3) by Cassandra Clare

Ahhh once again this is a Goodreads review so beware!! After this there is only ONE more Goodreads review so. Get. Excited.

She supposed they were imperfections, these marks, but they didn’t feel that way to her; they were a history, cut into his body: the map of a life of endless war.

Showcasing my paperback edition. It’s actually so easy for the cover and spine to crack and look rough.

~There will be a non-spoiler section and a spoiler section further on, there shall be a warning before the spoilers don’t worry.~

YES YES YES.

This was definitely the step up, the ooomph I needed to really get me more invested in this series. It was alot more gripping and fast-paced. Action, arguments, love and all that gooood stuff were stuffed in here

.
So, this is the third installement in The Mortal Instrument series and this is where it is at so far, it went down.
My expectations had definitely lowered after reading the first two due to them just not meeting them but this has got me starting to see what the hype is about.
We got to meet some new characters and I connected more with the characters that we have already met. I received some answers that I wanted and a well needed confrontation. There hasn’t been a full on sob worthy moment for me yet but I’m patiently waiting for one!
Overall, this has made me excited to continue on with the series, although I am reading Clockwork Angel first because apparently that is the best way to read them.

4/5 stars, I thouroghly enjoyed this one.

~Spoilers ahead!!~

We got to meet Luke’s sister!! I haven’t formed much of an opinion of her to be honest she seems like someone that could be likeable but there were too many other things that had my attention. BUT hearing that she was ashamed of Luke due to what happened to him was irratating like wtf that’s your brother?

We learn that Simon can walk in the sun because he drank Jace’s blood because he’s got more angel blood in him or something idk what’s gonna happen with Simon in the next books but I’m excited to find out.

OH MY LORDDDD when Clary walked in on Aline and Jace God I felt for her like reading the build up to that moment I was like oh no oh no oh no, the tension was running high!!
AND THEN my heart literally cracked when Jace was being a complete ass to her and telling her to go home I was reading like wtf are you doing? Pissing all over her parade mate. And then she was like your just like Valentine I was like OMG NO SHE DIDN’T. God it was so horrid yet so good.
Then we got that all good confrontation and she was throwing plates and then herself at him God I loved that, it was so needed.

Then he took her to the manor where they discovered that angel guy (pretty sure the name is Ithuriel but if it isn’t don’t crucify me) and then that angel guy died but before he died he showed them some pretty pictures. But enough of that, when that angel guy died the manor went down with it AND bloody Jace and Clary were lying on the grass only just nearly getting it on!!! At this point they were still brother and sister so I was reading it like I don’t know whether to be on board with it or not (totally on board). Obviously it couldn’t end happily and they had a little huff with each other and resumed their moods. They return to Alicante only to find the city on fire. Yeah great.

OMFG NOW THIS PART I WAS LIKE NO. NO. NO. NO. Before I get into it I best mention my feelings on Sebastian because he’s a new one. At first I was kind of rooting for him to be a good character like I did not ship him and Clary at all but I was boarding his train as a character. And then little things started to happen and I was like oh just great he’s gonna turn out to be an asswipe. I was correct. Right but Jesus Christ I thought he fully killed Isabelle I was like no, no way this is happening. But it was just a cheeky death scare. I LOVE Isabelle so thank the high heavens she’s not dead.

My heart when Magnus said he loved Alec. Oh I actually adore them I cannot wait to see where those two go like so far those two are my number 1 ship.

So, we find out that the person Simon has been locked up with (oh yeah Simon got locked up lol) was the one and only Hodge. Jace and the rest of them got Simon and Hodge out of the cells only for Sebastian to kill Hodge, I think because Hodge was going to tell them some important info.

Max. The poor guy. I wasn’t distraught with this death or anything, we didn’t get to see him all that much but still, awww.

From morbid to excited. I LEGIT THOUGHT SIMON AND ISABELLE GOT IT ON. I love them together, I ship them way more than Simon and Maia buttttt definitely the wrong time to be doing THAT

.
“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.” MY HEART.

Jocelyn came back, idk what her role is gonna be in all this, she’s just kind of there. Was cute though when her and Luke declared their love for each other. Awww.

We finallyyyyyyy found out that Clary and Jace weren’t related (who would have guessed) so now I am openly, proudly and fully aboard their ship. So, Sebastian is actually Jonathan and Jace is Stephen’s son and the Inquistor’s (Imogen) grandson and Valentine cut him out of his dead mothers belly. Interesting.

Alec and Magnus KISSING infront of EVERYONE was the highlight of the book.

Is Sebastian dead? That is the question, somehow I think not. Valentine is though so that’s good because he bored me, Sebastian seems like a much more interesting villain.

The ending of this actually felt like the ending full stop to be honest it was weird. Like there was unanswered questions and things but I guess I mean I have no problem jumping into Clockwork Angel because I wasn’t left on a cliffhanger or anything, which I have to say I’m actually grateful for.
I’m so excited to see what happens next when I get around to jumping back into the series!!

Keep reading xoxo

Alice (The Chronicles of Alice #1) by Christina Henry

This is a Goodreads so as you may have gathered from previous reviews it. Will. Be. Messy.

“That is true,” Alice said. “I could never understand you.” She would never comprehend the need to hurt those who never hurt her, the need to hate for the sake of hating. She never wanted to rule over others in fear.

I do love this creepy cover! I don’t know if you can see but I tabbed this book with pink paper tabs. Don’t judge my basicness, I have evolved.

~This review will have a none spoiler section and then a spoiler filled section further on,(there will be a warning before the spoilers) enjoy!~

Honestly, I was quite underwhelmd with this book. It’s not a bad book but it’s not particularly great either. I didn’t know what I was quite expecting going into this, I was excited to read something abit different, a dark, twisted retelling of Alice in wonderland. I enjoyed parts of the book and I appreciated the writing (although at times I did think it was pretty basic) and was delightfully disturbed at parts but overall I guess I just wasn’t hooked.

I did enjoy the concept of the story being told after Alice went ‘down the rabbit hole’. It was really interesting to see how Henry executed it. The story was dark and creepy, which I think was done pretty well, at parts I was deeply unsettled (in a good way).

The ending though… didn’t do it for me it wasn’t an OMG moment, it isn’t something that’s going to stay with me, I’m not going to be thinking about it in a couple of months, it was pretty boring. There is a second book that continues this story and I’m not going to be fighting people at the book shop to get it.

If you are thinking about reading this book it’s an average reads with some enjoyable parts.
3/5 stars because it was decent. You may love it but I just wasn’t captivated. In my opinion, this book isn’t a necessity, you won’t die if you don’t read it but it’s by no means a bad book.

Trigger warning: this book doea include things such as rape, which may upset you as a reader, if so this book isn’t for you.

~Spoilers ahead~

So, we start off seeing Alice in a hospital for the mentally ill where she is confined to all in all a crappy room. She is basically being called crazy because after escaping from the rabbit (bad bad guy by the way) she can’t remember everything that has happened to her and when your daughter comes home spouting nonsense about an evil rabbit the first thing your mum would do would be to lock you up in a mental hospital, right?

Inside this mental hospital she becomes friends with Hatcher (a murderer but a nice guy really) next door. I honestly thought Hatcher was going to turn out to be evil but he stayed good to Alice throughout the book, thank God! I couldn’t have Hatcher killing Alice on me. I found their relationship abit odd, I didnt hate it but at times I was slightly confused.

Anyway, we see the hospital getting burned down and Hatcher and Alice’s escape.

Plot twist!

It’s not just them that escape but the Jabberwocky!! Who, they now need to go and defeat. Not only that but Hatcher is a seer and so is magically linked to the Jabberwocky and can sense when it’s close which sends Hatcher abit (a lot) loopy.
Hatcher in general is just abit (a lot) loopy and when you anger him he tends to ‘see red’ and kill you, spectacular I know!

The first important stop is Chesire’s house.
I found him a very intriguing character and wished there was more actual interactions with him, I found myself wanting to read more about him.

After some strange trickery from Chesire we then see Alice and Hatcher meet up with the caterpillar and my word the caterpillar’s home was a distubing scene. Basically a brothel.

Also a moment just for the Walrus. Vile. Vile. Vile
Stealing women and eating them WHILE he rapes them, (we later find out he was eating them to uncover whether they were a magcian or not as he was trying to steal their power because he was meant to buy Alice who, PLOT TWIST is a a magician as well as the Jabberwocky).

Back to the caterpillar, their conversation was interesting, we got to find out the story of Hatcher and how he actually worked for the rabbit in exchange for protection for his wife and later his dauhter against the big bad world.
That turns sour because their daughter, Jenny, is that stunning that the rabbit has Hattie, the mum, raped and murdered and the daughter stolen away to far far away. Just the usual thing you do to pretty girls.
Alice then being the bad ass she is gives the caterpillar the knife to the throat. Fully deserved!

Next stop the walrus. I wasn’t happy with these scenes. The walrus was bigged up throughout this book to be some big, scary character and in my opinion he went down way to easily. No tension. No suspense.
I get he wasn’t the main villian so perhaps not alot went into his storyline but he was a big obstacle in the way of their ultimate goal but it seemed like Alice and Hatcher had no issue of ridding themselves of the him.
It wasn’t even that their plan was made to be unrealistcally perfect or anything, I think it was just too short. I would have liked the walrus to put up abit more of a fight.

We then finally get to encounter the rabbit, who turns out to be some frail, old man because Alice took his eye out (when she previously went down the rabbit hole), taking his magic with him due to this magical knife she used (WHICH IS WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR TO DESTROY THE JABBERWOCKY ONLY ALICE THREW IT IN THE RIVER AGESSSSS AGO).
Not much to say about the Rabbit except he was abit weird. Again they seemed to roll right through him – onto the Jabberwocky.

I was sooooooo happy when Alice faced the Jabberwocky alone, Hatcher had been referred to as her protector throughout the book so seeing her able to take on this main villian alone was so pleasing to read.
However, again this villian was portrayed as an incredibly powerfull, ultimately evil type of baddy but Alice, who couldn’t even control her powers properly turned him into a BUTTERFLY. I don’t even know what to say. Amusing? Bizzare?

The ending really was quite predictable, similar to a fairy tale ending but it did set up for the second book nicely.
The adventure to Hatcher’s daughter, which I assume will be the main plotline in the sequel.
It felt like eveything was too much of a picture perfect ending and I needed something to grab me and make me want to pick up the next one and although this book had some good aspects unfortunately I just didn’t have that something that I needed.

A decent read but nothing spectacular.

I’m interested to see how other people found this book and if you picked the second book up what are your thoughts?A dencent book with some enjoyable disturbing scenes, a good read but not really a “go get it now” type of read.

Keep reading xoxo

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

This is a review from my Goodreads page so be warned it is most likely to be slightly chaotic.

“You are mortal; you age; you die,” the queen said dismissively. “If that is not hell, pray tell me, what is?”

Paper back edition, the same as the first and the rest of the series I have. Look how messy my tabs are!

~This will have a non spoiler section and spoiler section further on, there shall be warnings before the spoilers don’t worry~

So, this is a tricky one for me really because there isn’t a whole bunch to say.
This is the second book in the mortal instruments series andddd it was… alright. I have heard such AMAZING things about this series and the hype surrounding it was crazy so maybe I went in with my expectations a little too high. It’s not bad by any means it just wasn’t incredibly gripping.

However, I have heard that the first two books were slower and they do get better so I’m definitely continuing clinging to my hope that this series will grab me by the balls at some point. It is okay so far i’m just waiting for a sweep me off my feet kind of moment.

The rating for me? 3/5 stars because I’m liking it but I’m not completely sold so far.

Have you read the series? If so what are your thoughts on this book?

~Spoilers ahead!~

What I do really love about this series so far is the humour between the characters! Starting off with Alec losing his shit “mostly extinct… IS NOT EXTINCT ENOUGH”, like how random but how bloody amusing. I’m really starting to love Alec, his character is so interesting and developing really nicely, I’m excited to see where he ends up.

We have a little smooch scene with Simon and Clary, and I’m just NOT. FOR. IT. I don’t ship them at all but I do love their friendship.

OMG PAGE 138 when Alec’s hand was on Jace and Magnus coughed and I could just picture him thinking HELL NO BIATCH, oh I just loved it, chuckle worthy moment. I can’t wait to see more Magnus and Alec!

The back and forth between Jace and Simon is comedy gold, definitely some of my favourite character interactions! I really appreciate little moments like these in books, mixing this with other elements and you really are onto a winner! One of my favourite moments was when Jace was like “I knew you wanted to kiss me” , like wtf ahahaha.
Speaking of kissing that whole seelie court scene JESUS CHRIST like I genuinely don’t know how to feel about this situation, it was quite uncomfortable to read but I just couldn’t stop, not going to lie I weirdly liked it, oh well. It’s also so obvious that they are just not related. I don’t believe it at all.

When Clary was yelling at Jace telling him she wished Simon was her brother I actually got abit emosh! I felt like it was kind of written off though because he took her “sickening” comment extremely bad. I didn’t like that. He could have been more a whole lot more understanding, she thinks your related how is she meant to feel?
Then we got a death scare. Simon, Simon, Simon. Like you have got to be KIDDING ME I was like hell no this is not about to happen. Ofcourse, it didn’t actually happen because authors love to give you a little death scare and then miraculously bringing them back to life or somehow they didn’t actually die. I don’t know if you can tell but I’m very split when it comes to killing but not really killing a character off. Aslong as it doesn’t happen multiple times I really don’t mind but if it doesn’t it honestly getting annoying.

Jace jumping about the place like a flippin kangaroo was pretty cool, we all knew he was special but I wonder how all that’s going to play out along with Clary’s magical power.

AND THEN WE GET ANOTHER DEATH SCARE FROM SIMON. I understand a death scare. I even sometimes like a death scare BUT twice in one book. The book is not even big. NO. No thanks. Wasn’t here for it.
Oh yes, Simon is no longer Simon, he is now vampy Simon. I can get on board with this idea, I’m intrigued to see where he is going. This being the reason I wasn’t too bothered about the first death scare because it had a PURPOSE to the plot line but the second death scare for me just didn’t really serve any purpose.
OMFG the conversation between Jace and Clary at the end was so FRUSTRATING! I was like yes she’s going to declare her love for him despite their situation and then he INTERRUPTS and is all like oh you were right like NO SHE WASN’T WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? And then Clary JUST WALKS OUT. NONONONO you don’t do that you say listen here Jace mate this is what I want. AHHHH.
I mean I guess it does build more tension and gets me excited for when they do actually have THAT conversation which will hopefully be in the next book.

P.S. I’m also still waiting for Clary to be less annoying, feel free to tell me when that is!

I’m hoping book 3 will pick up more and grab hold of me because it definitely has the potential to really get me invested. It has all the teenage cringe and problems mixed with this magical world which does get me excited. I just need some real twists and turns, something unexpected. So, on with the next book!!

Keep reading xoxo