Review: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
How I got it: I own a copy.

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 Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

Note: The following review is assuming that you’ve already read the first book in The Mortal Instrument series.

Cassandra Clare brings back her wonderfully witty characters in the second book of her much loved series, The Mortal Instruments. I can’t tell you how excited I was when I sat down to start this book, as those of you who read the first book are well aware how amazing the series started out.

Let’s grab a short recap if it’s been a while since you’ve read the series. Clary, our main character, was pulled into the rude of Shadowhunters and blatantly shown that mythical creatures no longer belong on the pages of children’s books. She learns she’s not human, or a Mundane as Shadowhunters call them, but rather the daughter of the murderous Valentine, who seeks to gain control over everything his dark mind can reach with the help of his home grown demon army. By the end of the first book, not only does Valentine have the Mortal Cup, the first Mortal Instrument, but we also find that Clary and Jace, the handsome, rogue Shadowhunter she developed strong feelings for, are brother and sister.

City of Ashes comes as the much anticipated next book in the series. Readers not only want to delve back into the plot, but they want to see the continuation of their favorite characters.

It becomes known that Jace is Valentine’s father and from there the trust is lost in him. His adoptive mother finds his presence painful. People who have known him for years question if he is truly ignorant of having been Valentine’s father all this time. The Inquisitor, a woman on edge with a personal vendetta, accuses Jace of fraternizing with the enemy and locks him up in the City of Bones for trial.

But Valentine, up to his tricks, won’t have that happen. The man is looking forward to having his son by his side when he begins his war. His involvement in Jace’s life only strengthens the beliefs of people like the Inquisitor that the young man is not on their side.

Clary feels torn between the people she loves most in this book. Simon, her childhood friend, expresses deep feelings with her while battling with the fear that he is getting pulled into her world a little deeper than he had wanted. Jace seems to have his own opinion on the matter that Clary is his sister. Her mother is still in a coma that doesn’t seem to be breaking, she has no affection for her father, a man she would have preferred staying lost, and she clings to Luke, the man who is like her father and he only link to her past when she wasn’t fighting demons to keep her life.

I’m not going to tell you how amazing this book is, because if you thought that way about the first book, the second will just confirm your suspicions that this series wreaks of awesome. You will laugh, scream, scowl, and smile while reading this book, and Clare will not for any reason give you a time to rest in between. Many, many questions arise by the end of this book, and then the book ends, with a shock, and leave you sitting their whilst waving and laughing.

It is such a tease.



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Literary Giveaway Hop!

Oh. My. Gosh. Literary giveaway hop? That's right!

Update: As of right now I have gained over 60 new followers, so there will be more chances to win! Happy reading, :)

Welcome!

I am so happy to announce my first ever participation in the Literary giveaway hop! This hop is hosted by the wonderful Leeswammes and features around 60 blogs, each giving away something pretty flipping fantastic. Books! Everything will be literary in nature, which means those who enter these wonderful giveaways are promised a great surprise and jaunt down a reading lane they might never have traveled before.

Enter and be awesome by default. Thank you so much for stopping by, and good luck to you on the hop! Love and happy reading!

My Prize of Pure Awesome

All of these books are from my personal library, some I've read, some I haven't but wanted to pass along anyway, and some duplicates that were just screaming to be given away to my sexy readers. My winner will have a choice of one of the following books... (Click images for links to their pages via Goodreads!)

But wait, there's more!

I would love to give away even more books, so for ever additional 50 followers I get another winner will be chosen from the batch until I give away all of my books to new and loving homes!

The Rules (Because I have to have them...)

1. You must be 13 years or older to enter.

2. My giveaway is open internationally!

3. You must be a follower of my blog. This is to ensure that my lucky winner is part of my following, and because I appreciate your readership so much when you do follow me, I want to reward you.

4. I will ship the books personally via the United States Post Office.

5. The winners will be notified by e-mail, they then have 72 hours, or three days, to respond or I will be forced to choose a new winner.

6. You do not have to choose a book you want until I've chosen the winner, so no pressure to choose right away!

7. The giveaway ends on 12:01 am on June 27th.

Enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway




Don't forget the other blogs on the hop!

Leeswammes Candle Beam Book Blog Musings of a Bookshop Girl The Book Whisperer Book Journey (US/CA) breieninpeking (Dutch readers) bibliosue heavenali I Read That Once... The Parrish Lantern The Bibliomouse (Europe) Tell Me A Story Seaside Book Nook Rikki's Teleidoscope Sam Still Reading Nishita's Rants and Raves Readerbuzz Books Thoughts Adventures (North America) 2,606 Books and Counting Laurie Here (US/CA) Literary Winner (US) Dolce Bellezza The House of the Seven Tails The Book Diva's Reads (US) Colorimetry Roof Beam Reader Kate's Library Minding Spot (US) Silver's Reviews (US) Book'd Out Fingers & Prose (US) Chocolate and Croissants Scattered Figments Lucybird's Book Blog The Book Club Blog

Lizzy's Literary Life The Book Stop Reflections from the Hinterland (US) Lena Sledge's Blog Read in a Single Sitting The Little Reader Library (UK) The Blue Bookcase (US) 1morechapter (US) The Reading and Life of a Bookworm Curled Up with a Good Book and a Cup of Tea My Sweepstakes City (US) De Boekblogger (Europe, Dutch readers) Exurbanis Sweeping Me (US/CA) Living, Learning, and Loving Life (US) Beauty Balm Uniflame Creates Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book (US/CA) Curiosity Killed The Bookworm Nose in a book (Europe) Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews (US) Giraffe Days Page Plucker Based on a True Story Read, Write & Live Devin Berglund (N. America) Ephemeral Digest Under My Apple Tree (US) Annette Berglund (US) Book Nympho A Book Crazy, Jane Austen Lovin' Gal (US) Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity

1,001 Books I Won't Read Before I Die

The amazing thing about owning a book blog is having the ability to complain and assert my unwarranted authority wherever I please. For this reason I am going to challenge the rather infamous list of 1,001 books somebody apparently thinks you should read before you die.

Now I love lists. I make them all the time, especially to keep track of my reading. However, I have some problems with this list. For those of you unfamiliar with this list, it was published in book form some times ago, a list of 1,001 books, each from different time periods in history. These are supposed to be books of an epic proportion that everybody should want to read. There are several additions to this piece of work, where certain titles or added and removed as they, the editors, see fit, which begs to question whether or not these people really have any authority if they can't even come up with a concrete list of books.

In the interest of the project I decided to go over the list, from the 2008 edition, and see just how many of them I have read. Out of ONE-THOUSAND and ONE BOOKS I apparently have read only 21. Twenty One. Yes, I know. Most of them were classics with a couple of modern titles thrown into the mix. So I went through the list again, and only a couple of dozen more were books that I have on my own mental TBR shelf.

Most of the books on the list were books I would never want to read and have no interest in reading. I can't even tell you what some of the titles were. Some of you might be trying this trick with me right now, "But you have to broaden your reading experience and read new things!" Erm, yea, but... no. I believe in people expanding their own shelves rather than having someone else tell them to do so.

So why this rant? Well recently I've come across way too many people thinking that reading this list is a great way to broaden their reading horizons, and a lot more people feeling a bit down and out for not having read as many titles on the list as some people.

I will never tackle this list and whatever titles I will read in the future will be on pure coincidence.

So I bid my farewell with my last words having more weight than before,

Happy reading!

Reading Habits?

So I've done many things such as this in the past, but I wondered if some time having gone by if my answers would be different. I snagged this meme after a couple of stops over at some friendly blogs and decided to do it myself. If you do the same, please link back so I can read your answers!

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack:
I don't usually snack, but if I do it's more of a finger food. I can sometimes get antsy when I read because I'm a runner and usually moving around, so I'll have something to to keep myself occupied with.

What is your favourite drink while reading?
Most recently, wine coolers. Once a week I have a wine cooler that will last me several hours and gets me through a lot of reading. But more often than not it's either coffee, tea (Earl Grey), or just water.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
I have never written in my books, although for some reason I find used books that have already been written in slightly interesting. I prefer post-it notes.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
Bookmark, usually, although I have yet to find a bookmark I can get used to. More often than not, though, it's just whatever I randomly grab when I need to mark the page. I cannot stand, at all, dog-earring pages. When I get a library book that has been dog-eared I flip out and rant on to myself. Same goes for lying them flat, it makes the spines weak.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?
More fiction than non-fiction, but  both. I love learning about something that interests me, and books are the first sources I go to. But fiction is probably more my favorite.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I would prefer to end at a chapter but stuff happens so I end up in the middle of chapters a lot of times.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
I have this habit of closing the book, wrapping my hands around it, and throttling it. I've never thrown one though, surprisingly. I'm most likely to do this if one of my favorite characters is killed. Something that happens A LOT.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
Not all the time, but I'm a word nut so I love looking things up. Since downloading a dictionary app on my iPod, though, I always look words up. It's like crack to me.

What are you currently reading?
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare. Almost done!

What is the last book you bought?
I bought a good collection from Amazon the other day. I'm most excited about the Cassandra Clare book and Angelfall, :)

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?
I usually read more than one at a time but recently it's just been the one. I might take up reading classics alongside my currently reading, though.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?
I prefer reading when I'm alone, so that means either in the car if I'm with the family, plugged into headphones, or at my computer. My problem is I haven't found a place I'm most comfortable reading. The search is still ongoing to find someplace comfortable, non-distracting, and relaxing enough to read in.

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
Series! At the end of every book that does not have a sequel I feel this sense of loss. I fall in love with characters so easily and to know I'll never see them again kills me. For this reason I also have issues reading the last book in a series.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
Oh yes. At times an author or a book has struck me with such emotion I need to tell people about it. Thankfully after years of doing so I've been able to recommend books to people and they almost always love the book and thank me.

How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)
Right now there's a very lose system going on in the First National Library of Becca. My books are put on certain shelves according to genre, so classic, young adult, fiction, and so on... And then they are put together as a series. I also have sub-sections for arcs, memoirs, non-fiction, etc... It might not be perfect, but I know where they are!

Review: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
How I Got It: Borrowed it from a friend, :)

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out of work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin their journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitch Hiker's Guide "A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have" and a galaxy-full of fellow travellers: Zaphod Beeblebrox - the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out to lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ball-point pens he has bought over the years

There are those books out there that we've all read, where we sit there repeatedly going, "WTF?" several times while we work our way through the book. Page by page, we go, "Wtf?" and sometimes it's because the book is fun and witty, or in some cases because the book is quite rubbish and that's the only reaction we can have.

Thankfully I said "Wtf?" a lot because this book was witty and off the wall. Really. This book is a prime example of an author going, "Hey, I have something of a plot, a quirky sense of humor, and lots and lots of sarcasm. I should write a book." This is exactly why this book got four stars from me, and exactly why it didn't get five stars.

Arthur Dent wakes up one morning to find his house is about to be demolished by a bulldozer to put in a new bypass, and decides to lay in front of the large piece of equipment in protest. But this isn't even a fraction of his problem that day. It seems that Earth itself is going to be demolished and Arthur's only hope is to be saved via his friend Ford, who Arthur doesn't know is a alien, and the seemingly popular hitchhiking form of travel in the universe.

Just stick out your thumb and hitch a ride across the galaxy.

That is the general idea of this novel. Arthur then goes on to meet certain figures in the universe and travel to a planet that isn't supposed to exist.

Douglas Adams is rather funny. His dialogue is witty, his characters are shockingly hilarious, and you just want to read this book. You put it down, you chuckle, you sit there for a few more minutes and then you pick the book up again, and suddenly doing the dishes, cleaning your room, and feeding the outside cats is the last of your worries. You're more interested in the Galactic President with two heads or the depressed robot with a massive "Oh, woe is me..." complex.

I think at parts this book was too funny, as in the author couldn't stop cracking jokes to get on with the plot. "Hm, should I make a funny or write? Funny..." Also, the length. I get this this is the first book in a five book trilogy (WTF? See? Told you you would say it a lot), but at the same time I feel like I got a copy that for some reason only had half of the entire book. Yes, it makes me want to read the others, but I still felt like there should have been more.

That is why the book lost a star for me. There was too much funny that the laughs died away once or twice and I was wondering when the story was going to move on. Plus, I had issues with the characters. Maybe I only connected a little with Arthur Dent because we had one thing in common - we are both from Earth. But otherwise, it was hard to understand characters who's only memorable attribute was an extra arm and another head. Really, some scenes in this book read less like plot and more like a three minute skit on the Johnny Carson show.

By the time I'd finished the book, though, I could look back (on the day or so it took me to read it) remember the laughs and even the plot and suddenly realized there were more books in the series and that I indeed wanted to pick them up when I could.

Anyway, this is a super fun read if you have a rainy day or need a break from some really thick writing. It really is just a fun book so don't be shy, grab a copy, and stick out your thumb.



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Top Ten Books to Read on a Beach

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What is a beach read? Really? Are you on that beach to relax, so is it a fluffy book? Are you there for a vacation, so is it something you've been dying to read? Or are you there because you crashed there and this is a, "What ten books would you like to be stranded with on a desert island?" I can't tell you what a beach read is because I live in New York where there are no beaches and my adoptive Brazilian family is in bed right now and I can't ask them what they peruse on the shores of Rio, but I'll break this down if I can...
 
All books are recent reads or old favorites, :)
 
Here are some books I suggest you relax to...
 
1. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - If you want funny fluff, if you want to read through a book in a matter of house while you tan, this is the book for you. The reading is simple, the plot is witty, and you won't burn a brain cell getting through it. It's just for fun.
 
2. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - More fluff, but with a twist...? Fforde's Thursday Next series is just amazing. Read the first book and you want to read them all. Funny and creative, it's a book set in a world that revolves around books. Great to just relax, sit by, and enjoy on a summer day.
 
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Or rather, any other Jane Austen book. Yeah, her writing can be thick, but it's also heart warming and romantic at times. Instead of reading those bodice rippers with wanna-be Fabio's on the cover and scantly clad ladies, read a classic.
 
Want to start a new YA series?
 
4. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - I gave this book a hopeful rating, saying I'd read the rest of the books. It's worth reading, though, to see if you enjoy it and there are other books in the series. She tackles angels, a growing subject in the YA world.
 
5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - I love these books. They're best described as paranormal, but you need to read them to love them. Clare is expanding on the series a lot, so if you haven't started reading them now I suggest you do! This summer is an epic jumping off point for her work.
 
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - This series has been called the next big thing, but don't think of it that way.  Yeah I love it, but I don't like it when people make first impressions of books because of their fans. So I don't go crazy on this book like some. But it's so much fun, really emotionally driven, and there are only three in the series. Before too much of it comes out in the movies or otherwise, jump in to see what you think.
 
Read those classics you have on your list...
 
7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - One of my favorites, short enough to get through on a long weekend without plowing through it. Set in the time of speakeasies, The Great Gatsby of the title goes on to host his infamous parties in the hopes of running into his true love. Hopelessly dramatic and romantic.
 
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Already read Hunger Games? Many people relate that book to this work. It, again, is short for a low stress beach read, and again, is one of my favorites. A group of young boys are stranded on an island and soon fall from the grace of the civilized.
 
Brave like me and want to read a brick? Better carry a big beach bag...
 
9. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Jane Austen wrote romantic fluff, Bronte wrote gothic romance, early 19th century horror, and created a character that would put a crack in the mold of what was considered a "typical" female of the time. This is a thick one, but a winner...
 
10. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston - Not a brick but... Hell, I want some of my readers to go out and get this then say, "Who reads this on a BEACH?!" Really, if you want to be horrified, creeped out, and look over at the beach goer sitting next to you and reading Nicholas Sparks and go, "Psh, my book has the ebola virus. What does your book have?" Then this is the one for you.
 
OH! I almost forgot. Don't read while you tan unless you want that tan line/pale spot in the shape of a book on your chest/face. Unless that's the look you're going for, the book nerd tan... in that case, ignore me and happy tanning!
 
Loves to all!

Issues With Blogger

Hello, all!
 
I'm here to try and update you on what's going on. I know I've been gone for some time, but Blogger, along with other personal issues, are just making it impossible to get to work on my blog. I have been reading and writing reviews, which you can find and read on my Goodreads, but until I resolve the issue with my computer I am pretty useless otherwise. But hopefully I will be up and running for a massive post on how awesome you all are in no time!
 
While I'm playing with this nonsense, please comment below to cheer me on and shove bookish suggestions down my throat.
 
All my love!