Jenn's Review: The Iron Trial

Author: Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Series: Magisterium #1
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 299
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  YA Fantasy
Rating: 3/5
Bottom Line: A school for magicians or a school for magical warriors?
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Just get it at the library

Blurb: Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial. Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail. All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him. So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing. Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future. The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

Review:  Lots of people reviewing this are comparing it to Harry Potter, but a more accurate comparison might be The Magicians by Lev Grossman in that it is darker and more despairing. Unfortunately, that's not a favorable comparison for me.

One of the many things I find enchanting about Cassandra Clare's work is her ability to weave a plot.  This, however, felt more like a story outline that the authors did their best to go back and obscure with layers of extranea.  Unfortunately, I knew where we were headed from the outset of the plot exposition.  That can be okay if you love the characters and enjoy the journey, but I couldn't seem to invest in any of it.  The big reveal was supposed to be shocking, but it wasn't in the least for me.

Another thing I love about Ms. Clare's novels is the her depth of characters.  None of that was evident here. It wasn't that I didn't like the characters, just that I never connected to any of them. While the potential was there for all of the characters we never really get to know them, making them all feel archetypal.  This made it hard for me to invest in any of the characters.  Are we supposed to like Cal?  Probably as it's his story, but I think not being able to invest in him was the main reason this story didn't work as well for me. The authors actually start the novel by laying the groundwork for distrusting Cal and continue to chip away at him.   Every time I felt close to getting behind him something would happen to distance me from him again.

I adore Cassandra Clare's work and have heard fabulous things about Holly Black as well so I went into this novel with huge expectations.  Perhaps that is why I was so disappointed with this book.  Will I continue on with this series?  Maybe.  But only because I have great faith in Cassandra Clare that if anyone can salvage this series, it will be her.  However, it won't jump to the top of my TBR pile when the next installment is released.


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Jenn's Review: City of Heavenly Fire

Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #6
Publication Date: May 27, 2014
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Pages: 725
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  YA Paranormal
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: The perfect ending to a beloved series
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab the whole series!

Blurb:  In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother.

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!

Review:  I finished City of Heavenly Fire  over two weeks ago, but I haven't been able to let it go; I gasped and laughed and cried my way through it.  It was magnificent.  I've been re-reading little bits of it here and there, trying to soak it all in.  Plus writing a review makes it feel so final and these are characters to whom I hate to say goodbye.

The novel is monstrously long but never once does it feel like it.  Cassandra Clare doesn't waste a line or a word.  Ms. Clare is a master of understanding relationships and writing people and she proves it time and again.  As a reader I'm beyond committed to these relationships and friendships.  It is amazing how far everyone has come. There are so many wonderful moments between all the characters -too many to recount- and I love Cassandra Clare for including them all.  It seems incredible that it was only a novel ago everything was hurtling out of control for them.  Of course things are still out of control in the shadow hunter world, but all that Clary, Jace, Izzy, Alec, and Simon have been through personally to this point has made them strong, confident, and sure of themselves and each other.  They have truly come of age.  Though the end is near and uncertain, they are ready to face it, together.

Cassandra Clare exceeded my imagination.  Again.  I don't know what I expected for the ending, but it wasn't this.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the ending, it just wasn't the one I thought it would be.  (Honestly, I thought there'd be far more destruction and more deaths... I'm thrilled that there wasn't, of course, but a little amazed as well.)  Though there is an appropriate amount of closure for our heroes, The Clave is still in dire need of change and I hope that this will be the generation of Shadowhunters to make it happen.  

The only thing I would have wished for was more Jem and Tessa.  I understand why there wasn't; it's not their story, but I wanted so much for Jace to learn his lineage.  Along with the inclusion of Jem and Tessa we get the fabulous tie in to the Carstairs branch of the family in such a way that makes the addition of new characters, welcome and familiar.  As the book closes on the Shadowhunters of the New York Institute, the window opens to the Los Angeles institute to the story of Jules and Emma.  It is also a beautiful introduction to The Dark Artifices which is set to come out in the fall of 2015.  I hope that some of the Mortal Instruments characters will visit the Dark Artifices characters...

Honestly, I could gush forever about this entire series, let alone this final novel, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone.  All of her novels are on my list of all time favorites that I recommend to anyone and everyone.

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Jenn's Review: City of Lost Souls

Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #5
Publication Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's
Pages: 535
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  YA Paranormal
Rating: 5
Bottom Line: Maddeningly, frustratingly good...
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Blurb:  The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Review:  There was no way I could leave things the way they ended in City of Fallen Angels.  I knew that would be the case before I started it.  This was hard to read; not because it was bad but because things have to get worse before they can get better, and oh, do they get worse!

For the two people out there (okay, maybe there's three) who don't like this series, the reason is usually Jace ~ his arrogance and narcissism.  But Jace isn't that guy; it's all a cover for his vulnerability ~or it was until now. Now it is hard to be around this Jace.  Actually, it's excruciating.  It is harder still to see Clary throw caution to the wind and run after him.  It is totally reckless and could have gone horribly awry.  The scenes between them are agonizing, because they are written so well and they are so very wrong.  It's brutal.

It was disheartening to see Alec loose sight of things.  He has always been the stable one, but love has turned him upside down.  I couldn't help thinking that if he talked things through with Isabelle, or even just said things aloud to himself, he'd hear what he was saying...  As devastating as it is to see Jace and Clary spinning out of control, at least I expected that.  This is worse.  I expected the plummet off the cliff, but this was loosing the tether.

The one bright spot is that Isabelle is finally starting to find her way.  I was unsure that there was anything that could crack that exterior.  It was nice to see some vulnerability from her, romantically.

The novel has more closure than I expected, on many levels.  So while I didn't read this immediately because I thought I wouldn't have been able to handle the wait for the last book, I found that I probably could have survived the wait.  Don't get me wrong the final chapter was chillingly foreboding.  But now that I have the opportunity to forge ahead, I'm not sure that I'm ready for it to be over.  There is a big battle coming and I know that not everyone can survive it... but I also know that I can't leave things where they are either... so City of Heavenly Fire, here I come...

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Jenn's Review: City of Fallen Angels

Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #4
Publication Date: April 5, 2011
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's
Pages: 424
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  YA Paranormal
Rating: 4
Bottom Line: The beginning of the end?
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

 Blurb:  The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

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.

Review: I have been saving the last two books of The Mortal Instruments until the final book came out.  Now that it has, I realize that I'm in no hurry to finish this series.   I liked where things left off at the end of City of Glass, and though I knew things couldn't stay that way I wasn't ready to destroy the little bit of stability that was established.

In City of Fallen Angels, things start unraveling pretty quickly as everyone gets consumed in their own issues.  At least as the reader we can glimpse what is going on with everyone.  This novel is mostly plot exposition, but it doesn't feel that way because there is so much character development.  Seeds of distrust, discontent, and dysfunction have been sown.  It's hard to watch everything fall apart for characters you have grown to love.  I kept hoping things would magically right themselves.  The one uplifting part was the emergence of the Infernal Devices threads. 

The end is a twist I didn't anticipate, though I probably should have given the fact that I knew where the story was headed.  However I was so wrapped up in all the personal stories that I missed the boat completely. A reprieve comes, albeit a short one, before the devastating cliffhanger.  It was impossible to put down City of Fallen Angels without immediately jumping into City of Lost Souls, as I knew it would be.  

If you've never read Cassandra Clare's Shadow Hunters, you really should.  It's one of my favorite series of all times.  It's epic.

 

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Book to Movie: Mortal Instruments City of Bones

Having seen the movie twice now, I finally feel ready to write my feelings down. I don't mind saying that I expected quite a lot from this movie, perhaps too much. This is my favorite series right now, so perhaps I'm a harsh critic.

The casting wasn't what I expected aside from Clary and Simon. When I pictured the breathtakingly handsome Jace, I don't picture Jamie Campbell Bower.  Considering, I think he pulls it off pretty well. Luke is not what I pictured either.  The Luke that Cassandra Clare wrote was burly and warm and funny and that just wasn't the vibe I got from Aidan Turner.   Hodge was not as I pictured either... a little more put together and not nearly as reclusive as he is in the book, but here we're starting to get into the way the script is written. 

Alec's love for Jace wasn't evident for me at all and had it not been brought up in the dialogue, I think it would have been missed completely.  Jonathon Rhys Meyers makes an awesome villain, but he was written more like a psychopath than an evil genius on a power trip. He is supposed to be intimidating and suave and instead he came off as manic. My biggest disappointment, though, was Magnus Bane. At first I thought it was just because there was too little of him, but after my second viewing I realized it was more than that.  Godfrey Gao definitely looks the part, but he isn't remotely charismatic and he talks way too fast for someone who is an 800 year old warlock. Again it may be the writing as his character has been reduced to plot exposition.  

I know it sounds like I hated it, but I didn't.  I can appreciate the cuts and changes made to the storyline to fit the time constraints.  I think some of them even make things more visually dramatic (Simon's trip to Hotel Dumort, for example).  I liked that they chose to let the audience in on the fact that Clary and Jace are not related, though I wasn't fond of the way it came about (Hodge?!?).  The witty repartee from Jace is severely cut down, especially the barbs between he and Simon, but there is enough to make him Jace.  I loved the Institute - it was a perfect recreation... with some additions.  The runes were as I imagined them, as were the steles and seraphs.  However, what makes Cassandra Clare's novels so magical are the worlds she creates and the personal interactions and I felt like much of that was lost due to time constraints.  The only relationship that remains intact in the film is the Simon-Clary-Jace love triangle.   And that is the film's saving grace. Robert Sheehan is a wonderful unrequited Simon.  And Lilly Collin and Jamie Campbell Bower are lovely together --the scene in the greenhouse,  the scene in front of Clary's bedroom door, rescuing Simon, the motorcycle ride-- I will watch it again and again for those moments. I adore them. 

In the end, no movie could ever live up to the sensational worlds Cassandra Clare created.  I think they did a good job though of making it stand on it's own.  (I took my husband with me for my second viewing and he seemed to enjoy it enough without having read the books... with a few questions.)  I hope they complete the second film.  I will be interested to see where the story goes, since they changed a significant plot point. The books get better and better and I'm hoping the movies will too.

Final Take:  3.75/5

Jenn's Review: Clockwork Princess

Blurb: A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

 Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

 As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Review:  Clockwork Princess is the last of the Infernal Devices so I expected a lot from it... it delivered and went way beyond my wildest dreams.  It changed my perspective on the Mortal Instruments series so much so that I immediately plunged back into the first three books.  (I was tempted to start City of Fallen Angels, but with book six of the Mortal Instruments series not publishing until next year, I am trying to hold off until I can read the last 3 all the way through.)  I just can't get enough of Shadowhunters.

There were so many details I wanted resolved and Cassandra Clare touched on them all, including some things I never thought of... I laughed, I cried, I sobbed, I gasped.  The one thing I was beyond thrilled about was the family tree that is included in this book; I am still pouring over it with fascination.  It was interesting to see the effect this generation of Shadowhunters has on generations to come... and how wrong things can go. It would be interesting to gain the perspective of the Infernal Devices generation on all that has come to pass...

I fell in love with these characters along the way and it was hard to let them go.  The epilogue took me a while to digest.  For a while I thought that I'd rather she hadn't written it at all, but then I realized I would have missed the closure it provided, even if it was hard to see things come full circle.  Honestly, I can't imagine a better ending.

Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter books have made my list of all time favorites.  I will be sad to see the end of it next year, but at the same time I can't wait to find out how everything works out.

Final Take:  5/5

 

Jenn's Review: Clockwork Prince

Summary: 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, though 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.

 Review:  Plenty of people told me that The Infernal Devices was even better than The Mortal Instruments but I didn't think it was possible.  How could it be?  I adored and couldn't put down The Mortal Instruments!  But truly, they were right.  I finished Clockwork Prince last week but I haven't been able to read anything else because I'm just not ready to move on.  I keep re-reading the last few chapters over and over again.  I dream about it at night.

This one was non-stop un-put-down-able.  (Look.  I'm so smitten I'm making up words.)  There is fantastic character development and incredible realizations.  Love triangles are so overdone, right?  This one knocks me off my feet every time I read (and re-read it).  And while I can't imagine myself in Tessa's place (unless loving my husband and Nathan Fillion counts), Ms. Clare makes it palpable.  The reader is right their with her.  Whatever I imagined Will's dark past to contain, I was only half right.  Ms. Clare made it far more dark and twisted than I could ever have conceived.  And Jem?  How could you not love Jem?  The more I know about Charlotte and Henry, the more I love them too.  And poor Sophie and Jessamine... life is not easy on either of them, when they both wish they could be what they are not.  It's also fabulous to see this whole other side of Magnus too; I'm actually quite interested to go back and re-read The Mortal Instruments just to see how my perspective regarding him has changed.

As for the plot, Cassandra Clare had me totally fooled again.  Or perhaps I just didn't want to believe it.  Most of it, I can't even discuss because I don't want to give anything away.  I will say that every time you think you've come to the bottom of the conspiracy, you realize you've only just scratched another layer off the surface.  We are no closer to discovering what Tessa is, or how she fits into the Magister's plans.  I have a guess, but I won't even hazard it, for trying to unravel Ms. Clare's plots before she is ready to reveal them is like trying to catch water in your fingers.  And the last page?  Blew.  Me.  Away.  

Cassandra Clare's work is one of the few things I must own in digital and hard cover.  (I wish publishers would give a discount when you want to own both; Ms. Clare, Ms. Rowling, Ms. Harkness and a few select others are going to bankrupt me.)  I can't believe I'll have to wait until March for the conclusion of  The Infernal Devices.  But don't be surprised if you find me re-reading her books along side whatever else I'm reading.  I am an addict, and I'm not afraid to admit it.

Final Take:  5/5

Jenn's Review: Clockwork Angel

Summary:  Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all. ~blurb


Review:  I have purposely stayed away from Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, because once I start reading her books I just can't put them down and I feel the need to plow recklessly through the rest of the books in the series. Honestly, I didn't mean to pick it up, but once I had I was riveted.

Having read the first three books in The Mortal Instruments series, I decided to start The Infernal Devices series instead of continuing on with The Mortal Instruments, because that is the order in which Ms. Clare wrote them, and as I mentioned The Infernal Devices is just as addictive. The formula is similar, two male Shadowhunters, a female Shadowhunter, and an outsider: Will is just as difficult and moody as Jace (which is understandable), Jem is more quiet and reserved like Alec, Jessamine is as fashion conscious as Isabella but far more reluctant to accept her role as a Shadowhunter, and then there's Tessa who, like Clary, has just discovered her abilities.

With such a similar structure, one might think that it couldn't possibly seem fresh and new, but Ms. Clare makes it seem utterly so. She has tweaked the personalities, thrown them into a different era in new situations, and turned the love interests around. I really enjoyed Tessa, who is a strong minded female of the 19th century, and her ability is fascinating. I also like that there is no easy solution for Tessa and where her abilities come from, though I have an inkling. Charlotte and Henry were endearing and it was interesting to see how the chauvinism of the age casts a murky hue even on the Nephilim. Charlotte's constantly battling for equal ground even though she is clearly as capable as her peers. And as much as I would like to resent Jessamine for her vane attempts to abandon her heritage, I do understand her. Will and Jem are a complimentary team reminiscent of Alec and Jace, though their relationship is very different. Both Will and Jace are quintessential tomented heroes; Will has a sharp tounge that covers a faux bad boy image whereas Jace is a reckless bad boy.  And I loved seeing a different side to Magnus.

It's fascinating to see the Clave from a different point of view.  The Institute in London has a similar dynamic to that in New York, and yet so very different in practice. Ms. Clare has taken an entire back story from another series and made it come alive in an entirely new light.  The plot twist completely blew me away. I didn't even have a sneaking suspicion of where things were headed, though in hindsight, I probably should have. I read fast and furiously to the end and now all I want to do is pick up Clockwork Prince. There are many questions left unaswered, though the main plot was aptly resolved. I need answers, so I will be continuing with The Infernal Devices soon because I can't stay away from Cassandra Clare for too long.

Final Take:  5/5

Jenn's Review: City of Glass

Summary:  To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters — never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and her best friend, Simon, has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City — whatever the cost?

Review:  Oh, how I adore this series!  The City of Glass is the big showdown I was waiting for and it lives up to it's promise. Now that I've finished it I keep going back and re-reading my favorite parts, because I an just not ready to let it go.

The Lightwoods have been summoned to Idris by the Clave and the trouble that was simmering is quickly comming to a boil. Jace doesn't trust what the Clave will do to Clary when they find out how powerful she is, so he attempts to prevent her from going with them. I was frustrated with Jace for a good while about this because, knowing Clary is determined to go to save her mother, and knowing the lengths she's gone to for her family and friends, Jace still thinks he can trick her into staying in New York. If, he was smart he would have found a way to help her while attempting to keep the Clave in the dark. It would have been much safer. But here I am discussing the characters as if they are real people again, and that only happens when I'm completely absorbed in a book.

Sometimes it takes an earthquake to breakdown the prejudice barriers and Ms. Clare certainly provides it. She shakes the Shadowhunter community to its very core ...and it's awesome. I loved the fact that even though I figured out a few things, she still had me guessing about how things would resolve right to the very end. I loved the final showdown too. Cassandra Clare does a fantastic job of jumping between characters without the narrative becoming confusing or choppy.

Now, that I'm through the first three books of the series, I must say I wish Cassandra Clare had found another way to keep Clary and Jace apart. I know nothing is quite as effective, but that type of story line troubles me, even though I knew it would resolve itself. It's one of the things that pulled me forward. I'm sure she will find a way to mess with them through the next three novels in the series, so I'll see how well she can find a new way to keep the tension.

I think I've reached a point in the series where I can put it down for a while and come back to it later. At least I hope so, because there are a ton of books in my TBR pile that are feeling rather neglected. I look forward to mulling these first three over in my mind before I return to Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters. I especially look forward to starting the Infernal Devices series.

Final Take:  5/5

PS.  There are tons of great things on the Mortal Instruments website to dive into like cut scenes.

Jenn's Review: City of Ashes

Summary: 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?

Review: City of Ashes picks up shortly after City of Bones left off. Things quickly start spiraling out of control. The tenuous threads that held the teenage Shadowhunters together are starting to fray. Clary is trying hard to put her interest in Jaece behind her and concentrate on Simon... but circumstances are not making it easy.

There is not a dull moment in City of Ashes. It's action packed from start to finish, with a few quick respites for regrouping. Valentine is a formidable foe, especially with two out of the three Mortal Instruments. He's a swift talker, and charming when he wants something, but a ruthless maniac to the core. Many prejudices come to light in this book along with old fears and buried vengance. The progression of the characters was nice. Alec is finding his way, Isabelle is learning to trust Clary, and Simon learns to take control of his life. Even Jace, who is reeling out of control, softens around the edges when Clary is around.

I found this plot slightly more predictable than City of Bones, but enjoyable nonetheless. There were a few clichés, one particularly cringe-worthy one, and a couple of blatant moments of foreshadowing but on the whole the characters and overarching plot twists kept it interesting.

I must say that I love the available extras on the Mortal Instruments website.  Aside from that the fact that excerpts also come in audio format (how cool is that?!?), Cassandra Clare has also included a reading group guide (love when these are available).  But the more fascinating part for me are the deleted scenes, which are more frequent in quantity as the series advances.  They're wonderful little bonus morsels.

Cassandra Clare still hasn't resolved several big issues by the end of the book. Plus this one is left on more of a cliffhanger than the last, so there is no way I'll be able to read anything except City of Glass next. Yes, I'll admit it. I'm hooked.

Final Take: 4/5

Jenn's Review: City of Bones

Summary:  When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon.

But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Review:  I have been meaning to get around to reading the Mortal Instruments series for a long time.  I'm glad I finally got to City of Bones and frustrated at the same time. Glad because it's fantastic and I couldn't put it down and frustrated, because I'm going to have to dive right into the next book because, well, I can't put them down!

Cassandra Clare has an easy writing style that continuously catches me by surprise. Maybe it's the ease with which a complicated story flows, or the quirky humor imbued in her characters. I loved all Ms. Clare's characters. Clary may have started the narrative in a position of weakness, but she doesn't throw up her hands and wail, she absorbs knowledge, accepts the challenge, and sets off to defend her family and friends no matter the odds.  I loved wounded Jace, feisty Isabele, protective Alec, and lovesick Simon. 

I love her obscure references and symbolism and I love that she doesn't try to veil it but incorporates it honestly.  It made me see some of the twists coming, but certainly not all of them.  I was still caught by surprise on several points and routing for things to turn out differently.  I actually feel like Ms. Clare wrote herself into a bit of a corner and I can't wait to see how she writes her way out of it.  It's one of the reasons I will be reading City of Ashes next.  Yes, she left things open ended, it was a good stopping place and not a horrendous cliff hanger, but it's the curiosity of where she will go from here that is pulling me into this series.

I have heard tell that Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series is even better than Mortal Instruments so I'm excited that I will have lots more Shadowhunter goodness to go.  However, the time is come to end this review because, well, I've got some reading to do...

Final Take:  5/5

Read an excerpt here.

Listen to an excerpt here.