The Mortal Instruments: Book Six, City of Heavenly Fire

By Cassandra Clare.

[Darkness has descended on the Shadowhunter
world. Chaos and destruction overwhelm the
Nephilim as Clary, Jace, Simon, and their friends
band together to fight the greatest evil they have ever
faced: Clary's own brother. Nothing in this world can
defeat Sebastian - but if they journey to the realm
of demons, they just might have a chance...]

Well this one certainly started with a bang.

Tense throughout with twists and turns right up until the very end. The final instalment is addictive and answers all looming questions. The characters grow, some die and relationships blossom.

Funnily enough Isabelle and Simon's "TBD" relationship was my favourite out of the three main ones, Magnus and Alec a close second.

I found myself liking Alec a lot more in this one. He'd been so serious in the rest of the previous books, that for him to make me laugh repeatedly in this one was quite a change - even if it was just because of his sarcastic comments at inopportune moments.

I also loved seeing Magnus of all people vulnerable for once, not the all powerful demon we know him to be.

The ending was also tied up all neatly and beautifully.

I enjoyed the addition of Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn too. I thought starting the story off with the Shadowhunter children training was lovely and an interesting insight into the Shadowhunter upbringing.

I loved the tension between the downworlders and the Shadowhunters throughout. It had you guessing as to who would betray the Shadowhunters in the end (not who you expect!!)

Sebastian's antics were horrific and had me bawling within a few chapters! The demon dimension was also a nice touch and change of scenery.

A good ending to a great series and lovely for Tessa and Jem to make an appearance to tie up any other loose ends from the Clockwork series!



✌︎

Dark Heavens: Book 1, White Tiger

By Kylie Chan.

Image from Goodreads

[A young woman accepts a position as nanny to the young daughter of a handsome, wealthy, and mysterious Chinese businessman only to discover her new employer is really a god and every foul demon in creation is out to destroy him!]

I love Chinese mythology and just learning about the Chinese culture in general was fascinating which is what led me to read this book, along with a recommendation from a colleague at work.

The plot, I enjoyed.

It was action-packed and full of humour, especially between Emma and Leo. But, I did feel that a couple of things happened too quickly, like some bits just came out of nowhere.

And then there's also the dialogue. In some places, it worked (like with the humour), but in other places it felt like a filler and there were a handful of things said that the characters were implying that weren't obvious and never got fully explained.

The characters were great. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of the different levels of Chinese Gods and their "true forms", at least the true forms as they were in this book (I don't know if that's how they're truly perceived). Simone was a cute asset and Mr Chen was a dutiful mysterious father.

I have to say though, the thing that let it down for me was, well, the protagonist, Emma, and the relationship between her and Mr Chen.

Every other sentence they'd repeat stuff like "I know this can never happen" or "we're complete fools for letting it go this far". Blah, blah, blah.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the second half of the book was just filled with these sayings and it got really frustrating.

I also noted that Chan likes to use a handful of specific descriptive words a bit too much, which also got annoying.

It turns out that this is actually part of a trilogy, but I don't even know if I want to read the rest of them if the writing was that repetitive. It wasn't all that enticing with the ending either so I may just leave it as it is.

✌︎

The Mortal Instruments: Book Four, City of Fallen Angels

By Cassandra Clare.

[Clary is back in New York and life is good: she's training to 

be a Shadowhunter and is finally able to call Jace her boyfriend. 

But nothing comes without a price. When Jace inexplicably 

begins to pull away from her, Clary is forced to acknowledge 

that she herself has set in motion a chain of events that could 

lead to the loss of everything she loves. Even Jace.]

I actually loved this book.

I was a little worried at first that Clare might have gone too far with writing another three novels in this series on top of the first three. 

Would it just be the same sort of stuff repeated again from the other instalments or would it be better? 

But, I'm happy to say, she genuinely did a good job, really allowing the characters to grow. They are so in depth that I don't find any of them boring at all.

I still find Clary and Jace to be rather annoying as a couple (and Clary on her own), but I always seem to feel that way about the protagonists in YA fiction. 

I'm still rooting for them, don't get me wrong, it just seems to be the same thing all the time with Jace feeling sorry for himself, like he's never good enough for Clary. Blah blah blah, man up.

I love Simon and Isabelle's weird relationship in this one. 

He has slowly become my favourite character I think. He's really grown a great deal and it's interesting to see his continuing struggle as a vampire. 

Isabelle really grew on me as well. It's not that I didn't like her in the others, she just came across more stuck up and almost snobbish. But in this one, she shows some vulnerability.

Alec and Magnus weren't in it an awful lot and I kind of thought their tiff was a bit pointless. But, I liked the addition of Jordan/Kyle (did not see that twist coming!) and the overall villain was definitely an interesting one, one I wasn't expecting. 

I've always seen her character come up in other vampire-related TV programmes but in this she was a demon which was a different spin on it (don't wanna give that much away!)

I definitely enjoyed the plot. I don't know what I was expecting from a continuation but this wasn't it. This didn't disappoint though! 

I'm super intrigued by the little revelations we've found out about Magnus's past that are starting to link up with the Clockwork novels (am currently just finishing book two of these) and can't wait to see how they all wrap up!



✌︎

The Mortal Instruments: Book Three, City of Glass

By Cassandra Clare.

So I completely forgot to write this review. 

I actually finished it ages ago, but I guess I was so excited for the next book in my TBR pile, one that I had pre-ordered 6 months previously, that I overlooked writing about this one.

Whoops.

[Amid the chaos of war, the Shadowhunters must
decide to fight with the vampires, werewolves and 
other Downworlders - or against them. Meanwhile,
Jace and Clary have their own decision to make:
should they pursue the love they know is forbidden?]

Anyways, all I'm going to say about Jace and Clary, without giving anything away, is I knew it!

Funnily enough though, I felt the same way about this book as I did the first, it wasn't as dramatic and twist-worthy as the second.

In fact, I figured out a bit of the plot on my own before it happened, so in that sense it was a little predictable.

I am happy though, in a way, with how things turned out in the end. 

Clare's description as always was beautiful, the character's growth was nice, especially Jace and Simon's friendship, and the final moments were a good way to tie it all up, leaving a few seeds of doubt for the future novels I imagine.

I still found Clary to be whiney and annoying, and even selfish at times. 

Jace grew a bit soppy in the end, Alec and Isabelle grew on me some more. 

But Magnus was probably the standout for me as he was still his good old, charming, hilarious self.

I wonder what the rest of the novels will hold in store.

To be continued...



✌

The Mortal Instruments: Book Two, City of Ashes

By Cassandra Clare.

I've literally got a whole load of reviews still stored up with all the books and films I've watched recently so I might just start posting them every Wednesday until I've caught up and post other stuff on Sundays!

Anyways, onto the review:

[Haunted by her past, Clary is dragged deeper into

New York City's terrifying underworld of demons

and Shadowhunters - but can she control her

feelings for a boy who can never be hers?]

Oooooh, I enjoyed this one much more than I did the first one. Maybe it was because I didn't know the plot to this one and it was all brand new and exciting.

I loved the constant battle Jace and Clary both clearly had within themselves, about their current situation, and with each other. It was difficult to read at times, being that it's kind of gross that I wanted what they did, but also that none of us should have wanted it at all under said "circumstances". 

(I'm not convinced these circumstances are the truth though... I hope)

Okay, enough riddles. I really can't say that much without spoiling anything.

However, there was a lot of action, especially with Simon's character. His whole role changed abruptly and I must admit, I didn't see it coming, at all. 

I loved Alec and Magnus' attempt at sneaking around, it was kind of really cute. 

Plus, the whole final-ish scene on the boat was pretty epic. I think - if they had of made it into a film - that that scene would have been phenomenal. They definitely kept hinting at us - and the characters - not really knowing all of the facts which was intriguing.

I also think Cassandra Clare's way of writing is really easy and simple to follow, with a whole abundance of description and decent dialogue thrown in that keeps you well and truly hooked!

Can't wait to read the next one!

✌

The Mortal Instruments: Book One, City of Bones

By Cassandra Clare.

I'm a bit off this week, what with the bank holiday and having Friday off too!

And I know I've been writing a lot of reviews lately but that's because I've been an unprepared nancy of late and need to get my butt in gear and prepare you some more interesting posts!

Definitely some on the way, I promise.

For now though, I've been wanting to read The Mortal Instruments series for a while now, especially after seeing the film a few years ago.

[Clary Fray is seeing things: vampires in Brooklyn and

werewolves in Manhattan. Irresistibly drawn to the

Shadowhunters, a secret group of warriors dedicated

to ridding the earth of demons, Clary encounters

the dark side of New York City - and the

dangers of forbidden love.]

So, even just reading the blurb again, I can see that this may look a little like one of those predictable and cheesy books. Don't get me wrong, some of it really is, but it's actually a lot better than I expected as well and so easy to read!

Clary, the protagonist, was a little young for me to really engage with - especially everything she managed to get herself in to. However, I did thoroughly enjoy the plot.

I enjoyed the different fantasy elements and the dialogue was excellent, although there was some rambling in places that wasn't really needed. The characters were well developed and I grew to know all of their motivations through their actions and the way others spoke of them, even if they were the antagonists.

Jace and Magnus Bane were my favourites with their sarcasm, wit and charm. Luke was a character that also grew on me the more I read. Clary, on the other hand, was whiney and irritating, especially as she kept forgetting all about Simon. No one forgets about their best friend, no matter how interesting their new life has become.

And the ending! Even though I knew about it thanks to the film, it still grossed me out (no spoilers here). What a twist though, if I hadn't known the plot already!

I'm definitely intrigued to see how the rest of the books unfold.

✌