Tag: fantasy

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City of Fallen Angels: Cassandra Clare

This is the MUCH anticipated 4th book in the Mortal Instrument series. I totally loved this series so much and obviously I was looking forward to reading this one.

It definitely did not disappoint and I think it was a great progression.

It also has a great twist and ending, which of course sets up for more books.

I wish these authors put books out quicker…. sigh.

Five stars and recommend!


Amazon Summary:
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. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse that’s wrecking his life. And they’re willing to do anything to get what they want. Not to mention that he’s dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other one.
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.
Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels. 

  • Hardcover: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry; First Edition edition (April 5, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1442403543
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The Lost Saint: Bree Despain

This is a follow up to The Dark Divine and if you liked that book, than you’ll definitely like this one.

It goes into more detail with the story and more character development. It also ends in a cliff hanger, so they’ll definitely be a number three book, so woohoo!

4 stars and recommend

Amazon Summary:
The non-stop sequel to The Dark Divine delivers an even hotter romance and more thrilling action than Bree Despain’s first novel.  Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi.  She gave her soul to the wolf to save him and lost her beloved mother.  When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do.  She must become a Hound of Heaven.  Desparate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot – a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero.  But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel begins to crumble.  Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace becomes prideful in her new abilities – not realizing that an old enemy has returned and deadly trap is about to be sprung.  Readers, ravenous for more Grace and Daniel, will be itching to sink their teeth into The Lost Saint.

  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: EgmontUSA (December 28, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1606840584
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The Dark Divine: Bree Despain

So I was about to start The Maze Runner when Amy over at Reading Teen suggested I read the Dark Divine (FYI definitely look at Reading Teen for some great – and way more updated- book recommendations). She said it was one of her favorite books of 2010 and I must say, it was a great book!

An intriguing storyline and easy to read, but I think what I enjoyed most about it was it was wholesome. I’m not sure if it would be considered a “Christian” book, but it definitely is whether the author intended to or not.

It’s one of those books I don’t cringe when I hear a younger (12-ish) year old girl is reading.

It has the same great intrigue for vampire/werewolf/demon creature thingies that I tend to like to read about.

My only drawback is it definitely is a “Young Adult” book and is written for that audience, not for moms who like YA books 🙂

4 stars and recommend it!

Amazon Summary:
With its eye-catching cover (pale, slender legs with purple toenails entwine with purple chiffon on a black background), intriguing title, and the hook of werewolves in love, comparisons to Meyer’s Twilight series are inevitable. However, Despain roots her story firmly in the faith of her protagonist’s family. Sixteen-year-old Grace Divine is a pastor’s daughter and has heard every joke possible about her name. But her family practices what her father preaches: community, caring, and forgiveness, including taking in a neighbor’s abused child and raising him as their own. That boy, Daniel, and Grace fall in love, and when Daniel reveals that he is a werewolf, Pastor Divine searches for remedies while trying to keep his family safe. Though the romantic passages are predictable and characterization sometimes weak, Despain raises complex issues of responsibility and forgiveness and offers no easy answers. Atmospheric and compelling, Despain’s first novel will be popular, and a sequel eagerly anticipated.

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: EgmontUSA (November 23, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1606841548
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Torment: Lauren Kate

This was a follow up to Fallen, a nice little fantasy story about angels and demons. Sort of similar to the Immortal Instruments.

I do recommend the book if you’ve read the first one. You definitely need to read the first one to understand this one.

Amazon Summary:
This sequel to Fallen (Delacorte, 2009) continues they complex tale as Luce tries to uncover the truth and break the cycle of falling in love, dying young, and being reincarnated. Daniel, her lover through the ages and a fallen angel, institutes a truce with Demons to protect her from the Outcasts, who would do her harm. For her safety, Daniel hides her at a boarding school for the Nephilim, children of human and fallen angels, and cautions her to remain on campus and learn all she can. Unfortunately a little knowledge can be dangerous and Luce’s naive attempts to manipulate her powers constantly put her and others in danger. Some of the rescues employ a deus ex machina as is the case when Arriane inexplicably arrives in Vegas and saves the day. At times the story plods along, with a full chapter devoted to a fencing lesson. Daniel regularly returns to check on Luce and there’s lots of swooning, passionate kissing, and playing at being in love, though it often ends with bickering. Interest is piqued with the hint of a love triangle, and the suspense is ratcheted up in the heart-pounding final battle scene. In the end, readers won’t be much closer to unraveling Luce’s mystery and will need to stay tuned for the next installment. It’s unlikely this title will garner new fans for the series, but those already hooked on the epic romance won’t want to miss it

  • Hardcover: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (September 28, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385739141
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The Monstromologist: Rick Yancey

Now this was an… er…. interesting book!

It was written as a diary or a memoir of sorts and it goes through a story of when the “author” was a boy and an apprentice to a Scientist of Monsters.

It’s a YA book, but it’s quite gorey and so I would think it was a little mature for the average YA reader, but what do I know?

I really liked it though!

and recommend it to those who don’t mind reading a lot about blood and guts and gore.

Amazon Summary:
With a roaring sense of adventure and enough viscera to gag the hardiest of gore hounds, Yancey’s series starter might just be the best horror novel of the year. Will Henry is the 12-year-old apprentice to Pellinore Warthrop, a brilliant and self-absorbed monstrumologist–a scientist who studies (and when necessary, kills) monsters in late-1800s New England. The newest threat is the Anthropophagi, a pack of headless, shark-toothed bipeds, one of whom’s corpse is delivered to Warthrop’s lab courtesy of a grave robber. As the action moves from the dissecting table to the cemetery to an asylum to underground catacombs, Yancey keeps the shocks frequent and shrouded in a splattery miasma of blood, bone, pus, and maggots. The industrial-era setting is populated with leering, Dickensian characters, most notably the loathsome monster hunter hired by Warthrop to enact the highly effective “Maori Protocol” method of slaughter. Yancey’s prose is stentorian and wordy, but it weaves a world that possesses a Lovecraftian logic and hints at its own deeply satisfying mythos. Most effective of all, however, is the weirdly tender relationship between the quiet, respectful boy and his strict, Darwinesque father figure. “Snap to!” is Warthrop’s continued demand of Will, but readers will need no such needling

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing; 1 Reprint edition (July 20, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416984496