Cress by Marissa Meyer

     Title: Cress
     Author: Marissa Meyer
     Series: Lunar Chronicles #3
     Publisher: Square Fish
     Date Published: January 27, 2015
     Genre: Fairy Tale, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
     Pages: 592 (paperback)
     Age Range: 12+


                               Summary:
   

Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker; unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can

                                                                       Review:

      Okay, SO things got real good, real fast. We immediately jumped right back into this story, and I loved it! We got some new characters, we got to see just how evil the Lunars are, we spend more time with our favorite characters, and we get to FINALLY get some answers. I'm starting to really see how everything is going to tie together in the end, and I'm so excited.
      First, we meet Cress. Now, she's not my favorite, and I found her naive and a little annoying, but you would be too if you were stuck on a satellite in space for ages. Besides Cress, we get to learn more about Cinder and her past, we get to learn more about Scarlet, and we get a lot more of Thorne's hilarity. Thorne is possibly my favorite character after Cinder- he brings some much-needed to hilarity to a rather heavy story, and, at the end of the day he's actually a good guy. Wolf just keeps getting more and more useless. If I had to pick a least favorite character, it would be him. I have a feeling that he ends up saving the day in Winter (the next book), but so far, he's kinda pointless. Sure, he's a good fighter, but it's pointless if he can't fight because he could lose his temper or be taken control of. Cinder just keeps getting more, and more AWESOME. I really like where her character is going. The more we hear about Kai, the more I like him. At first, I just thought that he was okay, but now... Oh, boy I love him. And Jacin! Ugh, I don't trust him. I really hope that he chills out before I try to kill him.
      The plot is getting less and less predictable. I really have no idea what's gonna happen in the next book. I really hated (and by hated, I mean I was almost crying but it was still so good) when Scarlet is captured on Luna and she has to let that awful little boy practice his powers on her. I had shivers up my spine. I also hated when she was being interrogated and she kept letting her smart mouth blab to Levana and Sybil, and it got her in trouble, that's when I screamed out loud. I loved the bits with Cress and Thorne because his condition and hilarity, mixing with her naiveness made for a really good time. There were a lot of moments with them where I was on edge, and there were a lot of moments where I laughed out loud.
      I cannot wait for the final book. I really hope that we can serve Levana's head on a silver platter because I HATE her. I realllly do. Usually, I like a villain because they are a villain (see Shadow and Bone review where I really like the Darkling) but I really just despise Levana. I hope that we figure out how to fix Thorne because.... well, his issue is kind of A BIG PROBLEM. I hope that we can figure out what's going on with Winter because she sounds really...off. I hope that Wolf gets his act together. And I hope that Winter and our new frenemy Jacin get together because it sounds like he loves her, and I want her to be happy even though I haven't met her yet, and I don't really trust him. Like at all.
     I cannot wait for Winter to be released. I've already seen it's cover, like everyone else, and it looks perfect! SO EXCITED!!!!

                                              

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Angel

Series: The Infernal Devices #1

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Date Published: October 4, 2011

Genre: YA fiction, fantasy, action, historical fiction, thriller, paranormal

Pages: 512 (paperback)

Age Range: 13+



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.

Review


The writing was amazing--Cassandra Clare's writing is almost too perfect for this book. The book was very suspenseful and gripping. It's a very unique book that you can easily sink into and enjoy. I know, I know it's not The Mortal Instruments but it's still pretty amazing!

In comparison to The Mortal Instruments, there isn't as much humor. Magnus was in the book for a few pages and we didn't really get any of the Magnus Bane humor. Will's comments are snarky; kind of made me laugh but they're bland. His tone is bland. He doesn't seem to care about anything but himself (which is said many times in the book). Whenever he made a comment, he didn't seem to put much thought into it. He says whatever pops into his head and that's that; doesn't matter if he meant it or not, he's not going to apologize later. He's even more somber than Jace Herondale. Getting into life-threatening situations and brooding seems to run in the family. He also has a secret and I'm dying to know what it is! I'm positive it's about his parents and I'm dying to know.

Tessa's power is pretty darn awesome! If I was a warlock, I would be Changing all the time. I really want to know if Tessa has any other abilities other than her being able to Change though. If she's a warlock; can she do more? I'm excited to find out.

The fighting scene at de Quincey's mansion was pretty cool. Will's ninja fighting moves were pretty sweet. I loved it when he ran across the back of the chairs 'cause Tessa just didn't know how to process that lol.

Tessa didn't really fight, but she did give de Quincey an earful while she was still Camille. She shot de Quincey and hit him with a chair leg but that's all she really did. I want her to fight! Not like a Shadowhunter because that's not possible for her. But I want to see her kick some ass like Clary would in The Mortal Instruments! She just stands there like a damsel in distress. She also is against women fighting because it's unlady-like. But c'mon! I know the book is set in the 1800's but seriously; she isn't normal/human anymore and she's trying to be different and know the world she's suddenly part of but she won't really participate in it!

I felt so bad for Tessa every time Will pushed her further and further away. The last scene in this book when they're together is when she goes to tell him that she can stay at the Institute. The way he insulted her was awful! But then, later, Jem came and fixed it all. I also felt really bad for Tessa when she found out her brother betrayed her. I could not believe how horrible he treated her! And then what he did to their Aunt! Ohmygosh!
The last 100 pages of this book had me on the edge of my seat! I was not expecting the Magister to be someone else at all. I really thought it was de Quincey. The whole thing just had me frazzled. I couldn't believe what was going on. 

I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy! I already ordered the last two books lol. I really wanted to know how Tessa came to be, but that wasn't revealed. But maybe in the next book. 

Paper Towns Trailer

The Paper Towns movie trailer is finally here!

It looks so good!!

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

 Title: Scarlet
 Author: Marissa Meyer
 Series: Lunar Chronicles #2
 Publisher: Square Fish
 Date Published: February 4, 2014
 Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Fairy Tales
 Pages: 512 (Paperback)
 Age Range: 12+









                                                           Summary:

     Cinder is back and trying to break out of prison—even though she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive if she does—in this second installment from Marissa Meyer.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother, or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana.

                                                         Review:

     So, I have delved back into the world of Cinder and let me tell you, it's gettin' real intense. It's getting real good! In this book, we meet some new characters, we get to read from some new POVs, we get to learn more about what's going on with the overall story, AND we get some hilarious moments.

     First off, let's meet our new characters. Okay. SO, at first, I didn't like Scarlet because she wasn't Cinder. I didn't like reading from someone else's brain. But, after a few chapters, when things really started moving, I got over it. In the end, I liked Scarlet. She still isn't my favorite- I like Cinder more- but I really like her. I like Wolf, but that's it. I don't love him, I don't really like him- I tolerate him. Hopefully, I will like him more in Cress. He came across as physically strong, but useless and pretty darn shifty. I knew something was off about him in the beginning of the book, but I couldn't quite figure out what was going on until the end. And I'm SO glad that we figured out what to do with Iko's ID chip. I'm so happy that we figured out what to do with it, and now we can have some closure on Cinder's sorrow about that particular thing. My favorite character that we met in this book, is Thorne. He is, hands down, my second favorite character of the series so far. He adds some much-needed light to the story- and he's HILARIOUS.

     The plot was, again, a little predictable. It was less predictable than the first one, but it was still predictable. I loved how Marissa Meyer integrated Scarlet's individual story with Cinder's individual story because I was really worried about how that was going to work out. The book kinda had an AVENGER'S ASSEMBLE feel to it because it feels like we are grouping together to overthrow Levana (who I officially hate).

     I finished Cress a few weeks ago, so I'll have a review up for that soon. I'm sorry if i spoiled the book for anyone- it's hard to write reviews without spoiling things because I just really want to get all my feelings out!! Anyway, if you haven't read this series, get out from under your rock and pick them up.

Paper Towns Movie Poster

The poster for Paper Towns is here!

I haven't read the book, but I'm excited for the movie!

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas cover reveal!!!!

        Um, Yes. Just yes. 
      We've already been through one cover change with these books (look at Throne of Glass, and then look at Crown of Midnight), and I hope that we don't go through another. This cover is so kick-butt, I love the color, and it makes me want to read it!!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

         

Title: Throne of Glass 

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's

Date Published: May 7, 2013

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 432 (hardback)

Age Range: 15+




                                                                        Summary:

     In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. 

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

                                                                          Review:

     Oh, my gosh. I love this book. The characters, the plot, the book flap, the cover, and the entire thing is absolutely perfect.
     I had never read an assassin book before I read this one. The plot was really interesting and I liked it a lot. Some of the aspects were kind of predictable, and I was frustrated because it took Celaena so long to get them, but once she did, things were flying! The plot with the Wyrdkeys and magic being banned is fascinating, and I think that things will get really rough later on in the series. While reading these books, you can definetly tell that they are part of a series, but each book also does a good job at fulfilling its own story arc while contributing to the overall story arc.
      I loved almost all of the characters. I liked Celaena at first, but I quickly grew to love her. Sure, she's kinda full of herself, and she's kinda flighty, but once you get past that, she is kick-butt. I loved Chaol- he's gruff and tough, but I can't wait to see his softer side open up. Dorian... got on my nerves a little? I liked him- I really did- but I just couldn't see him a Celaena getting together to be more than friends. I'm Team Chaol if I have to pick, but mostly I'm Team Celaena- I just want her to be happy, she deserves it. Queen Elena got on my nerves. She just did. I really wished that she could have given Celaena straight answers rather than string her along. I don't like the King at all. I really hope that Celaena gets to kill him later on in the series. Nehemia was a good character. She was a good friend for Celaena, but I have a bad feeling about her. I think she either dies, or is evil. I hope that neither one of those happens.
     In the next book, I hope that we can learn more about the King, and the magic, and the Wyrkdkeys, and about Queen Elena. I hope that we can get some cute moments between Celaena and CHaol, and we can meet some new characters. I also really, really, really want to learn more about Celaena's past because I need to know what happened to her in the past. I just do.
     I've already read book two and three, so I'll work on a review for those soon.