In My Mailbox!

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren Hello fellow readers, I’m bringing this week’s IMM to you a little earlier this week as I’ve just finished my current read and thought before I get stuck into another book I might as well do my IMM post. I got some pretty good books this week and received my very first Random Acts of Kindness gift which I was uber excited about I’ll leave a linky here in case you guys want to find out a little bit more about the wonderful meme where lovely people can send you books off your wishlist and hopefully you can return the favour to them or somebody else at some point. I think it’s such a lovely idea making peoples book wishes come true! Anyway let’s take a peek at what I got this week!

Bought

Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan After by Amy Efaw The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom

For Review/ Borrowed/ Gift

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (for review from the publisher) City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (for review from the publisher) Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini (ARC borrowed from Lyndsey, thank you!) Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (Gift from Lisa, thank you!) So that was all the awesome I got this week big thank you’s to everybody who sent me books! If you’ve read any of the books I got this week and want to leave me a comment letting me know what you thought please do and make sure you leave me a link to what you got in your mailbox. Here’s to another week of fantastic reading ahead :-)

Review for Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

"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." With the big build up for City of Fallen Angels the fourth Mortal Instruments book by Cassandra Clare I decided to finally pick up and read Clockwork Angel. Clockwork Angel is the first book in the Infernal Devices series a prequel to The Mortal Instruments. Although it’s not mandatory to read this book before City of Fallen Angels Cassie herself does recommend on her website to read them in release order to get the full experience so I decided to do just that! Clockwork Angel is set in the same world as The Mortal Instruments series but the similarities pretty much end there. This series is set in London during 1878. Our main characters are Tessa a downworlder like no other who can shift forms and wear the appearance of another person. Will- ancestor to the infamous Jace- is a bad ass shadowhunter who shows that attitude and good looks run in the family, and then there’s Jem the gentle and kind natured shadowhunter and best friend to Will who seems to be hiding a big secret of his own. Clockwork Angel features some names you may recognise from The Mortal Instruments and some excellent new characters that I very much enjoyed getting to know. I think I actually preferred the characters in this series better than Clary and Co as there wasn’t one person who got on my nerves or who I didn’t love. I loved both Will and Jem as different as they both are and could relate to Tessa in a way that I never have with Clary. Tessa’s bookish and smart and her unique ability makes for fascinating reading. I also loved the character of Jessamine, flaws and all; it was interesting to read about a shadowhunter who doesn’t want to be a shadowhunter and what that entails for her. This book also features the warlock Magnus Bane one of my very favourite characters from The Mortal Instruments. I loved seeing what Magnus was like in 18th century London before glitter and other extremities that he’s so fond of in modern day New York were invented. I loved the setting for this book and learning what life was like for shadowhunters and downworlders at this period in time. As always the plot was fantastic with an unexpected twist at the end. The only complaint I have to make as was with City of Bones and City of Ashes I felt the book was longer than it needed to be and I found myself getting bored in the middle thinking that Cassandra Clare could get to the point a little faster. Cassie had definitely grown as a writer since City of Bones with her writing and ideas getting stronger with each book. She’s definitely grown to be one of my favourite authors as her books have gone on. Fans of the Mortal Instruments series or Historical fiction with a supernatural twist are going to LOVE Clockwork Angel and I think this series has the potential to be as big or if not bigger than Cassie’s first series. I love the direction the author is taking this series and I’m excited to finally be all caught up ready to read City of Fallen Angels. This book finishes on a bit of a cliff hanger something I wasn’t expecting as Cassandra usually ties things up nicely at the end of her stories. I wasn’t a huge fan of the cliff hanger as I like all things finished and tied up neatly but I must admit it definitely has me pining for the next book in The Infernal Devices to get some answers! I’m already so in love with this series and the characters and can’t wait to see what happens to them next. If you haven’t yet checked out any of Cassandra Clare’s books then I highly recommend that you do. If ever a book deserves all the hype it gets it’s a book by Cassandra Clare. My Rating 4.5/5 stars Synopsis taken from goodreads

Review for City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

This is a review for the third book in The Mortal Instruments series. Although there will be no spoilers about City of Glass there may be spoilers about the first two books in this series. "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 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 Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters 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 new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?" I jumped on the wagon for these books a little late compared to other people but decided I finally wanted to read this series in time for the fourth books release City of Fallen Angels. I’ve been working my way through this series over the last few months and could straight away see what all the fuss was about, however, as much as I enjoyed the first two books there seemed to be something missing for me, making both City of Bones and City of Ashes fall just short of the big 5 star mark and so it gives me great pleasure to finally be able to give Cassie Clare top marks because at last- for me- this book was perfect. City of Bones and City of Ashes always fell just that little bit short for me as I’d get bored at some parts. A lot of the book seemed to be written just for the purpose of padding the book out and I only ever found it completely unputdownable towards the end. It always seemed to take a while to really get going but City of Glass dives straight into the action and I couldn’t put it down. Throughout something exciting was going on in every chapter and I can safely say at no point did I get bored even for one moment! City of Glass was originally the end to The Mortal Instruments series and so all your questions regarding the first two books are answered and can I just say wow? Cassandra Clare tied things up in such a clever way and I really loved the end result. Although this book would have made a brilliant and satisfying final book I’m really glad Cassie has decided to carry this series on writing a further 3 books. One because I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of these characters and two because Cassandra Clare has clearly reached her peak right now showing us just what she’s capable of and I can’t wait to see more of that! Another reason City of Bones and City of Ashes didn’t blow my mind was because – and I’m well aware that it’s considered a crime among YA fiction fans to say this- I never really liked Jace. There I said it. I was definitely team Simon but in City of Glass my opinions on him completely changed and I’m now rather found of him although Simon will always personally have my heart! I loved all of the characters in this book and as usual loved the relationships and banter between them. What I love so much about Cassandra Clare is how in City of Ashes she gave Simon and Clary their chance and we as readers got to see how it didn’t work so although I’ve always loved Simon ultimately I knew him and Clary weren’t right together and so surprisingly at the start of City of Glass was rooting for Clary and Jace to find a way to be together…and that is as much as I am going to say on that as I don’t want to make this review spoilery for anyone who hasn’t yet read this book, although I fear I may be the only one! Not since Harry Potter has a world had so much detail put into it as The Mortal Instruments series. It’s such an exciting place to visit and read about and is so rich with detail and plot. I’m SO glad that I decided to give in and read this series, it’s been such a fantastic experience and I’m pleased to announce that these books will be taking their rightful place on my favourites shelf very soon! I’m so happy that I can now dive right in with City of Fallen Angels and don’t have to wait like old Cassie Clare fans, dudes, you have my deepest sympathy for having to wait such a long time! The books are exciting and romantic and absolutely deserve every second of hype they’ve received, if you haven’t checked them out yet I highly recommend that you do! My Rating 5/5 stars ***** Synopsis taken from goodreads

Blogger Break- I’m taking a Staycation!

Dear Followers, As of Sunday 3rd April to Sunday 10th April I will be taking a break from blogging returning to normal posting on Monday 11th. Don’t fear nothing’s wrong and I have no plans to quit blogging anytime soon. Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in the UK and a few days after it will be my mum’s birthday. She’s booked the week off as have I and we’re neglecting all commitments and making a bit of a holiday out of it without actually going anywhere hence the Staycation! It’ll be a good time to just chill out and catch up on a few things and just spend some girl time together something that we rarely get to do as we’re both usually busy! I’ll be taking a full break from blogging and a partial break from the internet. I may pop on once or twice during the week to check my emails and go on twitter (you know coz I’m addicted and all) but I’m going to try and spend as limited time on the internet as possible so please bear that in mind if you try to contact me via email. I may get lots of reading done or I may slow my reading down. I’m not really sure and don’t intend to make any plans I’m just going to relax and do whatever I feel like at the time so I’m not sure how much catching up I’ll have to do when I get back! I’ve planned no posts so the blog will be bare for the week but you may be able to catch me on Goodreads to see what I’m reading. Anyway I’m rambling on! For my UK followers I hope you all have a lovely mother’s day tomorrow whether you’re a mum and getting spoiled or spending some quality time with your own mum! And to everyone else I’ll see you all soon ;) Happy reading until next time, Jess x

March Round Up and Book of the Month!

March’s Book of the Month is...Where She Went by Gayle Forman!

This should really come as no surprise to those who regularly follow my blog. As I said in my review this is definitely my favourite book of the year so far and definitely one of my favourite reads ever. I’ve read a lot of amazing books this month and between them it would have been so hard to pick a book of the month had it not been for Where She Went. I found this book to be completely beautiful and heart-breaking and felt emotionally connected to it in a way that you only do with those really special books that make you think differently. I enjoyed If I Stay but Gayle Forman completely excelled herself with Where She Went in my opinion. For my full thoughts on this book and why I think everybody should read it you can check out my review here.

Best Plot: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare Best Writing: Where She Went by Gayle Forman Best Cover: Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse Best Characters: Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse Best Ending: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare Best Romance: Where She Went by Gayle Forman Most un-put-down-able: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare Most Memorable: Where She Went by Gayle Forman Best Moral: Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse Books read this month 14.) To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell (4*) 15.) Where She Went by Gayle Forman (5*) 16.) The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (4.5*) 17.) Amy and Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (4.5*) 18.) Beauty by Robin McKinley (2*) 19.) Clarity by Kim Harrington (5*) 20.) Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse (5*) 21.) City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (5*) Top 3 Most Recommended Books: Where She Went, City of Glass and Rockoholic Bookish Highlights of the month Lots of fab stuff happened in March! I joined the Amazon Vine Program, Joined Netgalley and got picked up by a few more publishers :-) I’ve read plenty of excellent books, discovered Read it Swap it and bought lots of great books. Bookish Lows of the month Uh it has to be reading Beauty the only book I didn’t absolutely love this month. In fact I really disliked it, other than that it’s been a fab month for books! Book’s I’m looking forward to in April April is a pretty fantastic month for books so many new releases! City of Fallen Angels anyone? Yep we’re all super excited for that! The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong, The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan, We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han, Stay by Deb Caletti and they’re just off the top of my head! It’s going to be an awesome month although I imagine by the end of it I’ll be skint! So that’s my reading for March all summed up for you guys. Have you read any of the books I’ve read this month? What were your thoughts on them? Leave me a comment and let me know and I hope some of you check out Where She Went and the other books I’ve enjoyed this month- you won’t regret it!