Review for City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Warning
This is a review for the fifth book in The Mortal Instruments series. Although there will be no spoilers about City of Lost Souls there may be spoilers about the first four books in this series.

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare 
Publisher: Walker
Release Date: 8th May 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Bought

Goodreads Summary:
"The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?

Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?"

Review
Reading the latest The Mortal Instruments book is always like catching up with old friends. This has to be one of my favourite series and like all fans I was anticipating this books release something fierce. I know there were a lot of mixed opinions over City of Fallen Angels but I personally really enjoyed the extension on the series and like where Cassandra Clare was taking these books. The stakes are even higher now with Sebastian, to me, being an even more dangerous and twisted villain than his father Valentine with his evil plans that will affect the world as we know it, not just for Shadowhunters and Downworlders. I feel like Clare really upped her game in these last two books and I have really enjoyed where she’s taken this new plot.

That being said I did feel like City of Lost Souls had a few faults and for that reason it wasn’t my favourite of the series. I feel like I go through my ups and downs with Clary, in some books I really like her, and in others she just gets on my nerves. Sadly this was one of those books that she really annoyed me. She made some dumb, selfish, mistakes and I felt like screaming at her “How could you be so stupid!?” but by the end of the book she goes back to being the brave and strong Clary that I love so she redeemed herself a little but jeez it took her long enough! And she puts a lot of lives at risk in the meantime whilst she’s busy being a stupid girl, not cool. I also have to say straight off the bat that I love Alec, I really do, but seriously what is his beef with Magnus having loved other people before him? I mean, I get that Magnus has been alive forever and so has been in love with more people than your average person and how that makes Alec feel like just another notch on his bedpost, but regardless to how long Magnus has existed, we all have our baggage and a past so I really didn’t get his jealousy at all and would get annoyed with how he would treat Magnus, once again, not cool.

Those dislikes out of the way I loved everything else about this book. I enjoyed finding out what this new bond between Jace and Sebastian entails and the full extent of Sebastian’s evil plans. I really loved Cassie Clare’s writing and the alternating narrative between all of the characters is something I really love about these books as there are so many characters to love, and the switching perspective keeps things fresh with something constantly going down for one of the characters so there’s never a dull moment.

I feel like I’ve come to know these characters so well and I love to live inside this world through them that I’m sad that the series will finally be ending in the next book. Like in City of Fallen Angels I really liked how the prequel series, The Infernal Devices, is tied into the story and love reading the nods to that series as I’ve personally come to love The Infernal Devices even more than The Mortal Instruments.

I don’t think that fans of this series will be disappointed with City of Lost Souls. Despite it not being one of my favourites of the series on the grand scale of things it was still an epic read. Relationships fall together and fall apart, sacrifices are made for the greater good, and best of all (In my opinion) we get to know Sebastian better as a character; he’s certainly a villain I love to hate! This book doesn’t have a huge cliff-hanger but it definitely has an ending that has me interested to see where Cassie Clare takes us next. Overall, although not my favourite book in the series, it was still a fantastic read that builds up things nicely for what promises to be the grandest of grand finales.

Review for The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

WARNING
This is the second book in the Bloodlines series and a companion novel to the Vampire Academy series. Although this review will contain no spoilers from The Golden Lily by talking about the plot there may be unintentional spoilers from Bloodlines and the Vampire Academy series.

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead 
Publisher: Puffin
Release Date: 12th June 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Vampires, Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Amazon Summary:
"It's a risky game protecting vampire secrets, especially when you lie at the heart of the most dangerous of them all. Alchemist Sydney Sage is in hiding at the human boarding school, Amberwood, where she has been tasked with keeping secret and protecting the life of vampire princess, Jill Dragomir. But after a series of attacks, Sydney learns something shocking about the paranormal world she inhabits. Vampire hunters aren't just the stuff of legend. They're real. And someone very close to her maybe one of them..."

Review 
Richelle Meads Vampire Academy series and Bloodlines spin off are my favourite Young Adult series ever, so when a new book comes out I get really excited and have to read it right away and The Golden Lily was no exception. The book begins not long after where Bloodlines left off. Dimitri and Sonya have recently arrived in Palm Springs after the revelations in the last book that Strigoi who are returned to their former selves with the use of spirit magic are immune to being turned again and so the group are going through a series of experiments to see if they can find what’s in Dimitri and Sonya’s blood that prevents them from becoming Strigoi to hopefully discover a cure for the rest of the world.

I loved that Dimitri was very much a main character in this book as I honestly can’t get enough of the Belikov but what I find great about this series is that although Dimitri features a lot in this book the focus is very much on Adrian as the leading male of this series. Although Dimitri is beloved by me he didn’t over shadow Adrian like he did for me in Vampire Academy and I admired Richelle Meads capability of bringing such a strong, well loved, alpha male into this series and yet the story still belongs to Adrian, as for me as a huge Dimitri fan, it could’ve been easy for him to overshadow Adrian and so I was surprised when he didn’t.

Speaking of Adrian I have to say that I finally get him. Don’t get me wrong I really did like Adrian in Vampire Academy but for me it was always meant to be Rose and Dimitri and so I’d get annoyed with Adrian for interfering with that. In this series however now that he’s getting over Rose and him and Dimitri aren’t in competition for her affections anymore I’ve really got to know him as Adrian and not just the guy coming in between my favourite book couple. After reading this book I have to say that I now love Adrian just as much as I do Dimitri and I get why it never worked out for him and Rose and why there was always something missing between them for me and that’s because him and Sydney were 100% made for each other.

Adrian and Sydney guys! There is so much chemistry between them that I can actually feel it like it’s an actual tangible thing which is also how I felt with Rose and Dimitri. Who would have thought that these two unlikely characters would be so absolutely perfect for one another? I certainly didn’t! But it totally works and I want them to get together in the same passionate way that I did for Rose and Dimitri. The romances in these books are done so, so, well and not just between the main characters. Richelle Mead knows not only how to create the swooniest guys but also how to write unbelievable chemistry and sexual tension between a couple that practically sizzles off the pages.

Whereas Bloodlines was all about learning about the alchemists and the after effects of Last Sacrifice The Golden Lily focuses on a subject that was touched upon briefly in Bloodlines, Vampire Hunters, and introduces us to the corrupt group behind them, The Warriors of Light. The Golden Lily is also very much a growing pains book for Sydney. A lot happens in this book that makes her re-evaluate her beliefs as an alchemist and what she’s always believed about the Vampire world. I loved watching Sydney develop as a character as her heart told her one thing and her head another. This book is one giant learning curve for Sydney and I enjoyed reading her conflicting emotions.

Overall if you’re a fan of this series I don’t think The Golden Lily will disappoint. Even though this book did feel more character driven than plot driven I didn’t mind too much because I adore every single one of these characters! This is a book full of character development in both their personalities and relationships with one another; although this book didn’t lead to many huge revelations plot wise it did raise some interesting questions for the next book in the series. Reading a book set in this world be it Vampire Academy or Bloodlines is like coming home and like with all of the other books in the series comes with the highest of recommendations.

Bookish News! Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick Cover Reveal!

Just a quick, unexpected, post to share with you guys the UK cover for the final book in Becca Fitzpatrick’s hugely popular Hush, Hush series Finale! I just got the email from the publishers this afternoon so this cover is hot off the press!

Synopsis
"Nora is more certain than ever that she is in love with Patch. Fallen angel or not, he is the one for her. Her heritage and destiny may mean that they will always be enemies, but there is no turning her back on him. But now they face their biggest challenge. Can their love survive a seemingly insurmountable divide. And in the end, will there be enough trust left to rebuild what has been broken? The lines are drawn - but which sides are they on?"

Pretty right? I think the covers to this series are absolutely stunning and this one is no exception! Finale will be out in the UK on 23rd October 2012, feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!

Second Chance Summer Blog Tour Stop! An Extract From Second Chance Summer

As part of the UK blog tour to celebrate the release of Morgan Matson’s Second Chance Summer I bring to you today for my stop an extract from the book so you can get a little taste of what to expect! I recently read and loved this book and my full review will be featured on the blog soon so keep your eyes peeled for that! But for now in case this book isn’t on your radar yet here’s our funky UK cover and the synopsis to give you an idea of what this book is about…

Synopsis
Taylor Edwards family might not be that close - everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled, but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor's dad gets some devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains. Crammed into a place much smaller than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again, but as the summer progresses they're more aware than ever that they're battling a ticking clock. And as Taylor tries to deal with the drama at home, she is faced with the fact that the friends she thought she'd left behind haven't actually gone anywhere. Her former summer best friend is still living across the lake and still as mad with Taylor as she was five years ago, and her first boyfriend has moved in next door...but he's much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve. Can one summer be enough time to get a second chance - with family, friends, and love?

 Extract From Second Chance Summer! 

“Hey,” I said, bending down to pick up a stuffed animal I thought I recognized. “I think that’s mine.” In fact, it was a stuffed animal I knew very well: a small plush penguin, wearing an orange-and-white-striped scarf. It wasn’t the finest stuffed animal ever constructed—I could tell now that the felt was fairly cheap, and the stuffing was threatening to come out in several places. But the night  of the carnival when I was twelve, the night I’d gotten my first kiss, the night Henry Crosby had won it for me, I’d thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world.

“I remember that,” Warren said, a look coming into his eyes that I didn’t like one bit. “Wasn’t that the one you got at the carnival?”

My brother had a photographic memory, but usually used it to memorize obscure facts, and not to torment me.

“Yeah,” I muttered, starting to take a step away.

“Wasn’t it the one Henry won for you?” Warren put a special spin on his name. I had a feeling that I was being punished for making fun of Warren’s fear of small, harmless dogs. I glared at my brother. Gelsey was looking between the two of us, interested.

“Henry who?” she asked.

“You know,” Warren said, a small smile starting to take form on his face. “Henry Crosby. He had a little brother, Derek or something. Henry was Taylor’s boyfriend.”

Davy, I silently corrected Warren. I could feel my cheeks get hot, which was ridiculous, and I found myself looking for an escape. If there was a way that I could have walked away from the conversation without it being totally obvious that I was uncomfortable, I would have.

“Oh, yeah,” Gelsey said slowly. “I think I remember him. He was nice to me. And he used to know the names of all the trees.”

“And—” Warren started, but I interrupted him before he could continue, not sure I could take any more.

“Anyway, you should get that cleaned up before Mom gets here,” I said loudly, knowing even as I said it that it was highly unlikely my mother would yell at Gelsey for anything. But I tried to pretend it was true as I left with all the dignity one can muster while holding a stuffed penguin, and went to the kitchen for no reason whatsoever.

Henry Crosby. The name reverberated in my head as I put the penguin on the kitchen counter and opened and shut one of the cabinet doors. He was someone I had consciously tried not to think about too much over the years. He’d become reduced, shortened to a slumber-party anecdote when the inevitable question—Who was your first boyfriend?—would arise. I had the Henry story down perfectly now, so that I barely had to even think about it:

Oh, that was Henry. We’d been friends, up at my summer house. And the summer we were twelve, we started going out. He gave me my first kiss at the summer carnival. . . . This was when everyone would sigh, and if someone asked me what happened, I would just smile and shrug and say something along the lines of “Well, we were twelve, so it became pretty clear there weren’t exactly long-term prospects there.” And everyone would laugh and I would nod and smile, but really I would be turning over what I’d just said. Because it wasn’t that any of those facts had been technically incorrect. But none of them—especially about why it hadn’t worked out—had been the truth. And I would push thoughts of that summer out of my head and rejoin the conversation, relegating what had happened—with Henry, and Lucy, and what I’d done—back to the anecdote that I pretended was all it was.

Warren came into the kitchen a moment later and beelined for a large cardboard box sitting on the counter. “Sorry,” he said after a moment, opening the top. “I was just kidding around.”

I shrugged, as though I couldn’t have cared less. “It’s nothing,” I said. “It’s ancient history.” Which was true. But as soon as we’d crossed the line that separated Lake Phoenix from the rest of the world, Henry had been circling around in my thoughts, even as I’d tried to turn up the volume on my iPod to drown them out. I’d even found myself watching for his house. And I had seen, to my surprise, the house that had been a soft white was now painted a bright blue, and the sign out front that had always read Camp Crosby now read Maryanne’s Happy Hours, decorated with a silhouette of a martini glass—all proof that new owners had taken over. That Henry wasn’t there any longer. I had kept my eyes on the house even as it faded from view, realizing that I might really never see him again, which the presence of Maryanne, whoever she was, seemed to cement. This realization caused a strange mix of feelings—nostalgia coupled with disappointment. But mostly I had felt the cool, heart-pounding sensation of relief that comes when you know you’ve gotten away with something.

Sounds great huh? Big thank you's to Kat at Simon and Schuster for arranging this tour and asking me if I wanted to take part! You can find the banner for the tour in my side bar be sure to stop by the rest of the stops for Giveaways, Guest Posts and more! Second Chance Summer will be available in the UK as of 7th June 2012 you can pre-order your copy here and be sure to follow Morgan Matson on Twitter @morgan_m

Review for Emma Hearts LA by Keris Stainton

Emma Hearts LA by Keris Stainton 
Publisher: Orchard
Release Date: 7th June 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Summer, Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Received from the publisher for review

Amazon Summary:
"Emma's just arrived in Los Angeles, a million miles away from all her friends, and any chance of a boyfriend. Unless you count geeky Oscar - which she doesn't. Not at first, anyway. Teen heartthrob Alex might have potential too. If she can get him away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi, that is. Two boys, unlimited sunshine, and a new life amongst the stars. Maybe LA's not that bad, after all."

Review 
I loved Jessie Hearts NYC so when I heard that Keris was writing a companion novel featuring Jessie’s best friend Emma I was beyond excited. Keris is one of the loveliest authors and always makes time to talk to her fans on Twitter, her books are fun, romantic, quick reads that make perfect summer stories. I read Emma Hearts LA on a sunny Sunday afternoon in one sitting and closed the book with the cheesiest grin on my face, Emma Hearts LA is total feel good reading and left me in a cheerful mood for the rest of the day.

I have to say that as much as I loved Jessie Hearts NYC I loved Emma even more! It’s funny because I’ve always considered myself to be a New York kinda gal ( I LOVE big cities!) but Emma Hearts LA was just so much more me and I connected to the story more because of that. Emma was a really great protagonist, unlike her little sister who dreams of becoming the next big Hollywood teen star, Emma is less than thrilled at the prospect of living in LA when her mum decides to move them out there. Emma feels like she’ll have nothing in common with the stars and wannabes who live there and she’s sad to be leaving her old life behind even if it does mean being in the same country as her BFF Jessie. Her mum and dad have recently split up and Emma’s relationship with her dad is messy because of it and moving across the world from him is sure to only increase that tension. Reluctantly Emma moves with her family to LA and leaves behind life as she knew it, well, almost, because waiting in LA is old family friend Michael and his teenage son Oscar her geeky childhood friend. Except Oscar’s kinda grown into his geekyness and owns it making him kind of hot to Emma’s surprise. As Oscar shows Emma that life in LA isn’t all that bad Emma starts to fall in love with this way of life. But when the latest Hollywood heartthrob Alex shows an interest in her Emma will have to decide which boy will win over her heart.

One of the main things I love about Keris’s books is that she has this way of writing which really makes you feel like you’re there. Like in Jessie Hearts NYC where I got to experience New York through Jessie in this book I got to experience LA through Emma. Emma’s house on the canal sounded absolutely beautiful and the ocean front walk would totally be my local hangout. I closed this book feeling like I’d been on a trip to LA myself and I love the total escapism you get with Keris’s books.

Once again I loved the characters in this book, Emma, Bex, Alex and Emma’s mum were all great characters and I loved that Jessie was in this book too and that we got to catch up with her. But my ultimate favourite character had to be Oscar. Oscar is the kind of guy I personally go for. He’s dorky, not afraid to be different, is comfortable in his own skin, caring and has a big heart of gold. I love stories where childhood friends blossom into something more so Keris really ticked all the right boxes with Oscar and he quickly became my latest book boy crush.

Overall I loved everything about Emma Hearts LA. If you like books that completely sweep you away to somewhere sunny and exotic, have sweet summer romances, and swoony book boys this is the book for you. Emma Hearts LA is like the perfect holiday, fun filled, care free, hot and romantic, and over too soon. This is summer reading at its best.