City of Bones by Cassandra Clare ★★★☆☆

I have already purchased the next books in the series.

Fiction – YA - Urban Fantasy

Reading Level: Ages 14-up   Grade 8 Up
485 pages

Publication Date:  2007

The Mortal Instruments #1

Literary Awards: South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult Book Award (2010), ALA Teens' Top Ten (2008), Georgia Peach Honor Book Award (2009), Abraham Lincoln Award (2010)

Clary Fray and her friend Simon are out on a typical night in New York City when Clary observers a bizarre trio of tattooed teenagers carrying unusual weapons.  Following them while Simon gets some help Clary witnesses a murder, but when the body disappears and no one else, including Simon, can even see the tattooed teenagers right in front of them who would ever believe her. 

Soon Clary wishes that her biggest problem was being crazy.  The tattooed teenagers are warriors known as Shadowhunters and she soon learns way more about their world than she ever wanted.  With the disappearance of her mother and an attack against her by a real live demon, Clary has no choice but to delve into the mysteries that are supposed to be held secret from “mundanes” like her in order to locate her mother and find out why she can see what is supposed to be hidden.

I read and finished this book on a rare day of complete freedom with no kids, no responsibilities, no need to do anything or be anywhere – it’s been a long time since I could indulge in that sort of luxury so trust when I say it was blissful.  Beyond the day off I treated myself to a brand new virgin addition of this book.  Gently opening the book so as to not put undue stress on the spine I breathed in the smell of new book and turned the fresh, crisp unsoiled pages of clear not yet blurred text.  With the lovely anticipation of a new world to discover, I felt excited and yet at peace as I made myself comfortable and dove in.  Like I said bliss!  So, as you can see, my state of mind was very bent toward savoring and appreciating this book even before I started.

The title has always been very intriguing to me and with all of the hype of the movie coming out I decided it was time try it out- though I have to say the title only applied to a small portion of the book.  The premise of a race of superhumans protecting the rest of us from a demon incursion was very interesting with a lot of potential for the future.  The mythology was creative, though, doled out to the reader in long bits of explanation, but if you are used to the genre you won’t think twice about it.  The execution, however, did leave a bit to be desire.  I found the beginning really awkward and a bit off putting.  Some of the writing really could have been smoothed out a little more with some help from the editors.  The action did make up for shortcomings some.  But again, like with her Infernal Devices Series, I felt the character development and action weren’t very well balanced. Eventually, I got past the rough beginning and then the story trotted along at a very nice pace with only few other places of awkwardness to slow it down.

The characters were a rather mixed bag.  I liked Simon and found him very lovely; his feelings for Clary seemed very natural and I also got why she had never really considered him before.  At the beginning I wasn’t particularly thrilled with Clary; it took a while for her to grow on me and to be honest I can’t quite pinpoint when I started to like her.  Jace was arrogant and not very likable and I really couldn’t connect to his feelings when he encountered Valentine which really injured the climax.  I did like the interplay between Jace and Clary and found their chemistry compelling and was dismayed at the obstacles thrown in their way even at the cost of Simon’s happiness.  Luke was the character I found the most comfortable, in the sense he seemed very fleshed out and well-constructed, his back story was provocative and his actions reasonable.

Like I said before the climax was a little disappointing and there was a very little resolution to the story.  I am okay with how little resolution there was only because the next four are already out and in my possession as a result of book-buying-fever.

Not a master piece, but overall I did like reading it enough to purchase the rest.  Hopefully the flaws will be ironed out some in the next one.

ISBN-10: 9781416955078

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare★★★☆☆

I’m Looking for Balance

Fiction – YA  - Steampunk

Reading level: Ages 14 and up

502 pages

Publication Date: December 6, 2011  

Infernal Devices Book 2

Literary awards:  Teen Buckeye Book Award Nominee (2012), Children's Choice Book Award Nominee for Teen Choice Book of the Year (2012)

Tessa and the other members of the London institute continue the hunt for the Magistrate, but there is dissension and disloyalty even among their own.  Charlotte’s leadership is being challenged by another Shadowhunter vying for political power putting everyone living at the Institute in a precarious position.  Tessa is still on the search to find out the answers about who she is, while trying to come to terms with her brother’s betrayal and the uncertainty of her future

This book was more character driven than the first and I found the characters much more likable.  The writing is a bit smoother in this one than the first one, which was nice.  I also enjoyed the addition of new characters.  The love triangle between Tessa, Will and Jem was further developed and a much more important point in this book.  The mystery of Will’s behaviors was solved- a little lamely I thought-, but for the most part this book raised a lot more questions than answered them and that was a bit frustrating.  Clare seems to have a hard time balancing action and character development, leaving me a little irritated with her.  Hopefully she can continue developing her story telling ability enough that the next book will be more balanced.

ISBN 1416975888 (ISBN13: 9781416975885)

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare ★★★☆☆

Good Enough

Fiction – YA - Steampunk

Reading level: Ages 14 and up

479 pages

Publication Date: October 4, 2011

Infernal Devices Book 1

Literary awards:  RITA® Award by Romance Writers of America Nominee for Best Young Adult Romance (2011), Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award (RT Award) Nominee for Best Young Adult Paranormal/Fantasy Novel (2010), Voya Perfect Ten (2010), The Inky Awards for Silver Inky longlist (2011), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2013)  Goodreads Choice Nominee for Favorite Book, Favorite Heroine, Young Adult Fantasy, Goodreads Author (2010)

American Tessa Gray goes to England at the behest of her brother, Nate, after the death of their Aunt Harriet.  Tessa expects to meet Nate when she steps off the boat, but she is instead intercepted by the “Dark Sisters”.  Believing they are sent by Nate she allows them to escort home.  Instead of finding herself delivered into the loving arms of her brother, Tessa is kept prisoner by the Dark Sisters, because they believe she can shape shift.  Driven by fear and torture, as the days turn into weeks, Tessa somehow manages to shape shift into various people.  The delighted Dark Sisters believe she is now prepared to be turned over to a mysterious figure only known as “The Magistrate”.  After a failed escape attempt Tessa almost loses all hope until Will appears out of nowhere and rescues her from the Dark Sister’s clutches.  Will then takes her to a place called the Institute, home of the London Shadowhunters, beings who police the Underworld.  With their help Tessa hopes they can discover what happened to Nate and possibly figure out what she is.

In the beginning I found the writing a bit bumpy and felt as bewildered as Tessa as I tried to grasp what was occurring.  After a few chapters, however, I finally quite groping blindly for understanding and the writing flowed a bit better, but the writing never really did feel organic.  Though, supposedly set in Victorian London, things pertaining to the era seemed more as an afterthought than a real plot point and I never got the sense the story really felt at home in the era.  As for the characters living at the institute, they definitely came together to make a very dysfunction unit I would loosely call a family.  As the main character I never found Tessa incredibly likable.  She always seemed very aloof and I never got particularly attached to her.  The only remotely likable characters I found was Jem and possibly Sophie.  I also kind of thought it funny how dramatic the blurbs about the book sounded in comparison to what actually took place in the book.

For all of my little complaints I really did like this book overall.  I found the mythology fascinating and appreciated the new world I was introduced into.  The story was captivating, even if I didn’t find Tessa all that lovable.  The characters all came together to play their parts and as a whole they made the story work well enough that I didn’t mind my lack of empathy for most of them.  I also liked the playful interplay during the dialogue and the understatedness of the love triangle.  

Clockwork Angel has been my first real introduction into the Steampunk genre and I find myself wanting more.  With a slight lowering of my expectations, I look forward to reading Clockwork Prince, book two in the Infernal Devices series.

ISBN  1416975861 (ISBN13: 9781416975861)