Book Review: City of Heavenly Fire

ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID. 

I am coming.
Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance?  Quoted from Goodreads

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I'll be honest, I had some issues with the way The Clockwork Princess ended (mostly good, but a few things that really bugged me) so I was a little nervous going into this book to see if it was even worth reading books 4, 5, and 6 of the series when I enjoyed the way book 3 ended so much, and I did end up liking it.  I felt like this book sort of brought the series back up to where it was in the first three.  We get a lot more action and a lot less angst (of course there is some angst.  This is a Cassandra Clare book, after all).  

So what made this book stand out from all the others so far?  First: Jace and Clary's relationship.  Everything is just so much better here.  Yes, (and warning, there are some spoilers for the last book if you haven't read it, so be careful) they can't touch each other for a good portion of it, but their relationship is solid.  The indecision and doubt that we get in the five previous books is gone, so while they still have problems, they work together much better as a team.

Second: Action.  This book has an amazing prologue that completely sucks you into the story and never lets up.  We get deception, murders, war, kidnappings, and as evil a villain as you could desire, all of which leads up to a climactic ending.  I'll be honest, I was expecting more deaths (don't worry, we do get a few) and destruction, but I felt like it was still an satisfying conclusion, and enough bad things happened you never knew who exactly was safe.

Third, Cameos and the Clave. There are a lot of really fun cameos from the Infernal Devices (Tessa and Clary have a fun little conversation), so the books tie in well together. As for the Clave, I love that they're supposed to be good but  kind of evil at the same time.  It lets you totally see why Valentine was able to gather so many followers against them.  At one point, I was ready to overthrow them myself, which leads into my next point.

Warning. If you're thinking maybe I'll just finish up this book then take a little break from Cassandra Clare's novels for awhile, think again.  This book totally sets up her next series.  The prologue is all Emma Carstairs.  We periodically get chapters from her POV throughout the book, and there's even a pretty emotional cliffhanger ending for her part of the story.  Aaaaaaaaaaaah!  

As far as Clary, Jace, Simon, Sebastian, Isabelle, Alec, Magnus, Jocelyn, Luke, Maia, etc. goes, this is a pretty good ending (I'm not saying they all live, I'm just trying to give you all the people who get a POV in the story).  Things aren't perfect, and I'm betting they'll make small appearances in in the next series, but it ends really well.

So are these last three books worth it?  I'd say yes.  It's another fun adventure full of the characters you know and love.  It also ties into the ginormous universe Clare seems to be building, and it's fun to get all these connections. I'm giving it a strong 4 stars, with potential to being bumped up half a star later depending on how I feel in six months.  And I will be reading Lady Midnight when it comes out next year.  With the introduction to fiery, little Emma and all her problems, it would be impossible not to.

Book Review: Shadow Falls Series

 One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart. Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs . . . Quoted from Goodreads

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This is a hard series to review.  It started during the vampire craze, when every book had to have it's obligatory love triangle, and that shows.  It's not really anything new , but for what it is, it's a fun read.  I mean, I read all five books, which is saying something.

First for the things I liked.  I love Kylie's girl friends, as in friends who are girls.  Whether it's the best friend she left behind or the two new ones she found at camp, I loved their relationships. They were always there for her, while having enough of their own drama to keep everything interesting.  I mean, Della got her own novella (and maybe a spinoff series?).  Plus, they act like teenage girls.  They have silly moments, fight, and get jealous, but then are back to being friends again.

I liked Holley and Burnett. They're good leaders, have their own problems, yet have time for Kylie.  They don't sit back and expect her to defeat the evil whatever.  They also have their own cute relationship.

What I had a problem with?  Well, Lucas and Derek. Not that they both don't have their shining moments, but the drama dragged out way too long.  I mean, Kylie was still agonizing over them in the fifth book.  I was so tired of that particular drama by then, I sort of had to force myself to slog through the parts where she agonized over her torn feelings. 

Second, not enough action.  I get that these books all have some kind  of mystery.  Kylie is warned by a ghost or has to complete that ghost's unfinished business, all of which is connected to her, but the ghosts aren't all that helpful, thus the mystery.  Oh, and there's the mystery of Kylie's supernatural species.  All in all that is good, but it was almost all buildup with very little climax.  The action chapters at the end were too short.  While the mystery built up and there were plenty of mild cliffhangers along the way, the ending wasn't ever as grand or scary as I wanted it to be.

Still, it's a fun series. It's probably a solid 3 stars for me through all three books.  Maybe it just tried to be a little bit too much of everything.  I mean we have vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, shape-shifters, fairies, and a super secret new paranormal species all rolled up into one. Still, it's a fun read, and the series is over, so you can enjoy all the books at once without having to deal with horrible cliff hangers that leave you begging for the next book.

Book Reivew: The Lost Prince

Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten. Quoted from Goodreads

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First, spin-off series.  I'm always a little leery about them.  Sometimes I love them more then the first series. For example, the Percy Jackson books.  I'm loving this second series more than the first one, partly because of the first one, of course, but partly because I think it's better.  Then there are series (and I'm not going to name any names) where I want to say, enough already.  The first series was amazing, but leave the world alone and come up with something new.  For me, book was a mix of both, but absolutely more good than bad.

Second, spoilers.  I'm sorry to keep doing this, but I'll probably give a few major things from the first series away in this review. I'll try not to, of course, but I'm sorry if you pick up on something you didn't want to know. Don't worry, I won't give this book away, but if you haven't read the first series, you should absolutely read those first. Plus, they're great.  

Now, to the real review. I think the concept for this story is excellent.  I loved the idea of the Iron Fae in Julie Kagawa's first series, and the idea of the Forgotten is equally good.  She has a talent for building on stock ideas and expanding them to create something new, and I really appreciate that. Like the last series, this book is full of crazy creatures and places, plenty of action and that perfect hint of romance.  

As for the characters, I loved Ethan Chase.  Yes, he is no longer the little boy from the Iron Fae series.  Twelve long years have passed (in human years anyway) and he is all grown up.  Here's the thing, the plot of this book is similar to a lot of books out there, only we get the reverse, which I found really refreshing.  There's a girl, who meets a boy.   First he's a jerk, but also sort of beautiful, and for various reasons, she can't quite manage to stay away. Then one day he saves her life, and she discovers a magical world she never even new existed. Now they're off on an adventure together to save the world, and the more she learns about this mysterious, wounded boy, the more she falls in love with him.

Sound familiar?  But the best part about this book, is we get that story from the boy's point of view.  We know exactly what Ethan is thinking when he's a jerk, why he does it, and what all his mysterious secrets are.  I'm not going to pretend that this would work in every series, but I found it delightful in this one. 

Now for the other two main characters.  First, I really liked Kenzie.  Yes, she had her irritating moments, but overall I thought she was a fun character.  While I expected her big reveal in the end, I think she rounded out their little group nicely.  Now Kierran.  Yeah, I'm going to have to jump on the bandwagon of disappointed fans.  Don't get me wrong, there is a good chance I'll love him in the next book, but I think I had too many expectations going into this one.  

Here's the problem.  I love characters that vacillate between good and evil.  I love the moral dilemma and the eventual redemption (hopefully) in the end. I was expecting a little bit of this based on Kagawa's earlier stories (especially Iron's Prophecy), or at least I expected to see the edge of the cliff in the distance.  Maybe we were supposed to fall in love with him in this book, but I didn't really.  It's not that he was bad by any stretch of the imagination.  I liked him, but that was about it.  We kind of get thrown into the middle of this star-crossed lover's thing, but I never felt the anguish.  His love interest was sweet but sort of bland, and I never really connected with his story.  

So to sum up, the concept, pacing and action was excellent.  I really liked Ethan, and the other characters were fun, if not awe inspiring.  I would have liked to see more of Megan, Ash, and Puck, but I realize this is a spin-off so I didn't mind their lack of presence.  Mostly, this book was a solid 3.5 stars for me.  I will absolutely keep reading the series, but for me, it doesn't quite match up to it's predecessor.

Flashback Friday: The Fairy Rebel

The Fairy Queen strictly forbids fairies from using their magic power on humans. But after Tiki accidentally meets Jan, a woman who is desperate for a baby daughter, she finds it impossible to resist fulfilling her wish. Now up against the dark and vicious power of evil, this fairy rebel must face the Queen’s fury with frightening and possibly fatal results. Quoted from Goodreads

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I realize this book is for younger readers, but it's Flashback Friday, so I get to review this and not feel guilty because it's a younger book.  I think I first read it in third grade and immediately loved it, then read it again a few years later and still loved it, and again in high school. I think.  It's short enough that  it doesn't take long and it's a sweet little story.

This book is sort of a modern throwback to the old fairy tales where fairies flit around flowers and grant wishes. The summary talks about Tiki like she's the main character, and in a way she is, but the book is never told from her point of view (at least that I remember). First we get Jan's point of view, a poor, injured actress who wants to have a baby more than anything, but she can't.  In comes the lovely and slightly crazy Tiki, granting her heart's desire.  

Okay, so she's like a fairy godmother or  something?  Kind of, but not really.  Tiki is hilarious. She's obsessed with clothing (especially pants), has a hard time saving magic, is a bit chubby, and is looking more for another friend than helping someone as a sort of calling.  

The second half of the book is told more from Bindi's point of view, Jan's daughter, who is almost completely normal, but with a bunch of magical blue fairy hairs in a clump on her head, sort of her fairy legacy. Both are fun points of view, but it's Tiki's story that the reader focuses on, sort of a "call me Ishmael" deal where we all know the real star of the book is Captain Ahab. It works for the story because we, as the reader, still get to feel the wonder of discoverly fairies and the glimps we get of their world.  

Of course, every story nees a villain, and the Fairy Queen is excellent. Besides conspiring with humans (going so far as to grant one a baby), Tiki also falls in love with her best friend Wijic (don't you just love that name. It's so utterly other and yet simple at the same time.) which is expressly forbidden. Loving anyone but the queen is illegal.

 I love the inclusion of wasps as the queen's minions because honestly, does anyone like wasps? Bees, yes.  I think most people support bees, but not wasps.  Never wasps. They creep me out, so it's easy to imagine how terrifying they would be to creatures roughly the same size as they are.

This is a fun, quirky book that should be a part of everyone's childhood. I give it a lovely 4.5 stars. Enjoy.