City of Bones: A Review!!

Hey reader dudes, I think I have come across one of the golden ones, one of the best books I have ever read!

Little Summary: We follow out main character, Clary who has just witnessed 3 strangely tattooed teenagers commit a murder. The next thing she knows the body has disappeared and she is both the only person who saw it happened and the only person that can see the murderers. Madness ensues, Clary comes the next day, her home is destroyed, her mother is missing, and a demon is attacking her. She finds out that the man she saw murdered was actually a demon as well, that the murderers were shadow hunters, and that because she has "the sight" she might be one too. Clary discovers that basically her entire life thus far was a lie; there is an entire world that she is a part of that she knows nothing about. She is now out to find her mom with the new Shadowhunters --specifically Jace Wayland-- she meets, who want to know about her just as much as she does herself.

This is the first book in the mortal instruments series. I was instantly sucked in and it barely ever let up. For the most part I really enjoyed this book. For a never before seen world (I mean that in the sense that most people can follow vampire books without an explanation really of what said world entails) shown mostly through the eyes of someone who is just as confused about it as the reader is I found that there were no real information dumps and that it was not hard to get through at all. It isn't a quick read in that there isn't a lot of content in it. It is a quick read in that the plot and story is so exciting that you don't want to put the book down.

The characters are super fascinating and the adventure and action aspect is very fun to read about.

NOW FOR THE SPOILER PARTS

Let us talk characters, shall we?

A lot of people disliked clary and felt that she didn't think our her decisions and effects of said decisions as much as she should, but those that say that neglect to appreciate how much of a genius writer Cassandra Clare is! She wore Clary like that in --my opinion-- because she is a 16/17 year old girl! As a girl of that age I can confidently say that is how most of us think! When you are young you don't understand the full weight of your decisions, and especially in Clary's case it is even harder because her decisions are... well... ya know, LIFE THREATENING! Also, this entire world is new to her and she just found out her life has basically been a whole lie, of course she's going to make tough decisions!

Jace, what a super gnarly character. He is full of himself and cocky but not in an annoying way, in an entertaining and funny way. When people say that they think he was annoying I would say to that, the book would be undoubtedly dry without his peculiarly cocky anecdotes in them, so for that I greatly appreciate him. Also, him and clary have a phenomenal character dynamic. I like that Clary doesn't immediately trust him as most female protagonists do with male protagonists. He is a complete stranger to her whom she thought was a murderer at one point and she is fare to be skeptical of him and I like the jokes made about that. His cocky humor I think made for the beginning of the book to go a lot faster!

Simon is eh at best. He has some solid potential but I was soooo tired of him making Clary feel bad about herself for like 300 pages, like we get it Simon. You are in love with her but you just have to accept that you are just friends and chill. He was funny at some points though and the author is did very well at writing dialogue for him, so I would say 7.5/10 character for now. The book would be lame without him and I like to an extent that he keeps Clary grounded I just don't like it when he is mean to her for being different now, because well, her mom is missing and she found out about an entirely secret world, obviously she is going to be going through some changes. He was a positive light in the book and that I did greatly enjoy as well. :)

Isabelle and Alec. I don't have much an opinion about them. Alec is kind of bland, despises Clary which I don't so can't really relate to him on that level. 3/10 character if I'm being for real, all he contributed in this story was hate Clary which just didn't do much for the plot. and Isabelle is super cool. If I had to be a character in this book I would TOTALLY choose her. She is a lady boss 10/10, knows what's up. She is a 10/10 character for sure. I wish she had more time in the book!

I have said in my other reviews that typically I don't care much and usually skim through the kind of Plot B dynamics, I.E. the relationship blah blah blahs, but I did genuinely like the Plot B dynamic in this book. It was entertaining and funny and all in all a good time.

Crazy plot twists in this book, plot twists that made me so mad I nearly did not pick up the second book in the series. However, I did end up picking it up and am reading it currently (City of Ashes review to come soon) because I had to look up to see if the final plot twist about Jace and Clary (I don't want to say it incase there are people that are reading the spoilers, even though they didn't read it and might want to read it later) to see if it was actually true because it frustrated me so much and I knew that if it was true I couldn't read the rest of the series. So I did spoil myself in that regard, but in none other. I looked up my question of that spoiler and all I read was the first word in the paragraph that said no. So, I do not know any details about it and I hope that I will sooner rather than later because I am tired of reading about this dynamic that I so greatly dislike.

DONE WITH SPOILERS

Anyways, I REALLY enjoyed this book and gave is 5/5 stars on Goodreads so I would absolutely recommend it to all of you rad readers.

More Mortal Instruments series reviews to come :)

-C8

"The Heir" and "The Crown"// Book Review :(

Hello Rad Readers...

I am combining these two books into one review because I read them both in the same day and the lines are all just blurring together at this point. Not because they were good but rather because I wanted to get them over with. As some of you may know I am starkly against DNFing books so I really just had to get through this. I had two options. One: prolong it and dread the day when I come to read it when I have nothing left on my bookshelf, and two: get it over with as fast and painless as I could. I opted for the latter and thus we are here.

Well, I should have listened to the reviews and that is the first and last time you will ever hear me utter those words. These books were poor, to say the least, at least in comparison to the Selection Series. The two I would consider being companion novels of that series since they follow a completely different set of characters. I know some people regard them differently, as rather a part of the series, however, I disagree. Okay, I digress.

My main problem with these two books was the fact that they really felt forced. I also know that this is not a valid complaint, but I also hate the fact that they were not about America and Maxon. They were the characters that we the readers fell in love with and this off brand storyline is simply just not what I signed up for. That is not a fair complaint to make however because I suppose I did sign up for it. I bought the books and I sat down to read them... A legitimate claim, however, is the fact that it felt very forced. The story just wasn't as interesting as America's. Sorry, but I don't care about the fact that this rich and beautiful princess that everyone loves can't find a boyfriend... I just really don't care? It all felt so shallow and I just did not like Eadlyn. She was snippy but not in a good way, selfish, stubborn, complain-y, and ugh!

The rest of the characters were also just poorly developed. I didn't get to know any single one of them well enough to want one to win over the other or to even identify the main supporting character!

The second book made circumstances no easier. The ending is lackluster and predictable once you start the second novel.

I really don't have much else to say. These books were bad and honestly just forgettable. I would like to pretend I didn't spend an entire day reading the two of them, so let us all just agree that this never happened. If you like quick reads that aren't exciting and somewhat painful to push yourself through, then check these out at your local library... I'm sure you will have a greatttt time... (not).

I wish Kierra Cass just wrote another two books about Maxon and America but we can't all get what we want, can we?

Ever the optimist,

- C8 ;)

The One (The Selection #3) // Book Talk! :)

Greetings to the raddest of readers! Today is a sad day, for I have finished the Selection series. As I understand it there are two companion novels left, but they will not follow the same story that I fell so deeply in love with, so yes, this is a very sad day. However, things are not all doom and gloom. This was a phenomenal series, I loved every part of it and the ending was amazing! This will be a spoiler-y book talk so if you have not read this book yet, beware!

So, I've heard a lot of people in the bookish community say that the ending was "sooo predictable" and that "there wasn't enough development of the dystopian world" and "of course there is going to be a happy ending," and I'm just sitting here like... did we read the same book?

The ending was not what I expected at all! There was a total 180 degree turn from America and Maxon totally doing fine to her getting shot, her dad dying, finding out her dad is a rebel, Maxon finding out about her and Aspen, not choosing America, and oh ya, the massacre that happened in the last couple of pages! If you all were able to predict that then you should buy a lottery ticket because that is crazy.

Sure, there wasn't a great amount of depth to the series, it really was just a love story set in a dystopian world, but if you were disappointed by that kind of idea then you would have been disappointed with it in the first book, and then the second book. There is no reason to make it all the way to book three if you don't like that plot because the author makes quite clear what it is about on the back of the first book for crying out loud! If one were to read the series and assume that the third book would turn a different corner and focus less on the actual Selection, then they deserve to be disappointed! The book isn't supposed to be about a dystopian society, it's supposed to be about the Selection!! Maxon and America!! If I've said it before I've said it a thousand times, BOOKS DON'T HAVE TO BE DEEP TO BE GOOD! You don't need to have a crazy Wizarding World or have Percy Jackson save the world five times to have a good book. This is written for entertainment, not to inspire you! Sometimes you can read a book for fun ya know!! Okay, sorry I'm getting heated.

In a way, yes, I understand the predictability of the book, from the beginning the reader expected America to win the selection, it was really just a book about the means to an ends we all thought we knew. I think the author, Kierra Cass, new that the readers felt this way so she tried to put a spin on it, having Maxon not initially choosing her, and I thing that was really good. It threw me for a loop for sure, and we had never really seen matters so intense than when Maxon found out about America and Aspen. I was on the edge of my seat, and although yes, America did end up winning like we all predicted, it wasn't exactly an alls well that ends well. There was a literal massacre at the castle and that was the only thing that really stopped Maxon from marrying Cris. Maxon pulled an "America" I like to say at the end. Not thinking rationally before doing something major. He saw Aspen and America and didn't even give her the chance to explain herself. He was ready to marry someone he was virtually indifferent towards in comparison to America just because of the heat of the moment. I can't say he is totally in the wrong either, though, because imagine being in love with someone for months and then proposing to them and then finding out that they had kind of been cheating on you for a little bit of that time. The ending drama could have been saved if only America took a moment to explain to Maxon in the beginning of The Elite or at the end of The Selection, that she had dated Aspen in the past but that there was nothing there anymore. Of course not though. That would be too easy and too logical. She threw out my most favorite of excuse of hers --later.-- Oh my god, why can't she just get things done promptly!

Also, while we're on the topic, America more frustrating than ever this time around. Don't get me wrong. I love her character, how she is strong willed and all, and I loved the story too, but everything could have been solved if she just took a minute and thought about something before she did it. Or oh, I don't know? Made up her mind about how she felt, and oh, I don't know, STOP WAITING TO DO THINGS. I swear to god, she would realize something, finally decide how she feels about Maxon, or becoming a princess, or Aspen, and she'd just be like, oh, I guess I'll worry about it later. NO. NO AMERICA. WORRY ABOUT IT NOW. The amount of times I was yelling this in my mind at my book was concerning. Everything took so long... but of course I'm not complaining, I could read this book forever no matter how long it takes America to make up her freaking mind. Also, slight digression, America getting shot when they snuck out of the castle. Not going to lie, 11/10 her fault. She left the castle... with aspen... and the PRINCE... to speak a literal sentence to August (might I add, I don't really understand that story line at all, but I don't really care because it didn't take away from the story I don't think) that was not very useful and ended in her getting literally shot. And then, when she gave Maxon's gift to her away to the poor man, I was just floored. She thought she was doing a good thing!? How insensitive must one be!? Sometimes she just needs to chill. Do I need further evidence that America needs to work on her decision making and critical thinking skills?

I liked the character development of Celeste in the end so much, because I honestly hated how the main character motivation of Celeste before was to just be a stereotypical "mean girl." She had no depth and really only served the plot to make America look better in comparison and create an antagonist besides America's conflicting feelings and the rebels. In the end, I loved how she was cool, and I really did like her! And then she died. Just like that. And I was broken. Like, the pain I felt when the moment before that when America was standing on the stage and they were communicating in like sly looks and she told Celeste that Maxon didn't choose her... I mean COME ON! It was heart wrenching and then the next minute she is shot by the rebels, and then the minute after that the rebels kill the king and the queen and basically half of the castle at the time. INSANITY!! Not going to lie, really not too bummed out that the king is dead. He was a level 10 jerk to America and Maxon and really just the general public, and will not be missed by me. Sorry not sorry.

Lucy ending up with Aspen? Loved it. Do I still hate Aspen? No! I'm so happy now that he has his head on right. He was so bad for America and I was so happy when America realized that she can still have him in her life without marrying him and that Maxon is better for her in 100 different ways.

So, my final opinions of The One and The Selection series as a whole: absolutely. freaking. awesome. I loved it and I wish it never had to end. It is such a fun book and it really got me into marathoning books and series in a matter of days. I'm sad that I finished it all so quickly, though, because it was just so good I wish it lasted longer. Sure, there were weird things here and there like America being sometimes a genius and other times an absolute airhead, and the whole dystopian world development being a little wacky, but overall it was an awesome book and the weird things only added to the awesomeness so to speak. I will absolutely be rereading this series many times over, because I don't think it will ever get old. Super funky story!

Read on! Read on!

- C8 ;)