BR; Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare

Magic is dangerous - but love is more dangerous still... When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray arrives in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Friendless and hunted, Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters, a band of warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Drawn ever deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated by - and torn between - two best friends, and quickly realizes that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

(photo to come soon)

I haven't read the Mortal Instruments' series yet, and decided to instead start with 'The Infernal Devices', the prequel to the series. Firstly I must say. the setting was really appealing to me - rainy, Victorian London, this was very atmospheric. I really think Clare made the right choice regarding the time period of this story. It allowed the characters to have much more depth.
Tessa is a great example of this. Her character fighting against the courtesys and morals of her upbringing, to become a fighter and to become equal to men. This book is very much about female empowerment, and is full of strong feminine characters. Charlotte and Henrys relationship is also a good use of characters breaking away from their stereotypes. Charlotte is the one who is incharge of the organisation, whilst her husband is more than happy to step back and entertain himself. Their relationship would obviously be considered backwards in everyday Victorian Society, and even other characters in the order have a problem with the way Henry presents himself.
This book also has elements fantasy and steampunk. The role of the automatons was very cleverly used, and it helped emphasize the humanity of the other characters. Humanity being a theme that reaccurs throughout the book. Specifically revolving around Tessas' character who is struggeling to maintain her humaity, and is fighting against this label of 'Warlock'. The book was left on a good cliff-hanger for the next one, due out in November, and I for one will definatley be reading it. As I hope there is a lot more development for Tessa and Wills' relationship...something I feel was lacking in 'Clockwork Angel'. It was obvious that Clare was trying to make Will as solitary and mysterious as she could, but I think there should have been a stronger connection established between these two characters. We don't know much about Will at all, except that he does indeed have a gentle side, but only when it comes to 'Jeb' who he greatly cares about. Pretty much everything about him is still a mystery, which i think will bring many readers back to the next book.
Overall this was a good interesting read. I didn't feel overwhelmed with the fantasy element, yet everything remained well explained. The characters were interesting and relatable. Clares' writing style had a very natural feel to it, with a good amount of description but again not overwheming the reader. I would give this book a 7.5/10, but definatley recommend it is read, as I feel the follow up book, will bring better things.

BR; The Magic Cottage - James Herbert

The last James Herbert book I read was 'The Secret of Crickley Hall', which left me hiding under my duvet, and quaking in my slipper boots, at two in the morning. So I had very high expectations for this book.
Firstly I'm unsure on whether I liked the fact the novel was written with hindsight - I think perhaps this spoiled some of the tension that should have occured naturally. The thing that struck me most to start with was the writing style. It is written to the reaser, not FOR the reader. It was so different from 'Crickley Hall' it took some time to adjust. The writing style also narrowed our own opinions, looking through the eyes of a biased man throughout.
But once I got used to it, I allowed myself to be sucked in by the changing moods and atmospheres. Herebert created these very well, allowing a great deal of empathy. He used alot of imagrey and vivid description, which really set every scene. I was impressed by Herberts ability to create a serene, magical atmosphere - I thought it may have been out of his comfort zone, but he was surprisingly good at it. The words and feelings were beautiful.
After reading his other work, I couldn't help but compare them. And this book was so....slow... nothing happened. Only very mild spikes of action were envoloped in this perfect world. And that action that did take place was not at all dramatic. I don't feel I developed a connection with the characters at all...I had no qualms over whether they lived or died. We were forced to focus so much on 'Graymere' as a place and it's energy, I just didn't get that character bond I always look for.
I give this book a 6/10. It was definatley not Herberts best work, by far. And knowing that probably lowered this score another point. I expected much more...plain and simple.

BR; Goddess Of Legend - PC Cast

Isabel, a world-weary photojournalist, is grounded back home in Oklahoma, when her car plummets off a bridge into a lake. Struggling on the edge between life and death, she's miraculously saved by the Water Goddess, but with one tiny caveat: Isabel must travel to another time to seduce the legendary Lancelot du Lac away from Queen Guinevere. Simple. After all, the handsome knight is a dream for any woman in any century. Unfortunately Isabel is the one who's seduced - by the soulful eyes of the wise and soft-spoken King Arthur. But for Isabel, a deal is a deal. Now, the King watches as fate takes from him the mysterious beauty he has come to worship, knowing all too well that any interference on his part could destroy the kingdom he loves.
This is the first book I've read of PC Casts' Summoning Series', and I must say it was a pleasant surprise. 99% of the book is set in Camelot, where our leading lady is sent back in time, to save Arthur and Merlin. Although she's supposed to be around the age of forty, Isabel was a very relatable character, this could be due to the easy-going nature with which the book was written. Despite the use of historical, old-age language, it still felt like reading any other modern day fiction...because our main characters thought patterns, were told in our language as she was from our present day. However the language barrier between Isabel and the rest of Camelot caused some rather funny moments (GOOSE POLE!)
This book was very wordy, almost entirley dialogue. Very little action occured, and that which did was very far apart - although to Casts' credit the book never got boring, and she kept us engrossed using emotion and relationshiops.
King Arthurs physical description waws very appealing... but, and this may have been Casts' intention, he came across as way too perfect, practically flawless. This could have been the authors way of saying that as a modern day woman you have to travel back in time to find a decent man. Arthur did have some bad points, but these were mainly related to his time period. His way of thinking was different to Isabels which caused a few arguments.
As a contrast to Isables mature character, we were given Gwyn, who came across as a fickle teenager. She really annoyed me, playing the incompitent fool. But it made me appreciate Isabels demeanor more.
Now...Usually I would complain that the heroine accepted time travel and magic, goddesses and quests, way too quickly and that that is really unrealistic. But in yet another clever move, Cast put her character on the other side of death, making anything seem possible to our heroine, and she became more acceptant.

I would give this book a 7/10. It was really interesting, a great example of using historical context, and generally a book on female empowerment, which usually earns a few more points ;)

Come back Internet...

So, unfortunatley my laptop broke...like really broke. So I haven't been able to update my recent book reviews. But now the home computer's set up properly, I should manage to get a few up this week.

Including; The Magic Cottage by James Herbert, and Goddess of Legend by PC. Cast.

My book collection has grown once more, giving me even more to read. The other day I purchased 'Clockwork Angel' by Cassandra Marr, and 'Valiant' by Holly Black. Although my reading list is growing, the time I have to read is dropping, now I'm employed. But I'll do my best to review as often as I can.

BR; Sea Glass - Maria V Snyder

New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder brings readers into a world of molten magic, excitement and adventure. Student glass magician Opal Cowan's newfound ability to steal a magician's powers makes her too powerful. Ordered to house arrest, Opal dares defy her imprisonment, travelling to the Moon Clan's lands in search of Ulrick, the man she thinks she loves. Thinks because she is sure another man - now her prisoner - has switched souls with Ulrick. In hostile territory, without proof or allies, Opal isn't sure whom to trust. She can't forget Kade, the handsome Stormdancer who doesn't want to let her get close. And now everyone is after Opal's special powers for their own deadly gain.


Well what can I say? Snyder did it again. She kept me glued to the page in the really fun, action packed continuation of 'Storm Glass'. I must admit, being a big fan of the 'Poison Study' series, finding out that the 'Glass' series, was going to be told from Opals point of view was a bit of a let down. Her character was rather flat in the 'Study' series, and we didn't really get the chance to know her. But I persisted through the next book and ended up loving it. Sea Glass was lovely, filled with the same beautiful imagrey as it's priors, creating the same feeling of intimacy the reader has to the characters again, but shedding alot of them in a new light, bringing new twists. Opal Cowan the lead character under went the biggest change. I loved kickass, hard Opal towards the end of the book. It was just what the book needed to give her a bit of a back bone.
Although they are books about action filled magic, there is always the undertone of the love story. I like Kades character as a love interest, although I don't think he'll ever be as special to me as Valek was in the 'study' series. Snyder uses the simplest moments between her love intrest that can make a girl feel just a little bit fuzzy on the inside. I particularly liked when Kade was at the keep, especially when he was in her bedroom ;) (Yet again he doesn't hold the element of danger and mysticism of Valek.
A clever trick on behalf of Snyder was encorporating some of the characters from the previous series. In this book, Proffessor Bloodbain, Janco, and even Yelena herself had rather big parts. Also Leif and Fisk, who are two astoundingly original characters, who always manage to make me smile, were in it aswell. Having previous knowledge of the world and it's inner working, allows you to really sink into the story. You already understand how magic works, and the powers of certain characters...this can be especially fun, with the intruduction of a new character, who has yet to learn all these tricks and twists to Snyders world.
I give this book a 9/10. It really was fantastic...I just don't want to give to much away. The next book hopefully will live up to it's expectations. Snyder has created a world that makes the reader feel at home, and a book series, that truley allows the sense of escapism.

Read, read, read

So, I'm doing a typical me. I had set myself books to read, a few at a time...then I went out today and brought more...and was lent one...so my list has not only grown, but become impossible to organise.

Currently I have in my currently reading/started pile;

You Belong To Me - Karen Rose
The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
Game Of Thrones - George RR Martin
Angelology - Danielle Trussoni
Mistrals Kiss - Laurell K Hamilton
LOTR;The Fellowship of the Ring - J RR Tolkein
Sea Glass - Maria V Snyder

And alongside all of these, I got myself little info books (I won't obviously be reviewing) called 'Shakespeare Matters' and 'Herbal Remedies', which I would like to get through aswell.
Guess I've got some reading to do.... :)

BR; Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

Grace is fascinated by the wolves in the woods behind her house; one yellow-eyed wolf in particular. Every winter, she watches him but every summer, he disappears. Sam leads two lives. In winter he stays in the frozen woods, with the protection of the pack.n summer, he has a few precious months to be human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. When Grace and Sam finally meet they realize they can't bear to be apart. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human - or risk losing himself, and Grace, for ever

(all cozy from reading in bed hehe)

Upon starting to read this book, I was rather concerned. It started really fast, not neccessarilly with content, but switching from character to character. I couldn't get a grasp on them as people/beings, and was worried that the whole book would continue with these 2 page chapters. But I persisted through, and the chapters started to pan out. We see the story through the eyes of the two main protragonists, our love interests, Sam and Grace. I don't know whether I liked the fact that we knew from the off pretty much that Sam was a werewolf, however it did stop alot of unnecercary dialogue, and those brooding moments of discovery. The fact that Sam and Grace had a connection, whilst he was in his wolf form, made the easyness of their human relationship seem more legitamate...and the author didn't have to use things like 'it just felt so right'...because in a sense they already knew each other...and did infact love and care for each other in some way or another.
Grace is a stereotypical outcast, that most people reading books like this will probably relate to. But the shocker is that for once the main lead, was not some dark, mysterious stranger. He had a dark history with his parents, he had emotional depth...he was very humanised...perhaps to componsate for his wolf side. This was defiantley helped by the fact we saw alot of the book from Sams point of view, and thus could get inside both of the characters. The whole book was very centered on them. Even when other people were in the frame, it was still somehow them. Which isn't a bad thing at all, but something that really centered the story. They kept having these cutsey little moments, that made me want to find my fiance and just hold him.
This book was very much about humanity. About retaining humanity, and remaining true to oneself, for Sam in particular. It was about the little things, those small moments of beauty, we let pass us by everyday, but should cherish...moments without which we would be lost. As a reader I got sucked into these moments, and found myself comparing them to moments in my own life, and promising to make the most of them. There was a message in this book definatley, but it was still packed with action, emotion and a good, not too predictable plot. The book clearly left on a cliffhanger for book two, and now I find myself needing to know what happened. I hope in the second book, the author keeps the focus she did in Shiver, but also expands on the other characters inner depths. I will be purchasing the second book very soon I think.
I give this book a 7.5/10. You can tell from the onset this is not a work of Shakespeare or a literary masterpiece, but this gets point, because it's not pretending it is! A lovely, easy (if emotive) read. A great way to spend an afternoon or two.

BR; Ultraviolet - RJ Anderson

Once upon a time there was a girl who was special.
This is not her story.
Unless you count the part where I killed her.

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison's condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can't explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori - the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that's impossible. Right?

(sorry for looking so terrible, I just got in from an 8 hour shift that had me up at 3.30am)

This was yet another book I was reluctant to buy, mainly because it was stacked along side all the new clique teenage romance/horror novels. But it was actually rather good! ALOT of plot twists...things that shouldn't be combined together, but somehow it worked and flowed seamlessly. The further into the book I got, the more my eyes grew wide in shock...a few times I exclaimed, 'No! Did they just? What the...?' I don't want to say anymore about the plot twists, as it would spoil half the fun, so I'll stick to the main story, and just say this books genre would be a hard one to pin point.
Which involves a girl (Alison) being locked away in a modern day mental asylum for an event she can't remember involving a girls dissapearance. The book was rather wonderful and dreamy, because the author had cleverly given the main character Synesthesia - a problem in the brain function which makes people taste words, hear colours, see the letters of the alphabets as different colours and see they have personalities. This made for an even more interesting read. Being set in a mental institute you met alot of interesting people, all with different illnesses and mental diseases. Along side these characters, that helped break up Alisons' time in the asylum, there were also her parents, who for me created alot of controversy...one minute I hated them, and the next they weren't so bad. Her mother particularly was a wonderfully fickle character. The author created some really interesting characters which kept us amused and entertained along the way. This poor girl had to deal with alot, and whilst her reactions to all things real were spot on realistic, her reactions to the unexplained and supernatural were perhaps not too well thought out, as she seemed to just take it all into her stride.
Sebastians character was interesting. He was so hard to figure out, I was consistantly trying to make my mind up about him. I liked that he was much more than just a love interest (despite the beauty of Alisons description of him) he was the missing link, and a key concept to the story. It truley felt like reality, with the relationship developing throughout, rather than the author having just thrown in a bit of love for the hell of it.
I would give this book a 7/10. It was wonderful and beautifully written. Held my intrest, so I had finished it in a few hours. But I felt some of it, despite the content, seemed aimed at young teenagers, and did not reach it's true potential, which is why this is rated at a 7 not an 8.

BR; The Host - Stephanie Meyer

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

So...don't dismiss it straight away because it's by the author of twilight. Which I did for a very long time, and I really wish I hadn't. After reading 'Host' it's astounding that the 'Twilight' Series was written by the same woman.
Host is posed at a much older generation, and actually deserves the term a literary novel (as opposed to a holiday paperback) We are thrown instantly into our world...but a changed version, inhabited by alien hosts who have taken over the human worlds bodies. This book is probably classified into the Sci-Fi genre, although it is not like any other alien book I've read...there's not that feel to it. The characters in this are far from flat...they are full to the brim of depth and emotion. Even though we are seeing the world from the view of one of these 'alien hosts'. Through her eyes we not only see the trails and emotions of the human race, but also of her own conflicted views. The emotions and problems these lot face are all very realistic, and oddly relatable. It's very easy to get sucked into this alternate reality. There is an undertone of human rights and world views here to, but these are hidden within an excellent plot that will confuse the reader, and make you wonder who you really want to win this battle. Something which can create alot of thought, considering that you may end up fighting on the side against your own people. It's strange how compelling this book is because of it's possibility for the future. Meyer uses description really well in this book, there is not too much, leaving alot to your imagination, but enough to give you guidelines. In 'Host' we are allowed to feel however we want about the characters, because Meyer hasn't forced her own opinions down our throat. There actions are simply placed on the table for us to make a decision about.
Overall a really good book, I give it an 8/10! (for creativity, plot development, and pure engrossing qualitys.)

Organisation

So hello all. I thought my personal blog was getting a bit cluttered with everything I wanted to post. So I figured I'd made this blog for my book reviews, to make everything a bit more organised. I will start with reposting the few reviews that are on my other blog, but there is more to come pretty soon.

All follows and comments are much appreciated. Thanks for stopping by xx