Morganville Vampires Series Book #10: Bite Club by Rachel Caine

The first rule about Fight Club: You don’t talk about Fight Club.

The same should go for the vampire version – Bite Club. You know, I wasn’t sure that Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampires series could get any better than it did in the last book Ghost Town. But I was shockingly surprised.

In book 10 of the series, Shane is having his usual anger management issues, but they seem to be worse than normal. He’s attacking Michael for no reason. He thinks Claire is cheating on him with Myrinn, and he accuses Eve of being a fang banger. Jeez, Shane take a chill pill would you? But as it turns out, his anger has only been amped up because of a vampire named Glorianna – or Glory for short – and this protein shake that contains vampire blood.

Oh, and did I happen to mention that the reason his anger has been hyped up – along with a few other members of Morganville – is so not only they could be in vampire version of Fight Club, but because Bishop needs an army to fight for him as he tries to take over the town again.

Wait. Bishop? The big badass vampire from five books ago? The one everyone thought was dead?

Yeah, apparently, he wasn’t dead. Amelie kept him alive but locked up without blood. Dude. That’s just… *shakes head*

Thankfully Bishop’s rise to power again is short lived, thanks to Myrinn killing him with airborne silver nitrate. And as for Myrinn, I still think there is something going on there between him and Claire. Or at least, he wants something to happen between them. I don’t know, it could just be me reading too far in between the lines.

And then Michael and Eve are getting married! WHAT?! And what’s with Michael not being too overly ecstatic about this? Something is up there. Also, Claire rejecting MIT – the dream school she’s wanted to go to forever – what was up with that? Yeah, she would have to leave Morganville, but c’mon girl! It’s your dream! You can’t forsake those just because you don’t want to leave Shane and the others.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Not as good as the last one. There were some plot points I wasn’t too ecstatic with, but still really good considering it’s the tenth book in a series.

Bookshelf worthy? Electronic only.

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot

After reading this book the only question I really have is this: When did Luke – who I absolutely loved in book 1 – become such a dick? Seriously. What happened to that guy in France who special ordered Diet Coke for Lizzie because he knew she loved them?

Anyway, right. Luke is engaged to Lizzie, but instead of being ecstatic over the news like her friends should be, they are anything but. Chaz isn’t happy because he’s in love with Lizzie (not that you really know that until near the end of the book) and doesn’t believe that Luke is the right guy for her. Shari isn’t happy because she also doesn’t think Luke is the right guy for her. Why don’t they? Well, um. Hello, he did get her a sewing machine for Christmas and told her that he had no intention of marrying her before leaving for France. And then he shows up on New Years with a ring – a total 180 – and asks her to marry him? Seriously. How can Lizzie not see the problem with that?

Oh, and also the fact that Lizzie feels like she’s about to throw up/breaks out into hives every time she thinks about the wedding. You know, Lizzie, considering you graduated from the University of Michigan, you aren’t very smart. Most women would take that as a sign that Luke isn’t the guy for them.

Instead the reader has to suffer through almost 200 pages of Lizzie trying to figure out that Luke isn’t the guy for her. It isn’t until Gran’s funeral, where Luke doesn’t show up but Chaz does, that she realizes that Luke and her are over.

Anyway, my favorite character out of this book was Tiffany, because she was the voice of reason when it came to the whole Luke/Chaz/Lizzie thing. She understood what Lizzie couldn’t. It was so awesome.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Meg Cabot’s books are always amazing and such quick reads because they are so interesting you don’t want to stop reading.

Bookshelf worthy? If I only had the room…

Blue Bloods Series Book #6: Lost in Time by Melissa de la Cruz

So, while the last book finally made it easier to keep up with the different narrators by devoting a complete part of a book to each, this book resorts back to each chapter is someone else. But instead of being Schuyler, Mimi and Bliss/Deming – this time the third narrator is Allegra, and it isn’t in the present time. Allegra’s chapters are all about how she came to break her bond with Charles.

This was one of the reasons why this book was by far my favorite of the whole series so far.

Schuyler and Jack are married now – the ceremony took place in that awesome novella (that I didn’t read) – and are still looking for the Gate of Paradise while Jack is on the run from Mimi and the blood trial. While they are looking for this Gate, Schuyler starts getting sick – vomiting with blood – and she thinks that she is pregnant with Jack’s child but Jack knows that it’s because of their bonding, something called the Wasting Disease. Hey, I thought she was pregnant too because yeah, she’s a Blue Blood but she’s also human, it’s totally possible, right? Ha. Apparently not. Since Jack broke his bond with Mimi to bond with Schuyler, the bond is causing his love pain. The only way to break the bond? Is to either kill Mimi or perform a service for his master – who you know, is Lucifer. Considering my ‘love’ for Mimi, I’m thinking the first option is better.

Speaking of the Angel of Death, she’s down in Hell with Oliver to look for Kingsley, the love of her life, who is the only reason that she isn’t really going after Jack to extract her revenge. She does find him, and after a month or so of playing games where he pretends not to want her or to go with her, she’s about to leave when…well, they get a little racy. And I do mean racy. Seriously most YA authors hint or suggest that characters have sex, de la Cruz puts it out in black and white. ‘He cried out as he entered her.’ Sexy. He goes with her. The only problem is that for Kingsley to leave hell, a soul has to be traded for his. AKA why Oliver is on this trip. Just when things get dire, Mimi does the unthinkable and trades her soul for Kingsley’s. HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER! Okay…remember what I said about hating Mimi Force? I take that back now.

Eventually the blood trial between Jack and Mimi does happen, but neither can kill the other. Which means…yeah, that’s right ladies and gentlemen. The Angels of Death and Destruction, who betrayed Lucifer to help the Blue Bloods, return to their master. I’ll admit when I first read this – before I read the book – I was scared shitless. Why would they do that? But now that I know why they did this, I can’t wait to see what the final book has in store.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Now that I’m used to the whole switching of narrators thing, it’s not as bad. The plot is as thick as my hair – which is really thick – and everything is escalating quickly for an awesome conclusion.

Bookshelf worthy? Yep, still own them.

Blue Bloods Series Book #5: Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz

The biggest issue that I’ve had with this series was the fact that you had 3 different narrators and that they would change every chapter – or two depending on how series the events were in the last chapter. The problem was sort of resolved in this book with the novel being divided into four parts – Schuyler, Mimi, a Venator named Deming, and a sort of epilogue dealing with the three narrators. I liked the switch because you finally got to groove with the characters and didn’t have to worry at the end of the chapter of switching to a different narrator. My only complaint was that each section – except for the Deming section – was too short! Just when things were getting interesting with Schuyler and Jack, BAM! Part two: Mimi Force. And just when things were getting interesting with Mimi, BAM! Part three: Deming.

Anyway, Schuyler and Jack have gained the protection of the European Coven, but it was revealed at the end of the last book that the Countess was Lucifer’s first wife in another cycle. So Schuyler and Jack are on the run while looking for one of the Gates to Hell. Mimi Force is dealing with the aftermath of her bonding disaster and has been named Regent of the Coven. She has to deal with a possible discovery of their race by the Red Bloods and the kidnapping/burning of a Blue Blood. The new character Deming is brought in by Mimi to investigate who could have possibly have done this.

What all three of the narrators discover is that the Silver Bloods have been mating with humans for years, creating demon spawn. Yikes.

Out of all of these books so far I think this one is my favorite. Not only do you get to see Jack and Schuyler together, but also you get to – finally – see some character development in Mimi, especially when she starts to become friends with Oliver. Again, my only complaint was that the book was too short and how could de la Cruz rectify this? Um, how about adding the events of the novella Bloody Valentine to the end of this book? Especially because it turns out the events in the novella are important to the next book, if what I’ve read so far of Lost in Time is any indication.

Sorry, I get annoyed with novellas, because I don’t read them. I personally think they’re just an attempt by the author to lengthen a series and it annoys me. It’s like I have enough books to read, I can’t waste my time with 50-80 paged novellas, and usually the events in a novella aren’t too important to the storyline of the rest of the series. Except for Bloody Valentine apparently. *grumbles*

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Again, the plot thickens. Why is there a fake Gate? What can these Silver Blood/Red Blood spawn do? And will the Coven go underground?

Bookshelf worthy? Still have them on my shelves.

Blue Bloods Series Book #4: The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz

Here is my belief about the previous three books after reading this one: What was the point?

Honestly, my emotions went up and down in the previous three books and all of that exercise was for nothing. The gut-wrenching feeling I had when Schuyler left Jack in book 3, gone. The shock and hurt I felt when Bliss turned out to not only be Allegra’s daughter but to have Lucifer within her as well. Pft. What connection to Lucifer?

The only thing that was quite interesting was Mimi’s 180. I mean, here she is all against Schuyler and Jack, but then what does she do in this book? She hooks up with Kingsley and at the bonding ceremony she was going to leave Jack for him! I’m sorry, but what the actual hell?

There was also the issue of the timeline. In the book, it’s mentioned that it’s been a year since the events in Revelations, but I’m trying to do the math and it just doesn’t work out that way. It was March/April at the end of book 3, and this one picks up in August right before Jack and Mimi’s senior year, and Bliss and Schuyler are both sixteen. A year hasn’t passed. Maybe four months, but not a year.

Also, holy crap! Allegra is awake! But she doesn’t stick around long, does she? She talks to Schuyler for like five minutes and then takes off to help her bond mate (the one she broke off, mind you) Charles, who may or may not be dead thanks to the Silver Bloods. And what the hell is going on with these gates?

Final Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. This book was just a little too long. I personally believe all the Bliss chapters were not needed. Mimi’s change of heart wasn’t in her character at all. And Jack and Schuyler ending up together annoyed me to no end – as much as I love this couple, why did she have to go through all that heartache if they were just going to end up together anyway?

Bookshelf worthy? Lucifer hasn’t played with my memories, so they’re still on my shelf.

Blue Bloods Series Book #3: Revelations by Melissa de la Cruz

“I’m tired of being your best friend. I’m tired of being second best. I won’t settle for that anymore. It’s all or nothing, Schuyler. You have to decide. Him or me.”

With a quote like that, how is it possible that the love square that Schuyler, Jack, Mimi, and Oliver are in is not the most important part of this book? Well, real possible apparently.

Like with most de la Cruz paranormal books, the punches don’t really come into the end. And when they do they’re absolutely crazy. Schuyler breaks it off with Jack – as she should have. I mean as much as I love that couple and have been rooting for them from the beginning, the bond between him and Mimi is too strong. If he even tries to break it, he will be brought before the Clave and/or hunted down by Mimi herself and Burned. I see no silver lining in this situation and I know a lost cause when I see it, even if the break up killed me – not that you really saw it, just Mimi walking in on the aftermath.

Bliss’s true self is revealed – finally. I had a feeling that she was Lucifer and to find out that her father and stepmother were in on it the whole time just blows my mind. Not to mention the fact that Bliss’s sister, Jordan, is the Watcher and is hated by her parents. Talk about family drama.

In Memoriam: Lawrence Van Alen and Dylan Ward. Dylan finally dies, and his death is the catalyst for letting loose Lucifer’s second in command. Lawrence’s death…jeez. Why do I even bother having favorite characters in fantasy/paranormal/vampire books? They always get killed off by the author and always devastate me. But talk about a bomb to be dropped with Lawrence’s final death – great moment to tell Schuyler that she has a sister who will destroy them all.

Oy.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Plot thickens. Characters’ true faces are revealed. Hearts are broken. Wow. I can see why a lot of people liked this book the best out of the series.

Bookshelf worthy? Well, vampires haven’t glommed them away yet, so…

Blue Bloods Series Book #2: Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz

I find it interesting in some of the reviews that I’ve read for this book, that a lot of people said that there was no point to it – that it was more filler than anything else. I would like to disagree. Although in some respects there were some ‘filler’ moments, a lot of what occurred in Masquerade, I have a feeling, impacts what happens in book 3.

So it’s been a few months since the events in Blue Bloods, Schuyler and Oliver are in Venice tracking down her grandfather, Charles is still visiting Allegra, Mimi feels victorious because Jack has strengthened their bond, Bliss is still grieving Dylan’s death and is having a lot of blackouts, and then there’s the introduction of the new character Kingsley. Schuyler does find her grandfather but he tells her that her grandmother lead her astray – he can be of no help to her…until he shows up in New York and decides to help her anyway. I really liked the character of Lawrence Van Alen, he reminds me a lot of Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter series.

Still don’t care for the character of Mimi Force, I mean, sheesh. Yeah, I understand that her and Jack are bonded to be together, but c’mon. If you keep trying to force Schuyler and him apart, he’s going to want her even more. Speaking of, although the masquerade kiss was cute and the ‘sweet dreams’ bit was adorable, I still thing there needed to be more Jack/Schuyler fluff in this book. Hopefully, though, Mimi has learned her lesson with her almost blood burning near the end there.

I had a feeling something was going on with Bliss that had to deal with the Silver Bloods. The blackouts weren’t normal. The dreaming about a beast wasn’t normal. Add in the article at the end of the book about Maggie – that basically describes Bliss to a T – and the fact that her father has an emerald called Lucifer’s Bane and I honestly think that she is the Silver Blood/or her father is housing a Silver Blood. Quite curious to see how this goes – especially with the unexpected appearance of Dylan (wait! Wasn’t he dead?!) at the end of the book claiming that he knows whom the Silver Blood is.

Two things I didn’t like with this book: Charles plan to adopt Schuyler. Um, excuse me? But Cordelia did state in her will that Schuyler is an emancipated minor aka she doesn’t need a guardian. Hopefully someone realizes this in the next book, because with her living with the Forces it’s going to make it harder for their to be fluff between her and Jack. The other thing that I didn’t care for was the whole Schuyler/Oliver storyline. That was the only redeeming quality in the last book was that they were just friends. That got blown to bits after she makes him her human familiar (ew) and realizes that he’s been in love with her forever. Le sigh. Bad plot, de la Cruz, really bad plot line.

Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Much better than the last book. Characters that were flat start to come to life, intrigue increases, and new characters are fun.

Bookshelf worthy? The cover art is quite interesting and I already own the whole series, so yeah.

Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

Oh, look, another book about vampires. But this one is different. This one has to deal with vampires who live in Manhattan and OMG – they’re rich! Think vampires meets Gossip Girl and you’ve basically got Blue Bloods.

I remember reading this series over eight years ago, and again a few years ago back when book 4 came out. And now I kind of remember why I didn’t 100% love this series even though it was basically crossed two of my favorite things ever, and that was the craziness of the plot and the jumpiness of the POVs.

Let’s think about this shall we. These ‘blue bloods’ are vampires and originally they were angels who fell. The ones who didn’t abide by the “the rules of conduct” became ‘silver bloods,’ which basically makes them the crazy evil guys. And of course, like with any book, the ‘blue bloods’ are in denial about their existence. They’re just a fairy tale! Ha-ha. You’ve got to be kidding me.

And just when you’re starting to groove with a particular character, in the next chapter, de la Cruz shifts to another character. It was distracting and annoying. Pick one character, please! Or even two, but don’t go into three/four.

Okay, as for the characters… Mimi Force reminds me of Blair from Gossip Girl and whatever the former rich girl was in The Au Pairs (also by Cruz). Basically, I really hated her character and I’m waiting to see some major character development with her like the other ones I mentioned. Jack Force, Mimi’s brother, at first seems like the cool guy that the – who I can only assume is – main character Schuyler instantly falls for, but then he turns into someone who is easily manipulated by his father. And while we’re on the subject, what’s the deal with Charles Force? Schuyler is pretty cool, along with Mimi’s friend Bliss. I’m just waiting for Bliss to get away from Mimi’s control – it looked promising at the midpoint but it did a 180 at the end. As for Oliver, I loved his character. I was especially happy that he isn’t into Schuyler like most male best friends are lately.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. The characters are okay. The plot was intriguing, but needs more execution.

Bookshelf worthy? I own the whole series, because at one point they were really good. But I was young.

The Mortal Instruments Series Book #5: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

After the way the last book ended with Sebastian coming back to life thanks to Jace, there is no possible way the events in this book could get any worse. Right?

Ha-ha. Not.

Simon’s mom? Totally hates her son and bans him from the house. Clary is under scrutiny from the Clave because of what happened at the end of book 3. Jace and Sebastian are gone and when they do show up again at Clary’s house it turns out that they are bound. You can’t injure one without injuring the other. And Jace isn’t really Jace. Thanks to the Mark that Lilith made on him in the last book, Sebastian can control him.

I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll keep this as brief as possible.

The Seelie Queen is still the baddest bitch of them all, okay? And the fact that Clary kind of sort of trusts her and her rings was a very, very stupid move.

The whole Jace isn’t really Jace thing made me feel like I was watching my Sailor Moon fanfics Shadows of the Night and Shadows of the Night: Darkness Remains in real time. Seriously. As I updated on GoodReads on page 136 – the book was killing me. I was so happy when the real Jace made a brief appearance in Paris.

Maia and Jordan’s hook up? Fantastic. I’ve been rooting for them since the last book. Isabelle and Simon? Even better. It’s about time the vixen settled down with someone.

Jocelyn…I get where she is coming from, but some of the things she said were not called for. And honestly, I understand that she was grieving because of Luke’s injury but still. Get off your high horse lady.

Page 510. Yeah. I agree with the tumblr post – I’m denying that happened. It just…

And then there’s Sebastian. I’ll admit I did kind of almost fall for his ‘I’ve changed. You’re my sister’ act that he was trying to pull over on Clary. I mean, he did save her from those demons. He looked really happy that she called for him when Jace tried to give himself up to the Clave. But somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that something wasn’t right with all of this. There was no way that after everything he went through that he was going to summon Greater Demons to destroy them. ‘You belong to me.’ …yeah…that whole scene freaked me out. Like this:

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. I think I finally know where Cassandra Clare is going with the new set of books, and I’m quite curious what she has in store for book 6. Especially ‘cause it’s over 700 pages long!!

Bookshelf worthy? Faeries still haven’t come and stolen the box set that I own so…

Evertrue by Brodi Ashton

With books like the Percy Jackson series, Heroes of Olympus series, Abandon series, and the Starcrossed series 2013 was the year where I really got into Greek mythology. So it would be no surprise that I read the Everbound trilogy by Brodi Ashton.

Quick summary: book 1 was about Nikki Bennett recovering from going to the Feed with Cole. The Feed is where Everlivings – immortals – feed on a Forfeit’s energy for 100 years. The only problem is that time in the Everliving moves differently than it does on the surface. 100 years in the Everliving is only 6 months on the surface. The only problem is that Nikki wasn’t supposed to have survived the Feed. Because she has she belongs to the Everliving and the Tunnels are going to be coming for her. Jack – her boyfriend/ex – didn’t give up on her while she was gone. He commits the ultimate sacrifice by going to the Tunnels for her when they come for her. Book 2 picks up with Nikki trying to find a way to go down to the Tunnels to save Jack. She enlists the help of Cole who reluctantly agrees to take her down there. Twists and turns abound, ending with Nikki saving Jack, her running into the queen of the Everliving, and finding out that while down in the Everliving Cole turned her into one. And now he has her heart.

I’ll admit that I didn’t really like book 1, it took me ages to finish reading it. But after the ending, I had to read book 2, and it was so much better than the first one that I was really excited for book 3. There were so many options for Ashton to go in with Cole turning Nikki into an Everliving and taking her heart. She could have had Cole be a total dick and control Nikki’s actions, force her to go down to the Everliving and fight the queen. She could have made Cole disappear completely. Like I said the possibilities were endless.

So that’s why I was completely disappointed with the direction that Ashton did take with book 3. Cole did become a dick for like two chapters – apparently, because he holds Nikki’s heart she could only feed off of him. Not the worst thing in the world, but then OMG. He disappears. Turns out the Queen doesn’t take too kindly to her subjects plotting to overthrow her. When Cole does reappear he doesn’t remember anything. Uh…what?

Then there was the whole plot to destroy the Everliving. Yeah, okay, I’ll admit it was a good plan, but still…did Cole have to have amnesia the whole time? He was the best damn character in the whole trilogy.

Final rating: 3 out of 5 stars. Mediocre ending for a mediocre series that had a lot of potential to be amazing.

Bookshelf worthy? No. I mean, the cover art is fantastic, but the content isn’t worthy of a shelf. Rent for your library.

The Mortal Instruments Series Book #4: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Originally read in June 2013 reread again in February 2014.

My feelings about City of Fallen Angels – not only finding out about the book, but after reading it – can be summed up into this one GIF:

After the way City of Glass ended I was kind of pissed to find out there were two – soon to be three – more books. Um…Cassandra Clare, there’s these things called happy endings in which the characters live happily ever after. Nothing else happens to them, and after the shit you put Clary and the gang through – don’t you think they deserve it? So what could you possibly have in store for them now?

*reads*

Clary and Jace are together. Simon is dating not only Isabelle but Maia as well. Jocelyn and Luke are getting married. Alec is on vacation with Magnus and his parents seem to be okay with it.  Okay, that’s not bad, but are you really wasting my time with this? You could have just written a novella and called it a day.

*continues to read*

Simon almost gets abducted twice. Jace is having dreams where he kills Clary constantly. Eventually that transpires to the waking world, causing him to spend less time with her. She thinks he’s trying to break up with her. The Seelie Queen shows up and causes more mayhem just because she could. Okay, see now this is interesting in a psychotic way. What the hell is going on Jace? I mean, seriously, like I said above, after everything they went through you’re going to place all this stress and strain on their relationship? Why??

But, if anything, Clare is an equal opportunist when it comes to torturing relationships. Isabelle and Maia find out about each other. Oh, and the guy who Turned Maia shows up to make sure Simon is adjusting to life as a vampire – and also to check on Maia. And Magnus’ ex-girlfriend drags back in the one happy couple that isn’t even in New York, the vampire Camille that causes even more problems.

So, eventually it is revealed what is causing the bad dreams that Jace has been having. Apparently, when Jace was killed and then brought back to life by the Angel Raziel it broke the protection spells that were placed on him when he was a baby. These spells protected him from possession or persuasion by demons and warlocks. And the person who was sending these dreams to him turns out to be Lilith the baddest bitch ever.

I’ll admit when I first found out it was Lilith I was shocked. During the whole book I kept thinking that it was Sebastian – aka Clary’s brother Jonathon – who was sending these dreams to him. But…I guess in a way that it was him too since the whole reason Lilith was sending him the dreams was so she could bring Jonathon back to life.

In the end, the only issue I really had with this book was the character of Jace. I understood him in the first three books – he has daddy issues, the love of his life is really his sister, etc. – but in this book I wanted to shake him. As this ultimate Shadowhunter that he always claims himself to be, he’s really daft. I mean, he keeps pushing Clary away, even though she’s going to figure out that something is wrong with him. And then when he does figure out that the dreams he’s been having are being sent to him by a demon, he has a dream and then goes a head and does what the ‘dream Max’ tells him to do. Seriously? What. An. Idiot. 

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. As much as I was shocked and appalled to find out that the first three books weren’t it for this series, it got really interesting there at the end. Especially the ending! Holy crap!! I also liked seeing the development of Alec and Clary’s relationship. For a guy who hated her – only because he was in love with Jace – they have really become good friends.

Bookshelf worthy? Still own the boxed set of the first five books so…

The Mortal Instruments Series Book #3: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Originally read in April 2013 reread in February 2014.

So, City of Ashes ended with a mysterious woman approaching Clary telling her that she knows what her mother took and can help her find the antidote. City of Glass takes place right after, with Clary packing for Idris even though Jace doesn’t want her to go. It turns out that Clary isn’t the only one going to the Shadowhunter’s homeland; because of Valentine’s possession of both the Mortal Cup and the Mortal Sword a session of the Clave needs to be held.

Due to some interesting circumstances Simon also comes with the Lightwoods and Jace into Idris – which leads to a whole set of problems. Like for instance, because of Imogene’s death a new Inquisitor had to be appointed and honestly. Is it some sort of job requirement that the Inquisitor has to have a vendetta against Downworlders? Or have a screw loose in their head? I mean, honestly. Adeltree is quite the ass, I was really happy when Valentine reached into his chest and ripped out his heart. How sad is that?

As for that relationship that I should have felt bad for rooting for because it was incestuous, but I didn’t because…well, I have a feeling that they weren’t really brother and sister – well, as it turns out I was right! I was literally jumping up and down with joy when I read Jocelyn’s tale that Jace isn’t her son – the ass that was Sebastian Valec is actually her brother. Can I just say that I loved Simon’s reaction to this bit of news? “Well, it turns out you still kissed your brother.” Dude.

Anyway, everything works out in the end. Valentine is killed by Raziel. Jace kills Jonathon. The Angel brings Jace back to life. There seems to be a new pact with the Downworlders. The only thing that pissed me off was the fact that Max – the youngest Lightwood – was killed. That was just… God. *reaches for Kleenex* Even during the second read, I was so pissed off when Sebastian – no, wait, Jonathon – killed him. GAHHHHHH!

Anyway. With everything ending happily that’s it. The End.

Wait. What do you mean there’s another three books?

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Great tie up and tremendous reveal of who Clary’s brother REALLY is. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that there are another three books considering Jonathon’s body was never found.

Bookshelf worthy? …I own them already, so what does that tell you?

Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl is a young mastermind with a high IQ. He does the impossible and not only finds out about the People – faeries, leprechauns, dwarfs, etc. – but he captures one of them as well. Holly Short is a faerie who works for L.E.P. and who has the unfortunate circumstance of being captured by Fowl. Gold is exchanged and a tense friendship is formed between the two. In the second book, Holly even helps Artemis rescue his father from the Russian Mafia – in exchange for helping her with a goblin uprising.

In book 3, Artemis is up to his old tricks, one last time. His dad – now fully recovered from his two year capture - has decided that Fowl family who has been making millions due to a life of crime will now go straight. Artemis has one last job to do and that’s to put his new invention – the C Cube – on the market. But first he has to convince his biggest competitor to step down.

Things go horribly wrong. Butler – Artemis’s bodyguard – gets shot and killed and the C Cube winds up in Spiro’s hands. Through twists and turns that leave the reader on their seat, Artemis has to team up again with the People to steal back the Cube. But why are the people involved? Well, because the technology used in making the Cube were parts of their technology that can also pick up L.E.P. satellites making the Cube a threat to the People.

The thing that I love about Artemis Fowl is that he’s smart but not in that rub your face in it constantly sort of way. I also love how he’s transformed over the last two books and I was with Holly at the end of the book – wouldn’t the mind wipe regress that progress? From what I read of his diary in the epilogue it looks that way…

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Better than the last one, with more action and character development.

Bookshelf worthy? I used to own these, but donated them. But I don’t know the new covers are quite interesting I might go out and buy them again.

The Shadowhunters Codex by Cassandra Clare

As much as I love The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, I didn’t really like The Shadowhunters Codex. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I knew what I was getting into when I first picked it up – the mysterious Codex that is discussed in both series – but still…

The book was interesting and the art was fantastic, but I don’t know…

I think it would have been better if there had been more comments from Jace, Clary and Simon – that was really the only redeeming quality of the book.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. It was good if you wanted to know more about the demons and the weapons that the Shadowhunter world contains, but…Meh.

Bookshelf worthy? If you are the kind of person who needs to own everything that a series contains – graphic novels, novellas, etc. – then yes. Otherwise, just rent it from the library.

The Mortal Instruments Series Book #2: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

First reading February 2013. Reread November 2013.

Okay, so after Valentine’s bomb that Jace and Clary are sibling, him stealing the Mortal Cup and Clary’s mom being found but not being able to wake up, how exactly do you top that?

Answer: by having mysterious Downworlder’s deaths, killing off the Silent Brothers, introducing the Mortal Sword, and introducing the Inquisitor who turns out to be a total bitch and has a vendetta against Jace because of who his father is.

It turns out though that all these things are connected. The Silent Brothers – a part of the Shadowhunters who have more powerful runes – have the Mortal Sword, which allows the holder to tell the truth. Valentine attacks the Silent City to obtain the Sword and kills off the Silent Brothers. The mysterious deaths of the Downworlders are because he is trying to complete a ritual.

All of this leads to a major battle on a ship, where Valentine doesn’t succeed in his ritual – but he does succeed in being a horrible person. Clary and Jace’s ‘relationship’ that can’t be, is revealed to their friends because of a tricky faerie queen, and Jace finally decides that they’re better off as siblings. Oh, and did I mention Clary and Simon were dating and Simon was turned into a vampire? I really feel for Simon in this book. He is an underrated character who’s affections, I believe, I really misguided.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Again, the plot continues to thicken and the characters are so well written that I trembled with anger every time the Inquisitor showed up.

Bookshelf worthy? Since I already own it anyway….

The Mortal Instruments Series Book #1: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Originally read in December 2012. Reread again in November 2013 because I bought the box set of the first five and I’m preparing for book 6 later on this year…so forgive me if I’m a little hazy on some of the details.

Clarissa Fray – Clary for short – is celebrating her birthday when she sees something that she shouldn’t see; a vampire being killed by a trio of teenagers. Only she doesn’t know the man being killed is a vampire, she thinks he’s just a regular guy. But the thing is, Clary isn’t supposed to see the teenagers at all. They’re glamoured.

While she’s trying to figure out who those teens were and why the blonde haired boy with an attitude is calling her a mundane, the apartment she lives in with her mother gets broken into and her mother is taken. When she arrives, the place is in ruins and her mother is gone, but the apartment isn’t empty. Something is still lurking and attacks her. The blonde boy comes in and saves her and takes her back to the Institute – a sort of home base for what the boy and his friends are.

It turns out they’re Shadowhunters, people who hunt demons and try to keep the world that mundanes – normal people – live in safe from Downworlders and the demons. Jace – the blonde – takes an instant ‘liking’ to Clary and shows her the basics of the Shadowhunter trade. Alec Lightwood isn’t so keen on her though, and that’s mostly because he has a thing for Jace too.

The book revolves around Clary trying to find her mother, figure out why she can see Jace and the others even though they are glamoured, saving Simon – her best friend – from vampires and finding the first Mortal Instrument – the Mortal Cup – before Valentine – an evil guy who was a Shadowhunter – can get his hands on it.

There’s also some great romantic angst between Jace and Clary – the greenhouse scene! But that’s all turned to crap when Valentine reveals that Jace and Clary are brother and sister. …I’m sorry, say what?! Figures the one relationship I actually liked in this book that had so much potential turns to something you shouldn’t be rooting for.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Even though it was a slow start – as most first books in a series are – the action picked up fairly quickly and I loved the characters, even Hodge.

Bookshelf worthy? Um…since I already own them…this is sort of an obvious yes.

Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot

 Lizzie Nichols is back! It’s been three months since the last book and Lizzie is in New York, hitting the pavement looking for a job and a place to live with her best friend Shari. The only problem is that even though she has a degree (kind of) from the University of Michigan and restoration experience, no bridal or clothing boutique is interesting in hiring her. But Luke, on the other hand, has asked her to move in with him.

Lizzie doesn’t know what to do. She wants to move in with Luke because she is imagining that she will one day marry him, but on the other hand, she doesn’t want to abandon her friend Shari, even though she could move in with her boyfriend Chaz. So she moves in with Luke, and finds herself a job at a bridal restoration boutique, the only problem is that the job doesn’t pay.

But Chaz – what a guy he is – tells her that his dad’s law firm is looking for a morning secretary and it pays $20 an hour! Considering the tasks that I read that she had to do for this secretary position, I wouldn’t mind having her job. I mean, honestly…

The usual drama ensues because of Lizzie’s big mouth, but gah. I’m sorry, I’m happy for Lizzie that her non-paying gig at the wedding restoration boutique played out well for her. I even liked the fact that Chaz and Shari broke up – they totally weren’t right for each other – but the thing that kills me is Lizzie’s assumption that Luke is going to marry her. I was also pissed with Luke’s reaction when she finally reveals that fact. “I’m not going after you.”

But he does anyway! And not only that but he proposes to her too! I know Lizzie says yes – the next book is Queen of Babble Gets Hitched – but honestly, after what he had just told her about his feelings about marriage; not to mention what Chaz – his best friend – said about Luke getting married, WHY would you say yes to that? He’s a tool! Yes, he’s a prince, but still…

Right now, I’m rooting for Chaz.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Great plot, story, and writing. Just annoying inner monologue from Lizzie. Some of it I get, the other half…not necessary.

Bookshelf worthy? Definitely.

United We Spy by Ally Carter

Some people have lawyers for parents, others doctors, but Cameron Morgan’s parents are spies. Well, at least her mother is still a spy, Cammie’s father was killed by a secret society called the Circle of Cavan. At a school called Gallagher Academy, Cammie is learning to become a spy and at the same time, trying to unravel the mystery that is the Circle.

As the final book in the series, the fun quips and crazy undercover assignments have fallen to the wayside and things get really serious. Cammie and her friends are taking out the ancestors of the leaders of the Circle, but someone – Zach’s mother – keeps beating them there and killing them. Then there is the added issue of the fact that Liz’s evaluation test that she took before coming to the Academy was stolen. It shouldn’t be a big deal except for the fact that it outlined how she thought that World War III would start and the events she listed are happening.

I have to admit that I missed the light and fun quips from the first few books in this one, but I understand why they were missing. Still loved easy read that this book was, and I also loved the cute fluffy moments between Cammie and Zach.

As for the twists and turns in this book…I don’t know… I kind of already figured out the whole Agent Edwards one – side note: Cammie’s last lesson as a spy needs to be for her to trust her instincts, I mean honestly if she had listened… - but the one that was really shocking was Agent Townsend being Zach’s father! I did NOT see that one coming at all!

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. A great conclusion to a great series.

Bookshelf worthy? This one is a tough one, although I loved these books…I don’t know if I would have them on my shelf. Maybe the electronic version.

The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot

It’s just another day at New York College for Heather Wells. A prince is living in Fischer Hall, her boss has the flu, a mother is trying to get her daughter a different, less slutty roommate, and the RA on the fourteenth floor is dead. Just another typical day for Heather.

In the fifth installment of the Heather Wells Mysteries, Heather is one month away from her wedding to Cooper Cartwright and also has to solve another murder in the residence hall where she’s been working. This time though a few things hamper her ‘investigation’; the State Department because of their VIR – Very Important Resident – the prince, the fact that her boss is pregnant, and her mother who has been MIA for the last twenty years shows up at her front door.

And you thought planning the wedding was going to be stressful.

I could go on about the amazing flow of the storyline – seriously, there wasn’t really a good point to stop reading so I could do things like eat or sleep – Heather’s great character and her network of friends, how much I hated Cooper’s sisters and her mother for just assuming that she had let things go – honestly? You stole from your daughter and you think she’s really going to let that go. Puh-leeze. – Or I could even go on about the awesome character of Cooper – what a dreamboat. But what fun would that be? As many times as I’ve written about Meg Cabot’s writing by now, you should know that I absolutely adored this book and it was a great conclusion to an amazing series.

I especially liked the little cameo appearance by the Queen of Babble series main character Lizzie Nichols. If I hadn’t been currently re-reading that series I might have missed it all together. Still, it was cool to see that Lizzie fulfilled her dream of owning a bridal boutique.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. As usual, I didn’t quite see who the murderer was until Heather figured it out herself. Great story.

Bookshelf worthy? Considering I already own the first one – but not the other four, go figure – I’d say yes. Man I really need to get more bookshelves.

The Soul Seekers Series Book #4: Horizon by Alyson Noël

Quick summary of the other three books: Daire Santos is a Soul Seeker. It is her job to protect the Upper, Middle, and Lower worlds from evil forces. In the town of Enchantment, New Mexico she moves in with her grandmother who teaches her the Seeker ways and tells her that she has to protect the world from evil, namely the Richter family and their eldest son Cade. Except, Cade has a twin brother Dace who Daire is Fated to be with. After many attempts to stop Cade from taking over the worlds including death, loss of a soul and raining fire from the sky it has all lead up to the final battle…  

I’ll admit that after book 2, I was a little wary of this series. I mean, how can you top the death of not only the main character but the one that she loves as well? The answer, you really can’t. I mean, yes, the other two books were good, but they were kind of a let down after book 2.

With Horizon you got the same set up as you did in Mystic – different POVs with each chapter and I really wished that that wasn’t the case. The constant jumping of character’s POVs broke up the story and I couldn’t really get into a constant groove with it. Not to mention the plot was a little bit lacking, I mean, you have this huge buildup of what Daire and the others have been up to since the last book and what they’re planning on doing, but all of a sudden it’s like wham, bam, climax! Uh…okay?

The whole Dace plot line was kind of annoying too. I mean, yeah, in the last book he took a piece of Cade’s soul but does that small piece really make that much of a difference? Apparently, yes, it does. Personally, I think Dace’s whole fight with his inner beast was just a ploy to keep Daire and Dace apart, again. Also, I think it was interesting that while Dace was fighting the dark part of his soul, Cade was dealing with the piece of light that he had left behind. Could you imagine a relationship between Cade and Daire? I think that would have been interesting.

Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Even though it had its problems it was a great conclusion to a series. However, the epilogue annoyed me to no end. This is supposed to be the final book! Why did she leave it open like that??

Bookshelf worthy: Just for the cover art alone, yes.  

The Luxen Series Book #4: Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Quick summary of the other three books in this series: Kat moves to a small town after the death of her father. Goes over to her next-door neighbor’s house to ask for directions to the store, where she encounters Daemon who instantly – for some unknown reason – hates her. His sister on the other hand – Dee – instantly becomes friends with her, even though Daemon warns Kat to stay away. Long story short, Daemon and Dee are actually aliens, a species called Luxen. But there are others, evil aliens called Arum that want to kill Luxen to absorb their powers. Some of these Arum are after Daemon and Dee, and Kat lures them away. She gets injured – like near the point of death – and Daemon heals her. But what he doesn’t know is that he mutated her. She’s now a hybrid and connected to Daemon. If one of them dies, the other dies. Oh, and plot twist, Daemon has been crushing on Kat since she moved in. Other stuff happens, Daemon and Kat fall in love, people die, a guy named Blake shows up, and it’s revealed that Dawson – Daemon and Dee’s brother - and Bethany – his human girlfriend – are actually alive and imprisoned by a group called Daedalus. During a rescue attempt of Bethany, Kat is trapped and taken. And that’s where book 4 starts.

After book 3’s ending, I was desperate to get my hands on book 4 and even when I did – I caved and bought it of Apple’s bookstore – it took me a few months to get around to reading it. When I finally did, I was instantly depressed. Kat was indeed captured by Daedalus, and they try to explain that what they’re doing isn’t as bad as the Luxen have made it out to be. And the killer thing was that Blake – yes, the same Blake who betrayed them – was actually working for Daedalus the whole time Kat and the others were planning their break in to the compound.

I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve been waiting for Blake’s death for ages. He is a complete and utter asshole. Still though, as much as I wanted him dead…his death was bittersweet. When Daemon does finally get reunited with Kat, it still wasn’t what I was expecting either… I was expecting him to come in guns blazing, not giving himself up freely to them.

The funny thing about the first part of this book was the fact that even though Deadalus kept claiming that they weren’t the bad guys there, they kept revealing these horrible things that they did. Like the Origins – babies from a Luxen and a hybrid – and the other reason they were excited to get Kat and Daemon into their compound. It turns out that they wanted the two to mate and create an origin. Ew.

The second part of the book gets better. Daemon and Kat escape from the compound and meet up with Luc and Daemon’s family. There are some uber cute fluffy scenes between Kat and Daemon, not to mention a few lemon scenes that you usually don’t see in young adult books. But while we’re on the subject of Daemon and Kat scenes…

Holy shit! Marriage! Are they insane?! I know that they love each other, and that they will probably never be with anyone else because of their bond and all, but holy shit. I still think they’re a little young to be doing this.

Okay, moving on. Can we all admit that the scene where Matthew is revealed to be the one who has been betraying them all along was totally unexpected? Even though, when you think about it…the only class that Kat and Blake had together was Matthew’s…. hm…. You know what, I might have totally missed that one because I was totally concentrated on Daemon and Kat cuteness.

And the reveal scene in Vegas. OH. MY. GOD. I was crying so hard during the whole thing. I mean, I was finally getting to like Andrew and Ash and then…poof. Just like that they’re dead. Damn.

However, that wouldn’t be the only punches that Armentrout would pull in this book. Just when you think everything is going to be okay…it’s revealed that Beth is pregnant and then…

More Luxen land on Earth and Daemon, Dee, and Dawson get all weird…THE END. What?! That’s it? And I have to wait until…oh. Book 5 comes out the day after my birthday. Well, I know what I’m doing the rest of that week.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Even though the book had a slow beginning, the Daemon/Kat cuteness was amazing, the twists were insane and the ending was mind blowing.

Bookshelf worthy? I’m not usually one for the whole sci-fi genre, but this series is fantastic and I would love to have them on my shelves.   

Nightshade Legacy: Snakeroot by Andrea Cremer

Bosque Mar just won’t die. No, seriously, after five damn books of fighting this asshole, the guy just won’t leave this world alone.

Snakeroot takes place right after Bloodrose, only instead of following Calla, it follows Adne, Ren’s sister, as she deals with the fallout of the last battle with Bosque Mar. It turns out that even though we assumed that Adne and Connor were going to live happily ever after, Adne is having nightmares and these nightmares aren’t pretty. They’re scaring her and everyone else around her.

Logan Bane – the Keeper who ran off in Bloodrose – seems to be plotting something. Apparently, feeling bad for summoning Bosque Mar to his undoing, he’s trying to make things right and reopen the Rift. I didn’t really care for his character in the original trilogy and man, did I really hate this guy in this book. I literally said out loud a few times, “Oh, look who finally decided to grow a backbone,” etc. However, I will give Logan this, his first act of magic brought the spirit of Ren back, which in my book is a good thing. I still hate the fact that he was killed in the last book and with him being brought back in this one, even if it is as a spirit, sort of redeems Logan…

Until he kills one of his Keeper friends and tries to sway Sarah – Shay’s mom – to bring him a box by promising her that he might be able to bring Shay back to her. Speaking of Sarah, have I mentioned yet how much I hated her? No? Well, I really did. I get where she was coming from – she hasn’t seen her son in years, and when she’s finally reunited with him it’s only for, like, a minute before he permanently becomes a wolf – but couldn’t she see that he chose to become a wolf? He chose to be with Calla and the others.

The book ends with Adne going off with Logan to see Bosque Mar and the Searchers experiencing another upheaval. Seriously, what is the point of Conatus? There is always an usurp of power going on. I thought these guys were supposed to be the good guys? Anyway, it took my a while to try and figure out just where Cremer was going with this book, and in reality I’m still not a hundred percent sure. My theory is that Adne is somehow the reincarnation of Eira – that’s the only way I can explain the whole dream Adne had where Bosque Mar was touching her and telling her about the son she was carrying.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. Cremer’s writing is still fantastic, but seemed to be lacking the awesomeness that was in the prequel series. Not to mention the characters didn’t really jump off the page like they did in the previous five books, and I’m still not sure just where she’s going with this book.

Bookshelf worthy? If you’re the kind of person who has to own every book in a series, good or bad, then yes. Otherwise, I’d try your local library.