Review: CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare

CLOCKWORK ANGEL

by Cassandra Clare

Hardcover, 479 pages

Published August 31st 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry

Placement in the Pile: Top Picks

Summary:
Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Review:
Wow, where to start? First, I should probably admit I haven't read the City of Bones series yet, though now I definitely want to.

Usually, I'm not big on scary, icky, gory demon stuff. But this book just grabs your attention and won't let go. Clare's writing is so well done that even despite all the gore, you don't feel too grossed out. Well, not too often anyway.

I am dying to know more about Will, and to figure out what Tessa really is, and how can they help Jem and... Phwew! The sequel can't come out fast enough for me!

This book is set about 120 or 130 years (I believe) before the Mortal Instruments series, but apparently there will be characters from this series that will make appearances in the new trilogy that takes place after the MI series. Clare has said on Twitter that you should read Infernal Devices before you read the next MI series. Her world is complex, interesting, and leaves you wanting more. I'm not sure how many of my questions about her world building I would know if I'd read MI already, or if that wouldn't really help at all. I will have to read them to find out, I suppose.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to her fans, or anyone who enjoys historical fiction with an awesome fantastical element (and of course some great romance!). Although I must say, Will had better have a good excuse for his behavior...!

Review DEMON PRINCESS: REIGN CHECK by Michelle Rowan

DEMON PRINCESS: REIGN CHECK
by Michelle Rowan
Published May 25th 2010 by Walker Books for Young Readers
Paperback, 292 Pages

Placement in the Pile: Reaching New Heights

Summary: (From Goodreads)
Nikki Donovan was a demon princess. Now she’s a demon princess in love.

Fresh from finding out she is a demon princess and meeting her father for the first time, Nikki Donovan is looking forward to getting back to her regular high school life. But then Rhys, the handsome teenage king of the faery realm, enrolls at her school as a “foreign exchange student.” Her conflicted feelings for Rhys and her boyfriend are getting in the way of her new relationship with the Shadow-creature Michael.

But this love triangle from hell isn’t even Nikki’s biggest problem: There’s a new prophecy that claims she will destroy all the demon and human worlds. Her best friend Melinda just might be a demon-slayer-in-training. Throw in a field trip to none other than the Underworld itself . . . and Nikki’s going to be hoping for a rain check on more than just her homework!

Review:
I liked this installment of the Demon Princess series even more than the first! Fast, funny and downright romantic I really loved this book and these characters.

Rhys is someone you can't help but like. My biggest complaint about this story was Michael lost some of his charm for me and that was a hard transition when this book is supposed to take place only weeks after the other one ended.

I loved how Michelle Rowan pulled other characters that you thought were normal into the paranormal world, introduced us even deeper into the life and politics of the underworlds, and stayed true to the character of Nikki.

If you liked the first, you will love the second! I can't wait for more in this series!

*ARC received from publisher, with the original cover (not shown)

Review LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES by Laini Taylor

LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES
by,

Laini Taylor



Published:
October 1st 2009 by Arthur A. Levine Books

Hardcover, 272 pages

Placement in Pile:

Hmmm, tough, but I'm going to go with Reaching New Heights (see review for details)

Summary:


Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls:

Goblin Fruit: In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?

Spicy Little Curses: A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.

Hatchling: Six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?

Review:

This is a difficult one for me to place, but I ended up erring on the side of higher for one reason: the writing was absolutely gorgeous. Lush, beautiful, stirring, you name it. The content... not so much. I really hate it when authors have teenage characters smoke, and the girl in Goblin Fruit does, so that was a big put-off for me. But I guess since the point of the story is basically letting Goblins steal your soul for their nectar (and in this case, a kiss); what's a little smoking?

The ideas were all incredibly original, the writing was gorgeous, the illustrations stunning (and sometimes grotesque), and the content quite mature, unless your teenager is obsessed with death, Hell, demons and the like. Also, as a disclaimer, I was really, violently ill with gastroenteritis when I read this, so maybe I just wasn't in a good place to be reading about things like that. Maybe if I'd been totally healthy, the content wouldn't have bothered me at all. But reading about scabby, rotting dead creatures eating cats as a tithe to cross a bridge and stuff like that was a little difficult with my queasy stomach. Especially since she is so good at description--including the gross ones. Also, all three endings just kind of leave you guessing what happens.

Overall, this is worth the read as long as you know what you're getting.

Rating: at least PG13, if not R for content, language, mature themes, etc.