Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 89
July 10, 2012
Top Ten Books I Have But Need To Read
Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by the Broke and the Bookish!
So, this week’s TTT is a freebie, so I chose a topic very close to my heart. We bloggers are used to our TBR lists being out of control – that’s normal! However, it is our CHOICE to make the list of books we need to review get out of control as well, and I have so definitely done so. So, I figure, I can tell you guys all about the books I need to get around to and maybe y’all can provide some encouragement or sympathy. Or, you know, laugh at me. (All title links go to Goodreads.)
1. Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
I don’t want to tell you how long I’ve had this one from NetGalley. However, since it isn’t published til November, I keep pushing it back in favor of reviews I have to get done first! Still, can’t wait to read this one. Sounds so good!
2. Mystic City by Theo Lawrence
This one isn’t so bad, because I did just get this from Edelweiss like yesterday. But still, I never should have requested it in the first place. Yet, I did. And I’m not sad about it at all. I’m way too intrigued by this.
Scholastics bombarded me on NetGalley the other day with THREE different review acceptances, when I’d requested the books all at different times. Oh how I’m not a fan of that. I already finished one of them, but I’ve still got this one and…
4. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE I HAVE THIS. Just … eeeek! I’m dying to get started on this one, since it’s next in my que to go! 
5. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente
This one begins the books that isn’t from NetGalley or Edelweiss, but it’s still really important I read this one soon. Why? I’M GOING TO MEET THE AUTHOR. (Don’t worry, I’ll tell you guys all about it.) Speaking of which…
This is another author I’m going to be meeting, at the same event as Catherynne Valente. I’m going, by the way, to the Alpha Fantasy, Scifi and Horror Writing Workshop for Young Writers. It takes place in Pennsylvania and is SPECTACULARLY AWESOME. I will also be meeting John Joseph Adams and Tamora Pierce there.
I got this in a book swap a few weeks ago for good reason: Holly Black, Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan are doing a book signing in my area! I’ve read her stuff before, but I don’t own any of it, so I had to make sure I get on that. Oh, and actually reading this would be nice. Not to mention…
This one as well! Thank you Vivien (@deadtossedwaves on Twitter) for making this possible!
9. Morning Star by Desiree Finkbeiner
You guys may or may not remember that I interviewed Desiree a few months ago! Well, she also gave me an ecopy of her book the read and review at my leisure, and I’d like to make my leisure NOW because I’ve been dying to read this since she sent me the blurb! Still just haven’t gotten there, though.
10. Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck
Got this for my birthday because I’ve been dying to read it for FOREVER. I’m still taking my sweet time getting around to it, though! I wish I read so much faster.
BONUS ROUND! (Otherwise known as where I show you how insane I really am.)
Rounding out my have-but-need-to-read-list on Goodreads are:
Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson ~ Chime by Franny Billingsley ~ Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce ~ Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray ~ The Iron King by Julie Kagawa ~ Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler ~ Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick ~ Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce
July 9, 2012
ARC Review: “Glitch” by Heather Anastasiu
Glitch (Glitch #1) by Heather Anastasiu
3 stars
In the Community, there is no more pain or war. Implanted computer chips have wiped humanity clean of destructive emotions, and thoughts are replaced by a feed from the Link network. When Zoe starts to malfunction (or “glitch”), she suddenly begins having her own thoughts, feelings, and identity. Any anomalies must be immediately reported and repaired, but Zoe has a secret so dark it will mean certain deactivation if she is caught: her glitches have given her uncontrollable telekinetic powers. As Zoe struggles to control her abilities and stay hidden, she meets other glitchers including Max, who can disguise his appearance, and Adrien, who has visions of the future. Together, this growing band of glitchers must find a way to free themselves from the controlling hands of the Community before they’re caught and deactivated, or worse. In this action-packed debut, Glitch begins an exciting new young adult trilogy.
This review is based on an ARC provided by NetGalley. You can pick up a copy for yourself on August 7, 2012!
Oh YA romance, you have struck again.
If you have read many of my reviews, then you know I hate insta-love. I literally headdesk every time I read a book where it happens, especially when there is a love triangle involved. Glitch is no exception to what seems to be a YA norm these days. But as if that wasn’t enough, then it got strange. Really strange.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
When I began reading this book, I thought it was really awesome. The world of Glitch is excellently laid out. I have trouble remembering the shortcuts for copy and paste on my computer, but I easily understood the ins and outs of this entire population who basically has USB like ports connected to their brains. That, ladies and gents, is no small feat. The descriptions of Zoe’s first glitches in the book were also excellent; I really felt what it was like for her to all of a sudden feel all these emotions and see all these colors that she had no name for. I was freakishly excited for that to continue.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
I hate putting spoilers in my reviews, but this is one I just have to mention. I was actually really digging a plot twist that happened about a third of the way through. In a nutshell, Zoe gets caught and Adrien saves her by taking her to the surface. He takes her home, tells her he’s been having visions of her being the leader of the resistance and then they fall in love with a snap of the fingers.
But there’s a problem. The whole time, Zoe had a memory jammer in her port. When they send her back into the Community, they have to take the memory jammer out and she forgets everything.
I had many applause for that, until it started being handled strangely. The plot reset doesn’t have the impact it could have if it had focused only on Adrian and Zoe. Instead, they bring Max into the picture.
And Max creeped me out.
He is the other point of our love triangle, but I have no idea why. His glitching turns him into the randiest teenage boy ever. He is instantly creepy possessive of Zoe, and also has severe anger management issues. I believe this was supposed to make a point about the impact of glitching and having emotions or whatever, but he just creeped me out. Especially when he was trying to get into Zoe’s pants. That was the most awkward thing ever.
But not to worry, folks! Because–even though the time Adrien saved her has been wiped from her memory, Zoe is still fantastically sure that he’s her one and only and they are meant to be together forever. Because she’s known him for a few days and he isn’t trying to get into her pants OR have anger management issues. At least that’s a good choice.
*END SPOILERS*
I almost wish that the ending had been longer. So many exciting things REALLY started happening, but I felt that they weren’t fleshed out enough. The plot points made a vague amount of sense, but not enough time was spent on them to really get the impact they should have. That said, there was certainly nonstop action going on, which always makes me happy, so I’m willing to excuse that as long as maybe we’ll get some retrospective insight into what was really going.
All and all, Glitch was an interesting book. It suffered pretty badly from cliché YA romance, but the action and the world building tried to make up for it. The glitcher powers were pretty fantastic–especially Zoe’s–and I really loved the description of how she uses that power. Now that Max is out of the picture (at least for a little bit), I think the story can only go up from here. The story really does have potential, and now that the romance nonsense is out of the way I’m excited for what will happen next.
July 7, 2012
Stacking the Shelves #2
Welcome to my second Stacking the Shelves, as hosted by Tynga’s Reviews! This week is another crazy book haul, mostly thanks to NetGalley. Don’t miss the video, where I talk about all these fantastic books and also about a summer reading event I’m participating in during August that you don’t want to miss! (Sorry about the buzzing noise. No idea where that came from, but it won’t go away.)
This week’s books:
Given:
Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson – Goodreads
Won:
The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry – Goodreads
NetGalley:
Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch – Goodreads
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater – Goodreads
The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan – Goodreads
The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron – Goodreads
Blog Tour:
Destiny’s Fire by Trisha Wolfe – Goodreads
(The event that this is part of will be running from August 6th-11th. My post goes up August 10th.)
Author Request:
Flicker by Kaye Thornbrugh - Goodreads
July 5, 2012
Summer Reads Giveaway Hop!
That’s right, it’s time for another giveaway hop! This one is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Rex Robot Reviews. There are over 200 blogs giving away books for this hop, so make sure you check out the list HERE.
Now, onto important things. What books am *I* giving away, right here right now? Well, I’m giving away THREE YA contemporary romances – some of the most perfect books to share your summer nights with. (You can click the pictures to navigate to the book’s Goodreads page.)
A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker ~ When It Happens by Susane Colasanti ~ Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison
Excited yet? These are some of the CUTEST YA contemporaries I have EVER read, so I know that I am! So here’s the deal:
This giveaway runs from July 6th to 11:59 PM on July 11th. It is for US only. (Sorry guys, but I have an international giveaway coming soon!) To enter, click HERE.
ARC Review: “Innocent Darkness” by Suzanne Lazear
Innocent Darkness (The Aether Chronicles #1) by Suzanne Lazear (Click for Goodreads)
Wish. Love. Desire. Live.
Sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock’s hoyden ways land her in an abusive reform school far from home. On mid-summer’s eve she wishes to be anyplace but that dreadful school. A mysterious man from the Realm of Faerie rescues her and brings her to the Otherworld, only to reveal that she must be sacrificed, otherwise, the entire Otherworld civilization will perish.
3 stars
This review is of an ARC received from NetGalley. You can get a copy for yourself August 8th, 2012.
In comparing the Goodreads blurb (the one used above) and the back cover blurb from my ebook, the difference is staggering. The back cover blurb tries to convince you the book is steampunk. The Goodreads blurb doesn’t try to pretend.
Despite having awesome amazing steampunk trappings at the beginning, fans of straight steampunk might find themselves a little upset with this book. Since I personally didn’t request this book just because of the steampunk factor and I enjoy reading about fairies this didn’t bother me, but I can only imagine steampunk fans not being warned of this. So, yeah, you’ve been warned.
Noli is my kind of girl. She makes fun of simpering, vain girls and prefers fixing machines and hoverboarding. The time she spends at the abusive boarding school is written fantastically, and it sent chills up my spine while making me ill. (Not graphic anything, mind you. Just the idea that they would do these things to these girls.) That entire first section is the entire reason this gets three stars. It made me excited for what was to come and allowed me to fall in love with Noli.
Unfortunately, the second half of the book wasn’t as great.
To be fair, I loved the setting. I loved the plot. I loved the description and the little wood fairies. But the characters began to grind against me. Noli, for example, begins to lose her independence a little bit. She spends a lot of the second half crying and running away. Granted, freaking everybody DID lie to her and she does do some spectacular slapping-of-faces, but she spends so much time crying and simpering and it really began to grate on my nerves.
The “mysterious man” from the blurb is a Fae named Kevighn. He’s the queen’s huntsman, tasked with finding a girl full of “Spark” to sacrifice so the Otherworld, magic and the Fae can continue to exist. He does this by seduction, usually. However, Noli is just different from the other girls and he finds himself falling in love with her. Because she … gardens? Never once did she do much of anything except frustrating him by not giving into his charms or binding to the Otherworld. His character was bland, seemingly unnecessary, and made way too many mentions of how much he wanted soft women and opium. So why was he there?
Love triangle.
Thankfully, at least Noli’s best friend from forever, Stephen “V” Darrow, is the other half of the triangle. Despite being a little over swoony, he’s actually a realistic kind of guy. Noli’s reasons for liking Kevignh are flimsy at best, but at least with V the attraction makes sense. They are clearly in love with each other right from the get-go, so they also lacked insta-love which I enjoyed. (Well, until it got awkward there towards the end and I was wondering if I was going to need to warn people under 16 about this book. That was … spontaneous.)
It is the plot that saves this second half. After all, I still like Noli enough that I don’t want her to DIE. V showing up gets her away from Kevighn (at least, until he randomly shows up, twice), which makes a lot of things more bearable. V’s brother James and Noli’s friend Charlotte are also fun characters, and I enjoyed reading about them.
The first part of the end seemed like a deus ex machina. This huge issue seemed to be resolved too easily. What I didn’t realize what that the book was NOT over yet. What happens to Noli at the end was definitely a twist that I wasn’t expecting, and it left me interested in what would happen next.
Overall, the book was a solid 3 stars. I even thought about giving it 3 1/2. I recommend this book for people looking to ease into steampunk, as long as you are the kind of reader that likes romance-centric novels with love triangles. If you’re looking for straight steampunk or something with a little less romance (the latter of which I was hoping for) then this might not be a top choice for you. Still, I enjoyed the world and I look forward to the next installment!
The second book in The Aether Chronicles is currently untitled, with an expected release year of 2013.
July 4, 2012
Waiting on Wednesday #16
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!
Title: Prodigy (Legend #2)
Author: Marie Lu
ETA: January 29, 2013
Summary from Goodreads: The Elector Primo of the Republic has died, with his son assuming power over what’s left of the USA’s West Coast as it teeters on full-blown chaos. June and Day join up with Patriot rebels so they can rescue Day’s brother and head east for the Colonies. In order to help, though, the rebels want June and Day to kill the new Elector, who may pose an even greater threat than his father.
Why I’m Waiting: I finally just finished reading Legend, and it was pretty good! Even my brother enjoyed it, which was awesome. Plus, that summary? It sounds SO DIFFERENT than anything I could have thought would happen. It’s already completely blown away my expectations, and it isn’t even released yet! The cover is also really neat looking, always a plus!
July 3, 2012
ARC Review: “Insignia” by SJ Kincaid
Insignia (Insignia #1) by SJ Kincaid
More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom’s drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.
Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone’s been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he’s offered the incredible—a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom’s instincts for combat will be put to the test, and if he passes, he’ll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War Three. Finally, he’ll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom’s always wanted—friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters—but what will it cost him?
Gripping and provocative, S. J. Kincaid’s futuristic thrill ride of a debut crackles with memorable characters, tremendous wit, and a vision of the future that asks startling, timely questions about the melding of humanity and technology.
4 1/2 stars
This ARC was received via a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. Thank you Goodreads and Katherine Tegen Books! You can get a copy of your own on July 10, 2012.
You know those books that you never want to end because you’re having so much fun?
This is one of those books.
In all honesty, when I won this off Goodreads I wasn’t sure what to think. I certainly wasn’t dying to read this book by any means, but I figured it would be a neat present to give my brother. However, because I’m a good girl and I totally enjoy the opportunity First Reads gives people, I knew that I HAD to at least try to read and review it.
I am SO GLAD I did.
I don’t usually read books with 14-year-old male main characters. Usually I find them annoying as the species themselves. 
However, Kincaid brings Tom to life with fantastic ability. I feel his adolescent pain and really get to know how he ticks. Whereas sometimes I feel YA/middle grade books can present caricatures of adolescent life, Kincaid brought forward a REAL fourteen year old boy.
And it wasn’t just Tom, either. All his friends, from his best friend Vik to loner girl genius Wyatt were just fantastic. All the dialogue, the reactions and the jokes were spot on for the age range and wonderfully written. Plus, the humor wasn’t tired or cliché. I literally doubled over laughing in places, remembering the ridiculous jokes that I had as a kid. I want to throw around more adjectives, but I’ll bottom line with: characters in Insignia = perfect.
I was also impressed with Kincaid’s world building. There was a LOT going on, and you can tell that every facet is thought out. I could almost picture the new world map. The new governmental structure, the whole fight–it’s a wild concept, but it all had concrete “facts” to make sense of it. Yes, in places it felt a little bit like an info dump, but Kincaid usually managed to dole out the finite details in manageable doses. I could not find one hole in the extensive explanation.
I also really loved how the plot kept moving. There was plenty of action and suspense, all written excellently. This was also one of the few books were I looked forward to the slow downs, too, because Tom and his friends were just so fantastic when they were simply hanging out. I mean, a whole chapter where they run around trying to put virus in each other’s heads and Wyatt ends up making them all impersonate sheep? Pretty irrelevant to the larger plot, but MAN that was FANTASTIC.
To be sure, there were a few things that I found a little farfetched, such as Tom’s friendship/courtship of a certain enemy who shall remain nameless to avert spoilers. It just didn’t make sense as a thing that would legitimately happen. Also, while I enjoyed the range of bad guys and the fact that there was really no black and white where they were concerned, I felt that we weren’t given enough time with the “bad guy” at the end, or even proof of something that would make him act the way he did. I also had to wonder why a few characters, such as Heather, were even there.
All in all, I really enjoyed Insignia the whole way through. It was one of those books where I just sat back and allowed myself to enjoy the ride. I am still certainly going to let my brother read it, but now he HAS to give it back. This is one that I’ll enjoy rereading when I need a laugh and some excitement.
July 2, 2012
Review: “Under the Never Sky” by Veronica Rossi
Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1) by Veronica Rossi (Click for Goodreads)
Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.
Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland – known as The Death Shop – are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild – a savage – and her only hope of staying alive.
A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile – everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.
3 1/2 stars
You guys have no idea how long this book was on my list. I mean, seriously. I wanted this SO MUCH when it first came out, and I was ecstatic to have finally gotten it after hearing such great things about it.
So you can imagine my frustration with the entire first half of this book.
The biggest issue for me was the amount of unexplained exposition. I kept having this feel of being THIS CLOSE to falling head over heels for this book, just as soon as a few more things made sense. However, it seemed like every time I approached that precipice, I was attacked with more words that I was supposed to figure out on my own. “Blood-Lord,” “Scire,” “Aether storms”–that’s only the beginning of the strange words. Actually, I felt like I was being taught to read Shakespeare all over again, hearing my teacher say “Now, if you don’t understand the word, read the words around it and see if you can infer its meaning.” I can usually forgive this in a book somewhat, if I’m enjoying the read, but this continued until almost exactly half way through.
The characters of Aria and Perry aren’t exactly stellar in the first part either. Aria seems to be devolving into your typical cliché female heroine and Perry is having a bipolar characterization where he isn’t sure if he should kill his brother and take over his tribe or leave his tribe altogether because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone.
But then you reach that almost exact middle point of the book. On one page, you have Perry thinking that menstruation smells like violets. On the opposite page (the book switches between Aria and Perry’s POVs), you have Aria freaking out because she can now “conceive at random.” I stared at these pages for a good long time wondering just what in the world was happening. Then I turned the page, warily.
And the book got exponentially better.
Aria and Perry become likeable characters. Aria shows you that she isn’t a whiny, helpless girl, but she isn’t obnoxious (too much, anyways) either. Perry gets more depth, and you begin to understand him (and his tribal structure, thank goodness) so much better. Add in Perry’s best friend Roar and the interesting and there-for-too-few-pages Cinder with his AWESOME power, and you’ve got a fantastic mix of characters and story that flows along so much better.
You then, of course, proceed to have some YA romance, but it honestly wasn’t so bad. Aria and Perry do take the chance to get to know and trust each other before deciding they love each other, which made me absolutely delighted. It was decidedly real. Until the last few pages of the book, which made me roll my eyes, but also made me want the next one NOW. So, you know.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. Perhaps someday I’ll reread it a few more times and see if I can get some more understanding out of the first half. The world, the characters and the story throughout were wonderful, it was just in the second half that they were fantastic. Fans of dystopian should be aware that Under the Never Sky would have possibly been more appropriate with a sci-fi label, because it’s very easy to forget this is supposed to be our Earth we’re reading about, but I really liked that. You can bet I’ll be reading the sequel!
June 30, 2012
Stacking the Shelves #1
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews!
Hi everybody! Welcome to my first ever Stacking the Shelves! For those of you who don’t know what this is, its blogging or vlogging about the different books we’ve received in the last week. This gives you readers a hint at what’s coming up on the blog, and also gives us bloggers a chance to squeal about all the awesome goodness we’ve got coming in. So without further ado, here we go!
In summary:
Borrowed:
~Iron King by Julie Kagawa – Goodreads
Won:
~Insignia by S. J. Kincaid – Goodreads
Book Swap:
~Tithe by Holly Black – Goodreads
~Valiant by Holly Black – Goodreads
~Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor- Goodreads
Gift:
~Rapture by Lauren Kate - Goodreads
~Legend by Marie Lu – Goodreads
~Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck - Goodreads
~Oh The Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss
Egalleys
~Defiance by CJ Redwine – Goodreads
~Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louis Rozett – Goodreads
June 29, 2012
Review: “City of Lost Souls” by Cassandra Clare
City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare
The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.
No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?
Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.
And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?
Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.
5 stars
City of Fallen Angels was the first Cassandra Clare book I did not rate 5 stars. I honestly could not believe that–after the almost PERFECT ending of CoG–Clare was going to come back with three more books. I hated the entire storyline, I hated everything that happened and I wanted it to not exist. It wasn’t because the book was bad–hardly!–but because I just really didn’t want the gorgeous ending of CoG to be messed up. And it totally was.
So, with that in mind, we enter me trying to moxie up to read City of Lost Souls. I delayed for a LONG TIME. I’d caught some spoilers through the internet, which made me dread it worse. But I finally realized that I could not let any Clare book sit around for long, and because I’m a completely fangirl and needed to know what happened…I finally read it.
And I am glad I did.
There is a great thing about CoLS, and that is that it reads much differently than the first three books. As my memory serves, CoB, CoA and CoG were all primarily Jace/Clary POVs. In CoLS, however, it feels like EVERYBODY has a POV, which is utterly fantastic. Jace and Clary are still the center of the story, but they aren’t the only thing going on anymore. Sure, not every storyline was a hit with me, so why don’t we break them down?
Simon (and, to a lesser extent, Isabelle): Simon has A LOT to say in this book, and I loved it. He is one of the most fantastic characters in the series, and he’s really getting a fantastic slice of the limelight. His story tangent with his family was great. Plus, Simon/Izzy? SO ADORABLE. Izzy is really becoming more and more of a 3D person, and that’s coming from someone who passed her off as a cliché in the first couple of books.
Jordan/Maia: This is one of the storylines that really bored me. Maia never struck me as a favorite character to begin with, and Jordan and their relationship just feels overly melodramatic. It’s as if there has to be one cliché teen romance rolling around in here just because it’s a thing you do, and it’s these guys.
Alec/Magnus: I have so many feels about this couple. I adored how much of the limelight they got in this book, even if Alec was being an IDIOT. It was fantastic to really see them acting as a couple. EVEN IF ALEC WAS BEING AN IDIOT. Ahem. The end killed me, but I can’t help but totally agree with it.
Jace/Clary: I’ll admit, I’m an absolute sucker for these guys. I was really headdesking a lot about Jace, but Clary was especially coming into her own and it was mostly her POV, so I didn’t mind. Maybe Jace and Alec were parabati linking over the IDIOT! theme? Still, they really grew as a couple at the end, which I loved. Also I am a sucker for these guys.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one more than I thought I would after CoFA. Once again, Clare had me writhing in my seat in laughter and in ALL OTHER FEELINGS. I’m still on the fence about if the series should have continued at all, but I will admit: If the series did have to go on, this is absolutely the way to do it. The story is evolving into being centered on a lot more characters than Jace and Clary and really giving those minor characters we love a chance to shine. TMI fans will not be disappointed.
The sixth and final (at least, it better be this time) book of the Mortal Instruments series, City of Heavenly Fire, is expected to be released March 19, 2014.
