Category: Urban Fantasy
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The Mortal War is over, and Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at least. And—most important of all—Clary can finally call Jace her boyfriend.
But nothing comes without a price.
Someone is murdering Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her. His mother has just found out that he’s a vampire and now he’s homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse that’s wrecking his life. And they’re willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he’s dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other.
When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.
Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.
With all of the little unanswered questions at the end of City of Glass, I couldn’t help but be eager for the fourth book. So now that I’ve returned to The Mortal Instruments series, I can finally review it.
In City of Fallen Angels we see a lot of different characters’ points of view, which I actually like. Clary has taken a bit of a backseat to Simon, who is coping with being a Daylighter and bearing the cursed mark of Cain. Did I mention the idiot is dating two girls at once since he doesn’t know how to say no? Come on, things like that hardly end well and the love triangle feels a bit forced. Other than that, Cassandra Clare’s characterization is decent, but nothing truly exceptional.
The plot is well paced and there are some unexpected twists. We also meet some of the characters from Clockwork Angel, which I would recommend you read first. It’s not necessary, but it helps you understand the vampire Camille and Magnus’ past, especially when Camille and Magnus allude to their past together. One of the best things about City of Fallen Angels is that we finally get to learn more about demons and their origins as well as about the history of the Shadowhunters. And with the cliffhanger at the end, I’m anxious to read the fifth book, City of Lost Souls.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
(Cover picture courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Welcome to the magical underworld of Venice, Italy. Here, hidden canals and crumbling rooftops shelter runaways and children with incredible secrets…
After escaping from their cruel aunt and uncle, orphans Prosper and Bo meet a mysterious boy who calls himself the “Thief Lord”. Clever and charming, the Thief Lord leads a band of street children who enjoy making mischief. But the Thief Lord also has a dark secret. And suddenly Prosper and Bo find themselves on a fantastical journey to a forgotten place. What they discover there will change the course of their destiny.
In The Thief Lord, Cornelia Funke transports readers to the enchanting world of Venice, a city filled with canals, gondolas and ancient buildings. But there’s a dark side to this beautiful city, a side that no one hears about—the side that homeless children like Riccio, Mosca, Hornet, Bo and Prosper deal with every day. Luckily, the children are taken care of by the Thief Lord, Scipio (as in Scipio Africanus, the long-haired Roman general). Of course, not everything is as it seems.
Cornelia Funke’s writing style is second to none when it comes to children/tween literature. She doesn’t usually write stories that take place in the real world, but when she does, she still manages to insert her signature hint of magic. The Thief Lord seems like your average realistic fiction novel, until the climax, where the magic that was there all along finally reveals itself. And trust me, even the most attentive reader won’t be able to predict half of the things that happen during the climax.
Full of twists and turns, heartbreak and humour, The Thief Lord will captivate its young readers. Readers will also be able to identify with at least one of the children, if not all of them, which is the beauty of Cornelia Funke’s stories. Her writing is fantastic and her pacing is excellent, but what sets her apart from many writers is that she writes characters you will always remember.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
(Cover picture courtesy of Atom Books.)
My name is Chloe Saunders. I’m fifteen, and I would love to be normal.
But normal is one thing I’m not.
To start with, I’m having these feelings for a certain antisocial werewolf and his sweet-tempered brother—who just happens to be a sorcerer—but, between you and me, I’m leaning toward the werewolf.
Not normal.
My friends and I are also on the run from an evil corporation that wants to get rid of us—permanently.
Definitely not normal.
And finally, I’m a genetically altered necromancer who can raise the dead, rotting corpses and all, without even trying.
As far away from normal as it gets.
Just like The Hunger Games, I wish The Summoning had been a stand-alone novel. It wasn’t, so I was stuck reading The Reckoning, a terrible end to what had potential to be an amazing series. Alas, Kelley Armstrong did not take the series to the next level.
My main problem is the cliché factor. Necromancers are definitely new in the YA scene as they don’t have that vampire appeal, but that’s not what I have a problem with. But the rest of the book? Well, it’s pretty cliché. Like a lot of YA books, it involves a huge love triangle, but for whatever reason it just doesn’t work. Some books can pull off love triangles very well, but this is not one of those books. It really ends up making Chloe into a Mary Sue, which is kind of is anyway, even without the love triangle. Not only are the character clichéd, but the whole evil-corporation-genetically-engineers-people-then-wants-to-kill-them premise is old and utterly predictable.
The plot of The Reckoning just drags on and on, as if Kelley Armstrong suddenly had the urge to describe all of the corpses Chloe raises in mind-numbing detail. I have a pretty strong stomach when it comes to gore (or else I would never, ever look up things like this for fun), but I did notice my appetite disappeared after reading this book. This is a YA book, but it is not for the sensitive.
I give this book 2/5 stars.
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
(Cover picture courtesy of Once Upon a Reader’s Blog.)
To save her mother’s life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters—never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.
As Clary uncovers more about her family’s past, she finds an ally in the mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he’s willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City—whatever the cost?
Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.
In City of Glass, I have found something incredibly rare: a good ending to a series. I’m completely serious here; there are very few ends to series that leave me feeling satisfied. But City of Glass is definitely one of these books.
It’s exciting, with consistent pacing and much more character development than in the first two novels in the trilogy. Cassandra Clare’s writing has noticeably improved and she is in her element as she ratchets up the tension near the end while resolving little subplots along the way. What separates her from other YA authors is that she can throw truly unexpected twists at readers, yet have them make sense in the context of the story.
Unlike in the last two books, Clary is given much more depth. She finally takes control of her life rather than just helplessly pining after Jace throughout the novel. As she harnesses her special drawing talent with Runes, she also becomes powerful and independent. When Jace pushes her away, she finally has enough of loving someone she cannot have and begins to take an interest in Sebastian, a mysterious and handsome young Shadowhunter around her age. Yet not everything is as it seems, which makes this a great book.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
(Cover picture courtesy of Realm of Words.)
If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I’m as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I’m a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control: I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.
Now I’m running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.
Unlike City of Ashes, The Awakening suffers from Book Two Disease, a terrible affliction known to cause frustration, disgust, boredom, and in rare cases, complete alienation. In my case it was a sense of boredom instead of complete alienation, but second books should improve upon the original story, not make readers question their judgment of the first book.
We learn a little bit more about Derek and Simon’s past, the mysterious Edison Group and why Chloe is such a powerful necromancer at such a young age. But most of the book revolves around Derek, Simon, Chloe and Tori trying to find a safe place from the Edison Group. The plot is not nearly as exciting as the first book simply because it puts a lot of emphasis (perhaps too much) on the inter-character relationships. Like a lot of YA fiction, it revolves around a love triangle. Some books can pull off a love triangle very well, but this is not one of them. It just ends up feeling like Chloe is a Mary Sue that every guy she meets falls in love with.
I wish the second book in the Darkest Powers trilogy could have been better because it had a lot of potential. Sadly, Kelley Armstrong doesn’t take it to the next level and it made me very reluctant to read the third book. The Awakening is not a bad book on its own, but in the context of the series, it is not a good book.
I give this book 2/5 stars.