City of Bones (Mortal Instruments Book 1) by Cassandra Clare

Rating 3 out of 5

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books; First Edition, Later Printing edition (March 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416914285
• ISBN-13: 978-1416914280
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches

Given there are heaps of reviews on this book I thought I would do more of a Q&A style review with some basic questions. I found this book hard to review as it would be very easy to give away spoilers.

What is the book about?
City of Bones follows the story of 15 year old Clary. One night Clary and her friend Simon go to the Pandemonium Club and their lives change forever after witnessing a murder where the body then proceeds to disappear into thin air. Clary then finds herself thrust into the middle of world she never knew existed

Who was your favorite character?
Probably Jace. He was witty and interesting.

Which character did you dislike the most?
Easily Alex. I know the reader does get some back story to him at the end of the book which goes some way to explaining his character. But I didn't like him on any level. He could probably easily be voted "character most likely to turn to the dark side".

How does this book compare to A Clockwork Angel?
I can honestly say I liked A Clockwork Angel better. A Clockwork Angel came well after this series was written (even though it is a prequel), and it felt Clare had a better feel for the world in that book compared to City of Bones. Plus I liked the characters better. I cant really put my finger on why I liked A Clockwork Angel better I just did.

Is the story original?
Not particularly. You could see the plot twists coming. There are no surprises.

Is there much action?
There is quite a bit of action in the second half of the book. But the teen love triangle is more the focus I thought.

Is it like Harry Potter? 
Not really. There are some parallels yes, but its not like that story line is really original, even before JK Rowling got it. The whole "orphan discovers they are a wizard/witch and there is a magical world existing next to ours" story line was being used for years before Harry Potter so don’t act like JK Rowling invented it.

What is the mythology used? 
The book taps into the angels and demons mythology and builds on those. For instance the Shadow hunters are descended from the people the Angel Riezel mixed his blood with. I haven't read the whole series so do not really know the whole mythology attached to this world, but it seems interesting so far. There are also Vampire, Werewolves, and Warlocks. That side is not really developed in this book.

Would you recommend the book? 
To a teenage girl, yes definitely. That is the target audience and I think they will love it. For older readers, not so sure. While I didn't mind the story, it didn't grab me and make me want to read the rest of the series on the spot. There are better books in the paranormal/urban fantasy genre that I would recommend over this one.

Extras
Head over to Cassandra Clares page and read Chapter One City of Bones.

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Rating 4 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 239 KB
Print Length: 256 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0545230500
Publisher: Point; 1 edition (March 1, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004P5NVIO

Hi guys, for this review I am going to try a letter style review again. I hope you enjoy it!

Dear Irishyz

You are lucky I know how much you did try to book bully me into getting this book, otherwise you would be in BIG trouble. I can not believe I waited so long to read this book! I was setting it aside as a holiday read. But I wanted a bit of a change from the last few books I have read, (you know I get the jitters if I don’t get a good dose of paranormal stories) so thought I would give it a go. I blitzed this book in 24 hours, which I have not done since March when I was stuck on a plane for 5 hours.

I liked the basics of the story which focuses around Clarity (Clare) Fern who is Psychic. As you know she lives in a small American town with her mother and brother who also have gifts. I liked that her whole family had abilities, but different forms; her mother is a telepath and her brother is a medium. After a tourist is murdered Clare is brought in by the Mayor to help the new police detective solve the mystery. As the death toll rises, the pressure is on for Clare to solve the crime, and prove her brothers innocence. Phew did I miss something? I think that sums up the plot which while simple was still engaging.

Clare is a wonderful character. I instantly took to her as she is likable with a wicked sense of humour. She has snappy retorts, is quick thinking and intelligent. She is not perfect, and not “mature beyond her years”. Plus the girl likes pizza, and orders pancakes for lunch! She is a girl after my own heart. The supporting characters were all enjoyable as well, especially Clare’s family who I just wanted to adopt.

The love triangle with Clare, Justin and Gabriel felt believable and not to "teen agsty". I will be interested to see how Clare’s relationship with each guy develops over future books. Clare could easily be with either of them. Which team am I? Team Justin or Team Gabriel? As yet, I cant call which team I am on but so far I like Justin (despite his boo boo which lead to his ex status, which I personally think was a frame up!) however to be honest, I preferred Nate to Justin and Gabriel!

I really enjoyed the mystery side of it, as it was well written. It felt more like cosy style but as I like that style of writing I am not fussed. Clare, Justin and Gabriel never magically knew more then they could realistically find out, and there were limited to what her gift could show her. I guess the only quibble would be that in the real world I doubt the police would hire a 16 year old psychic, I’m sure there would be all sorts of problems with that ethically, legally and stuff BUT that would have made the story incredibly boring really, and to be honest I didn’t care enough to get upset about. I can normally guess pretty early on who the murderer is but this time I couldn’t make my mind up. The murderer was a surprise and the author, Harrington, did a good job of throwing the reader of the scent.

I really, really liked this book and I am so glad you talked me into buying it. I can not wait till the next book in the series comes out. This looks like a really promising series that is fun and light, and well written. Thanks again for letting me know about this book, I will definitely be spreading the word, and letting others know about it.

Cheers
Caspette

PS How was the Doctor Who finale?

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices Book 1) By Cassandra Clare

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 498 KB
Print Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Walker (September 6, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B0046EDMZ6

First Sentence:"The demon exploded in a shower of ichor and guts."

Ok I LOVED this book. I was hooked pretty much from the moment I started. Why was I resisting this author for so long? Oh probably because I am weary now of "hyped" authors that everyone in the blogging world raves about. Clare's series the Mortal Instruments has certainly generated some positive reviews around the blogging world.

This is set in the same "world" as the Mortal Instruments series but is a prequel to the series. Set in Victoria London (1878). This series follows Tessa, a sixteen year old girl who travels to London to live with her brother. Upon her arrival she is kidnapped by the Dark Sisters and forced to discover her unique ability. She is rescued by the Shadow Hunters and provided protection by them. However it is soon discovered she is pivotal to a plot to over throw the Shadow Hunters and upset the balance between the different supernatural beings factions.

There is some wonderful action and great pacing. Clare has a good balance between action, humour, and information. The story moved smoothly. This could be because Clare has already created this world and knows it inside out, so was able to explain it properly.

The love triangle is more like a love pentagon. With all the teenagers in this book in love with the other, who doesn't seem to return the love and is unaware of the adoration's of the other characters. I can see this getting messy in the books to come and create some teen angst and conflict Victorian style. Happily in this book it doesn't over power the story but it does get a little confusing.

Will is the bad boy with a heart. Gem is the sick but gentle best friend. Both were enjoyable characters who didn't quite fall into the cliche. Both would make good partnerships with Tessa. Tessa is brave and strong, but conflicted. For the first time I actually enjoyed the bad boy in the book.

You don't need to have read the mortal instruments series to read this series or vise versa. The author on her blog says neither gives away plot spoilers though names and characters do crop up in each series.

A good start to the series. I will definitely be reading the rest of the prequel trilogy and starting the Mortal Instruments series.

The Killing Hands (Sophie Anderson Book 4) by PD Martin

Rating: 4 out of 5

ISBN 13: 9781405039024
ISBN 10: 1405039027
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 394
Dimensions: 234 x 153mm
Released: 26/07/2010

First Sentence: "He took another long drag of the cigarette and then flicked the butt, mesmerised by its perfect arc and fall"

This is the fourth book in the Sophie Anderson series. Sophie Anderson is an FBI profiler, she also has "visions". In this book Sophie is still in LA. This time her case is to do with the gangs of LA.

This time round the story focus is not serial killers but the gangs of LA. This makes for a different feel to the previous books that focused on serial killers. It also means there is a little more explanation in this book as Martin introduces all the different government branches that deal with crime (which there are a lot of if it is accurate, which I am sure it is).

The reader gets to learn more about Sophie's personal life in this book with her parents making an appearance. There is some development with Sophie's personal life. Which I think is a good thing because she was getting borderline crazy with all her exercising and keeping people at a distance.

The pacing is quite good considering this book has a lot of character development for Sophie. Martin has a good balance of information, story development, and action.

One thing I really like about PD Martins books are the topics she picks. She manages to deal with some really interesting ones that make her crime series just that little bit different. She also has clearly done a lot of research which also shines through in her writing.

One gripe I had which is not the authors fault was the character of Joe DeLuca. I actually work with a Joe Deluca and I found it hard not to super-impose the DeLuca I knew onto the DeLuca in the book. Unfortunately the DeLuca I know could never be an FBI agent, so this made it hard for me to find the character in the book convincing.

Another good book in the Sophie Anderson series. I will definitely be getting hold of the next book.

The Iron Witch (Ironbridge Chronicles #1) by Karen Mahoney

Rating: 4 out of 5
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: Flux (February 8, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 073872582X
ISBN-13: 978-0738725826
Due Out: 8 February 2011

First Sentence: "My father died saving my life when I was seven years old".

Donna Underwood is branded. After a near fatal accident as a child, that claimed the life of her father, she was put back together using magic. As a result her arms are covered in tattoos from the tops of fingers to her elbows, so she is literally branded. Donna comes from a long line of Alchemists and is being groomed to join the order. She has never had the need to question her life or do anything different. That is until her best friend Navin is kidnapped by wood elves, and Donna must rescue her friend or risk having him killed. As Donna races to save her friend she must make a decision that will either betray her family and the alchemist community, or betray her best friend.

Iron Witch is the debut novel of Karen Mahoney (though she has previously had some short stories published in two anthologies). I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance reader copy, which I don't get very often so I was pretty excited to have it. Not as excited as discovering the hidden Christmas presents before Christmas, but pretty close.

From the start I was hooked. I read this in about two days which is great for me, but bad for my house because my house chores got a smidgen neglected doh. Mahoney does a really good job of creating her world where alchemists and faerie have done battle for centuries. She has balanced information with story development so you don't feel bombarded with information and loose interest. You have the right amount of information to understand what is going on.

Donna, does not seem to fall into the usual paranormal female lead cliched traps. There are no hang ups, ditzy moments, or stupid moves (like going into a known murderers house with-out telling anyone). She is a well balanced, likable character. Donna is a tough, practical cookie, but is also caring and insecure. She does have her romance moments with the lead male which she acknowledges, and even makes fun of it, but doesn't let it lose her focus. Also she has had a really tough life but seems for the most part ok, not bitter, or destructive.

The support characters are also good. They all seem to have secrets and troubled pasts. There was not a character I disliked (other then the baddie) which is refreshing. The male love interest is not a tosser which is also refreshing and the best friend is not there purely for comic relief. Also both guys get a decent role in the book being part of Donna's life.

While the book is not an action thrill ride from start to finish, it does have spots of action, and then a good dose right at the end which makes it exciting. There is quite a bit of intrigue and mystery in this book which I am assuming will be addressed/revealed in later books.

On a non story note, the cover art is lovely. It also fits in with the book.

I will definitely read the next book in the series (rumoured to be The Wood Queen) when it is eventually released. For all those who enjoy paranormal and young adult literature then this will be right up your ally.

Fan Mail (Sophie Anderson Book 3) by PD Martin

Rating: 4 out of 5
Paperback
Publisher: Pan Australia (December 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0330424025
ISBN-13: 978-0330424028

First Sentence:"The voice is deep and smooth. 'Agent Sophie Anderson?'"

Sophie moves to LA and on her first day in town is called out to a murder scene. It is of the famous crime writer Loretta Black. At first it looks like a simple case of murder, but then another crime author turns up dead and Sophie is suddenly hot on the trail of a serial killer.

This review will have to be short as I do not want to give anything away.

Another great installment from PD Martin. The new setting means a whole new swag of characters to get to know. Sorrell seems to be a good crime fighting partner for Sophie and I hope he is back in later books. He is a little gruff and burly but otherwise a pretty decent guy. I really don't like Justin, didn't from book two. I personally would be suspicious of a guy like him. But that's just me :) For a love interest I prefer Darren for Sophie and hope that now they are closer geograpahically he gets to be in the picture more.

I enjoyed the idea of the serial killer targeting crime writing authors. It brings a refreshing twist to the crime writing books. Actually all the books so far in this series I felt were the same. They had fascinating themes in them in terms of the serial killers. Makes the books stand out from normal crime stories. Well that and the visions of course.

The ending was a surprise which is great. I definitely didn't see it coming which is good as normally I can guess what will happen.

A good installment in the series which I enjoyed reading. I look forward to reading the next book.