City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

#3 in The Mortal Instrument series
Published in 2009 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
2 Stars

Goodreads Review
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 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 final installment of the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.

Review:  City of Glass my be the most frustrating book of the entire series.  There are so many cool ideas in this novel, but it's like the interesting aspects of the world building and plot were rushed or pushed to the side so we could get to the stupid angst and drama going on with Clary and Jace.  And there is a lot of drama, but sadly not much else.

My biggest complaint with City of Glass is the writing style and choices.  A lot of the plot developments (what happened to the wizard Ragnor Fell, what happened with Clary's mother, what happened with Isabel and Max, ect.) happened "off screen".  Clary wouldn't be present for the actual event, she would just be told about it later.  There is a lot of truth to the "show don't tell" style of writing and we do not get shown much.  I also have to point out the horrific overuse of similes in this novel (and in Clare's writing in general).  Now, I'm not inherently against similes, when they make sense.  But when you start comparing every single characteristic a person or building or event has to something else seems just lazy to me.  My personal favorite, "There was a crash—the sound of shattering—and a sudden spray of broken glass like a shower of jagged stars."  What does that even mean? 

I found the plot to be very predictable (in fact I was predicting the events of this book at the end of City of Bones) and the amout of drama and angst surrounding this very obvious plot made me roll my eyes and shake my head a lot.  And it's just so disappointing because there really are a lot of cool ideas in this novel that I don't really want to to mention specifically because I don't want to spoil, but they are all so clouded by Clary's inner monologue stuck on her Jace obsession that it's just painful. 

Let's talk really quickly about the ending (no spoilers, promise!)  The final battle is just a huge disappointment.  After being stuck for over five chapters waiting around for the battle to begin, it barely lasts 5 pages!  I want some bloody action!  And the resolution with Valentine was a huge let down.  The whole ending was so anti-climactic and then everything is wrapped up in one convenient little bow.  I hate endings like that, I like it when character are actually affected by the events of the novel and they don't come out perfectly squeaky clean (ie Mockingjay). 

I honestly just don't get what people see in this series.  I think The Moral Instruments is a weak collection of fantasy tropes that are done much better in other series such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

#2 in The Mortal Instrument series
Published in 2008 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
2 Stars

Goodreads Review
Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

Review:  Ugh this book.  It's really bad you guys.  The characters are boring or stupid, the plot is a scattered mess, and the writing is full of really bad descriptions and terribly lame jokes.  It's just not good.  The only reason I didn't give this a 1 star is because the ending was moderately interesting and City of Ashes didn't fill me with blinding rage like my other 1 star reviews.  I think the best way to review City of Ashes is to talk about the characters, because there really isn't much plot to speak of.

Let's start with Clary and Jace.  They sends shivers of disgust down my spine.  Seriously, every time I read anything with Clary and Jace together I felt like I needed to take a shower.  With a Brillo pad. and some bleach.  I don't get squicked out by many things, but incest is one of them.  I honestly feel like this whole brother/sister thing isn't true and is just added in for some tension that will be revealed later to not be true when it's inconvenient. 

Simon.  He pissed me off so bad at the beginning of this book.  Look, just because you're a "nice guy" doesn't mean your girl "friend" has to like you back or should consent to your advances!  Like seriously, if the only reason you're being nice to a girl is because you think she'll one day wake up and realize she's been in love with you the whole time, you're not a very nice guy! 

***spoilers but I have to rant*** 

When Simon all of a sudden was a vampire I was seriously just like whaaa??  That came out of left field!  They like leave the Seelie court and Simon storms off then it literally cuts to him being almost dead and changing.  We don't get any kind of transition, it was just like Simon's a vampire now ok?

The Inquisitor is totally the Dolores Umbridge of The Mortal Instruments.  She basically exists to get in the way and to be as antagonistic as possible without any reason (ok we kind of get a reason at the end of the book, but in my opinion it's not justified.  How did this person get elected to such an important position if they're unable to be rational or objective?  SMH)

Other random thoughts:

• The faeries in this are rather weak.  Seriously, the biggest mischief you can get up to is forcing a brother and sister to kiss?  Boring!
• The snark that I enjoyed in City of Bones is completely gone.  These characters do not sound like teenagers, they just sound lame.
• Magnus has that creepy I'm-a-900-year-old-supernatural-being-who-creeps-on-18-year-old-mortals vibe going on *cough*Edward Cullen stalker*cough*  (Seriously though, I feel like Clare put Alec and Magnus together because she can't bare to have one of her characters be single.  They so do not work together, they are awkward and in my opinion it really drags down Magnus's character, who could be really awesome if Clare let him).
• Clary is such a special snowflake.  I really hate how her special rune power seems to have no limitations. 
• I had to get through 75% of this book (roughly 340 pages) for anything interesting to happen and to really see any development in the main story arc.  That is not good friends.  Not good.

So yeah.  To say I was not impressed was an understatement.  At this point I'm only reading this series so I can know what other people are talking about and because I own most of these so I might as well read them before I get rid of them.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Published June 3, 2010 by Hodder Children's Books
3 Stars

Goodreads Review
The story of Scarlett and Rosie March, two highly-skilled sisters who have been hunting Fenris (werewolves) -- who prey on teen girls -- since Scarlett lost her eye years ago while defending Rosie in an attack. Scarlett lives to destroy the Fenris, and she and Rosie lure them in with red cloaks (a colour the wolves can't resist), though Rosie hunts more out of debt to her sister than drive. But things seem to be changing. The wolves are getting stronger and harder to fight, and there has been a rash of news reports about countless teenage girls being brutally murdered in the city. Scarlett and Rosie soon discover the truth: wolves are banding together in search of a Potential Fenris -- a man tainted by the pack but not yet fully changed. Desperate to find the Potential to use him as bait for a massive werewolf extermination, the sisters move to the city with Silas, a young woodsman and long time family friend who is deadly with an axe. Meanwhile, Rosie finds herself drawn to Silas and the bond they share not only drives the sisters apart, but could destroy all they've worked for.


Review:  I came to Sisters Red with high expectations.  I loved the concept of this re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood, and I loved the addition of hardcore werewolf hunting sisters.  It's such an interesting spin on the fairy tale, and I love the girl power behind the idea.  I thought the sisters, Scarlett and Rosie, have well developed voices and the mythology behind the werewolves was strong and made a lot of sense (I loved the reasoning behind the red cloaks!), but there were some shortcomings.

The best part of Sisters Red is the werewolves.  They are ferocious and frightening, and I really love the sexual predator aspect (I know that sounds creepy, but it totally works with the story).  Everything the girls do, from their red cloaks to their demeanor to their hatchets, is to lure the werewolves in.  I love how they take the wolves sexual nature and turn it back on them and use their sexuality as a weapon.  It makes for an evocative read.

I had two major problems with Sisters Red.  The first was the pacing.  I thought many aspects of the story became redundant, with the characters doing the same exact thing just in a different location without any growth.  The story really didn't pick up until the final 100 pages. 

The other problem I had was the lack of growth with the sisters.  Rosie got a bad case of insta-love which was about as far as she developed.  Scarlett is a fantastic character and starts off so interesting, but she really doesn't grow.  She starts off very jaded, and while some people have claimed her attitude as slut-shaming, I understand where she's coming from.  I think she's extremely bitter about the fact that her innocence, her change to be a silly girl, was taken away from her.  She's scared, both physically and emotionally.  I would have loved to have seen some of her scars heal, but I just didn't get enough which was really disappointing. 

Overall Sisters Red is an excellent start and though it has some flaws there is so much potential.  I am definitely going to be reading more of Jackson Pearce's fairy tales and I'm looking forward to more creative re-tellings!

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

#1 in The Mortal Instrument series
Published in 2007 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
3 Stars

Goodreads Review
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? 

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. 

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Review:  City of Bones has some really awesome things going for it, and some not so awesome things as well.  This review is going to be a little different because I'm going to make a pros and cons list.  Because I feel like it.  And I can do what I want.


Pros

• The Setting - I almost always love books set in New York City.  It's one of my most favorite places in the world, and I loved the whole paranormal underground club scene. 
• Snark and Sarcasm - I can be a pretty cynical beyotch when I want to be, so I found myself giggle-snorting at a lot of the one liners and quips that the characters toss at each other.
• HOTHOTHOTHOT - Jace may be an a-hole, but he's a sexy a-hole.
• Clary is a red head - She's a pretty good heroine.  She deals with all of the bad stuff that happens to her and doesn't take shit.  She's not afraid to stand up for herself and that is awesome.
• Shadowhunter Mythology - I really enjoyed the overall mythology and I think there's a lot of cool stuff to develop in future books. 

Cons

• Repeating the same stuff over and over - There were just too many repeated jokes, references, and phrases for me to really enjoy the writing.  I HATE it when the same adjective gets used twice on a page, and I kept noticing that happening (Brindle.  All the time.  Everyone and everything is brindle colored).  It's called a thesaurus.  Get one.
• Every character is the same - All of the characters have the same sarcastic sense of humor and after a while they all blended together into one giant ball of snark.
• Random plot tangents - There were a lot of sub-plots that didn't really support the main story arc.  I would read a hundred pages and then go "why did we just do that?"  They serve absolutely no purpose for the main story.
• GROSS - I'm not going to spoil anything, but ew.  People who've read it know what it is.  One of the plot points takes a really icky turn that I just do not like to read about.  I was not please that that's the way the story went.

Overall City of Bones has a lot of potential, but I think it was failed by its editors.  I am excited to read the next book in the series because even though I was not in love with this book there were a lot of great moments.  I'm hoping that as the series continues some of the technical kinks will be worked out so the awesome story idea can shine through.