Review: Oath of Servitude by C.E. Wilson

Released: September 2012
Publisher: C.E. Wilson
Series: The Secret Life of Amy Benson, #1
Star Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Author
Edition: eBook
Page Amount: 159
Age Group: Young Adult

This is the story of Teague and Cailin, two teenagers who have been brought together by fate. Teague, a human, struggles to come to terms with the consequences of a recent accident that has destroyed the happy life that he had once enjoyed. Cailin, a pixi, is trying to stay true to herself while fighting against forces beyond her control that have exiled her from her home into this strange world of humans. She fears the darkness. He cannot escape it. But when the two of them are thrown together, they begin to discover the light inside of themselves.

I really enjoyed Oath of Servitude. I'm not going to lie, I was a little hesitant going into it but I really enjoyed reading it. It was well written but also short so I got through it quickly.

About The Author

C.E. Wilson is currently living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband and her two dogs and two cats. They are all the loves of her life. When she’s not writing young adult fantasy novels, she enjoys writing short stories on her Deviant Art page. She loves to write stories involving giants and little people (also known as GT) and nothing helps her to write more than Coca-Cola and glazed doughnut holes.

Review: Escaping Reality by Lisa Renee Jones

Released: July 22, 2013
Publisher: Julie Parta Publishing
Series: The Secret Life of Amy Benson, #1
Star Rating: 2 out of 5
Source: Netgalley
Edition: eBook
Page Amount: 453
Age Group: New Adult

Infinite possibilities….

Infinite passion…..Infinite danger….His touch spirals through me, warm and sweet, wicked and hot. I shouldn’t trust him. I shouldn’t tell him my secrets. But how do I not when he is the reason I breathe? He is what I need.At the young age of eighteen, tragedy and a dark secret force Lara to flee all she has known and loves to start a new life. Now years later, with a new identity as Amy, she’s finally dared to believe she is forgotten–even if she cannot forget. But just when she lets down her guard, the ghosts of her past are quick to punish her, forcing her back on the run. On a plane, struggling to face the devastation of losing everything again and starting over, Amy meets Liam Stone, a darkly entrancing recluse billionaire, who is also a brilliant, and famous, prodigy architect. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. And what he wants is Amy. Refusing to take “no” as an answer, he sweeps her into a passionate affair, pushing her to her erotic limits. He wants to possess her. He makes her want to be possessed. Liam demands everything from her, accepting nothing less. But what if she is too devastated by tragedy to know when he wants more than she should give? And what if there is more to Liam than meets the eyes?

 Let me begin this review by saying that this book is DEFINITELY, 100% New Adult. There is more explicit content than actual storyline. With this being my first introduction to the New Adult genre, I was thoroughly disappointed. Although it was well written, the storyline was dismissed to make room for the 'dirty' scenes.

Amy didn't do it for me as a main character. She was annoying, and easy... if you know what I mean. She talks about protecting herself and staying away from danger and then throws herself right into it.

Don't get me wrong, the storyline would have been awesome. That's what gravitated me to the book in the first place. I found that the storyline was taken away by certain scenes, and those certain scenes took away from the interesting storyline. I still, after reading the novel, have no idea why Amy is running. This book consisted of a middle basically... it could have used more of a beginning and a resolution at the end.

A lot of aspects of a storyline was not explored in this novel. It was enjoyable enough, though I would have enjoyed it a lot more if the plot didn't seem more like a subplot.

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT TRILOGY which has sold to more than ten countries for translation with negotiations in process for more, and has now been optioned by STARZ Network for a cable television show, to be produced by Suzanne Todd (Alice in Wonderland).
Since beginning her publishing career in 2007, Lisa has published more than 30 books with publishers such as Simon and Schuster, Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, NAL, Berkley and Elloras Cave, as well as crafting a successful indie career. Booklist says that Jones suspense truly sizzles with an energy similar to FBI tales with a paranormal twist by Julie Garwood or Suzanne Brockmann.
Prior to publishing, Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by Dallas Women Magazine. In 1998 LRJ was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.
Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at www.lisareneejones.com and she is active on twitter and facebook daily.

In My Mailbox: #1

Welcome to my first IMM post! This is a meme hosted by the Story Siren, and the purpose of it is to show what books you received during the week! Here are mine...

Waterfell by Amalie Howard
Source: Netgalley

THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE QUEEN

Nerissa Marin hides among teens in her human form, waiting for the day she can claim her birthright—the undersea kingdom stolen from her the day her father was murdered. Blending in is her best weapon—until her father's betrayer confronts Nerissa and challenges her to a battle to the death on Nerissa's upcoming birthday—the day she comes of age. Amid danger and the heartbreak of her missing mother, falling for a human boy is the last thing Nerissa should do. But Lo Seavon breaches her defenses and somehow becomes the only person she can count on to help her desperate search for her mother, a prisoner of Nerissa's mortal enemy. Is Lo the linchpin that might win Nerissa back her crown? Or will this mortal boy become the weakness that destroys her? 

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry
Source: Netgalley

From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane 
The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind. 
Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look. 
But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Pawn by Aimée Carter
Source: Netgalley

YOU CAN BE A VII. IF YOU GIVE UP EVERYTHING. 
For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country. 
If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter. 
There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed …and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.
Previously titled Masked.

These are the books I recieved this week! Post your IMM post in the comments below and I will check it out!

Feature and Follow Friday #3: I'm the featured blogger!!

Welcome to Feature and Follow Friday! This is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee that is aimed to help bloggers grow their audience and make new friends. They feature two bloggers every week and this week I am one of them. I would like to thank Alison for choosing me to feature on her blog.

Here's how Feature and Follow Friday works:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
6. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

This weeks question is...

Bookagram: Feature Your Favourite Read in a Funny Place.

I took all week trying to figure out what to do for this weeks challenge. I ended up deciding on showing you The Fault in Our Stars chilling in my fridge...

Thank you for visting my blog and checking out my Feature and Follow Friday! Feel free to leave your feature and follow Friday in the comments and I will check out as many as I can!

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Review: Autumn by Sierra Dean (Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge!)

Released: January 1, 2013
Publisher: Create Space
Series: Dog Days, #1
Star Rating: 3 out of 5
Source: Netgalley
Edition: eBook
Page Amount: 262
Age Group: Young Adult

Cooper Reynolds's life is going to the dogs... literally. As if being a high school senior in a small Texas town wasn't hard enough, Cooper has bigger things to worry about than who he'll take to prom and whether or not the Poisonfoot Padres will win homecoming. He has less than a year before his eighteenth birthday, when a curse placed on his family will doom him to live in coyote form forever. The last thing he needs to complicate his already messed-up life is a girl, but fate has other plans in mind for him when it brings Eloise "Lou" Whittaker to Poisonfoot. She's grouchy, sarcastic and has no love for her new Texas home, but she might be exactly the right person to help Cooper break the curse. The clock is ticking, and Cooper will have to decide if he's willing to let Lou in on his dirty little secret before it's too late.

Autumn was not at all what I was expecting. First of all, I went into this novel fully believing that I was about to read a contemporary novel. Looking back on that now, it appears as though I didn't read the synopsis very well because it gives away right there that this is not, in fact, a contemporary novel. While I was reading and realized this, I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't a contemporary because I've really been into paranormal novels lately.

Although the plot of this novel isn't particularly original (while I was reading I found that it was a mixture of Shiver and Beautiful Creatures), it was still enjoyable to read about. Although, I felt like this book could have gone on longer into Lou and Cooper's story. It felt too short and the ending felt forced.

I fell in love with Cooper and his siblings in this novel, Mia especially. Mia was the sassy younger sister that is always annoying Cooper, and I loved their relationship. Lou really didn't do anything for me, really. She felt two dimensional and was slightly boring in my opinion.

Texas is a state that I have always wanted to visit, yet the books I read never seem to be set there. It was interesting to read about a new place when most books are set in other, more popular states.

Overall, this novel was a short, enjoyable read and I can't wait to see what happens in the future books in this series.

About the Author

Sierra Dean is a reformed historian. She was born and raised in the Canadian prairies and is allowed annual exit visas in order to continue her quest of steadily conquering the world one city at a time. Making the best of the cold Canadian winters, Sierra indulges in her less global interests: drinking too much tea and writing urban fantasy.

Ever since she was a young girl she has loved the idea of the supernatural coexisting with the mundane. As an adult, however, the idea evolved from the notion of fairies in flower beds, to imagining that the rugged-looking guy at the garage might secretly be a werewolf. She has used her overactive imagination to create her own version of the world, where vampire, werewolves, fairies, gods and monsters all walk among us, and she’ll continue to travel as much as possible until she finds it for real.

She’s also a book lover (of course!), obsessive collector of OPI nailpolish and the owner of way too many pairs of shoes.

Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge)

Released: December 1, 2009
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Series: Caster Chronicles, #1
Star Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Borrowed
Edition: Hardcover
Page Amount: 563
Age Group: Young Adult

There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.At least, that's what I thought.Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.There was a curse.There was a girl.And in the end, there was a grave.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Beautiful Creatures has been on my to-read shelf since it came out. Why I'm just getting to it now, I don't know, but I knew there was a reason I wanted to read it. When it comes to paranormal novels, witches aren't my favourite to read about. If you were to look at the array of paranormal books I have read, you would notice that witches do not come up in a lot of these novels. So, reading a novel about witches was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone. Even though that statement is true, Beautiful Creatures is up there on the best book I've read this year list.

Gatlin is a small town where not a lot happens. There's not a lot to do, and everybody knows everybody's else's business. I related a lot with the setting of this novel. Now, I must say my town isn't has bad as Gatlin, but I did see a lot of similarities in the two places.

I love when novels are written in a male perspective. Not a lot of young adult novels are written in the perspective of boys, and I am really drawn to novels with a male voice. I just feel like it's something different to read about, especially since I am not a male myself. I am so used to reading about girls that it's nice to change things up a little bit when reading.

Lena and Ethan's relationship is not a typical high school romance, to say the least. The one thing I do have to say is that in some parts of the novel, their 'connect' was worth of an eye roll, but for the most part I enjoyed reading about the two of them and their interesting connection. I fell in love with both Ethan and Lena's families (well, most of the family units). You could feel the strong bond between certain characters, you could tell how much their family meant to them.

I really enjoyed reading this novel, and I cannot wait to see what the next books have in store.

About the Authors

Kami Garcia:

Kami Garcia is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal & international bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures Novels (Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness, Beautiful Chaos & Beautiful Redemption). Beautiful Creatures has been published in 50 countries and translated in 39 languages. The Beautiful Creatures movie released in theaters on February 14, 2013.Kami is also the author of Unbreakable, the first book her paranormal solo series, THE LEGION (coming October 1, 2013. Kami grew up outside of Washington DC, wore lots of black, and spent hours writing poetry in spiral notebooks. As a girl with Southern roots, she has always been fascinated by the paranormal and believes in lots of things “normal” people don’t. She’s very superstitious and would never sleep in a room with the number “13″ on the door. When she is not writing, Kami can usually be found watching disaster movies, listening to Soundgarden, or drinking Diet Coke.

Margaret Stohl:

Margaret Stohl is the #1 New York Times, PW, USA Today, LA Times and Internationally bestselling co-author of the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES NOVELS (Fall 2009-2012) and author of THE ICONS SERIES (Spring, 2013.) 

Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge)

Released: January 1, 2011
Publisher: Quirk Books
Series: Miss Peregrine, #1
Star Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Gift
Edition: Hardcover
Page Amount: 
Age Group: Young Adult

Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2011: As a kid, Jacob formed a special bond with his grandfather over his bizarre tales and photos of levitating girls and invisible boys. Now at 16, he is reeling from the old man's unexpected death. Then Jacob is given a mysterious letter that propels him on a journey to the remote Welsh island where his grandfather grew up. There, he finds the children from the photographs--alive and well--despite the islanders’ assertion that all were killed decades ago. As Jacob begins to unravel more about his grandfather’s childhood, he suspects he is being trailed by a monster only he can see. A haunting and out-of-the-ordinary read, debut author Ransom Rigg’s first-person narration is convincing and absorbing, and every detail he draws our eye to is deftly woven into an unforgettable whole. Interspersed with photos throughout, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a truly atmospheric novel with plot twists, turns, and surprises that will delight readers of any age.

I'm going to begin this review saying that this book is a reread for me. That should immediately tell you that I absolutely love this book, which this statement is true. Actually, I gave this book one whole extra star than the first time I read it. This book is beautifully creepy, mysterious and enticing. Although I wouldn't exactly say this book is 'scary', I do believe that this book is the perfect read for this time a year, with Halloween coming up.

This book was written around a series of creepy photographs. It is interesting to be reading descriptions of these peculiars and then having a photograph to go along with the image that you came up yourself. And, let me tell you, some of these images are downright strange.

I re-fell in love with all the characters in this novel, just as I had the first time I read this novel. Jacob and Abe's relationship is unlike any grandfather-grandson relationship I have ever read - or seen in real life for that matter. You could tell how much they cared for each other through Jacob's life. Jacob was the perfect main character for a novel like this, a boy with an extra ordinary life. I loved Emma's rough edges, but you always knew that she was a softie. Jacob's friendship with these peculiars is a unique relationship that you, obviously, don't see in very many books. Despite their situation, you can tell that they truly care for each other.

I will admit, I do not read a lot of adventure novels, and this novel definitely has a lot of adventure elements within it. The story world that Riggs has made for this adventure is written flawlessly. Every little detail was planned out and I never felt as though something was missing.

I absolutely cannot wait until the second book in this series is released. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, so if that has any indication on how good the next book is going to be... we're going to be in very a phenomenal read.

About the Author

I grew up in Florida, went to Kenyon College in Ohio, then film school at USC in LA, where I still live. I write books and screenplays, blog daily for mentalfloss.com, and make short films. 
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is my first novel. I'm really excited about it -- it was challenging and rewarding and I hope people like it. If you read that and like the found photographs in it, you might be interested in a book comprised entirely of found photographs that I have coming out January 2012 from HarperCollins. It's called Talking Pictures. You can find sneak peeks by doing a search for "mental floss talking pictures" (I included a number of images in blogs there) and I made a kinda-sorta book trailer for it, which is on my youtube page: youtube.com/ransriggs.
Also, watch out for a Miss Peregrine book trailer, which I'm working on right now! I get to go to Belgium and film inside creepy abandoned chateaus, which I'm *really* looking forward to.

 

Feature and Follow Friday #2

Feautre and Follow Friday is a meme aimed to help bloggers gain more followers and love on their content. It is hosted by two amazing blogs, Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

 Here are the rules:

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
6. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

This week's question...

What are some of your favourite magazines?

Although magazines aren't my reading material of choice, I do enjoy looking at them while waiting at the cash at the grocery store. Sometimes for Christmas I get a year subscription to Seventeen or Teen Vogue, so I guess both of those would have to be my two favourites.

Leave your Feature and Follow Friday post in the comments and I will make sure to check them out. If you follow me, make sure to link your post so that I can check your post out and give you a follow back! 

Also, if you have Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads, please make sure to like/follow/friend me and say that you liked my page and I will make sure to like/follow your blog's page back! Here is my Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads.

Review: UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn (Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge!)

Released: December 29, 2011
Publisher: Chanda Hahn
Series: A Unfortunate Fairy Tale, #1
Star Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Amazon Kindle
Edition: Kindle
Page Amount: 216
Age Group: Young Adult

Mina Grime is unlucky, unpopular and uncoordinated, that is until she saves her crush's life on a field trip, changing her High School status from loser to hero overnight. But with her newfound fame brings misfortune as an old family curse come to light. For Mina is descended from the Brothers Grimm and has inherited all of their unfinished fairy tale business. Which includes trying to outwit a powerful Story from making her its next fairytale victim.
To break the fairy tale curse on her family and stop these deadly events, Mina must finish the tales until the very Grimm end.

I love fairy tales. I'm sure I'm not the only one, and I don't think I've ever met somebody who doesn't like fairy tales. Although this is true, I have not read many retellings of these stories. I've been meaning to get my hands on some but they always seem to land on the back burner. So when I saw that this was a free book on Amazon Kindle and seeing that most of the reviews on Goodreads have been pretty positive, I decided to give this one a shot. The world built around this novel was written flawlessly.

This book did not take me long to read. Not only is it a easy read, it is also exciting and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading. Hahn has a way of writing that once you begin one of her books, it is nearly impossible to put down.

The fairytale that this book mostly centres around is Little Red Riding Hood. This is a fairy tale that I have always enjoyed reading, so it was exciting reading it as a modern retelling. It was done in a way that wasn't obvious, which I really enjoyed.

Mina has gone through a lot in her lifetime. Her mother never gave reasons for why they had to pick up and move all the time, and she has spent a majority of her life running. I thought Mina was an enjoyable character to read about and I enjoyed the story that she had to tell.

I really enjoyed this novel, and I can't wait to see what the next books are going to have in store for Mina.

Review: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge!)

Released: March 25, 2008
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Series: The Mortal Instruments, #2
Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Source: Bookstore
Edition: Paperback
Page Amount: 453
Age Group: Young Adult

This is a review of the second book in the Mortal Instruments series. If you have not read the first book, City of Bones, I do not suggest reading any further. Although I try my best not to spoil the previous book(s) in the series, sometimes the synopsis gives away the plot from the previous novel.

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.

Soon after finishing City of Bones, I picked up this one. I rarely ever do that with series. Usually it is a minimum of a month before I pick up the next instalment. Not with this series. I needed to find out right away what was going to happen to Clary and Jace and the rest of the characters. I had become too attached and I needed to read this book right away.

Although I didn't quite enjoy this novel as much as City of Bones, it was still very good. I honestly couldn't tell you what I liked better about City of Bones but I found that I read that one a lot quicker than City of Ashes with less time asking myself 'when this going to be over so I can know what happens already'. I also think that I didn't enjoy that something from the first book wasn't resolved, which I'm not going to go into for the people who have not read City of Bones.

The beginning of this book was definitely a little slow. That is one reason why I could not give it a full 5 stars. The first quarter of the book took me longer to read than the last three quarters.

Although I remain team Jace, I found myself rooting for Simon more in this novel than I did in the first. I still view him as the quirky best friend, though. I still love him, though!

I am definitely going to continue on with this series. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next books. I can only imagine the chaos and adventures that are to come.

About the Author

Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books. Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction. She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts.

Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge!)

Released: March 27th, 2007
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Series: The Mortal Instruments, #1
Star Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Bookstore
Edition: Paperback
Page Amount: 485
Age Group: Young Adult

Don’t miss The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, soon to be a major motion picture in theaters August 2013!
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.

Another 'everybody has read but me' book. I tried to read this book in the summer of 2010, but I put it down because I was confused about what was happening in the story and I wasn't feeling it at the time. I picked it up again recently and I am so glad I did. City of Bones is a thrilling paranormal read that will have you questioning what actually lies beneath our society the entire time you read it.

I'm not going to lie, the reason I picked this book up in the first place is because I wanted to go see the movie and I would not allow myself to see the movie before reading the book. Yes, I am one of those. I'm so glad I did pick it up, though.

The world that Clare has built is incredible. It is unlike any other story world that I have read about. Unlike most Young Adult paranormal novels, it includes a variety of supernatural elements, such as shadowhunters, vampire, werewolves, demons, faeries, warlocks and much more. With all of these supernatural creatures, I thought that the society was more believable than if it were only a world of Shadowhunters.

This novel is set in modern day New York City. Being one of my favourite cities in the world to both visit and read about, I was thrilled when I found out that is where this book was set. I don't think Clare could have picked a better setting, because of certain elements of this book. Setting it in a city as large as New York just made sense.

Clary grew up not knowing of the world around her. Although her denial kind of annoyed me at times, I do think she was a decent main character. I loved Simon as the quirky best friend, and I wish he wasn't fiction so that he would be MY best friend! And then there's Jace. He is a very swoon worthy character. Need I say more?

I definitely think this book deserves the hype that it has. It is different from the big dystopia craze that's going on right now, and it definitely was a good break from all the contemporary I have been reading lately. I loved this book and if you're looking for an easy paranormal read for this October, I think you should think about picking up City of Bones!

About the Author

Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books. Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction. She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts.

 

Book Beginnings on Fridays & The Friday 56 #1

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader. In this feature, you share the first line (or so) of the book you are reading and share what you think about the beginning line. Make sure to include the book title and author's name.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

'There were only two kinds of people in our town. "The stupid and the stuck," my father had classified our neighbours.'

I've recently decided to get into this series, because of all the hype about it not only in the book blogging community but also at my school. The first line has be intrigued to find out what is going to happen in the rest of the novel. 

Check out the Beautiful Creatures Goodreads page here.

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Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

To Jacob Magellan Portman,

and the words he as yet to discover.

Check out Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children's Goodreads page here.

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That's all for my Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56! Make sure to post yours in a comment below and I'll check it out!

Feature and Follow Friday! #1

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly meme that allows book bloggers to interact with each other and find new blogs! It has two hosts, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The rules are... 

• (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
• (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
• If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers
• If you’re new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

This week's question is...

Feature your favourite blogger, have it be a surprise!

The blogger I'm going to talk about is one that has recently started back up again! Now, I may be biased with this one being my favourite but I can't help it. This blog is run by twins... my mom and my aunt! They put a lot of work into their blog and they've been really successful so far. Please check them out at their blog Twin Spin, and give them some love! Here's a little more about them and their blog...

We are thirty something year old twins and best friends. People often ask us what it's like to be a twin and the only way we can respond is by asking "what's it like not to be?" Both of us love to read and we have a somewhat strange way of picking out books. Often we will pick from the advice of other but often we will not. We will go to the bookstore and spend a couple of hours just looking at the rows of books and then pick a bunch based on gut feelings whether or not we have heard of them before. We get a lot of reccomendations from goodreads too.  We decided to try our hands at blogging because of my 14 yr old daughter Sierra who already has a blog where she reviews books herself. She insisted that we review our own books and even went as far as designing the entire thing for us. So thank-you Sierra, here goes nothing!

That is my Feature and Follow Friday for this week! Comment down below if you're a new follower of mine with a link to your blog and I will make sure you follow you back.