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Book Review: City of Lost Souls

Posted on September 15, 2015September 14, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Amazon.com:

When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

If you haven’t read City of Fallen Angels yet stop here because spoilers ahead!

My life has been officially taken over by The Mortal Instruments series and I regret nothing. I’ve been speed reading through these because I have to know what happens next. God bless those of you that read these as the books came out. I don’t know how y’all did it. I would’ve lost it having to wait to read the next books. I almost lost it having to wait to get these from the library.

But now to the review. Cassandra Clare never ceases to amaze me with her writing style, excellent plot, and character development. I’m honestly so upset the movie didn’t do well because I would’ve loved to see all these books in film form. Granted I haven’t watched the movie yet so maybe not.

The point is these books get better and better like a fine wine. Every time I think I know what’s going to happen next I don’t. This book was filled with action, drama, romance, fear, and sass. I don’t want to give too much away so I’m not going to talk about the plot too much. What I will say is Jace and Clary’s relationship is tested more than it ever was in the first three books. Clary is playing with fire by trying to get between Jace and her evil brother, Sebastian, and she’s forced to make some hard choices.

Meanwhile Alec and Magnus are having their own relationship issues, which drove me crazy because I love them together. Speaking of love, Simon and Isabelle have their own stuff to deal with as does Maia and Jordan.

As I said, lots of romance and drama but as always this book doesn’t fall short on action or bloodshed. There were excellent fight scenes and moments that made me so stressed I found myself asking why I still voluntarily read these books.

Seriously, though I can’t put these books down. If I didn’t have a job I probably would’ve finished them already but unfortunately responsibilities call.

I can’t tell you guys again to read these series because I’ve said it about a million times at this point. So in the words of Nike, “Just do it.”

Borrow or Buy: Buy! Go! Now! Buy it!

Favorite Line:

“Not enough,” [Jace] said, letting [Clary’s] hair slip through his fingers. “If I kiss you all day every day for the rest of my life, it won’t be enough.”

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Book Review: City of Fallen Angels

Posted on September 3, 2015August 30, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Amazon:

Trust is dangerous, and to love is to destroy. Plunge into the fourth installment in the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly)—now with a gorgeous new cover, a map, a new foreword, and exclusive bonus content! City of Fallen Angels is a Shadowhunters novel.

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old 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 last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, 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 just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary 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.

I’m so hooked on this series. I don’t how it took me this long to start reading it but now I’m playing catch up and reading through them as fast as I can. Then I can start reading the Clockwork series and learn what the fuss is about Will Herondale.

But for now let’s talk about the City of Fallen Angels. If you haven’t read the first three books in The Mortal Instruments series be warned there will be spoilers!

As I said before, the series could’ve ended with City of Glass. It was a good ending. However, I’m so glad it didn’t because this book was crazy good.

In this novel we got some new, interesting characters, a lot more background for various characters including Magnus and Maia, and just a lot of good plot. This novel picked up a little while after the last book and of course everything seems to be fine and dandy but it’s really not.

Despite having the Mark of Cain on him, someone is looking for Simon and quite possibly trying to kill him. Clary and Jace’s new found relationship is on the rocks and as always Jace is struggling with his communication skills. Magnus and Alec are taking a well deserved vacation until unfortunately Magnus is called back for an emergency and Magnus and Alec are forced to question the reality of their relationship. Oh, and did I mention Simon’s having girl troubles? How geeky Simon went from pining away for Clary to having two girlfriends is still a mystery.

The point is this book had a lot going on but Cassandra Clare did an excellent job of keeping everything together and not making anything confusing or hard to understand. I found the story easy to follow and once again I enjoyed being able to bounce around from character to character and get a full scope of what was going on in everyone’s lives.

I’m impatiently waiting to get City of Lost Souls because this book ends with a major cliffhanger that honestly I saw coming but still. I need to know what happens next!

If you haven’t given this series a try yet, despite me giving you about a thousand reasons why you should, do yourself a favor and check it out. You won’t regret it.

Borrow or Buy: Buy! Buy the whole series. I would if I had some money.

Favorite Line:

“It means,” [Jace] said, “that love is the most powerful force in the world. That love can do anything.”

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Woman Crush Wednesday: Maia Roberts

Posted on September 2, 2015August 30, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

I just finished reading City of Fallen Angels and Maia thankfully had a bigger role in this novel and I loved every second of it.

Maia is a fierce werewolf who’s not afraid to stand up for herself and do what she feels is best for her. She’s gorgeous and strong and has been through some terrible stuff but that doesn’t hold her back. After being turned into a werewolf against her will Maia found the strength in herself to leave her home and go to New York to find her own pack.

Now she’s doing her own thing and she doesn’t take anyone’s crap. I’m like her for her strength but I made her this week’s WCW because of her ability to forgive those who hurt her. Plus, of course she’s hot.

“Patience, grasshopper,” said Maia. “Good things come to those who wait.”
“I always thought that was ‘Good things come to those who do the wave,'” said Simon. “No wonder I’ve been so confused all my life.” – City of Glass

Book Review: City of Glass

Posted on August 18, 2015August 12, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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 third installment of the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

*Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t read the first two books in The Mortal Instruments series please be warned, there will be spoilers!*

I resisted reading this series for a long time and I have no idea why. Probably because it was so hyped up, honestly.

Well I’m the first to admit it is well worth the hype. These books keep getting bigger and better and I’m not sick of them yet.

Cassandra Clare is an excellent storyteller. By telling the story in a close third that follows various characters throughout the book, the story feels like a movie. I’m not stuck with just Clary or Jace the whole time. I get to check in with Simon and Alec as well. Additionally, although I knew one of the plot twists going into the book (this is one of the few books I voluntarily spoiled for myself) I was still shocked by it. I didn’t know the whole story so learning the truth was very interesting and not a let down at all.

Moreover, this book was action packed. With Valentine setting his sights on taking over the Clave and ridding the world of Downworlders everything is thrown into chaos and some lives are even lost. It was interesting seeing how the Shadowhunters and Downworlders handle battle and seeing Clary, Jace, and Simon’s roles in the whole thing. The three discovered their own strengths (and weaknesses) in this book, which was fun to read. I loved seeing Clary be strong and not back down from a challenge. She went after what she wanted and it was amazing seeing her be so fierce and brave. Jace and Magnus, as always, were sassy and provided comic relief at the best times. And Simon didn’t annoy me at all in this book. I actually really like Simon now; he’s grown on me.

Besides all the violence and fighting in this book, it’s also surrounded with themes of family, love, friendship, and has a ton of happy moments that made me smile as much as I teared up. It was an excellent balance of not being too sappy but also not too crazy and sad. Clare wrote this book really well and I’m excited to see what happens next in this series. Although honestly, the series could’ve ended with this book and I would’ve been satisfied. I’m glad it’s not over though. I’m too invested in these characters now to let them go.

Borrow or Buy: Buy!!

Favorite Line:

“Clary, since the first time I saw you, I have belonged to you completely. I still do.”

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Book Review: City of Ashes

Posted on July 28, 2015August 17, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis of Amazon.com:

Is love worth betraying everything? Plunge into the second adventure in the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly).

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.

Jace is everything in this book. He makes this book. I’m only here for Jace, honestly.

Okay, now that I got that out of the way let’s talk about the book itself. If you haven’t read of City of Bones yet stop here or you’ll be spoiled.

This novel picks up not too long after the end of City of Bones. We find everyone still reeling from Valentine and the revelation that Jace and Clary are siblings. Clary’s attempting a relationship with her best friend, Simon, Jace is trying to figure out his family situation and being accused of working with Valentine by the Clave, and Luke and Clary are coping with the fact that Clary’s mother still won’t wake up.

The stakes are super high in this book with Valentine building his army. Luckily, Clary and Jace are discovering they have powers of their own and maybe not everything is lost. Plus, Simon steps up in this book, which is great because he was pretty annoying up to that point. Hopefully, now he’ll get a life and stop focusing all his attention on Clary because frankly I don’t think she deserves it. Not that she isn’t great in her own right but she isn’t the end all, be all.

Lastly, I really enjoyed Magnus and Alec’s relationship in this book. It was implied in the first book but this one solidified it a bit more. They probably won’t be holding hands, walking around Central Park anytime soon (if ever) but they’re cute and I like them together. Plus, Magnus is bae.

Borrow or Buy: Buy! I really liked this one and already requested City of Glass from the library.

Favorite Line:

“That does it,” said Jace. “I’m going to get you a dictionary for Christmas this year.”
“Why?” Isabelle said.
“So you can look up ‘fun.’ I’m not sure you know what it means.”

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Man Crush Monday: Magnus Bane

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Magnus Bane, aka the High Warlock of Brooklyn, is so fine and so smooth. Shadowhunters crashing his party? Whatever. Vampires loosing their cool? Whatever. People trying to cramp his style? Lol. Nice try.

Magnus is gorgeous, and his a great combination of not giving an eff about anything but also really caring about the people that matter to him is fantastic. I’m only on book two of The Mortal Instruments and I’d have to say Magnus is probably my favorite character. I can’t wait to see more of him and his clear love interest.

Magnus, standing by the door, snapped his fingers impatiently. “Move it along, teenagers. The only person who gets to canoodle in my bedroom is my magnificent self.” – City of Bones

Book Review: City of Bones

Posted on July 2, 2015July 2, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews

Synopsis from Amazon:

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.

I’m hooked. I didn’t want to be hooked because I don’t have time to be hooked on another series but here I am hooked.

Clary Fray is a great protagonist. I won’t go into much detail about why I think so highly of her here because I did that yesterday. What I will say is I loved her and Jace’s chemistry. Jace is sarcastic and cocky from the start. He knows he’s good looking and a great Shadowhunter and he’s proud. I really want them to be together but … well I won’t spoil it for you. What I will say is it’s not over until I finish the last book.

Moving on, the other characters were also spectacular. Clary’s best friend, Simon, is adorkable, Isabelle and Alec, the Lightwood siblings and basically Jace’s family, are very different but also similar in an interesting way. I like Isabelle’s tough girl attitude and I really like Alec and his whole story line. I’m excited to see where that goes in the next books.

The adults are also great and have their own crazy back stories. Hodge, Alec, Isabelle, and Jace’s guardian, is basically the chill godfather who loves his garden and herbs. Kind of like a hippie but can also take you out if you try anything. Luke, Clary’s godfather type figure, is a boss. Period. I don’t want to spoil it so I’ll leave it that. I’m just a really big fan of Luke. Clary’s mom isn’t really relevant but from what we learn about her I wasn’t a fan. To be fair she’s not in the majority of the book so I really can’t pass judgement. Even so, I could do with less of her.

As for the plot I was never bored. There’s an air of mystery to the novel as well as some plot twists (some expected, some not). Overall, as the first book in The Mortal Instruments series, Cassandra Clare did a really good job of laying the foundation for this world without it being boring. Well done. I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Borrow or Buy: This was a tough call and I went back and forth on it. On the one hand I really did enjoy this book. On the other hand I just couldn’t imagine actually buying it. It was good but it just wasn’t that good.

Favorite Line:

“Don’t.” Clary raised a warning hand. “I’m not really in the mood right now.”
“That’s got to be the first time a girl’s ever said that to me,” Jace mused.”

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