isabelle lightwood – Zakiya N. Jamal

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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Woman Crush Wednesday: Isabelle “Izzy” Lightwood

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

Isabelle Lightwood is a BAMF in every sense of the word. She’s strong, beautiful, and pretty fearless. She doesn’t back away from a challenge and fights just as well, if not better, than her brothers.

Of course, with all this strength Izzy has her own issues. She’s scared to trust anyone or let them in, making dating a torrid affair. She likes to choose the guy she won’t fall in love with instead of the one she will. Still, now that I’m in book five of The Mortal Instruments, Izzy is finally realizing not only does she deserve love but she’s willing to fight for it too.

I think Izzy is an amazing character that has a lot of depth. I like that I’m getting to see more of her as I’m getting closer and closer to the end of the Mortal Instruments series.

If you haven’t read the series yet, seriously I’ve only been talking about it for weeks, so if I haven’t convinced you yet I don’t know what will. Honestly, give it a read. They’re so good and addicting. Also the characters are fantastic. Except maybe Clary. I used to like her but now I’m not so sure. Izzy is great though.

Alec looked at her and shook his head. “How do you manage never to get mud on your clothes?”
Isabelle shrugged philosophically. “I’m pure at heart. It repels the dirt.” – City of Ashes

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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