City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments Book Six; The Shadowhunter Chronicles)

I'm not going to phrase this like I normally do because, really, who needs an introduction to this series? I would suggest that The Shadowhunter Chronicles is basically the greatest thing in literature today. It needs no introduction.

I'll just say that I loved this book. IT WAS PERFECT. Cassandra Clare has done it again, this was an absolutely perfect end to The Mortal Instruments saga of The Shadowhunter Chronicles. Everything I love about CC's work was here, it was fast-paced and exciting and romantic and epic and deep and lush. The worldbuilding, the loves (especially Jace and Clary), the style, it was all as perfect as you would come to expect. Everything, and I mean everything, down to the very epigraphs, was beautiful and epic and glorious and I cannot tell you what this book means to me. I will be rereading this many times as we wait for The Dark Artifices.

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong

Caution, spoilers.

I have to say, I LOVED this book. I had read one of Kelley Armstrong's other series before, so I was certainly expecting an enjoyable read, but I was completely blown away by this work.

Things I Liked:

• Multiple perspective with Ashyn and Moria. I love dual perspective books in general, but I feel like they worked for this novel in particular because, broadly speaking, a reader can most likely identify with some aspect of at least one sister. Personally, I enjoyed the Ashyn sections more, and I *loved* her character. I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for a heroine who is a developed, strong, powerful character, but who *isn't* necessarily an action heroine throwing her sword around all the time. I really, really *loved* Ashyn. I identified with her, she was so real to me, and I could not stop rooting for her. Moria...Moria was a well-drawn character, but I preferred Ashyn, really. 
• The love interests! I love Ronan! He's wily and rakish, sure, but he was also really sweet with Ashyn, at times, I think, like in the inn, over their meal, he seemed genuinely embarrassed and such. Gavril...I'm usually partial to love/hate romances, but I think Gavril's final scenes in the book really soured me to him. 
• The possibilities! This book was so great in terms of keeping things open for the next installment in the series. Obviously, there's a war on, but think about the little things as well: Will Ronan save his siblings from his life of crime? Will Ashyn contact him? Will Gavril's treachery be revealed to be a misunderstanding or is he actually evil? Will Moria's affections turn to Tyrus? Also, when Ronan told Ashyn he was leaving before they entered the city, I think he was about to reveal something else, first, but then pulled back. I don't think it was his love, since, judging by the kiss, he's not quite so shy about that. I think it was something else, and I'd like to see what it was. The character of Belaset, as well. I think she was given too much time and attention to be merely a device to show Ashyn the way of the world. I think she'll return. 
• World-building! This was AMAZING! I think it was really, really cool to show the creatures (thunder hawk, death worms, etc.) as something not believed even by people in this obviously fantastical world (i.e. having Seekers and Keepers and such), and to see how that develops. Also, in the social relations, like those who are "empire-born" and the people from the North, who decide, by Ashyn's dress, that she is not really from the north, in the inn, I think that all speaks to such a rich, complex world that is going to open up to an even greater depth in the next book. There is just such lush detail (like Ashyn and Moria being disallowed from cutting their hair off because of sorcerers and such), that it really, really makes this world feel real and true and if it genuinely exists, and we are seeing but a window into it. 

Final Thoughts: 

• I just loved everything about this book. The characters were relatable, well-developed, and lovable, the world is lush and fantastical and totally engaging, the style is totally engaging as well, I finished this very quickly. The plot, the pacing, everything is just perfect, I can't wait to read the second installment in this series when it comes out. 

A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron

Caution, spoilers.

This is an older book, and I had gotten it at a secondhand bookshop a while ago, but I just got to reading it, as I was looking for a light, standalone novel to read during finals week at school! This is my first book by this author.

Things I Liked:

• The creepy atmosphere. I'm not sure how to define it, but this book had a really Gothic feel (and I mean that in the traditional sense, not the sense of angry, overly-eyeliner'ed teenagers), and it was just very lush. This was a really enjoyable book to read in dim lighting, curled up with some tea. 
• The pacing/development of the mystery. I'm sure that some people found that once they inferred the mystery, the book lost its appeal. For me, that DIDN'T happen. Obviously, from the title and the fact that Queen Victoria is a principal character, I figured from before I even started the book that this was about hemophilia. For me, hemophilia was NOT the mystery, it was how Albert died, how Victoria came to have the disease, etc. That was the mystery for me, and I thought it developed really well. I hate to be teased in mystery books, but this did a good job of keeping me guessing while keeping me interested. 
• The history. I LOVE the Victorian era, I cannot tell you how badly I would love to live in the Victorian era, I love everything about it. I also have a particular interest in royalty, so I was over the moon to see a book concerned with both. I could see how someone might be offended with the implications of this book, but I, for one, was not. I wouldn't want to read the same sort of archetypal versions of these notable figures every time, and I really liked seeing Barron interpret them in new and interesting ways. 
• Georgie and Patrick! I really, really loved this little romance! Who doesn't love a (very well-written) Irish accent? And a slightly haunted, jealous, brooding, dashing man? Fair point, many people won't, but I really do, and such I enjoyed this book, and, if you do as well, this book is worth checking out for Patrick Fitzgerald alone. Georgie, I really liked Georgie as a heroine! She's an incredibly intelligent, accomplished woman (especially considering the obstacles living in her time would have put before her), but she did NOT lord it over the less educated (like Patrick) or shun women less educated (Lizzy, who she tried to save), so I really appreciate that in a character, and I also thought she was super sweet with Patrick, throughout. 

Things I Disliked: 

• One might say that the scene with von Stuhlen and Maude, or Patrick's rescue of Georgie at the last second were quite convenient and even a bit sensational, but I don't really think that is a drawback, per se, just something to be aware of, if you like a more gritty realism. 

Final Thoughts: 

I enjoyed reading this book! The mystery did keep my attention and did surprise me, as I think it will you, so long as you don't expect the entire mystery to be the hemophilia thing. The style, pacing, and development were all spot on for an engaging, enjoyable read (I finished in two days). I was rooting for the romance, and was glad to see it come to fruition, and I thought Patrick was yummy! All in all, I think you should give this book a try if you are remotely interesting in the Victorian era, a quick, fun read, or mysteries! 

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Caution, spoilers.

That's right, this is a book! I'd seen the animated film as a kid, and, while it was certainly not amongst my favorites, I couldn't pass up the book when I saw it the other day.

I really enjoyed the style and tone of this book. It was written in a very classic storyteller's voice, in my opinion, and I really enjoyed that. Plus, it just felt very turn-of-the-century / Edwardian era, and that's something everyone loves. The actual story was pretty close to the film version, though with decidedly more violence and death. I never cared for the movie as a child, so the book certainly isn't lighting my world on fire now, but I'm very glad to have read it, and I would recommend it just for that, even if you don't like Peter Pan. 

Fragile Spirits by Mary Lindsey

Caution, this may contain spoilers for this book, and the previous book in this series Shattered Souls.

What I Liked:

1. Alden and Lenzi! I was incredibly taken aback to open this book up to an unfamiliar character, having expected more of Alden and Lenzi's story, but I was SO excited to see them again, and their scenes were so powerful and so emotional and so heartwrenching, but then so happy, I can't enough and I loved it. 
2. Paul! I really liked Paul as a character and as a person. You don't really read any kind of love story from the guy's perspective, and it was really refreshing, and I feel like Paul was realistic and well-developed, while still being someone you could see yourself crushing on. (And I so did, he was adorable!)
3. Vivienne's characterization. I was really averse to her in the beginning, I couldn't get over how she treated everyone and such, and, having immediately loved Paul, I really felt like she didn't deserve him. However, and I really, really applaud Mary Lindsey for this, as I am generally loathe to change my opinions, the way in which she was written made her character arc so unbelievably believable...like, I'm still in awe of Mary Lindsey's authorial ability to make me love Vivienne, after hating her as strongly as I did. 
4. Supporting characters! It was really awesome to see Race and Maddi again, as well as Lenzi and Alden, and I loved how this book developed their relationship, and I feel like it really speaks to Mary Lindsey's world building skills that I really believed in the fabric of this world between the two novels. Plus, frankly, Race is just such a lovable rake, and I enjoy his scenes and his humor. 
5. Smith! I was so excited to see that he was being drawn as the principal antagonist of this work, as I really wanted more resolution of his character after having finished Shattered Souls. It was very unexpected, the way he was handles, but very satisfying. 
6. The style! This book was engaging, I read it in I think four or five hours, the writing is so accessible, while also being so very rich and vivid. 

What I Didn't Like: 

1. I will always want more Lenzi and Alden. Always. 
2. This was pretty short, about three hundred pages, and I wanted more! I mean, yes, the ending was great, but, you know, you always want more of a good thing. 

Final Thoughts: 

1. This really strikes me as more of a companion novel to Shattered Souls than a straight up sequel, or at least a hybrid of the two, but, either way, my point is that this was worthy of the book that preceded it. 
2. This is my third book by Mary Lindsey, and I always read the summary and think, "Hmmm, interesting, but, you know, I mean, ghosts...meh" because, I mean, ghosts have been done...but they haven't been done like this. I don't know what it is, but Mary Lindsey takes a topic area (like ghosts) that I'm not really interested in, and somehow makes it one of the most intriguing things on my shelf. She's a really great author, and I would highly recommend her works to anyone. 
3. I still prefer Shattered Souls, but this was an incredibly enjoyable read, it really drew me in, and it reminded me of why I love reading. 

Bite Size Book Rec #2

Who: Fans of classic literature, social novels, England, E. M. Forster, or modernism.

What: Howards End by E. M. Forster

When: Now! And always! Go forth!

Where: Your favorite book reading spot...I like my bed, with some tea.

Why: Because it is awesome! The language, the study of human understanding, the everything! Ah, it might be the greatest book ever written!

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

Caution, this may contain spoilers for this book and any others in the series.

Aaaaaaaah! The long awaited conclusion to Veronica Rossi's epic series, the previous two being Under the Never Sky and Through the Ever Night.

What I Liked LOVED:

1. Veronica freaking Rossi. I've said it before and I'll say it again: no author writing YA fiction today has as engaging a style as Veronica Rossi. I'm not even going to qualify that, it is hands down true. Every word she writes captures my imagination and makes me truly see what she is writing, and I cannot get enough. 
2. Aria and Perry. Ah, they were so good in this! I've loved them as a couple since the beginning, and I was happy to read their relationship throughout this book. I mean, of course, I LOVE dual-perspective novels, always have, so when you get that, then with a couple, then with Perry and Aria, it's awesome. They're the perfect relationship: they're sweet and cute (Night Crawler!), they're touching and romantic (when Loran lets Aria see Perry after Sable has had him with the mallet), and they're epic and tragic and heartfelt and one for the ages (when Perry boards the Dragonwing with Cinder), you know? I just cannot praise their relationship enough, it feels so real and true. 
3. Loran! I have been wondering since the beginning if this Chekhov's gun (or Chekhov's father, as it were) was going to appear, and, lo and behold, Veronica Rossi has done it again, AWESOME! It wasn't sappy or contrived at all, everything just worked. 
4. Deaths! I don't want to spoil you, but Veronica Rossi has done what few other YA authors dare to do: kill characters. Good characters, bad characters (morally, I mean, Veronica Rossi has never produced a badly written character), and some in between, not to mention the nameless extras that didn't make it. I found that she really, really made me believe the deaths, and the characters' (mostly Perry's) reactions to them. It really made my experience of this novel to know that death was so strikingly on the table. 
5. Aria. I feel like her character arc really, really made this novel for me. I have always really admired Aria as fictional character, and also really loved her as a person, and I feel like in Into the Still Blue, she really came into her own. It's hard to describe, but I feel like the new world is going to be built by a new Aria, compared to the Aria we met in Under the Never Sky. 
6. Soren. It's always nice to see a character develop into a human being instead of a fairly flat secondary antagonist. As much as I disliked him in the first book, Veronica Rossi really made me feel for him in this installment. Props. 

What I Didn't Like: 

1. Write more books, Veronica Rossi! We need more! Don't leave us devoid of your engaging characters, epic stories, and general awesomeness!

Final Thoughts:

• Epic. It was epic. The Under the Never Sky trilogy by Veronica Rossi is epic. Truly, as someone who has read epics, I mean that in every sense of the word. As an English major, as a YA lit fan, as a teenage/twenty-something girl, as a human being, this is epic. 
• I read Under the Never Sky when it first came out; I was in high school, and I remember raving about it to my friends in the locker room before gym class. I am so happy to have had the experience to read these books as they were released. 
• Just get this book. Get it and read it and love it, because it awesome and epic and you will love it. (That is the least contrived thing I've ever said)