Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Genre:  YA Paranormal Fantasy

The Dark Artifices, Book 1

Cassandra Clare's website

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Description (taken from Cassandra Clare's website):

In a secret world where half-angel warriors are sworn to fight demons, parabatai is a sacred word.

A parabatai is your partner in battle. A parabatai is your best friend. Parabatai can be everything to each other — but they can never fall in love.

Emma Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, one in a long line of Shadowhunters tasked with protecting the world from demons. With her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, she patrols the streets of a secret Los Angeles where vampires party on the Sunset Strip, and faeries teeter on the edge of open war with Shadowhunters. When the bodies of humans and faeries start turning up murdered in the same way Emma’s parents were murdered years ago, an uneasy alliance is formed. This is Emma’s chance for revenge — and Julian’s chance to get back his half-faerie brother, Mark, who was kidnapped five years ago. All Emma, Mark and Julian have to do is solve the murders within two weeks . . . before the murderer targets them.

Their search takes Emma from sea caves full of sorcery to a dark lottery where death is dispensed. As she uncovers the past, she begins to peel away the secrets of the present: What has Julian been hiding from her all these years? Why does Shadowhunter law forbid parabatai to fall in love? Who really killed her parents — and can she bear to know the truth?

Emma is a wreckless shadowhunter who always protects her loved ones.  She lives in the Los Angeles Institute with the Blackthorn family.  The Balckthorn family consists of seven siblings: one stolen by the Fae to join the Wild Hunt, one in exile for being part Fae, and one left to raise the remaining four.  Emma would move the world for her parabatai Julian who is raising his siblings.  However there's only one passion of hers that is solely hers, and it is figuring out  who killed her parents.

After discovering a random mundane killing that was caused by something supernatural, Emma has to investigate.  There are too many similarities between this one and her parents' deaths.  When confronting Julian about it, something else is thrown into the mix that suddenly makes everything very personal.  And while they've been cautioned by multiple downworlders on how to handle this case, they focus solely on it and dive head-first into the investigation.

I tried very hard to write a convoluted review that gave away nothing.  I really enjoyed this book.  But honestly?  It's Cassandra Clare.  You already know if you love her books or not.  I definitely fall under the first category.  And while it took me a while to like a few of the characters, I still loved the book.  Until the next one.

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Genre:  YA Paranormal Romance

The Mortal Instruments Series, Book 6

Cassandra Clare's website

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Note:  This is the last book in a series.  If you haven't jumped onto the Shadowhunter train yet, get your butt on it.  I'd recommend not reading the stuff below if you're unfamiliar with the series...

Description (taken from Goodreads):

In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother.

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!

Sebastian is going to destroy the Shadowhunter society by turning them against each other.  Using the Infernal Cup, he takes away their will and souls turning them into a fighting army that reports to him.  But when Sebastian's plans come to fruition, he decides it's not enough.  He has a different goal in mind.

Clary has just survived a battle between her brother and the Endarkened.  When the Clave deems Sebastian and his army a small threat, Clary finds herself battling against the Clave to get them to understand the seriousness.  But with the small steps taken forward in regards to Downworlder relations, we find everyone running backwards to their old prejudices.  But Clary's going to do her hardest to bring peace to the Shadowhunters and Downworlders.

The last book in a series, and it was huge (~725 pages).  We've got some fighting, some love stories, some paranormal species, and learning moments.  I was so excited to read this last book, and I plowed right through it.  And while I loved the story, I hated to see it end.  And I felt like the ending wasn't enough of a bang for me (I might be a little too hard on last -books-in-a-series).  But that shouldn't stop anyone from reading these books.  They're good.

For anyone unfamiliar to Cassandra Clare, I highly recommend you read her books in the order they were published.  And keep going even if you're not quite sold on City of Bones.  My favorite books were from The Infernal Devices series.  But you need both series to get the whole story.  (By the way, having stories from the other series tie into this one was sweet!!)

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Genre:  YA Steampunk Fantasy

Infernal Devices Trilogy, Book 3

Cassandra Clare's website

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Note:  If you're one of the few who hasn't jumped on the Cassandra Clare bandwagon, I suggest you not read the description below.  It spoils plots in earlier books.

Description (taken from Cassandra Clare's website):

THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT PITY.
THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT REGRET.
THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT NUMBER.
THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING.

Tessa Gray should be happy — aren’t all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding to Jem Carstairs, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to the Magister, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan of destruction.

He needs Tessa.

Tessa knows Axel Mortmain, the Magister, is coming for her, but not where or when he will strike. Charlotte Branwell, the head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain first. And the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa’s heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, and Will knows he should force himself to find someone else to care for, he is as much in love with her as ever.

In the last words of a dying Shadowhunter reside the clue that might lead Tessa and her friends to Mortmain. But the Shadowhunters of the London Institute cannot stand alone, and in their homeland of Idris, the ruling body of the Clave doubt their claims that Mortmain is coming. Deserted by those who should be their allies and with their enemies closing in, the Shadowhunters find themselves trapped when Mortmain seizes the medicine which is all that is keeping Jem alive. With his best friend at death’s door it is up to Will to risk everything to save the woman they both love.

To buy Will time, the warlock Magnus Bane joins with Henry Branwell to create a device that could help them to defeat the Magister. As those who love Tessa work to save her, and the future of the Shadowhunters that resides with her, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself —for in the discovery of her own true nature, Tessa begins to learn that she is more powerful than she ever dreamed possible. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Agh!!!!!!  Favorite book of the series.  Jumping on the Cassandra Clare bandwagon.  Believe it or not, but I love the Infernal Devices trilogy more than the Mortal Instruments one.  Fan girl moment here: lots of squealing, jumping around, giddiness, and tears.  Wait, hold up...  Tears?!  Agh, keep the tissue box handy.

Cassandra Clare is a wonderful story teller, and she picks up the story immediately.  We all know that I've never been a Jem fan, and I thought I had everything figured out perfectly.  But I sort of, kind of did and didn't.  After lots of shadowhunter action, marriage planning, and some heartbreak, we get the perfect story.

Once the story's over, we're left with about a hundred pages to wrap up the trilogy.  If you know me, I hate it when a story drags out the ending instead of just perfectly ending it shortly.  But this ending dragging on and on and on.  And on...  It was perfect.  I wanted more of it.  I was bawling the whole time.  I'm so glad my husband wasn't around to witness the tears.

Perfect ending to a really good series.  My favorite book of the series.  I definitely recommend everybody read these books.  If you have a hard time with the Mortal Instruments, try these ones.

Favorite Quote:

In every meeting there was some of the sorrow of parting, but in every parting there was some of the joy of meeting as well.
     ~Clockwork Princess, p 507

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Genre:  YA Paranormal Romance

The Mortal Instruments, Book 5

Cassandra Clare's website

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Due to minor spoiler alerts, it is highly recommended that you have read books one through four before reading this book's description and my review.

Description (taken from Goodreads):

The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace freed from captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing, so is the boy she hates: her brother Sebastian, who is determined to bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

The Clave's magic cannot locate either boy, but Jace can't stay away from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith's magic has wrought - Jace and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other.

Only a few people believe that Jace can still be saved. Together, Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle bargain with the sinister Seelie Queen, contemplate deals with demons, and turn at last to the merciless, weapon-making Iron Sisters, who might be able to forge a weapon that can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. If the Iron Sisters can't help, their only hope is to challenge Heaven and Hell - a risk that could claim their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary is playing a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing 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? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

Back to Cassandra Clare's books.  Oh how I love this Shadowhunter world of hers.  But there are a couple of issues I had with this book.  One being that it jumped from one character's point of view to another's too fast.  It was very disorienting in the beginning and took me a while to remember minor details from the last book.  And another issue I had, I can't say because it'd spoil the story for you.

There's a lot of kissing in this book.  In fact, from around page 100 to 300, it's pretty much pure kissing.  I think towards the end of those pages, I questioned whether or not I was getting sick of the kissing.  And at the end of the book, I had to say nope, still loving the romance between Clary and Jace.

So minus the kissing and kick-butt action, what is this book about?  Well, Jace becomes linked to Sebastian (as we kind of figured out from the fourth book).  And Clary kind of ends up with her world turned upside down.  Evil begins to look good, and the 'good guys' never really know what good is.  That sort of thing.  However, I don't think this played out as well as I had hoped.  But that's okay (because we got the whole shadowhunter action in the book).

Do I love this series?  Yes.  Is my rating inflated due to my love for this series?  Potentially.  But I can't ignore the shadowhunting awesomeness...

One of my favorite quotes from the book:

     "I'm not going to attack you," she said impatiently.  "I can take the sight of your naked chest without swooning."
     "Are you sure?" he asked, obediently sliding the shirt off his shoulders.  "Because viewing my naked chest has caused many women to seriously injure themselves stampeding to get to me."
          ~p 402

Challenges:  Young Adult Reading Challenge

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Genre:  YA Steampunk Fantasy

Infernal Devices Series, Book 2

Cassandra Clare's website

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Description (taken from Cassandra Clare's website):

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

If you enjoy young adult paranormal fantasy reads, then you have to read Cassandra Clare's books.  And my best recommendation is to read them in the order they were published in.  That means starting with The Mortal Instruments and working your way to the Infernal Devices (and then weaving in between series).  I love the Infernal Devices because they are set in historical London.

Now to the second one in a series.  Very rarely will the second book in a series ever be someone's favorite.  I felt the same way with this one.  Don't get me wrong, it was written by Cassandra Clare which means it's still awesome.  And if you're someone who loves love triangles, this book has perfected it.  As much as I love Jem, I love Will a little bit more.  And I have a guess as to what will be happening in the next book (but we'll see in another year, won't we?).

There wasn't enough action for me.  Nor enough background, description, and answers.  But it did a wonderful job of keeping me interested and mystified.  Like almost all second books, it's an accordion from the beginning to the end.  But even with the destination in mind, it's still nice to see the sights along the way.

Challenges:  Young Adult Reading Challenge