Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Lani Taylor

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

I have seen this in Collins for a few times before I caved and finally bought it. One of the best decisions I've made.

THE COVER: I have the other cover, with the feathers. I love that one. I also love this one. It screams how Karou dosen't know who she is, and the mytsery of her true identity.

THE PLOT: It is difficult to say anything about the plot without giving away any spoilers. It's about a 18 year old (I think, it's either that or 17) girl named Karou who has always felt a little out of whack, like she's missing something, or that she's trying to remember something but can't. She was brought up by a gang of monsters-though they were always kind to her-and she never knew her parents. Karou goes on erands for her type of father figure, Brimstone, to different parts of the world-getting there through portals-to get something that she's always wondered about. Teeth. On one such erand she get attacked and nearly killed by an angel, which she has always been told was evil. She escapes and wakes up in Brimstone's shop, which the 'other door' opened-the door she's never been allowed to be in. She goes in there, and then in a fit of Brimstone's fury, she is kicked out onto the streets of her town. It is then that all the portals, burn, sealing Karou out, away from her family. She goes on a quest, trying to find unscored portals, so she can resuce her family.

THE WORLD: This book, in genral, is amazing. The world building is wonderful and I loved Lani Taylor's descriptions.

THE CHARACTERS: Karou: Karou is the heroine of the story, she is a mystery, her past, how she got the eye tattoos on each of her palms, why she remembers places that she's never been and people she's never met. And why she is drawn to Akiva, the angel who tried to kill her. She loves anything to do with art.

Akiva: First of all, I love his name, I love most of the names in this book, because they're so out-there. Akiva is a angel who had fallen in love with a devil who saved his life. He had never really gotten over his loss of his beloved but he sees something in Karou that reminds him of her. Akiva has very strong opinions about things and under a hard shell he is kinda and warm. I love the love story between him and Karou.

Brimstone: Brimstone is the key to all of Karou's questions, all of her past, all of her mysteries. He has the head of a bull and the body of a man, he has always been like a father to Karou and he loves her like a daughter. He collects teeth-all teeth, lions teeth, human teeth, monkey teeth-any tooth expect for baby teeth, which he had only once. You only really get to see him up to about page 140, but he does come into play a lot through the whole book. His character was...good to read about, you don't really get a lot of good, father type characters in books.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a amazing read, and the part when Akiva tells Karou that he loves her is my second favourite confession of love I've read. I cannot wait until Days of Blood and Starlight.

5 out of 5 stars.

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment.

Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.

This is gonna be really short because this book DOES NOT even deserve a frigging review. So, this book review is going to be WAY different to my normal reviews-where I tell you about the plot, the world and the characters in different catagories.
This isnt going to be like that.
This is the type of book that you are fooled by the beautiful cover, and the summary of it, and the trailer. Then you send some of your birthday money on it and when you sit down to read it, happy and exicted about this supposably, "Wonderful, Magical and one of the best romance books out there," you end up falling asleep within the first five pages.
This book was an aboslute waste of my time and money. The mean character is so self-loathing it is annoying. It's kinda like Home and Away, the same thing happening over and over and over and over.
-.-
To be honest, the only reason I'm NOT putting this book up as a giveaway on my blog is because the cover is just too pretty. That goes for Mercy as well.
People who love this book, who looooooooooove Franny Billingsley's writting, comment that I'm wrong and that I have obvouisly haven't gotten the plot all you want, but I don't want to hear it.
I have sat through this book for who know how long, and I actually finished it MONTHS AGO, I couldnt write a review about it because every time I sat down to, I would think about the horrible book and shut off the internet shuddering.
So, there. I HATE THIS BOOK. I ACTUALLY HATE IT. IT IS THE ONLY BOOK ON MY BOOKSHELF I ACTUALLY CAN HATE.
Good day and I bid you farewell.
*Rips Chime in half.*

1 out of 5 stars

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

THIS IS THE SECOND BOOK IN THE INFERNAL DEVICES TRIOGLY BY CASSANDRA CLARE, IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST BOOK, CLOCKOWORK ANGEL, I DO NOT RECOMMED THAT YOU READ THIS DUE TO SPOILER ALRET.

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.

Oh, God.
I am seriously trying to atempt to write and review about this book.
Oh, God.

THE COVER: Is BEAUTIFUL, like most of Cassandra Clare's book covers are. Unlike the first book, where Will is the person on the cover, this is Jem, and it does look like Jem. I love the cover, almost as much as I love Clockwork Angel's cover.

THE PLOT: In Clockwork Angel, we see Tessa and her friends basically go into hell. Well, if you thought the first was a heart ache for Tessa to go through Clockwork Prince is a thousand times worse. The book starts off with Will Herondale going to do a few...things for Magnus Bane. He is in a cemetry talking to the dealer-who happens to be a ghost-and that is basically it. Expect for what he asks for himself which made me jump up and down. In a few days, or something like that I'm not exactly sure about the timing, Will, Jem, Charlotte, Henry, Tessa, Jesamine go to a Concuil meeting to dicuss the events of the ending from the end of Clockwork Angel. It is set to them then, that if they do not find the Masigter in the time limit of two weeks, that the deeds of the Insuite will go to Banicet-Sorry, names may be slept wrong, my friend is reading it at the moment-Lightwood. With this impossible task, Will, Jem and Tessa travel to York, to find more imformation. And when they are there, they stumble into the Herondale Manor. This is a vital part of the book for Will, and to be honest I think this is the part when Will's walls come crumbling down around him. In this book, we, as the reader, find out what Will is being so desperate to hide, why he pushes Tessa away, why he is horrible to everyone but Jem, what happened to drive him to run away from his family. Meanwhile, Jem and Tessa are growing closer together and Tessa is still completely blind that she is in love with Will. The ending is heart wrenching. It is the time that Tessa reliezes that she loves Will but it is far, far to late. I so very rarely cry about a part in books-expect Cassie Clare's for some reason-but in this, I found myself tearing up at pg 150 during class.

THE WORLD: The thing is with Victorian London, or any place and time era before the author was born, is that it is really hard to get it right. But Cassandra Clare can, and it seems like you actually live in the time era. And with that too, she interwinds Shadow Hunter culter with it easily.

THE CHARACTERS: Tessa/Thersa Gray is much like she is in the first book but she has devolped like characters need too. From her brother's betrayal in the first book she has become a little wry of who she trusts. A part of her is so tied to Will that it just seems logical that they would end up together at the end of the book-but the same thing could be said about Jem and Tessa. 
Will/William Herondale. He, I have to say with aboslute clarity, is the most unselfish character in this book. He loves Tessa-there's is no doubt about that at all. And because of that love he is trying to redo his horrible mistake. He is so much different, he is more...open a little. He is more warm and more...suffering. What happens to him at the end-he is the character, in any book, who doesnt deserve it.
Jem/James Carstairs. He is basically the knight in shining armor that Tessa has looked for in this book. But he is also a little unwined. He is aboslutely blind towards Will and Tessa's feelings and I'm not saying that the ending was his fault, but if he had known-or if Will had known about Jem's-the ending could've been completely different.

This book is amazing, I found myself laughing and crying and swooning all at once. It is Cassandra Clare's finest work and I will love it for years too come.
Five stars out of five.  

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, though 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.

CURSED

So, I am rewriting my book into a completely different from the other one. I'll be putting on teasers so....let me know what you think.

P.S this photo kind of screams CURSED-

TEASER-

As soon as I stepped through the thresh hold of my house Julian stepped out of his study and leaned against the door frame. “I gather that you spoke to the Jeremy boy?”

            “You consider yourself a holy man,” I said meeting his eyes, seeing his shock at the state I was in, soaked hair from the rain, blood shot eyes, red splotches all over my face. “Yet you are undoubtedly enjoying watching me suffer. You strung me up-making me think there was a cure but then dropped it with something that is much, much worse. My life shattered when my family was murdered and Jeremy picked up the pieces. Now you have undone all of his work.”

Clockwork Prince is where it SHOULD BE

Clockwork Prince is officially where it should be-in my hands. Due to that, I will probably not do my Spirit Bound (which is amazing by the way) review later probably with the CP one.

TEAM WILL!

HEHE I HAVE IT!

Clockwork Prince

So.
TWO MORE FRIGGING DAYS TILL CLOCKWORK PRINCE'S REALIZE!
If you don't know what Clockwork Prince is it the second book of the Infernal Devices by the one and only Cassandra Clare-here's the link to her tumblr http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/ -She writes books about demon fighting Nephilim who kick some serious ass throughout the first series she wrote about them which are, City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls (comes out next may) and City of Heavenly Fire (which comes out in 2013 I think). The second series she's writing about them sets place in the 19th century in London. It is about nearly all the characters in the first series (which is called the Mortal Instruments by the way) ancestors. So, without giving to much away, it is central to a girl named Theresa or Tessa Grey who after her Aunt's death, moves to London to live with her brother. But when she gets there she is kidnapped and is told that if she doesn't do what they want her brother will suffer for it. She learns that she has the uncanny ability to change into any other person by holding a personal item of their's.
I, personally, love the Infernal Devices wayyyyyyyyyyyy more then the Mortal Instruments.
So, firstly, what do you think will happen if you've read them and secondly, if you haven't, why aren't you at a book shop?  

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST THREE BOOKS I RECOMMEND  THAT YOU DO NOT READ THIS DUE TO SPOILER ALERT.

Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. 

All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul. 

To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a 

horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought. 

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to 

her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she 

severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or 

Summer fey can survive. 

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait 

sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor 

his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side. 

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn 

these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale. 

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges 

his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate 

sacrifice

So, here it is.

Here is the review I've been dreading to write because it will make it feel final-

THERE AREN'T ANYMORE IRON FEY BOOKS!

I have finished this book a few days ago and ever since I've been walking around like someone died.

THE COVER: Well, all I can say is that I bit my best friend's head off (not literally of course) when she bagged it. I love it-of course I love it, it has a certain Unseelie Prince on it and the back is great too with the Summer Jester that we all love.

THE PLOT: This book is hopelessly romantic, Ash's quest to claim a soul to be with the woman he loves-it's so...I don't even have the words to describe it. Kagawa writes the perfect blend of romance and fantasy that is so hard to write without the other canceling out the other-trust me, I just started writing the second book of my series and I'm rewriting the first because it was to lovey duvy romance taking away the paranormal aspect. But that isn't all this book is about, it's about being human, about guilt and honor and promises that you make. In it Ash forgives Puck for his mistake and finds himself in a very difficult cross road, the person who you used to be in love with and still love or the person who is basically your life. I wanted to hate Ariella, I really did for wanting to take Ash away from Meghan but-she's one of those characters you can't help but like and I am so glad that Kagawa didn't make her one of those sterotype, stalker ex-girls friends that are so common in YA. Her selfless act at the end of the book was so....I don't think there's a word in the English dictionary to sum up the selflessness in the act the she preformed. I screamed when in the second trail when Ash wakes up in the Iron Realm with Meghan and asked her THE QUESTION. OH MY GOD MY BRAIN EXPLODED. Then the actual scene was down right hilarious. 

I didn't like seeing him as a old man, he just.....I was crying. 

THE WORLD: Kagawa returns with the same wonderfully....beautiful world that she has created. But this time it's darker and more dangerous-I know, even MORE dangerous-and I, personally, loved it even more.  The End Of The World is something that I have dreamed of, and the way she created it, the poetic-like  way that she described it was in-flooring and made me get lost in the book for hours at night, with school the next day and it was so good I DID NOT REGRET IT.  


THE CHARACTERS: First and foremost, Ashllayn' darkmr Tallyn. He was so driven by his promise, so focused about his promise to Meghan, but he wasn't completing this quest because he had to because of his oath but  because he wanted to be with Meghan always. Even once he found out that his first love was still alive and still had feelings toward him he kept going-and not to say that he never wavered, and the way he swore to make up for all the lives he took, for all the lives he destroyed....He did it with certainty, not a like a throw away promise that you make to make someone get off your back that you have no intention of keeping. I have been Team Ash since I read the first book and this only made me love him more.
Puck: Puck comes back as the Puck we all know and love. He has his witty remarks, the way he looks on the bright side of things. But you see a completely different side to him. He has his emotional moments, he has his points where he gets things off his chest and he has the turning point with him when he seems to...forgive himself for Ariella's death.
Ariella: She is the person who you want to hate but can't. She is such a realistic character and she is so shy and quiet. She is a big turning point in both the boy's lives and she gives them both what they need in the end-closure.
Meghan: I have to admit, it was difficult to adapt to not being in her head.     At times I would find myself imagining Ash as Meghan and I had to shake myself to remember that it was ASH. Meghan is a constant thought in Ash's head and the times they do see each other in dreams are so...wonderfully beautiful. 
Grim: My second favorite character. In this he kind of gets a Puck/Ash relationship with one of the new characters-The Big Bad Wolf. It is so funny how they fling witty and rude remarks to and fro, making me laugh in class causing everyone to stare at me like I'm crazy. 
The Big Bad Wolf: Three words, loyalty, loyalty, loyalty. He will do what he wants, take on the favors he wants and do things on his term. But once he does he is loyal. Again, it's so funny with the battle of the wits going on between him and Grim-how he keeps threatening to eat him and how he just replies, I am a cat, had me in stitches.




This is my equal first series (along with the Infernal Devices) and if you havent read the first one, 1)why are you reading this? 2)Why aren't you at a book store buying the series?


5/5 stars. I will mourn the ending of this series for a LONG TIME.