Sunday, June 5, 2016

Clockwork Prince

I'm sorry if I forgot to mention anything important in my review of Clockwork Angel and I'm sorry if I'm going to forget anything important in this review. But reading this series was so overwhelming and heart-breaking for me that writing this review is hard because I'm reliving all the emotions I had while reading the books! I hope you will still enjoy this review!


The "Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare "book review

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.
 
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In this book Tessa is getting much closer to Jem. They do so much stuff together, and she tries to ignore Will as much as possible. Which made me so mad. I mean yeah, Will was such a dickhead, but I honestly love him so much. I love Jem too....but somehow I like Will a tinsy tiny bit more. While the love triangle still causes confusion in Tessas head the Institute has to deal with bigger problems. In the last book they thought that a powerful vampire called DeQuincey was the Magister, because he was in the Pandemonium Club (does it sound familiar to you), which is a powerful organization of humans, vampires, fairies , demons and warlocks. The organization had fun with killing innocent humans and DeQuincey was a "servant" of the Magister. NOT the Magister. So the Shadowhunters killed him anyways. A few people of the Enclave think that's because Charlotte is not fit for ruling the Institute. Especially Benedicte Lightwood thinks that she shouldn't be the leader because she is a woman ?! Like what.......did that a****** seriously say that? So they have to find information of the place where Mortmain is hidding and they only have time for two weeks.
 In that time Tessa and Sophie are being trained by Gabriel and Gideon Lightwood. I think if I hadn't read the Mortal Instrument and if there hadn't been Gideon I probably would have hated the Lightwoods. And it's funny that Will and Gabriel hate eachother so much and that Jace and Alec are just like brothers. So while training them you also get to see Sophie a lot more. She works as a servant, but nobody looks at her that way. She is very kind and very beautiful. She has a very large scar on her cheek , because she once worked for a bastard who wanted her , but she didn't want him and he did that to her face so that "no man would ever look at her again, because if he can't have her, no one else can" She then lived on the streets until she met Charlotte who gave her a place in the Institute. I love Sophie. I think she is still very beautiful and  she slowly gets a voice and she starts building her confidence ,but it's sad that she is in love with Jem, but unfortunately that love isn't returned. But she and Gideon start to grow closer which is soooo cute. Meanwhile the people of the Institute discover that Mortmain was raised by warlock parents who were killed by Aloysius Starkweather, the head of the York Institute . Tessa, Will and Jem go on a journey to get more information and they realize that Mortmain's revenge was caused by deep sorrow. On their ride back home they pass a manor in Ravenscar and Will sees his little sister Cecily, which completly makes him lose his mind, because he is confronted with his past. But more to that later. They then discover that the manor was offered to them by Mortmain, yet the still don't know where he could be. Meanwhile Sophie discovers that Jessamine is sneaking out every night. She and Tessa then find out that she has been meeting with Nate, the brother of Tessa who betrayed her and that she has been working as a spy. Tessa shapeshifts and goes on a ball with Nate and discovers that they have married. Jessamine is taken to the Silent City. Tessa then meets with Nate again of course as Jessamine, but he has discovered that it is Tessa and he tries to kill her with the automans , Mortmain has created. In the end Nate is defeated and dies ;( ............sad......but he was kind of a b****

 At that time we also get to know why Will behaves the way he does. When he was little he accidently opened a box where a demon was capured inside (what kind of parents leave a box like this lying around for a little boy to play with?!) . By opening that box , the demon was freed and put a curse on Will, that all the people he will love will be destroyed*. His older sister stepped in front of him and send the demon away, but she died the same day. That's why he left his family and is so mean to everyone, he just tried to protect them. So Will asks Magnus to summon this demon. By accident he finds the demon himself and summons him. But the curse was never really a curse.That means he can love without destroying. His sister only died because she was poisoned by the demon. So Will goes to confess his love to Tessa, but she tells him that Jem just proposed to her and Will is very shocked. This part was very confusing, because how can you not notice that someone who is like a brother to you has feelings for the girl you love? So Will let's his parabatai have the girl but I never really had the feeling that Tessa loved Jem as much as Will. When he proposed to her, she thought about Will and had to convince herself that she loves Jem. And she could not say no...because I don't know...maybe because she didn't want to hurt Jem...or maybe , ok that's a really mean assumption but maybe because Jem is sick and doesn't have that long to live? In the end everyone seems happy....(except Will) ..................Jem and Tessa, Charlotte and Henry, who have confessed their love for eachother and who are expecting a child. They can keep the Institute because they have discovered that Benedicte Lightwood also served Mortmain and that he had demon pox?! I was so happy when I read that because Will always made these jokes about it but everyone kept telling that there is no such thing as demon pox ;) So they blackmailed Benedicte and Charlotte could stay being the leader of the Institute .And in the end there's an unexpected visitor ;)

* Did you realize that the curse of Will was like the motto of Jace :"To love is to destroy and to be loved is to be the one destroyed "?! I was sooooo mindblown!!!!!
 5 out of 5 cupcakes

I hope you enjoyed this review, I know it was a long one, but the Infernal Devices deserve that much attention!


Clockwork Angel

Hey guys ,I finally managed to write this review....I hope you enjoy
!spoilers!

The "Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare" book review


 The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them.
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I read the books.....WHY DID I NOT READ THESE BOOKS BEFORE..........OMG THEY ARE SO FRICKIN' GOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do not know where I should start. Reading this was so overwhelming for me because so many things happened and so many finally cleared up for me and now there are so many connections..........Ok let's start at the beginning. So Tessa, short for Theresa is a 16-year old girl, who doesn't have any parents, because she lost them in a carriage accident. She lived in New York with her aunt, who died of an illness. She also has a brother-Nate, who lives in London and who wants her to come there too. Shortly after she arrived , she isn't greeted by her brother , but by two really weird women who claim, that they were sent by her brother. So Tessa goes with them and after a while she reallizes that something went terribly wrong because the two women keep her hostage and they want her to shapeshift. Tessa doesn't know what shapeshifting is supposed to be but after a while she figures it out. Shapeshifting is the ability of her ,transforming into a different person while holding something personal of them. When she is the other person, she can touch their mind and can access their thoughts. She can even speak like these people. This ability is trained by the "Dark sisters" who are both warlocks and who serve the Magister. He is the master of them and her wants Tessa to be his wife because he needs her ability. After having tried to escape countless times, Tessa is rescued by William Herondale, who is a Shadowhunter. He lives in the London Institute for Shadowhunters . Charlotte Branwell born Fairchild, 23 is the head of the Institute with her husband Henry Branwell. Henry doesn't really care about the leadership of the Institute. He loves inventing things, but we will come to that later. There is also Jessamine, a very pretty girl who hates , that she had to become a Shadowhunter. Then there's Agatha the cook, Sophie the maid and Thomas , the carriage driver. They all have the Sight , which makes it possible for them to see the Shadow World. And lastly there's James Carstair, short:Jem. He has a peculiar look, because he has silver hair and silver eyes. But it's pretty obvious that he is of chinese heritage. He is very ill. As a child he was poisoned with a demon poison , which can also be used as a drug. He has to keep on taking this poison, which is slowly killing him. If he doesn't take it he'll die immediately. The poison is called yin feng and it is silver...that's the reason for the colour of his hair and his eyes.Will and Jem are parabatai, and they love eachother like brothers. When Tessa is staying at the Institute she slowly gets to know both Jem and Will. They are very different. Will is very sarcastic and with his little jokes and rude comments he never let's anyone near him. Jem is kind and open-hearted. But there's one thing that they share: They both start to develope feelings for Tessa. Tessa also starts liking them, but she also has different problems. She needs to find her brother , who is probably being held hostage by the Magister. With the help of the Shadowhunters and a warlock called Magnus Bane she finds Nate. The others also think that they know the identity of the Magister. But they are all very wrong. The Magister is someone else and Nate is  a spy who betrays Tessa,-his own sister . The Magister has been building an army of robots-also called clöckwork creatures. Soon Tessa , Will and Jem have to fight and have to choose between life and death.

So, I tried not to give too many spoilers .But after reading this book, there were so many things just flying around in my brain. There are so many connections and so many hints, that made me wish that I read these books first. For example Will. He is so much like Jace. Or the other way around. They both are afraid of getting close to people and they both are so sassy and sacastic I can't even. But Will looks completly different. He's not blonde. He has black hair and blue eyes, which is the way Alec looks. When I got to that part I got the comment of Magnus when talking about Alec. And speaking of Magnus: I love him so much more now, because you get to see him in a different way in this book. In this book he is in a relationship with Camille -the vampire. Then there's Henry with his inventions. He is always inventing something new and nobody believes it will work because his invention often go wrong. But for example in this book he works on a sensor that can track demons, which doesn't work but in City of Bones ....boom Jace uses a sensor and it works perfectly.There are also connection between Clary and Tessa because first of all they are both 16 or nearly 16 when they discover the Shadow world and they are both so fierce and stuborn and they are both so selfless. They show you that love is the most powerful thing in the world! There's also a love triangle in the book , a little bit different but Cassie has managed it again, that it's almost impossible that this love can ever happen. But just like in city of bones there was a major plot twist at the end. And just when you think Will and Tessa can be in a relationship, Will is really mean to her so that she is finally done with him. But there's a reason for his attitude, but when you're finished with this book you still don't know what the reason is, which almost kills you and makes you want ro read the second book immediately!

5 of 5 cupcakes
I know that this a very long review, but there's just so much to process. Tell me in the comments which team you're on... Will's or Jem's?????? 

Thursday, June 2, 2016

TBR

June

Books I want to read this month

Death's Daughter by Amber Benson

Onyx 
Opal 
Origin
Opposition by Jennifer L.Armentrout

And maybe a few Shakespeare stories...

I won't be able to read many books this month because these are the last two months of school for me and I'm pretty busy, but I will always try;)

Wrap-up

May

Books I have read this month

Shadow Kiss*
Blood Promise*
Spirit Bound*
Last Sacrifice *by Richelle Mead

Clockwork Angel#
Clockwork Prince#
Clockwork Princess# by Cassandra Clare

Carrie by Stephen King

Slammed# by Colleen Hoover

Macbeth 
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

German myths and fairy tales (collection of stories)

*there's a review of this book on my blog
# a review will be coming soon

Last Sacrifice

Final review of the Vampire Academy series! ....enjoy !careful spoilers!

The "Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead" book review





Now the law has finally caught up with Rose - for a crime she didn't even commit. She's in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She'll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.
But the clock on Rose's life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back...and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your whole life is about saving others, who will save you?

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So Rose is in prison for a crime she obviously did not commit. Her "family" and her friends are trying as hard as possible to bail her out,  but Rose doesn't have time to wait. Someone who murders a "royal" is normally sentenced to death. So her escape from the prison is organized and Dimitri helps her to escape. Not only because Lissa told him to do this,but also because he might still have feelings for Rose. On their mission , we also get to see Sydney again, who now doesn't work in Russia anymore. They not only want to keep Rose safe and hidden, but they also want to help Lissa: Because of Queen Tatiana's death, there are the elections for the royal throne and Lissa is a candidate. She's competing ,although she knows she can't win because there's no one left except her that represent her bloodline. She needs one more family member. Fortunately for her Rose finds out that her father once had an affair with someone, and that someone had a child. So she has a sister somewhere and Rose wants to find her. So she looks for someone who might know something about the mysterious child, and she also finds that person: It's Sonja Karp, her old teacher who was also gifted with the element of spirit. But she lost her mind and turned into a strigoi, because she could no longer bear the darkness which is a side-effect of spirit.So they find her, but they are not the only ones who have been searching for her: Victor and his crazy brother return and they turn Sonja back into a moroi. They also want to find the child, because they want Lissa to be queen but not for their good intentions. Sonja helps them and shows them, who the half-sister of Lissa is: Jill Mastrano! This was a real shocker because Jill is the last person I would have guessed to be her sister. Especially because they don't really have the best relationship! So they find her , but then she is taken by Victor and his bro and Rose and Dimitri have to hide again, because someone called the guards on them. In the end they find Jill, but Rose who is taking the darkness from Lissa through their bond, goes a bit crazy on Victor and she kills him....yeah, but he was kind of bad, so ...no hard feelings? Rose is kind of losing her mind and the only person who can help her is Dimitri, they start to get closer and closer and so pretty damn close that you already know what happens. This is great but then it's not. As a reader I have grown really fond of Adrian. And he loves Rose to death and that she is willing to throw that all away is heart-breaking. In the end there's a last plot twist. Rose and Dimitri get to the election in time, so they can prove that Lissa is fit for ruling as a queen. And they can prove Rose's innocence. And I was so shocked when I heard that Tasha was the murderer! I mean come on. Now Christian has to lose the only family he has left ;( When the guards try to catch Tasha she starts shooting around with a gun. She wants to shoot Lissa but Rose saves her and gets shot herself. But don't worry she's alive, but with the help of normal surgery. Because Rose almost died, the bond is no longer there. Now this part in the book is just annoying. I'm sorry, but the entire series is based on their bond and in the last 30 or 40 pages the author decides to take it away. Just like that. What will happen to Lissa without Rose to keep her from loosing her mind?

 The storyline of the book was great but the ending was just disappointing. The ending is too short and things that may have mattered are downplayed. For example the break-up between Adrian and Rose. This part is just heart-breaking, but Rose doesn't even care and Adrian could have given her everything, but she just doesn't care. I know that there's a spin-off series but I think Adrian deserved an at least longer ending! The ending ruined the book for me and left me with no hangover at all. I know book slumps are bad, but normally when you get them it means you were really attached to the characters. This wasn't the case here unfortunately ;(

3 out of 5 cupcakes
In conclusion I can say I liked the series, but I did not love it.  The storyline was great but the way it was written didn't excite me, the way I wanted it to excite me. I'm sorry if there are some of you out there that really loved this series, but I just didn't

Spirit Bound

Next review.....I hope you enjoy!....careful...might contain spoilers


The "Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead" book review


Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong...
After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir's-and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere.
She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him... forever.
 
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Rose is back at the Vampire Academy. She manages to graduate gracefully. As a guardian she has to spend some time at the royal "castle" to gain experience and to learn how an average day of an guardian looks like. Yet Rose can't seem to be happy. Dimitri is still out there and he is looking for her. But Rose thinks there's a possibility that Dimitri can be turned back into a Dhampire. So Rose, Lissa and Eddie ( a good friend of Rose) go out of their safe zone and try to find the only person who knows about the only way to heal Dimitri: Victor Dashkov's brother Robert. Just to get something clear: Victor is  Lissa's uncle, who almost killed her because of her healing abilities. Robert is also one of the few people who knows how to use spirit. But he doesn't try to oppress it or  drown it with alcohol, so he's kind of crazy. When I got to this part I was so pissed at Rose. She is willing to free someone out of prison who almost killed her best friend just to ask him where his brother lives ,who might tell them if there's a chance to heal the love of her life. She's endagering so many people by acting the way she is. And then they even loose them and they still don't give a f*** . They get punished for sneaking out, but they kind of don't care that they just lost a major criminal! So they keep on living their life. Rose is in a relationship with Adrian, but somehow she doesn't feel about him the way she is supposed to feel about him. But why? The answer is Dimitri of course. So in the end..........spoiler....Dimitri gets healed by Lissa........... So you might think that everything will be roses and rainbows, yada yada ya....but it doesn't turn out that way. Dimitri is depressed, because he knows what horrible things he has done when he was a Strigoi. He thinks that he can never love somebody again and he is overly protective over Lissa. She saved him so they kind of have this bond. Which kind of makes Rose the third -wheel . So you think that this is how the story ends....it doesn't. There's a major plot twist at the end. Queen Tatiana is murdered. And guess who is accused of doing this crime? Rose Hathaway...of course. This is so shocking and I was like.....whhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttt?! This part really got my blood flowing but sadly the book ended after that. I can't lie. I did not like this book. It was hard getting into the story in the beginning, some parts were in my opinion far too long, so they kind of bored me and the interesting parts at the end were far to short. But that's just my opinion ....let's see if I like the next book better

3 out of 5 cupcakes

Blood promise review

Hello my lovelies. I'm sorry I haven't updated for so long, but I was on break  for the past two weeks, so I was traveling so I couldn't write any reviews, but I'm back now and I have read quite a lot of books that I will review now, so enjoy!
....this may contain spoilers.......


The "Blood Promise by Richelle Mead "book review


The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters ... Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?
Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?
 
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This is one of my favourite books in the Vampire Academy series. First of all , the story doesn't take place at St.Vladimir's Academy. Rose has left the school and is searching for Dimitri in Russia. I loved the change of scenery and it was easier to get into the book. I had a hard time in the beginning of every book in the series to get interested. I don't know if that was because almost every story started at the Academy or maybe because I wasn't in a good mood while reading it. We also get to meet a lot of new characters which is also nice and refreshing. First there's Sydney. She is an alchemist. They keep an eye on the Strigoi and the Dhampires so they won't get the attention of normal people. They are not particulary fond of them but sadly it's their job and they have to do it. If they like it or not. Sydney helps Rose to find Dimitri and together they go on a journey and they start forming a relationship. By accident she gets to meet the family of Dimitri and she has the job of telling them what has happened to Dimitri himself. She slowly becomes part of the family and you picture what could have been if Dimitri hasn't been transformed into a Strigoi. As a reader you imagine Rose and Dimitri sitting around a fire with their families, laughing , having a good time ........Unfortunatly Rose can't stay long because her aim is still to find her "beloved" teacher. I like the way the author has managed to always change the perspective, Rose is still the main narrator but through the bond Rose and Lissa have, you also get to see how Lissa is holding up without Rose. And trust me my friend , it's bad. Adrian is trying his best with Christian to get her minds off things until Avery comes around and then stuff starts going down. Avery is the daughter of the new head master of the Academy. At first you're happy for Lissa that she has finally found a friend, but the longer Avery is at the Academy  more things go wrong. Lissa is being totally reckless. She starts partying , drinking, she isn't herself anymore and the darkness starts to eat her up from the inside, but this time there's no Rose around to help her. There are two surprises in this book. The first one: You get to meet the dad of Rose,it's also a character you will meet in this book but you don't really think that person is one of the reasons the main character of this story even exists. The second surprise has something to do with Dimitri. .....No shit Sherlock.....Rose actually finds Dimitri, I don't think that's a spoiler,just because you could have guessed it. Although he is a Strigoi he's also not a Strigoi. When I came to that part of the book, I couldn't stop comparing it with City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare. I mean in that book Jace who is bound to Sebastian is still Jace but everything that  once mattered to him (except Clary) doesn't concern him any more. If things that he once cared about are  being mentioned to him, he is confused and that was almost the way Dimitri behaved....
The ending is shocking, but you kind of see it coming. Normally in the books I have read, when a tragedy strikes  you get to have a piece of  mind of the person that suffers the loss. When it is not described that way, there's usually something that will happen and in Richelle Meads books you see it coming... Sometimes!

4 out of 5 cupcakes