Review: City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments # 4)

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

    The fourth book in The Mortal Instruments series has to be the worst. I keep reading this series in the hopes that something amazing will happen that would make me praise it like so many people do, but so far I have been disappointed. The previous book, City of Glass was slightly better than any of the other books and I managed to give it 4 stars. After I finished reading City of Fallen Angels I gave it 3 stars, but writing this review I had to reconsider and give it 2 stars because I really didn't like this book at all.

One of the first things that I have to say about this book is that it was boring. It took me more time to read it than any of the previous books in the series and at points I felt like it just kept dragging on when I really wanted it to be over. Now, I understand that this book was meant to be the first part in a new trilogy that continues the first trilogy (what?) but I think sometimes it's best if we let things end the way they were supposed to end in the first place.

Now, the first thing that came through my mind at the end of City of Glass was "Clary and Jace!" and so I was excited to read this book and see how things progressed with the two of them. Guess what, they only ever got worse. I tried, Itry so hard to like these books, I try so hard to like Clary and Jace as a couple but I just can't! Jace got worse in this book for no reason at all. The author made him to be the strongest of them all and in this book he was so weak, so whiny, so very unlikable. Clary, as usual, had no idea of what was going on around her and she was just as clueless as ever.

Another character that genuinely got on my nerves in this book was Jocelyn. Don't get me wrong, I understand that she's a mother and her number one concern is her daughter but I just hated her. I never liked her from the beginning but after a point I realized I hated her, simple as that. I also didn't care much about Luke, Jordan or Maia so I felt like the introduction of their points of view was useless and boring.

I know that by now I must seem like a hater of this series. This is my fourth review regarding it and still I don't have many good things to say. So maybe I'm wrong and this series truly is amazing but I just can't see it. If that's the case, I guess I'm alright with it. I don't have to love a book just because the rest of the world does. And I mean it when I say that I really try to grow to love this series but I simply can't. I just fail to see what's so extraordinary about it. 

However, I grew to like Simon more in this book and I thought it was good that we got more of him, seeing as how so many people complained about his character. I liked that he was basically invincible with his Mark of Cain, and that made the things all the more interesting. In the end, I guess he was the hero, even for a short time, seeing as how he saved Clary's life and destroyed Lilith. 

All in all, I didn't like this book. At all. But seeing as how I read four books so far, I don't want to give up on the remaining two. I will read them through the end just because I don't like to start something and leave it unfinished. However, I really don't have high hopes from this series anymore. 

My Top 3: Best & Worst Book to Movie Adaptations

Hey, guys! In the past few years, the YA genre seems to have grown more and more, not only with hundreds of books published every year but also with movie adaptations of the most successful ones. So, franchises such like Harry Potter, Twilight or The Hunger Games have been so popular and so well received that movie producers started getting more interested in bringing those stories to the big screens - and they did! 

Now, every year, there are more YA books turned to movies and whether the critics love them or not, the fan bases of the books are always excited to see the stories they loved so much come to life in cinemas. However, some movie adaptations are amazing while others are not. Some movies stick closely to the books while others tend to tell a very different stories. I decided to make my top three best and worst movie adaptations - these are the ones I liked and the ones I didn't, so if any of you liked a movie that I did not, that's alright. I'm not looking to change your minds, I'm simply listing my likes and dislikes.

Top Three: Best Book to Movie Adaptations

1. The Fault in Our Stars

2. Divergent

3. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Top Three: Worst Book to Movie Adaptations

1. Beautiful Creatures

2. Ender's Game

3. Vampire Academy

And that's all, at least for now. I'm sure these will change once there will be more YA adaptations made, but at the moment, these are the ones that I liked and disliked most. Anyway, these are my preferences. If you guys have read the books or seen the movies, you can go ahead and let me know what you thought of them. Also, if you have different likes and dislikes, feel free to share them with me via comments!

Review: City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments # 3)

My Rating: ★★★★☆

     City of Glass, the third book in The Mortal Instruments series, originally meant to be the end of the series, finally got better than the previous books. There, I said it. I finally found a better book in the series and I can finally write a more positive review. I guess that it was worth the wait.

     One of the first things that I liked about this book was Clary and Jace. Obviously. You can definitely say that their relationship in this book was very intriguing, and some say it was even disturbing at points. But since I already knew that they weren't actually related - which is finally revealed at the end of this book, I actually enjoyed all those passionate scenes between them. Their relationship was pretty rocky in this book as well, and Jace was his usual jerk self, while Clary didn't know anything about anything, as usual. But those nice, intimate moments between them were worth it. And the ending finally paid off!

     Another thing I would like to note is that Alec became significantly better since the second book and it only got better in this book as well. He and Magnus were really funny and adorable at times, and I think that his different attitude towards Clary made me like Alec more. Izzy was her usual kickass self, and I loved her in this book as well. The new character, Sebastian, wasn't much of a surprise for me, unfortunately, because I already knew about him (I read some spoilers a while ago, without intending to). However, I was surprised when I found out that he wasn't actually Sebastian Verlac and was only posing as him. I thought that he had taken a false identity and went by that name now, but it turns out that Sebastian was a real person after all. His behavior seemed fishy to me from the very beginning. 

     Clary was a bit annoying in this book. She just couldn't keep her mouth shut about anything. After Jace told her that she was a disaster for him and the other Shadowhunters, I understand that she was hurt and everything but did that really mean that she had to run to the first person to come to her help? Clary was foolish enough to spill secrets to Sebastian, the kind of things that you wouldn't just tell anyone you just met. I also hate how she is so weak and everything. I mean sure, she has a great gift with runes but her lack of training drove me crazy, even in her final face off with Valentine. 

     But I can finally say that I liked this book! It was definitely better than the first two, more intriguing and more interesting. There was a lot of action, many interesting moments between the characters and decent conflicts that kept my interest during the whole book. I also liked the return of Jocelyn and her relationship with Luke. But I think what I liked most about this book is the reveal about Clary and Jace which all of us were expecting and the awesome ending. The only reason I didn't rate this book five stars is because I somehow expect it to get better in the next installment. Fingers crossed!

Review: City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments # 2)

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

     City of Ashes continues Clary Fray's story after the recent events that led to the disappearance of her mother and the discovery (later) of her self induced coma. Upon having fallen for each other and after finding out that they are brother and sister, Clary and Jace's relationship starts to worsen. 

     So, like the previous book, this one wasn't that good either. I've heard plenty of people saying that the story got significantly better in this book as opposed to the first one, but that wasn't the case for me. In the beginning, it was still very, very slow paced and I almost had to force myself to keep reading it. Eventually, it got better but not much. 

     One of the main problems I have with this series and that has resurfaced during City of Ashes is that nobody ever seems to want to help Clary train as a Shadowhunter, which she just so happens to be, and then they all get angry and complain when she gets attacked and they have to save her. Especially Jace. I mean, come on, you don't want her to be part of this world but she automatically becomes part of it, and then you get angry when she can't defend herself without training that you refuse her? 

     Also, I didn't really like Jace in this book. I understand that he was very frustrated to have finally fallen in love with a girl only to discover that she was actually his sister. But that doesn't mean that you have to be an asshole about it. Clary was having a tough time about it as well, but she didn't take it out on him like that. Jace became annoying and whiny in this book and that was very unlike him.

     On the other hand, I didn't really like the whole Clary and Simon thing. Sure, it's the biggest cliche of all times, the two bestfriends finally falling in love with each other and starting a relationship. But I don't feel like that was the case in this book. Their relationship didn't feel genuine at all to me and I thought that Clary was almost forcing herself to love Simon. I'm glad that they decided to remain friends in the end because their friendship is one of the greatest things about this series.

     However, there were things I did like about this book. For instance, Magnus Bane is quickly becoming on of my favorite characters in the series. He's really funny and a big help to the Shadowhunters at most times. I also liked the addition of the Inquisitor, not because she was nice, which she obviously wasn't, but because it made things a bit more interesting. Her personal vendetta sure did screw up a couple of things but at least it made the plot intriguing. Also, I liked Jace's "sacrifice" when Simon had to turn and I definitely liked the final battle with Clary, Jace and Simon facing Valentine.

     City of Ashes was probably as exciting asCity of Bones and I didn't love this one either. I guess it's just not meant to be. However, I want to finish this series and so I will keep reading the sequels and hopefully, they will get better.

Review: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments # 1)

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

     I was very reluctant to read this series as first. Why? Because it has vampires and werewolves and while I used to read a lot of these books when I was younger, at some point in my life I grew so sick of them that I really couldn't be bothered to read anything with vampires and werewolves again. Meanwhile, the hype for this series kept growing stronger and I found myself wanting to see what it's all about. So I discovered that there was a movie made after this book and I decided to watch it. Bad move! Why? It's easy. Not knowing what this book was all about, I really enjoyed the movie.

     I started this series last week and when I finished reading City of Bones, I was very confused. The book and the movie are nothing alike. It's like two completely different stories. No wonder the movie flopped, which is sad really because three books in, I kind of want a series of movies for these books. Anyhow, as I was reading this book I kept searching for similarities between the novel and the movie and I found few. But the story seemed interesting enough, so I carried on.

     City of Bones is a very interesting book. The protagonist, Clary Fray, finds herself in the middle of a world she never knew existed. Shadowhunters, Downworlders, Angels and Demons. Clary never thought any of this was possible before, but after recent events she seems to think otherwise. One night, Clary witnesses a murder in the local club where she and her best friend, Simon, were going for fun. But when she realizes that neither Simon, nor the rest of the people in the club, seem to be able to see the murderers, she begins to question everything around her. 

     Odd things continue to happen to Clary after the events at the club and eventually, she meets Jace. Jace is the Shadowhunter that Clary saw commit the murder that night at the club. After being attacked by a demon, Clary finds herself in the company of the mysterious boy who insists on taking her to the Institute, where he and other Shadowhunters live under the guidance of a man named Hodge. Eventually, Clary begins learning new things and the most important of them all is that the world she thought she knew is not what it seems. 

     Overall, I liked this book but that's just it. After hearing all the amazing things about the series, I really wanted to love the books. I wanted them to be shelved with my favorites. And I really tried to love 
City of Bones but honestly, I didn't. Maybe one of the reasons was that I had already seen the movie and so the major plot twists weren't major at all. I'm not sure, but I really didn't find this book as extraordinary as everyone makes it out to be.

     I don't even know for sure how I felt about the characters. There were times when I liked Clary and times when I didn't. I actually liked Simon and I really don't know why so many people keep complaining about him. And Jace? Well, even though I found him pretty badass and funny, and his sarcasm was one of the best things about this book, Jace is a jerk. The way he acted with Clary for most of the book, before he fell in love with her, was just horrible. I loved him and I hated him.

      Also, City of Bones was really slow at times which made it kind of boring considering how long this book is. The characters are definitely likable in a weird way, as in even if they're annoying or mean, they make the plot interesting. So, even though Alec seemed like a jerk for most of the book, he was interesting because of his loyalty for Jace and his sister. Isabelle was likable from the very beginning because who doesn't love a badass chick? 

     That being said, City of Bones wasn't a great read but it definitely wasn't a bad one. I'm glad that I decided to give the series another chance and kept reading the sequels because things get more interesting in the following novels. So, if, like me, you read this book and thought meh, I definitely recommend checking the sequels at well because they might surprise you in a good way. They definitely surprised me.

Review: Desire (Brightest Kind of Darkness # 4)

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

     Brightest Kind of Darkness is one of the first books of the genre that I have read and I loved it so much that I was extremely curious to continue reading the sequels. It shortly became one of my favorite series. Nara is one of my favorite protagonists of all time so I like reading and experiencing her story. When I finished reading Destiny, I thought to myself what kind of a cliffhanger is that? And it was an epic one, at least from my point of view. And so I was very excited to hear that a fourth book, namely Desire will be released.

     However, my excitement quickly faded. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to buy this book as soon as it came out and that resulted in me postponing it endlessly. Finally, about a month ago I got my hands on it and I was really happy to get back to the story. But by that point, I was missing a few details and the hype of finding out what happens next. 

     In the fourth book in this series, Nara and Ethan are finally together in the long run. We get to see them live their lives as normally as they can and we get them see to spend pretty much all of their time together. And while that is awesome, because I love Nara and I love Ethan and I love Nara and Ethan, that's pretty much all that happens in this book. There is no real conflict, not much drama and certainly not a lot of action. Sure, there are a couple of demons making their life hard every now and then but nothing too serious.

     I guess that the author wanted to show us a glimpse of Nara and Ethan's romance, since all the previous books have had bigger conflicts and a lot more action and now she wanted us to see them spend their lives together. But because of that, the book felt pretty boring to me. I am really sad to say this because I really was expecting a lot more from this book. I kept reading it and telling myself surely something will happen in the next chapter but, unfortunately, I kept getting disappointed with each chapter. 

     However, I have to say that I did like Nara and Ethan getting closer and their relationship growing stronger. And while I did find the majority of the book pretty boring, I did think that the ending was awesome. When I finished Destiny I thought that was the mother of cliffhangers but I was wrong. Thiswas the mother of all cliffhangers. And so, because this book was a major disappointment for me, I lost much of my interest in this series. However, I am planning to read the final book when it comes out, just because I love Nara and I want to see how her story ends.

Review: Fifty Shades Trilogy

     Like I said a while ago, I have a couple of reviews pending. I have been thinking whether I should make this blog post or not and, finally, I decided that I will. I know that when I first created my blog, I specifically mentioned that I would only post about Young Adult books and I have. But every now and then, I like to read other kind of books, namely New Adult or Adult books, but that rarely happens.

     Lately, there's been a huge hype concerning the controversial trilogy of books that we all now know as Fifty Shades written by E.L.James. The opinions differ: there are some who loved those books and others who keep saying that they are complete garbage. I resisted the urge to read them for so long and then, when news of the movie surfaced, the internet exploded again. There were articles, news and posts about Fifty Shades everywhere. Finally, I gave in and decided to read the books. I have decided to post a review for the entire trilogy and not for each book. Keep in mind that these books fit in the Erotica and BDSM genre when you read my review.

OVERALL RATING: 2.5/5 

 

• Book One: Fifty Shades of Grey; my rating: ★★☆☆☆
• Book Two: Fifty Shades Darker; my rating: ★★★☆☆
• Book Three: Fifty Shades Freed; my rating: ★★☆☆☆

     Anastasia Steele  is a literature student whose life is about to change completely. When her friend, Kate, gets sick and can't make it to a very important interview with Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc CEO Christian Grey, Ana feels forced to go instead, for the sake of her friend. But Christian Grey is nothing like Ana has ever expected him to be. Not only is he very powerful and rich, but he is also young and very handsome. In the beginning, Ana finds him intimidating but most of all, intriguing thus developing a mysterious attraction towards him all of a sudden. When she walks out of his office, Ana is convinced their paths will never collide again but Christian finds himself drawn to her and they meet again.

      And so begins a very strange relationships between the two of them. While at first, Christian tries to push Ana away from him, he realizes he can't stay away from her and neither can she - so they start a relationship. But Ana eventually finds out that Christian is not who he seems to be; he secretly practices BDSM.. He can't be the boyfriend she wants him to be. But Ana can't let go of him no matter what - she continues to feel drawn to him. So Christian convinces her to sign a contract that will make her his submissive. Things seem to work at first, but eventually Ana decides that this isn't the life she wants. After many arguments and reconciliations, their relationship hits a breaking point when Ana realizes she can't take anymore - she breaks up with Christian and leaves.

      What follows is chaos. Neither Ana nor Christian can live without each other anymore but they also can't seem to live with each other. Eventually they make up and Christian promises to change for her. And he does and for a while everything seems to go great for the two lovers. But Christian is too controlling and too overprotective of Ana, at times treating her like an object that belongs to him, and Ana is too weak to stay away from him even if she doesn't approve of his ways. As a mysterious new character comes into the story, everything changes. Ana's new boss, Jack, seems to be a decent man at first. But he turns out to be a creep and that often makes an argument for Christian and Ana. 

     After many pages of the same nonsense, fighting and then making up, promises of change that are broken at every turn, obsessive Christian and whiny Ana who only complains but doesn't act, the two of them seem to work everything out when Christian pops the question. And so, Ana unexpectedly becomes Mrs. Grey and everything is alright between the two of them. Until everything goes wrong again and they keep having the same arguments over and over again: Christian's inability to open up to her, his habit of not telling her anything, his former lover Elena, Ana's creepy boss and her docile behavior. But it's a romance book so everything has to end perfectly, and it does. Which is a bit cliche and cheesy if you ask me, for this kind of book to have that ending.

     Overall, I found these books to be alright and nothing more. They weren't great, I don't know what all that hype was about but maybe I just prefer other kind of books and the trilogy wasn't really my thing. What I disliked most about these books is that Christian often treated Ana like an object, like she wasn't allowed to even think for herself, let alone speak and that Ana was so obsessed with him that she rarely objected at all. The books were a very fast and easy read but I don't feel like I have improved my reading experience at all after having finished them.

September Books

Here are the books I have read this month:

• City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare; my rating: ★★★☆☆

• City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare; my rating: ★★★☆☆

• City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare; my rating: ★★★★☆

• City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare; my rating: ★★☆☆☆

• City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare; my rating: ★★★★★

• City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare; my rating: ★★★☆☆

• The Giver by Lois Lowry; my rating: ★★★☆☆

• The Selection (The Selection # 1) by Kiera Cass; my rating: ★★★★★

• The Elite (The Selection #2) by Kiera Cass; my rating: ★★★☆☆

• The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass; my rating: ★★★★★

Review: Four: A Divergent Story Collection

My Rating: ★★★★☆

     Veronica Roth's latest work is a companion novel to her already well known trilogy, Divergent. and it's called Four: A Divergent Collection. Naturally, the book contains four short stories about Four. As a hardcore Divergent fan, you can imagine my joy when I found out about this book. Seeing as how much I loved Four's character (except maybe in Allegiant), I was extremely excited to read this and learn more about the mysterious past of Tobias. 

     The book contains four short stories: The Transfer, The Initiate, The Son and The Traitor. All of these stories describe Tobias' life from the moment he has to choose his new faction to shortly after he meets Tris, two years later, giving the reader a peek into the depths of Four's mysterious character.

     I liked this book very much, and I enjoyed every single one of the stories. They showed us a different perspective on Four, in different positions in his life. We got to see his troubled relationship with his father, Marcus Eaton, his not-so-difficult transition from Abnegation to Dauntless. We also got to see where his rivalry with Eric started and why it started and we got to see how his presumed dead mother, Evelyn, found him again. 

     What I didn't like about the book is that most of the stories are stories from before he met Tris, which means that we only get a little bit of Tris and Four in this book. I understand that the book's main purpose is for the reader to have a deeper look into Four's past and get to know who he really is and how he came to be this way, but I think that us huge fans of Tris and Four would have loved for more of the two of them in this book, seeing as how Allegiant ended and how we all still need closure from this amazing story. However, I did appreciate the last story, the one in which Four has met Tris and we get to see a bit of interaction between them, for exactly this reason. I thought it was nice to see Four's reactions to Tris and how he came to like her.

     Overall, I found Four: A Divergent Story Collection to be a very satisfying read, especially after the bittersweet taste I was left with after finishing Allegiant. Four's stories seemed to put my mind at ease for a bit, all the while taking me from the tragic conclusion of the trilogy to the very beginning of it. We finally got to see the depths of Four's character, as shocking or disturbing as some of them might have been, and we got to see how this amazing character that we all loved came to life. I recommend this book to fans of the Divergent trilogy and not only, because if you've loved Divergent, then surely you will love this as well.