City of Heavenly Fire Release Party

Book Release Time! Hoot hoot!

Please, let's take a moment to absorb the release of the long awaited...

City of Heavenly Fire

         I'm not reviewing this book, I'm just celebrating its homecoming and thought I might as well bring the party to my blog. So put on your polka dot hats and throw on some fancy pants because I have baked a cake (metaphorically, of course, because I do not bake) and am ready to dance all night! Now what's a better way to celebrate than post the few teasers we were gifted, the summary of the book, some smiley faces, and a happy dance gif? There isn't one.

ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID. 

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

- Goodreads Summary

Jace shrugged. "Guys don’t let other guys keep calling other guys. Okay, that came out wrong. Friends don't let friends keep calling their exes and hanging up. Seriously. You have to stop."

"I think," Jace said, "that you don’t want to tell your secrets, so you decided to break up with Alec because..."

“Okayyyyy,” Isabelle said in a low voice, “When did Brother Zachariah get hot?”

They landed at Simon's feet. "Take your clothes and go!" Isabelle shouted.

           

Book Grief

Book Grief

As a reader, over time I have come to realize that there is a complex emotion an audience feels when a books series that you loved ends horrifically or a character that was really close to your heart dies. I have come to describe these feelings as Book Grief. There are 5 very distinct stages of book grief that I thought I might as well share on my blog. 

Shock

a numbing feeling seeps through the body, eventually freezing every part of you (mind included) 

Denial

Once your brain functions kick back in, you go into a state of panic and begin re-reading a passage or sentence multiple times because you are absolutely positive that what just happened did not really just happen. At all. In the slightest bit. Because it is simply not possible.

Sadness

For a moment your eyes might water or you may have to take a few deep breaths to steady yourself. Tears streaming down the face may be cause for complete distraught. This stage can last a bit longer than the aforementioned stages.

Anger

Suddenly you will feel a thick anger toward the author (for writing the stupid book), towards yourself (for reading the stupid book), and towards the world (for allowing you and the author to both coexist, therefore leading to your ultimate destruction). This can result in throwing of books or furrowing of the eyebrows. This stage can last for hours...days...weeks...months...

Disappointment

Whenever you think of this book later in life you may get a small dose of this feeling after all of your emotions have settled down. You might even find yourself saying, "Well the book was pretty good if you look past that one part..." or you may just sink into your chair and slither into a a puddle of disappointment all over the floor. Whichever works for you.

The end.

                            -Sarah Elisabeth          

  Enwhay ethay orldway opsstay inningspay... E'reway illstay eadingray.
               (When the world stops spinning... We're still reading)

Book Review #8

Book Review #8

Half-Blood...Pure...Deity...Apollyon 

Jennifer L. Armentrout

    

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

-Goodreads Summary

That was the summary for the first book.

I feel as if we must take a moment to thank Jennifer Armentrout for her brilliance...

Moment over. Time to fangirl.

        

           It was a successful week. 4 books, 4 days, 1 review. And they were all good books, too. I spent most of the week squealing and gasping and giggling like a crazy person. These books draw you in and make you completely forget about the world around you. The writing was good, the characters were very real, and the world she created was exciting and different.

         My absolute favorite thing about these books had to be the rocking heroine. Alex, the main character, was witty, sarcastic, passionate, and a great pair of eyes to see the books' world through. The series was heavily tied to the romance genre, but Jennifer Armentrout did a really great job balancing a believable relationship and an interesting plot line with twists and turns and action all in one story.

         Now let's talk about Aiden. My reaction whenever thinking about him: *dreamy sigh* 

        Aiden seems a little reserved at first, but throughout the story I totally warmed up to him. He developed, like any well written character should, into an extremely entertaining element to the story. Jennifer Armentrout is really good at creating the perfect male specimens. He had an emotional side, an adorably jealous side, and he even had his imperfections. All of that added up to a brand new book boyfriend. 

        

An important side note: there's one more book to the series that I will soon make a post about, but thought that it deserved its own. 

Read the book and you'll understand. Then you will obviously agree.

My Rating: 4/5

                            -Sarah Elisabeth          

  Enwhay ethay orldway opsstay inningspay... E'reway illstay eadingray.
               (When the world stops spinning... We're still reading)

    

Book Review #7

Book Review #7

Alientated

By Melissa Landers

         This is the kind of book you read when you just want normal for a little while. It was a comfortable, easy read. Alienated is your normal alien-romance, not a Jennifer Armentrout kind of alien-romance, but an alien romance none the less. The characters didn't have much depth and the plot line was predictable. The writing wasn't phenomenal, but it didn't have a thousand catastrophic errors either.
        Alienated is what I would call a time-passer. You read it when you don't have anything else to do or you're waiting for the next great book in a series to come out. When I read a book with a romance angle in it, I am usually expecting it to be interesting. Grand gestures are great- if you write them well. Jealousy is great- if you write it well. Love is amazing in a story-if you write it well. The way this was written there is no way you could convince me that the main characters were so in love they would run away to go live on some far off planet with each other.
         This was not a bad book; it was a mediocre book. I don't regret reading it, I just regret spending money on it. It was light and optimistic, but it wasn't very believable. If you're looking for a way to pass the time, pick Alienated up at the library. You will enjoy it.

My Rating: 2/5

                            -Sarah Elisabeth          

  Enwhay ethay orldway opsstay inningspay... E'reway illstay eadingray.
               (When the world stops spinning... We're still reading)

Book Review #6

Book Review #6

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

"I wanted to tell the book thief many things about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I was constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race- that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, how its words and stories so damning and brilliant."

          

         This book was beautifully written, enticing, and just over all amazing. There aren't many The Book Thief's in the world and when you find one you don't really want to let it go. The first time I read this book (I have now read it many times) I didn't want to go anywhere without it. It was just the idea that I had something something so beautiful so close to me all the time. 

         This book was set in Germany during World War II and having never been there I can't say Zusak captured their world perfectly, or that he described the town to perfection, but I can say that this author was able to create a town so heartbreaking-ly breathtaking it was more real than any other place I've ever personally been to. It was interesting seeing the second world war through an average German citizens eyes. In school I was taught that Germany was the bad guy in World War II, but this book opened my eyes to the realization that, just like in any situation, there are a thousand different stories in one.

         The narration was brilliant, setting was extremely believable, and the descriptions, as well as emotions, were off the charts. I fell in love with this book from the first page. Definitely a must read.

My Rating: 5/5

                            -Sarah Elisabeth          

  Enwhay ethay orldway opsstay inningspay... E'reway illstay eadingray.
               (When the world stops spinning... We're still reading)

Book Review #5

Obsidian

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

To review this book I must first explain what a book boyfriend is. A book boyfriend is that guy you read about that you just know if only he were real... if only, if only, if only... so many things. Let's just say the first words out of you mouth would be, "I. Call. Dibs."

Daemon Black is a book boyfriend. 

         Katy Swartz is our rocking main character who I absolutely adore reading through. Jennifer Armentrout makes her voice lively, witty, and relate able which are all the things I look for in a good main character. When Katy moves into a small town next door to two very nice looking siblings (a brother and a sister who just so happen to be named Dee and Daemon Black), things just go down from there. The boy next door isn't exactly what he seems and neither is his sister or their tight group of friends. 

         

         When she finds out their secret she is instantly pulled into their problems. The only question is, will she help them or make it worse? In this book their are no alternate worlds, instead the story is set like it could be happening anywhere. The antagonists of the story consist of another race and government conspiracies. 

        

        There really isn't, much to say about the book other than the plot was original, the writing was decent, the characters rocked, and all in all it had me on the edge of my seat, up until four in the morning, and needing more  Daemon-filled books when I was finished. As Katy discovers the truth about her paranormal neighbors and gets sucked into their world I can promise that anyone reading the book will get sucked in too.

That's right. He was so cool he got his own e-card.

My Rating: 4 /5

                            -Sarah Elisabeth          

                      Enwhay ethay orldway opsstay inningspay... E'reway illstay eadingray.

           (English: When the world stops spinning... We're still reading.)

                                                                             

Book Review #4

The Iron King

Exasperated sigh. 

That was my reaction to the whole first half of the book. 

         The Iron King was predictable, cliche, and every part of it was based off of a Shakespeare play. At least, that was my reaction in the beginning. Julie Kagawa starts us off in a small rural town where things aren't quite what they seem. The author does a good job of allowing our main character, Meghan, room to grow and become a better character and throughout the story she does. You are introduced to the best friend, Robbie, right off the bat and there is an easy transition that almost goes unnoticeable as you start to think of him as mysterious rather than just comic relief.

         Meghan is entered into the world of faery creatures and goes on a journey to save her brother for the unknown. The author cleverly sets up a love triangle, but their doesn't seem to be enough depth in either of the relationships until close to the end. The world is very interesting and the imagery used to describe the other world and its rules was pretty good. Meghan does have her growth moments which made me very happy. It was an interesting twist too that added more layers to the main character's personality as well when we see her fight against multiple minor antagonists and obstacles using wit and cunning inntelect rather than physical skill.

         While the writing wasn't fantastic and the beginning was not quite as strong as I would have liked it to be, the story does pick up the pace around half way through when you are really immersed into the world of faery creatures and meet new characters. There were some memorable moments as well and the ending had me wanting to read the next book and hoping for the best.

My Rating: 3 /5
 (two and a half out of five)

           (English: When the world stops spinning... We're still reading.)