Jackie's Bookbytes

Cinder -TheLunar Chronicles #1

2012-02-04T17:07:00.001-07:00

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Princess Cyborg Lunar Mechanic .

In the future world, sometime after the 4th world war, the alliance of nations made up the earth's commonwealth involved Lunar people. They killed their children and some of them fled to earth taking their lunar children (shells) with them . They brought the plague Letumosis .

Many people died .....Cinders stepsister Peony, Emperor Rikan to name a few.

Luna was governed by Queen Lavena who actually wasn't the rightful heir to their throne. It belonged to Princess Selena , her niece , but she had been usurped . She was only a young child when the hover she and her parents were riding in crashed and burned . Selena's skin was found but it was suspected she was still alive .......somewhere.

Cinder was saved and the only way to do that was to make her cyborg. Linh Garan had gone to great lengths to do that , I suppose because he knew who she really was . She was a product of her stepfathers invention made with a bioelectrical security system. It was meant to protect her . It put a lock on her Lunar gift. (It reminded me of the six million dollar man and the bionic women . )

She was very special indeed and when all was said and done, even worth fighting for. Only she didn't know it. With time everything was going to make sense as revealed by Dr. Erland .

Cyborgs weren't exactly well treated throughout the universe, they were shunned and outcast. They were even being drafted as guinea pigs for science to find a cure for the deadly plague, Letumosis, caused by Lunar shells.

Dr. Erland had set up that cyborg draft as a ruse , just to find Princess Selene .

From the time she was 11 years old she felt worthless and rejected by society particularly by two members of her stepfamily: Adri and Pearl .

Just like cinderella, Cinder was hardworkin and because of her cyborgness she was the best mechanic around so her stepmother made her work in the marketplace selling spare parts for Androids and such. She was the only one that brought any sort of income into Adri's household and Adri used her. She even sold her for research .

One day in the marketplace she met prince Kai . He needed his android, Nainsi fixed and was told Linh Cinder was one of the best mechanics in New Beijing but that is where the story begins ..... I didn't like Cinder keeping her cyborgness a secret from him. It would have been better if she was proud of it *sigh

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Feature & Follow Friday

2012-02-03T02:15:00.002-07:00

Q: Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kick ass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male?

Shadowhunters , downworlders and kickass Vampires!

I enjoy Cassandra Clares' series; and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead . Rose Hathaway is one of my favorite heroines ... I've noticed also that the main characters typically read books like it's a trait of theirs. Not everyone likes to read so it's kind of strange that they share that same trait .

"well behaved women rarely make history"

The Snowman

2012-02-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As frightening and gruesome as the murders were, I found the snowman's own telling of the story more disturbing . Yes Matthias aka the snowman , killed his own mother , Sara Kvinesland, because he thought she was a whore . After watching her have sex with someone other than his father, he felt the need to rid the world of these sort of woman .

He killed his mother when he was young ; beat her over the head while she was driving and consequently the car drove off a bridge into a river . Matthias got out alive, but his mom was dead and the police just chocked it up as an accident . He went on to study medicine. He also became a sadistical serial killer.

It's a shame Harry Hole, a private investigator cop, couldn't have saved any of the other victims but he did end up rescuing Rakel(his lover) and Oleg her son as well as Matthias the serial killer, who was ready to jump off a precipice with Harry Hole attached to him . Awesome . It was Harry's madd cufflink skills that saved him !

I really liked how well written the detailed confession statements were of both Arve Stop and Filip Becker and well of course the Snowman's .

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Feature & Follow Friday

2012-01-27T02:15:00.001-07:00

Q: Which book genre do you avoid at all costs and why?

Up until now I've avoided most Harlequin Romance novels probably because they're overrated, cheesy and honestly? I just don't like their covers . Since I've joined the reading romance challenge I have still yet to read a Harlequin novel although I acquired a slue of 'em just for that purpose . Most of them look like this ...........

Unearthly

2012-01-26T19:42:00.001-07:00

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I didn't like it as much as others are saying . I only gave it 3 stars . In fact it was too slow a read for me . It lacked excitement and sometimes too contrived.

*My Review Contains Spoilers*

The story was about a teenage girl who discovers she is an angel-blood aka Nephilim . Ok while the bible does mention them as strong and heroistic--Genesis 6:4 Clara also has wings. She's a Quartarius . I don't believe angels have wings but are more like babies sans wings. I also have heard that some of the higher hierarchy of angels stand taller than a 30 story building like St. Michael the Archangel.
Anywho, one day as she was standing in the kitchen she experiences a vision about a fire , and ....a boy . She talks to her mother who is also a half angel (Dimidius), and she tells Clara that it is part of her purpose in life to find out what this vision reveals and it is very important to pay attention to all the details . They suddenly pack up everything and move to a place where lodgepole pines grow in Wyoming. They find the perfect house and Clara and her brother Jeffrey enroll in Jackson Hole High School.

Her vision also reveals a truck and license plate which leads her to Christian . UGH! Of all the names ! :p

She ends up falling in love with Tucker and I'm glad she can follow her heart . I don't know why Clara didn't recognize Christian was a Nephilim to begin with but the whole story and purpose was based on her thinking she had to save Christian from a fire . That was kind of stupid and I knew it wasn't going to happen that way because neither Christian or Clara were there to save each other. It seemed like a cruel joke to play and even though I wasn't too crazy about the book, it does have a very nice cover, I am curious to see what happens in the next installment : Hallowed.
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Overprotected FREE for 2 days on Amazon!

2012-01-24T01:47:00.002-07:00

Overprotected FREE for 2 days on Amazon!: This Wed and Thurs OVERPROTECTED will be free on Amazon. If you haven't read it, and you have a Kindle, grab it! HERE

Before A Heven and Hell Prequel

2012-01-23T19:00:00.002-07:00

Before by Cambria Hebert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading this short prequel to Masquerade we kinda get a feel for the main characters . Heven and Sam and Kimber . It wet my appetite for more. Heven is the most beautiful girl in school and is a cheerleader who doesn't like lying and cheating just to get her assignment done in time . Kimber is her friend and Sam , well I got the feeling he was Heven's stalker and is hiding something . I don't know if it's a good or bad thing yet. Heven , being made captain of the cheerleading squad spends some overtime at the library so she could finish her homework . On the way home ....something was about to happen ...Sam ~who was stalking her ~runs into the 'monster' again .

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Zombies Don't Cry: A Living Dead Love Story

2012-01-23T16:37:00.002-07:00

Zombies Don't Cry: A Living Dead Love Story by Rusty Fischer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Free on Kindle until January 31st 2012

Maddy has a crush on a new guy at school they call Stamp. He invites her to a party and gets zapped by lightning. When she wakes up she notices something is terribly wrong . She doesn't have a heartbeat . She googles www.youmightbeazombieif.blogspot.com to get more information and takes a quiz and realizes she has all the symptoms but more importantly she has to eat brains within 48 hours of turning .

Meanwhile her home economics class is said to be cursed because 3 of her classmates had died . It was all a matter of time before Maddy would be the next one to go missing if the Zerkers had anything to do with it.... but she turns into a zombie first . She's not a Zerker like Bones and Dahlia, but they still taunt her hoping they could change her to be one of them except Dane and Chloe, the good zombies, want to help her.

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Ashfall

2012-01-21T09:16:00.001-07:00

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This was FUBAR - F'd up beyond all recognition . I hated it . I hated Alex for being such a dickhead to his mother and I hated him going out in all that ash risking his life just to get to his parents in Warren Idaho where they were on vacation at his cousins place . After all his trudgings through the wilderness and ash and snow and risky encounters with people , only to come to a Fema camp where he thought he would be safe but it was more like Hitlers Auschwitz . Alex and Darla could have died there and I hated that . They finally make it to his uncle's place , 8 weeks after the volcano just to find out he might have to turn around and do it again because his parents went looking for him . UGH!! FUBAR I say !

I suppose something as frightening as this should make us realize to stock up on non perishable items and lots of candles :/

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Bloodlines

2012-01-19T20:17:00.001-07:00

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Hardcover, 421 pages
Published August 23rd 2011 by Razorbill

I wasn't free of my past, not yet.
Sydney's blood is special. That's because she's an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires. They protect vampires secrets and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiances in question, her future is on the line.

When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir, the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir, is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the unlikeliest of places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one.

The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden romance lurk both outside, and within, the school grounds. Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only just beginning.

My Review:
This book was a let down because I had really liked Sydney's character in Vampire Academy but after I found out all about her family and her life as an Alchemist it blew my ideas of her out of the water in an unsuspecting and disappointing way . She was rather boring in other words. She was potentially sexy , smart , and fun but she was far from it . I suppose it had to do with her enrolling in a school with a bunch of teenagers and her job to protect Jill. She was instead more of a motherly type role model , but somehow her and Jill never got along that much . Sydney always tried hard NOT to get too friendly with Moroi and vampires anyway but Jill was just a naive little girl who had a pension to rebel against her elders however, she was the sister of the Moroi Queen, Lissa which made her a royal.

Another character I wasn't overly thrilled about was Adrian Ivashkov . He was a spoiled rotten Moroi who Sydney was the last person I thought would like . ugh . The story was borderline atrophic and quite boring

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The Lost Prologue

2012-01-19T03:23:00.001-07:00

It has always been the case with each book Cassie Clare writes that she puts a sneak peak of the following book in that series at the end . We missed it in City of Fallen Angels so here it is .

‘City of Lost Souls’ Prologue Released with Cover

Simon stood and stared numbly at the front door of his house.

He’d never known another home. This was the place his parents had brought him home to when he was born. He had grown up within the walls of the Brooklyn row house. He’d played on the street under the leafy shade of the trees in the summer, and had made improvised sleds out of garbage can lids in the winter. In this house his whole family had sat shivah after his father had died. Here he had kissed Clary for the first time.

He had never imagined a day when the door of the house would be closed to him. The last time he had seen his mother, she had called him a monster and prayed at him that he would go away. He had made her forget that he was a vampire, using glamour, but he had not known how long the glamour would last. As he stood in the cold autumn air, staring in front of him, he knew it had not lasted long enough.

The door was covered with signs—Stars of David splashed on in paint, the incised shape of the symbol for Chai, life. Tefillin were bound to the doorknob and knocker. A hamesh, the Hand of God, covered the peephole.

Numbly he put his hand to the metal mezuzah affixed to the right side of the doorway. He saw the smoke rise from the place where his hand touched the holy object, but he felt nothing. No pain. Only a terrible empty blankness, rising slowly into a cold rage.

He kicked the bottom of the door and heard the echo through the house. “Mom!” he shouted. “Mom, it’s me!”

There was no reply—only the sound of the bolts being turned on the door. His sensitized hearing had recognized his mother’s footsteps, her breathing, but she said nothing. He could smell acrid fear and panic even through the wood. “Mom!” His voice broke. “Mom, this is ridiculous! Let me in! It’s me, Simon!”

The door juddered, as if she had kicked it. “Go away!” Her voice was rough, unrecognizable with terror. “Murderer!”

“I don’t kill people.” Simon leaned his head against the door. He knew he could probably kick it down, but what would be the point? “I told you. I drink animal blood.”

He heard her whisper, softly, several words in Hebrew. “You killed my son,” she said. “You killed him and put a monster in his place.”

“I am your son—”

“You wear his face and speak with his voice, but you are not him! You’re not Simon!” Her voice rose to almost a scream. “Get away from my house before I kill you, monster!”

“Becky,” he said. His face was wet; he put his hands up to touch it, and they came away stained: His tears were bloody. “What have you told Becky?”

“Stay away from your sister.” Simon heard a clattering from inside the house, as if something had been knocked over.

“Mom,” he said again, but this time his voice wouldn’t rise. It came out as a hoarse whisper. His hand had begun to throb. “I need to know—is Becky there? Mom, open the door. Please—”

“Stay away from Becky!” She was backing away from the door; he could hear it. Then came the unmistakeable squeal of the kitchen door swinging open, the creak of the linoleum as she walked on it. The sound of a drawer being opened. Suddenly he imagined his mother grabbing for one of the knives.

Before I kill you, monster.

The thought rocked him back on his heels. If she struck out at him, the Mark would rise. It would destroy her as it had destroyed Lilith.

He dropped his hand and backed up slowly, stumbling down the steps and across the sidewalk, fetching up against the trunk of one of the big trees that shaded the block. He stood where he was, staring at the front door of his house, marked and disfigured with the symbols of his mother’s hate for him.

No, he reminded himself. She didn’t hate him. She thought he was dead. What she hated was something that didn’t exist. I am not what she says I am.

He didn’t know how long he would have stood there, staring, if his phone hadn’t begun to ring, vibrating his coat pocket.

He reached for it reflexively, noticing that the pattern from the front of the mezuzah—interlocked Stars of David—was burned into the palm of his hand. He switched hands and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Simon?” It was Clary. She sounded breathless. “Where are you?”

“Home,” he said, and paused. “My mother’s house,” he amended. His voice sounded hollow and distant to his own ears. “Why aren’t you back at the Institute? Is everyone all right?”

“That’s just it,” she said. “Just after you left, Maryse came back down from the roof where Jace was supposed to be waiting. There was no one there.”

Simon moved. Without quite realizing he was doing it, like a mechanical doll, he began walking up the street, toward the subway station. “What do you mean, there was no one there?”

“Jace was gone,” she said, and he could hear the strain in her voice. “And so was Sebastian.”

Simon stopped in the shadow of a bare-branched tree. “But he was dead. He’s dead, Clary—”

“Then you tell me why he isn’t there, because he isn’t,” she said, her voice finally breaking. “There’s nothing up there but a lot of blood and broken glass. They’re both gone, Simon. Jace is gone. . . .”

City of Fallen Angels

2012-01-19T02:46:00.006-07:00

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In City of Fallen Angels, someone's killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine's Circle and leaving their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters. Internecine warfare among vampires is ripping the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Meanwhile Jace and Clary investigate a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels."

My Thoughts:
This ...is not good ; and I don't mean the book ☹

The story was great but now I am compelled to read the fifth book in the mortal instrument series which I understand is not out yet. City of Lost Souls, and the sixth, City of Heavenly Fire . I hate waiting . I'm scared of what is going to happen next ..... dun dun dun dun

I don't even want to say . You are just going to have to read it for yourself . City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, and City of Heavenly Fire continue the story begun in City of Bones. These three books contain all the characters from the previous three books and are told from a mixed point of view — mostly Clary, sometimes Jace or Alec or Simon. (There is no special emphasis on Simon.)

I was somewhat reluctant to think city of fallen angels wasn't going to be as good as I thought because there was more of Simon but as the story progressed I saw he had a much bigger part to play than all the rest of the characters in this book, because of the Mark , so I kept reading and boy-o-boy what a nightmare ! The first chapter to me felt like Clary and Jace weren't the same , that their characters changed a little bit and I was disappointed they didn't seem real but after I continued reading it , I wasn't disappointed all that much .

The book doesn't end on a good note though. *shivers* It's frightening! If you don't want to read spoilers than quit reading this right now .

*****ATTENTION SPOILER ALERT!*****

Sebastian aka Jonathan, Valentines creation, rises again because of Jace and they become One :x

Camille is under Liliths orders and goes around killing the bad shadowhunters that used to be in valentines circle to use in a ceremony to resurrect Jonathan! Ugh! She disappears and nOone knows where to find her .

As you remember Jace being brought back from the dead in city of glass by the Angel Raziel well the whole cosmos was unbalanced and just as an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth or life for life , Jace is compelled by evil Jonathan aka sebastian to bring him back from the dead . Yes, Jace thought he killed him by the river but Lilith preserved his body in a water tomb . Lilith was Adam's first wife and she is a Greater demon who is as old as Adam and knows human ways more than anyone else who has ever lived . Not even Magnus is as old as she is . The mother of dead children . We know Jocelyn is Jonathan's aka sebastians mother but she hated him for what Valentine did to him , making out of him the monster that he is . He is horrible I must say .

In some parts of the book , Will Herondale is mentioned but that was 100 years ago and he is long time dead already except well Magnus Bane as you recall is still around and loves Alec Lightwood now .

I loved Magnus Bane character , I think he is one of my favorites. Looking back on Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Angel we also know Valentine played a big part in that series whereas I think he was the Magister. Valentine is now dead though . He died in City of Glass.

***********End of Spoiler************

'by the angel' Cassie Clare suggests that if you have already read City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass, than you should read Clockwork Angel before you read City of Fallen Angels. This is because characters who you first meet in Clockwork Angel show up in City of Fallen Angels and seeing them in CoFA will be more interesting for you if you have read Clockwork Angel first. Clockwork Angel also comes out six months before City of Fallen Angels, so it makes sense to read it when it is released. Nothing in Clockwork Angel will spoil COFA for you. Nothing in COFA will spoil Clockwork Angel for you. The two series are meant to be read as companion books. They enhance but do not spoil one another. You are certainly not required to read Clockwork Angel before starting City of Fallen Angels. Think about it this way — in a few years, all the books will be completed. Most people will either start with The Mortal Instruments or The Infernal Devices, and read their way directly through that series before starting the other one. That is how readers normally read — nobody just reads an author’s work in publication order — so by absolute necessity, the series must stand alone without each other. She says the reason she recommends doing so is because it’s fun — not because you have to.-----source

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City of Ashes

2012-01-16T11:00:00.003-07:00

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
The Mortal Instrument Series book #2
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Intense. The battle on the boat was a huge mess and Clary almost died. I hadn't expected Simon to be alive either after the blood was sucked out of him.

I still have a lot of unanswered questions like what did Imogen whisper to Jace ? It left me wondering if she had something very important to tell him but now she was dead . Was Jonathon actually Valentines son or what???? Was Jonathan even the son Jocelyn thought was dead? I hope to get more answers in city of glass . What is up with Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane?

Valentine was still out there using the mortal instruments wielding powerful demons at his command and the shadowhunters aren't safe until he's stopped .

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Vampire Academy #6 Last Sacrifice

2012-01-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Spoiler Alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I believe in fairytales and I love a happy ending and this is why I loved this series so much . I couldn't put this book down . It was thrilling and exciting .

Rose's best friend Lissa is crowned Queen of the Moroi, Rose's name is cleared , and is now Lissa's Guardian, but best of all the love of her life , Dimitri, is by her side .

I LOVED THIS BOOK! The worst thing that happened is that she lost the bond she had with Lissa.

I never liked Adrian . He's a spoiled rotten Moroi that doesn't know any better than being pampered. He needs to get over himself and move on . Rose had hurt him but I fear Adrian could be a threat to Rose now. "Rose, I'm an addict with no work ethic who's likely going to go insane. I'm not like you. I'm not a superhero." - Adrian^^^^^ hehe you got that right!

I loved Rose's not-so-little escapade(s) when her friends helped her escape from jail while awaiting her trial which was only 2 weeks away. Rose is everything but patient and it was kind of amusing when she couldn't even last 2 days in jail let alone 2 weeks! haha Abe was as awesome as ever standing in as her lawyer, except that he wasn't too happy about them disappearing from the hotel Sydney and Dimitri ended up hiding out in. Rose ran because she couldn't wait around and do nothing leaving it in her friends' hands to come through for her tsk tsk . She felt nobody understood what she was going through and knew she had to clear her name by proving she was innocent thereby releasing her of the ridiculous charge of treason . Someone had framed her and she was going to find out who murdered Queen Tatiana, come hell or high water . She also wanted to help Lissa find her half sister , who would enable her to vote on the council . Someone went to great pains keeping it a secret but in the midst of all this danger and intrigue Rose was determined to find her.

If you liked Dimitris conversion from being an evil vampire, thanks to Lissa's powers, well....Sonya is back to her old self too thanks to victors brother Robert, who is also a crazy Moroi . To bring back someone who has turned Strigoi(an evil vampire), isn't easy . Only a spirit wielding Moroi could do it , with a charmed(magic) stake, not just any stake, through the heart. Sonya had been a good vampire spirit user(Moroi) who willingly turned strigoi and was a big help to Rose after her turning . Sonya has some powerful magic wielding ability. Wow! I was happy to know she was back from the dead because I knew Mikhail loved her and she would get back with him if Rose had anything to do with it :)

A lot happened but Rose was never punished for murdering Victor or for breaking him out of prison . yay

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Vampire Academy #4 Blood Promise

2012-01-10T18:18:00.007-07:00

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I stared down after him, wondering if I would see him in the water if I squinted hard enough. But I didn't. The river was too dark and too far away. Clouds moved back over the moon, and darkness fell over everything again. For a moment, staring down and realizing what I'd just done, I wanted to throw myself in after him, because surely there was no way I could go on living now.

My Review
OMG!.... Rose is so in love with Dimitri , it's making me crazy . I cannot believe what happened ...!!!!

I was relieved to find out Ibrahim, aka Abe is her father . What a surprise I hadn't seen coming!

Her adventures in Siberia were nothing short of amazing . In my mind there were two fairytale endings for her --one with Dimitri (allbeit as a strigoi) and one with Lissa . I respect her for choosing the best scenario and for going back home to St. Vladimirs Academy to be with Lissa but ..... Admittingly I cried after she staked Dimitri in the heart . Like her ...I believed he was dead. It kind of reminded me of Dracula a little .

It took a lot of courage to plan her escape , fight two strigoi and kill Galina . She is one brave Dhampir ....but I never expected what happens in the end . Do you believe in fairytales? I do ! haha

The next installment is : 'Spirit Bound' . I can't wait to get started on that one .
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Vampire Academy #3 Shadow Kiss

2012-01-09T10:05:00.007-07:00

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"I left her there crying as I walked toward the gate. A piece of my soul had died when Dimitri had fallen. Turning my back on her now, I felt another piece die as well. Soon there wouldn't be anything left inside of me."

Rose Hathaway is grateful to be alive but she died once, and now she has a closer relationship with the world of the dead enabling her to sense when Strigoi are around and see Mason's ghost.

She helped on the night of the Strigoi attack securing the building quicker....and teamed up with Christian and kicked strigoi butt! Many Moroi and Dhampirs were captured , one of them , Eddie. The Guardians and novices and even some of the Moroi went and hunted the Strigoi down hoping to kill all of them and release their captives but Dimitri and Molly weren't as lucky to survive .....Mason confirmed to Rose that Dimitri had fallen and became: a Strigoi .

My main concern is where is Christian and what happened to him?

Rose quits the Academy to go after Dimitri and she thinks she knows where to find him ...she has to leave Lissa as well . I cried in the end

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Vampire Academy #2 Frostbite

2012-01-08T00:51:00.003-07:00

Frostbite by Richelle Mead

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rose Hathaway is a seventeen year old Dhampir ,half-Moroi half-human, who is training to be a Guardian, Lissa's Guardian . She's also in love with her physical trainer, Dimitri, who is also apparently supposed to be Lissa's Guardian too.

This story moves fairly slow . I thought the Prologue was really good . It gave us a recap of what had happened in the first book. I always feel like the story picks up at the very end anyway , but 4 months has past since Rose and Lissa returned to the Academy after being awol for two years .
Lissa is a Moroi Princess who has a special ability to heal things and can bring back the dead . She has a rare 'Spirit' element similar to St. Vladimir an Eastern Orthodox saint. Rose likes to think she's been 'shadow kissed' which means she was brought back from the dead also by her best friend Lissa . Because of that Rose has a special psychic bond that allows her to go inside Lissa's head , which I think is pretty cool for a guardian.

The Moroi's are the good vampires and the Strigoi's are the bad vampires who kill and are feared as Moroi's greatest enemies.

We get a taste of what the Strigoi are like when Dimitri takes a long drive to someplace where Rose is supposed to take some kind of test but when they arrive they find dead bodies strewn everywhere in the snow. They were standing in the aftermath of a Strigoi attack .

The whole school went to some ski resort in Idaho where we are introduced to Adrian Ivashkov. He's a Moroi too who tries coming on to Rose . Anyway this resort is a very posh place with hot tubs and beautiful surroundings with all the comforts of an elegant ritsy exclusive 5 star hotel .

Mason , Eddie , and Mia disappear from the hotel resort and Rose and Christian go looking for them . Spokane is where Mason heard from Rose that's where the Strigoi's headquarters are. These were the ones responsible for the latest killing spree on some Moroi family.

It put them all in danger of being kidnapped and locked up in a basement by two Strigoi-- Isaiah and Elena, who planned on killing them . After a couple days without food and water Rose comes up with an escape plan but Mason is killed and Rose chops both of the Strigoi's heads off . Mia uses magic as does Christian which was awesome because they wouldn't have been able to escape without it .

I really hope the rules in the Academy change so that the Moroi will be able to use their magic but also that they should be allowed to protect themselves . These laws need to be changed by their governments.

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City of Bones

2012-01-04T00:40:00.004-07:00

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Clary Fray comes home one night to find her apartment ransacked, her mother gone , and a slavering demon , ready to tear off her head. After the demon Ravener , is dealt with, Clary follows the clues to her mother's disappearance into an alternate New York filled with hideous demons, hard-partying warlocks, not-what-they-seem vampires, an army of werewolves and the scariest thing of all: the secrets of her mother's past. She also finds herself torn between two boys -- her best friend Simon, for whom she's developing new feelings, and the mysterious demon hunter Jace, who has a past more tangled than her own. She becomes a part of the secret world of the demon hunters, or Nephilim, and as she does discovers she might be more connected to them than she originally thought.

My Review
This story was outstanding and I love how it twists and turns. Clary is a 15 year old teenager growing up in New York who for the most part lived like an ordinary teenager . Until one night at the pandemonium night club she witnesses a murder that she wasn't supposed to be able to see . Her mother, Jocelyn, sought to protect her from all the things she herself hated about being a shadowhunter. All traces of the magical world were hidden from Clary by a powerful warlock named Magnus Bane at the request of her mother in an attempt to keep her safe.

Jocelyn, has a very dark past and had left it behind when she found herself pregnant with Clary. I can sympathize with her because her life was so complicated and hard and dangerous.

But the secrets of her past is about to unfold in this exciting hip urban fantasy . We find out that Jace is Clary's brother and that Jace was the child Jocelyn thought she lost : Jonathan Christopher. Valentine was their father and Luke is a werewolf who used to be Valentines Parabatai . Valentine runs away through a magic portal with the Mortal Cup revealing his true colors which is evil, leaving Jocelyn his wife still in a coma or deep sleep.

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It's Monday! What are you reading?

2012-01-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

What I read and reviewed last week. from infernal devices by Cassandra Clare.....

Clockwork Prince & Clockwork Angel . One Two

They were both excellent

What I am currently reading from the mortal instruments is...

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare . I also need to finish One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

What I plan on reading is still yet to be established .

I could continue the mortal instrument series and read City of Fallen Angels but I might need to take a break from it for awhile .

Happy New Year !

2012-01-01T01:29:00.000-07:00

A Sugar Shack Novel

2011-12-31T13:59:00.002-07:00

Any Given Christmas by Candis Terry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sexy , romantic scenes is all I can remember and that he ends up with the girl in the end . Actually that cat on the cover is quite fitting as I recall he got her a kitten for christmas and she called it 'lucky' because it is how she felt . Awwww . sorry, if this isn't the same story. Which book was I thinking about anyway?

I lost my review for this one that I was working so hard on , but I think it's good enough to reread.
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One More For Good Measure

2011-12-31T13:21:00.002-07:00

Dustin's Christmas Adventure by Kimberly Irish-Tarbox
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A kid with behavior problems is invited on a ride on Santa's Sleigh. Dustin is very sensitive to being thought of as naughty and actually cries when he thinks he's being naughty like when he loses Santa's hat . Dustin does not appear to be a bad kid at all.
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I thought I could fit one more christmas themed book in towards my goal before the cut off . It's a very short story mind you . This will be my 7th book which makes me a Candy Cane-aholic ! I am proud to say that at least I fulfilled one reading challenge and it is my very first one ever! I hope I can continue this pattern in the new year . Thanks so much to Stella @ ex libris for hosting such an event , it's been a blast!

Follow My Book Blog Friday

2011-12-29T22:30:00.003-07:00

Q: The New Year is here — and everyone wants to know your New Years Blogging Resolution! What are you going to try to revise, revamp and redo for 2012 on your blog?

I just started book blogging this year and I intend to continue reading and reviewing books . I look forward to participate in the many reading challenges I joined in 2012 and I love changing the way my blog looks and feels every now and again. I think spending money and time on your blog is a good investment.

I also intend to have more fun this year

Clockwork Prince

2011-12-29T00:21:00.002-07:00

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As this was my first book in the series, it was hard for me to understand each character and where they were coming from . I knew I had to read Clockwork Angel to get a better idea of what the story was about.
There were so many unanswered questions and I just saw Will Herondales' sister , Cecily , as just another character that I knew nothing about yet she shows up in the end announcing her desire to be a shadowhunter, which was cool , in an odd way. This, after Charlotte, Henry, Jem, Sophie , Tessa and Will come back from the Consul meeting , which would determine Charlotte still the head of the Institute instead of that bad guy, Benedict Lightwood .
We also learned that Tessa accepted Jem's marriage proposal and I was disappointed Will wasn't the one who asked her first. It's too late now apparently. SO WHAT if Tessa thinks there is a cure for Jem!! It's disgusting to think she would marry someone who is dying. I mean really .... I feel sad for Will also because he wasted five years of his life thinking he was under some curse .
As I was near reading the end of the book one night , I came to the part where Magnus Bane was summoning up the demon for Will who began drawing a pentagram . I had to stop because I was too scared to read any further ; not because of what was in the book but because I really believe there is a devil , so I finished the book the next day in brood daylight haha.
I'd say this isn't a good first book to start reading from. I still don't know who the clockwork prince is .

“If no one in the entire world cared about you, did you really exist at all?”

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My Bookworm Santa Reveal

2011-12-26T13:56:00.004-07:00

This post is about sharing what I've sent and what I've received , and to REVEAL who My Bookworm Santa was. Thanks to Bree from the Magic Attic and Michelle from BookBriefs for hosting this event.

If Melissa could please let me know she got her gifts . I heard no mention of anything . I sent "The Grimm Legacy" by Polly Shulman and "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman through Amazon I might add. I couldn't be more happy with their fast , easy and prompt service . They giftwrapped both books as I had ordered and did what I asked from the looks of it . A-ma-zing!

You can visit Melissa's blog HERE Melissa's twitter name is @myeclecticbooks

I regret to inform everyone I haven't received anything yet . I guess I'm not the only one ;/ I am very disappointed about that since I assumed everyone knew the rules .