City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Ashes
Author: Cassandra Clare 
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy 
Series: The Mortal Instruments Book Two 
Copyright: 2008 
Publisher: Simon Pulse 
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

Feelings:
This book much like the first feels a little reminiscent of Harry Potter. Characters grow a little bit and they go up against the bad guy, Valentine, whose name starts with a V. Just a question but do all bad guy's names start with V? Voldermort (Harry Potter), Volturi (Twighlight), Darth Vader (Star Wars, only sort of counts) alright so I can't think of any others. However, I do feel like this book has connections to both Twightlight and Harry Potter. Vampires play a big part in here so do werewolves, remind you of anything? If you can look beyond the comparisons for which there are many...the story is different and I like that.

The urban setting is what really makes this story so good. The characters are interesting and becoming more developed as are their relationships. The plot is much the same as the first book but I didn't mind that as much as I thought I would.

If you have not read the first book stop reading here. SPOILERS for book one

Moral challenges are a big part of this story, the relationship between Clary and Jace. Isabelle and her rebellion against tradition. Alec and his feelings about being attracted to men, and hiding it. I like that Alec and Mangus have a relationship and that it is excepted by those that know about it.

Mangus, warlock, becomes a bigger character in this book and I think that he is the most interesting of the new characters.

Dreams become a new theme in this book which is carried into the next books as well.

Jocelyn moved the driftwood over her skin. The touch stung like the burning of a stele, and left the same think black line behind. The rune Jocelyn drew was a shape Clary had never seen before, but she found it instinctively soothing to her eye. "What does this do?" "It should protect you." Clary's mother released her. "Against what?" (p. 132)

Protection is another theme in this book. Who is responsible for protecting who, and have they failed or not? This is a question that is answered to most of the main characters and in some cases it is yes and some no. I also think we see how independence plays into responsibility and protecting someone besides yourself.

In many ways the first book is more like a prologue to this and this is where the real story starts. We are introduced to Valentine in the last book but he doesn't really play that big a part in it. He is just the bad guy and not much of a character. In this book that is developed and he becomes a very horrible person. I think that was a necessary thing because otherwise I didn't really care that much about getting ride of Valentine he just was.

I liked all the action in this book and the fast pass of much of it. Some of it was a little bit predictable but I think every book has some predictability.

I will be continuing with the series and I am glad I gave it a chance.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy 
Series: The Mortal Instruments Book One 
Copyright: 2007 
Publisher: Simon Pulse 
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . . 

Feelings:
So I have to admit that I only started reading this because of the the movie trailer that I saw. I felt a little bit of hesitation when the copy I picked up had a quote from none other than Stephenie Meyer, "The Mortal Instruments series is a story world that I love to live in. Beautiful!" I had been looking at reading the infernal devices series because I really liked the covers. I have been hearing about Cassandra Clare for a while and did wonder if she was another Stephenie Meyer, who I believe to be one of the worst writers, but had decided to give her books a try upon seeing the movie trailer. I have a feeling the movie is going to be very very different from the book and I'm not sure it will be in a good way. I am glad that I did give the book a chance.

This is not to say that I feel like her writing is very original. I wouldn't say that it is I can see aspects of Harry Potter, and yes I am aware she used to write Harry Potter fan fiction but I never read any of it. However, even I can see the connections. Mundie=Muggle. Then there are the similarities between Harry Potter himself and Clary, they both grow up not really knowing about the world they are really from and then things start happening to them that they don't understand. Okay so, seeing as I am not the biggest Harry Potter fan this did bother me a bit. I do think most authors to borrow from those that come before them but this was even a bit much for me. 

I do like the Urban setting of the story and how the world is our world yet there are things we do not see. It makes a city most are familiar with seem dark and foreboding yet tantalizing. The stories and myths told are all true which again I liked. There were times when I had a hard time keeping up with all the different downworlders, those that are not demons but that are not human, that were being introduced. Demons are in simplified terms aliens, not from earth. 

'No way are we bringing her to the Institute,' said Isabelle. 'She's a mundie.' 'Or is she?' said Jace softly. His quiet tone was worse than Isabelle's snapping or Alec's anger. 'Have you had dealings with demons, little girl? Walked with warlocks, talked with Night Children? Have you--' 'My name is not 'little girl,'' Clary interrupted. 'And I have no idea what you're talking about.' (p. 15)

This is the first time Clary meets the Shadowhunters and the first time she really sees something that others can't see. Simon her best friend can't see the Shadowhunters though and she lets it go. This is just the beginning of her being drawn into the shadow world.

 I maintained an interest in the story because there were twists in the plot. I saw most of them coming and, yes, I liked being right.

Cassandra Clare has an interesting writing style and it wasn't exactly what I would have liked but I did like her descriptions of Clary's drawings.

The wings looked so real she imagined that if she brushed her fingers across them, they'd be soft. She let her hand trail across the page, her mind wandering...

And jerked her hand back, staring. Her fingers had touched not dry paper but soft down of feathers. Her eyes flashed up to the runes she'd scrawled in the corner of the page. They were shining, the way she'd seen the runes Jace drew with his stele shine. (p. 322)

 I don't want to give anything away in the story because I really don't like it when I find out things before having read the book myself, discovery is part of the fun. This book is not for everyone the main character is female and I do think that limits the audience a bit even though their are major male characters as well. The movie I have a feeling will have a bit of a Twilight feel to it and I'm not sure that is a good thing. The book however, was not like Twilight.

I will be reading the next books and hope they are better than this one and become more original. I do like the shadow world that is New York City.

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Title: The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream 
Author: Barack Obama
Type: Audio Book (abridged)
Narrator: Barack Obama
Genre: Non-Fiction/Politics

Series: No
Copyright: 2007
Publisher: RH Audio
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads

The Audacity of Hope is Barack Obama's call for a new kind of politics—a politics that builds upon those shared understandings that pull us together as Americans. Lucid in his vision of America's place in the world, refreshingly candid about his family life and his time in the Senate, Obama here sets out his political convictions and inspires us to trust in the dogged optimism that has long defined us and that is our best hope going forward.

Feelings:
I liked the book but I ended up wishing it wasn't abridged. There isn't an unabridged version of this audiobook available. I mostly listened to it while I was driving in the car and it took me a while. I think I might have listened to the third CD three times as a reminder of where I was in the book.

In 2007 when this book was published the national debt was $9 trillion and growing, this is a very small number compared to our debt now $16 trillion. Within the five year period of time the debt grew by $7 trillion. In 2009 when Obama took office the debt was already at $11 trillion dollars so yes the debt did increase under Obama but not as fast as it did in the last 2 years of the Bush presidency. I don't want to appear to be supportive of one side or the other but it does look like something needs to happen to try and cut spending and reduce the debt. Obama put forward ideas for this but it will be hard to implement any spending cuts.

There are many things included in this book that are interesting and useful for those interested in politics. I'm not sure I would go so far as to say that this book offers a solution to our problems but I do think it gives you a little bit of an incite into how Obama began the political journey that lead to his becoming president.

I would recommend this book to those who are interested in seeing the differences in facts and the changing perspectives over time.

Goddess Interrupted by Aimée Carter

Title: Goddess Interrupted
Author: Aimée Carter
Type: Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series:Yes second "Goddess Test Novel"
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Rating: 2.5 out of 5


Summary: From Good Reads


Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

Feelings: 

I still found the mythology weak at best. I'm not sure why we even have Greek Gods in here if they aren't going to be very Greek God like. Here is a list of the Greek Gods from my review of The Goddess Test. By now if the Gods really are gods there should be now question as to which god is which character. I have to admit I'm still not sure I could tell you who is who beyond the major ones. I didn't feel like the characters really fit with the God counterpart.

Zeus: The Father of Gods and men, he rules from Mount Olympus. Son of Titans Rhea and Cronus. The God of sky and thunder.
Hera: The wife of Zeus. Daughter of Titans Rhea and Cronus.The Goddess of women and marriage.
Poseidon: Son of Titans Rhea and Cronus.The God of the sea.
Demeter: Daughter of Titans Rhea and Cronus. The Goddess of harvest.
Hades: Son of Titans Rhea and Cronus. The God of the underworld.
Hestia: Daughter of Titans Rhea and Cronus. The Goddess of hearth and home.
Ares: Son of Zeus and Hera. God of War.
Aphrodite: Origins are debatable, some say from a castration done by Cronus others say a daughter of Zeus. Goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.
Hermes: Son of Zeus. God of transitions and boundaries.
Athena: Daughter of Zeus. Goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.
Apollo: Son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. God of ight and the sun, truth and prophecy, healing, plague, music, and poetry.
Artemis: Daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin brother Apollo. Goddess of  the hunt,  forest and  hills and the moon.
Hephaestus: Son of Zeus and Hera. God of Fire, Metalworking, Stone masonry, and the Art of Sculpture.
Dionysus: Son of Zeus and a mortal woman. God of Wine, Theater and Ecstasy.

I did think this book was slightly better than the first book but I feel like Aimée Carter is really missing an opportunity here with the mythology theme.

If you can read this book and completely detach it from any mythology you are familiar with this is an interesting story. The problem is that it depends on the myths just enough that when the characters don't have their God like qualities I begin to wonder if the author really did her research and knows mythology.

I personally liked the story and will read the next one. I just think the Gods should be a little more God like and a little less like petty teenagers. 

Note this book ends with a cliffhanger...

Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon

Title: Fury of the Phoenix

Author: Cindy Pon

Type: Novel
Genre: Fantasy

Series: Yes second first is Silver Phoenix

Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
The Gods have abandoned Ai Ling.

Her mysterious power haunts her day and night, and she leaves home--with just the moon as her guide--overwhelmed by her memories and visions and an unbearable sense of dread. For Ai Ling knows that Chen Yong is vulnerable to corrupt enchantments from the under-world. How can she do nothing when she has the skill and power to fight at his side? A dream has told her where he is, the name of the ship he is traveling on, his destination. So she steals off and stows away on board.

The ocean voyage brings with it brutal danger, haunting revelations, and new friendships, but also the premonition of a very real and terrifying threat. Zhong Ye--the powerful sorcerer whom Ai Ling believed she had vanquished in the Palace of Fragrant Dreams--is trapped in Hell, neither alive nor dead. Can he reach from beyond the grave to reunite with Silver Phoenix and destroy Chen Yong? And destroy whatever chance Ai Ling has at happiness, at love?

In this sequel to the acclaimed novel "Silver Phoenix," four lives are woven together and four destinies become one, now and forever.

Feelings:
I should say that I did read Silver Phoenix but I didn't really remember any of it. I originally thought that I did, I think I remembered the end of the book but not anything that happened in it. That being said I don't think this book depended on the first book as much as I would have expected. Everything was well explained and the parallel stories, Ai Ling and Chen Yong, and Zhong Ye and Silver Phoenix were interesting. (this might be a bit of a spoiler but not really, skip to the next paragraph if you want to be sure) Yes they take place 300 years or so apart, and Zhong Ye and Silver Phoenix's story is taking place in Ai Ling's mind as she lives their memories.

What I liked about the story was that Ai Ling is strong. 

Ai Ling glanced up and gasped. "How do I climb on?" ... The old man nodded to a thick length of rope coiled on the bottom, the tip ending in a sharp four-pronged grapple hook. "Throw that." ... "Walk your feet up the side!" ... Unable to breathe, she squatted like a bruised toad against the ship as it slammed down, and the water surged up to meet her. Focus. One hand over the other, then shuffling with her feet. The rough rope bit into her slick palms. The crew would disperse soon. She would get on board this ship or die trying. (p. 10-11)

It is nice to have a strong  female character. It is also nice to read a fantasy book that is about another culture, Chinese in this case even though it is a fictional land.

On the ship Ai Ling and Chen Yong avoid talking about their feelings for each other as well as dealing with the past they have. The captain of the ship Peng knows there is more than what they say. As the journey from Xia to Jiang where Chen Yong expects to find his birth father progresses they must begin to deal with what happened in the past while learning Jiang and confronting the future.

Having this book set between to different lands and cultures (Asian and Western) is very interesting.

On the negative side the book was predictable and frustrating at times because their had to be a confrontation between the past and the present but the way it happened seemed questionable to me. I had a hard time believing that it was real. I really did enjoy reading the book but I found the ending to be slightly unsatisfying. There were many good things about this book and I enjoyed reading it but it isn't one I expect to remember for long.

The Search by Nora Roberts

Title: The Search  
Author: Nora Roberts 
Type: Novel
Genre: Romance 
Series: No  
Copyright: 2010  
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons 
Rating: 3 out of 5


Summary: From Good Reads
To most people, Fiona Bristow seems to have an idyllic life-a quaint house on an island off Seattle's coast, a thriving dog-training school, and a challenging volunteer job performing canine search and rescues. Not to mention her three intensely loyal Labs. But Fiona got to this point by surviving a nightmare...

Several years ago, Fiona was the only survivor of the Red Scarf serial killer, who shot and killed Fiona's cop fiancé and his K-9 partner.

On Orcas Island, Fiona found the peace and solitude she needed to rebuild her life. But all that changes on the day Simon Doyle barrels up her drive, desperate for her help. He's the reluctant owner of an out-of-control puppy, foisted upon him by his mother. Jaws has eaten through Simon's house, and he's at his wit's end.

To Fiona, Jaws is nothing she can't handle. Simon, however, is another matter. A newcomer to Orcas, he's a rugged and in-tensely private artist, known for the exquisite furniture he creates from wood. Simon never wanted a puppy-and he most definitely doesn't want a woman. Besides, the lanky redhead is not his type. But tell that to his hormones.

As Fiona embarks on training Jaws, and Simon begins to appreciate both dog and trainer, the past tears back into Fiona's life. A copycat killer has emerged out of the shadows, a man whose bloodlust has been channeled by a master with one motive: to reclaim the woman who slipped out of his hands...

Feelings: 
I enjoyed reading this book mostly because I love Labs and this book was full of them. Fiona has three very well behaved adults that she uses for search and rescue and  Simon has a lab puppy that is well terrorizing and chewing everything until Fiona starts to train him and give him some drive.

She looked past him, cooked her head. She saw the pup through the window now. a Lab-retriever mix, she judged--and currently very busy. "Your dog's eating your truck." "What?" He spun around. "Fuck!" ... "For God's sake." He wrenched open the door. "Goddamn it, what's wrong with you?" The puppy, obviously unafraid, unrepentant, leaped into the man's arms and slathered his face with eager kisses. (p.21)

At his wits ends he comes to Fiona which is rather humorous for a first meeting.

"Tell me you'll take him. I'll pay room and board." "It doesn't work like that." ... "I take him, I take you. ... If you're not going to commit to the dog, to his training, his health and well-being, I'll help you find a home for him." "I'm not a quitter." Simon jammed his hands in his pockets as once again Fiona threw the balls. "Besides, my mother would . . . I don't want to go there. She's got this idea that since I moved out here, I need companionship. It's a wife or a dog. She can't give me a wife, so..." (p. 23-24).

As Fiona begins to train Jaws and Simon both man and dog learn and become more attached to each other. Living on a small island Fiona and Simon are in close quarters. And while they both claim that the other is not their type it becomes clear pretty fast, in Romance style, that they are attracted and interested.

I liked that there were dogs in this novel but I found that while some of them had very distinct personalities, Fiona's dogs didn't really stand out as being all that different to me. Thus I had a hard time remembering which dog was which.

I have also started to notice a new theme in the non-series books. Female character is strong willed and doesn't need a man. Man comes along, woman likes the man but tries not to. Man and Woman end up together. Woman is in danger but doesn't want help, and feels that asking for help is a burden to those around her. Man insists on being their for her even when she tries to push him away. Man and Woman realize they are in love, not at the same time of course. Danger becomes more prominent and Man is there for Woman when danger comes to climax. Man and Woman are very happy and are getting married.

I'm getting a little bit tired of this new plot cycle and wonder if maybe I just overlooked it in the older books. The characters are still what make the books interesting. I liked the characters in here just didn't like the story as much and the plot didn't interest me as much as it could have. I guess I liked the mystical older books a bit more than this one.

For those that like Nora Roberts and love dogs this is probably a good read for you.

The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

Title: The Wild Rose
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Type: Novel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Yes, first The Tea Rose, second The Winter Rose
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Hyperion
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
London, 1914. World War I is looming on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and global explorers are pushing the limits of endurance at the Poles and in the deserts. Into this volatile time, Jennifer Donnelly places her vivid and memorable characters:
 
Willa Alden, a passionate mountain climber who lost her leg while climbing Kilimanjaro with Seamus Finnegan, and who will never forgive him for saving her life;
 
Seamus Finnegan, a polar explorer who tries to forget Willa as he marries a beautiful young woman back home in England;
 
Max von Brandt, a handsome sophisticate who courts high society women, but who has a secret agenda in wartime London;
The Wild Rose is a part of the sweeping, multi-generational saga that began with The Tea Rose and continued with The Winter Rose. Many beloved characters from The Winter Rose continue their adventures in The Wild Rose. With myriad twists and turns, thrilling cliffhangers, and a fabulous period detail and atmosphere, The Wild Rose provides a highly satisfying conclusion to an unforgettable trilogy.

Feelings:
I thought that this was a pretty good ending to the trilogy. The book is divided into three parts and each of the parts stops rather abruptly and I didn't really feel like some of those cliffhangers were resolved. They were sort of resolved but not in a way that answered all of the questions that they brought up. So I have to admit that this seemed a little bit like it was trying to hard to make everything work out when it really shouldn't have.

As for the story itself it followed a similar pattern to the other books in that the couple is separated and can't have each other. I was alright with the predictability of the plot it was the loose ends regarding the historical side that bothered me a little bit.

Seamie and Willa are the main characters in this story although there are many more characters that are followed throughout the story as well but the focus is on them. Their passion for adventure drives the story.

Untethered and alone, trekking across the pristine snows of the glacier, she felt as wild and free as a falcon circling, a winter fox loping across the snow, a wold howling at the moon. As she approached the lower foothills of Everest, the trek became a climb, but still she went on over an ice field, across some jagged moraine. The terrain became more challenging, and her artificial leg more of a hindrance, but she could not stop. Everest, souring high above the glacier, was glorious. It pulled at her, cast its spell upon her, and she was powerless to resist it. (p.45)

The draw of what is wild and what one cannot have drives Willa to stay away from Seamie after her accident climbing Kilimanjaro where she lost her leg. Seamie's guilt over Willa loosing her leg on that climb keeps him from trying to find her. This part of the story is rather predictable. It is the war story that keeps things interesting and different.

World War One has started and many characters in the story including Seamie and Willa are drawn into the struggle. I wouldn't say that this is the most historically correct version of events but I found it interesting.

I would recommend this book to those that liked the first two in the trilogy and to those who like historical fiction.