Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Read: May 13-26, 2013

read in 13 days

pages: 568

Wow, I have been waiting for this book for so long now! I finished Clockwork Prince back in November 2011....that's a long time to wait for a series, well for me anyways. I'm used to catching on after a series is pretty well established before I pick it up.

So was it worth the wait??? 

Sure I enjoyed the book. 

Did things happen the way I wanted them???

No not entirely, but things were not unsatisfactory either. I liked how the ending worked out and the Epilogue worked as well for me since I got both endings I really wanted, maybe not necessarily in the order I had hoped, but things worked well.

There were a few points I felt were a little predictable, and a couple nice twists that I wasn't expecting. I sort of ruined the ending in a way for myself because I was looking on line trying to get an idea of these surnames and how they all link within this Shadowhunter world and discovered the ending or at least the romantic ties anyways which really ruined things for me as it made things pretty certain. But as I said the Epilogue worked to give me the endings I wanted. I'd still like to see the family tree for the Shadowhunters as I believe this copy was to have, but being a copy from the library if it was an extra part of their book they must have removed it. This copy being a Collector's First Edition makes me believe there surely should have been extra material.

So I did some searching and TA-DA!!! Its the family tree...course it would have ruined it for me....but I like to look at it now!!

Anyways if you are on the fence and worried about the characters....don't fear it. READ the book!! I don't think you will be disappointed!!

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Read: May5-10, 2013

read in: 6 days

pages: 289

So why did I decide to read this novel? 

My mom was telling me about this movie and how she thought it looked good. I got on the library website when I knew the movie had been released to DVD and found a few listings. So apparently it was a novel. Did not know this and since I really enjoy reading the book and then seeing the movie I thought I'd try the book. So while I sit on hold in line for the book at 1100 out of 1800, well I am not surprised that I was able to get the book, read it and still be on hold for the movie!!

Book Blurb:

Meet Pat. Pat has a theory: his life is a movie produced by God. And his God-given mission is to become physically fit and emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending for him -- the return of his estranged wide Nikki. (It might not come as a surprise to learn that Pat has spent time in a mental health facility.) The problem is, Pat's now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he's being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany; his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy. Plus, he's being hunted by Kenny G!

In this enchanting novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. As the award-winning novelist Justin Cronin put it: "Tender, soulful, hilarious, and true, The Silver Linings Playbook is a wonderful debut."

The minute I started reading this novel I was drawn in. I really liked the voice of the character Pat and while his perspective is very off kilter it was entertaining being inside his head for the duration of this novel. I rooted for Pat to recover and get well, I almost wanted him to get back with Nikki, but I just knew there was something that was going to prevent this from becoming a reality. The whole time I read I kept thinking this guy is going to snap. One of these times he is really going to snap. And surely he had to have snapped sometime earlier that lead to his being a patient for quite some time in a neural facility that he calls "the bad place". 

I'm not going to give away any details, but I will recommend this book. I think it is heartfelt and honest. I'll leave it to you the reader to find out for their self if Pat finds his silver lining and happy ending in the movie that is his life.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Read: April 28- May 5, 2013

read in: 8 days

pages: 418

Book Blurb:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

This was a pretty entertaining read and I'm glad I decided to pick it up after all this time I've wondered about it. I liked that it read pretty quickly and once I started I didn't really want to put it down. I enjoyed the setting of Prague. I don't know how much research the author did as far as accuracy is concerned but I don't get too finicky about some details. This did get a bit heavy on the romance and I noticed the character Karou lost a bit of her toughness we see in the beginning as she falls for Akiva. I tend to prefer stronger female leads than the weaker, and while I didn't like this aspect of this novel I did still overall enjoy the book.

I'll likely continue the series if nothing else just to see what happens. This book leaves a cliff-hanger, which I really dislike in a series, but at least the second book has been published and I will be able to read it fairly soon rather than wait a year or more for the second book. The final book however that may require a wait.