Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.

Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.

But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself

Rating: 4 stars

This was the first non-fantasy YA romance I've read in a long, long time. And I enjoyed it. It had an air about it, it was all cute and fluffy. I don't think it was supposed to be, but I thought it was.

The main character, Chelsea, can't keep a secret for the life of her. This character flaw has given her a friendship with the most popular girl in school, a high social ranking, hence all the party invites. One day Chelsea is at a party, when she gets drunk and is looking for an open bathroom to throw up in. She knows there's one in the master bedroom of the house, but when she goes in there she sees two guys making out on the bed. She recognizes one as Noah Beckett. Noah wasn't really a popular kid, but she definitely did not know was gay.

So what does she do? She, being drunk, tells everyone about it. Two guys, Warner and Joey, both drunk, find this disgusting and they go after Noah, and end up beating the crap out of him. He ends up in the hospital with a coma. But no one knows who beat him up except Chelsea and her friend...who tells her not to say anything. Well, that's impossible, and probably would be for anyone, if you knew who committed a serious crime.

So Warner and Joey get arrested, and her friend hates her for telling the cops that they did it. So her friend has completely shut her off and she is now a social outcast. Hurt, guilty, and alone, Chelsea takes a vow of silence. Which brings the main theme of the story, Chelsea and her vow of silence.

I liked Chelsea, it was really obvious she felt horrible for telling anyone, and her resolve to take the vow was really strong. I respected her for that. And she had everyone's best interests at heart, even when her friend was being a complete jerk.

Sam and Asha were awesome, especially Asha. She was so...out there and weird, the perfect side kick to any book. Sam was a cute love interest, and I never really thought of Brendan as one in the first place. And Sam was so at ease with Chelsea and her vow and what she did, I just couldn't help but love him. Plus he can cook, keep up with a witty conversation, and kinda sorta draw. 

All in all, this book was cute. Everything was okay in the end, and the plot was well paced. No insta-love, praise the Lord, and all the characters were all super-lovable, except the bad ones, of course. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone.

xxAvalon

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Rating: 5 stars

Two books into this series, and I'm truly, madly, deeply in love with Daemon. Yes, he's an overprotective bastard, but he's got his charm. Well, he thinks so at least. On top of the swoon worthy romance, the action was pretty epic. I loved her training with Blake, although I did think he was kinda a douche bag.  Seriously, some of the stuff he did was flat out dangerous and stupid. I don't care if he would've fixed stuff before anyone died...*spoiler* that worked like hell in the ending, didn't it?

But, while the action was awesome and realistic (as in she didn't completely fail, or kick ass the first time) it was also well paced, and didn't happen every time you turned around. Because that in itself would've made the book get old really quick. While freezing stuff is great and all, an entire book filled with it can get old. I don't care how good of a writer you are, alien mojo is something that needs to be treasured, and not flaunted around every five seconds. So I was thrilled to find that every thing was spread around.

And Daemon, oh Daemon, why do you have to be so sexy? It kills you know, because I don't know one hot guy, and all these book characters are making me jealous. *unhappy sigh* And oh my God, the self confidence that boy had literally made me laugh every time. But while he was confident and jack-ass-y, he had a vulnerability that made him lovable, and kind of redeemed him for everything. Here's a quote from when they had been making out, and their alien mojo fried a computer:

 'And what the hell was I doing? I'd decided I wasn't going to let this happen with Daemon, which meant no kissing...or touching....
I pushed him. Hard. Daemon let go, staring at me like I'd kicked his puppy into traffic.'

Well, I left some lines out, but you still get the point. He looked at her like she'd kicked a puppy, can you picture that? Especially if you've read Obsidian all ready, you know how it--

It just--

I don't know, maybe I'm just an overdramatic fangirl at heart, but this really killed my fragile emotions. And there's more scenes like that too. And that's before he gets his challenge on, and starts presenting her with flowers and such.

I never thought Blake would be that big of a love intrest, and *spoiler* when they kissed, I was genuinely surprised. And he basically was no competition anyways, but I loved how jealous he made Daemon. But other than that, I didn't like him much.

Katy was sweet, caring, and sassy. Everything I look for in a protagonist, and she was fairly quick. A little rash, but she put two and two together better than most. I guess that's what you get with a book lover *wink wink...yeah I'm not funny.

I was a bit sad Dee wasn't in this book more, she was one of my favorite characters. And the way Katy treated her was a bit douchey, all though she did have a legitimate reason, which I can except. It wasn't just normal teen drama, it was legitamate.

I wouldn't (obviously) recommend this to people who haven't read Obsidian yet, and also if you like sweet and innocent love interests.

I need Opal, now. Just saying, I should just buy the whole series and be done with it, but I'm a little scared because I hear that it has 'the worst cliffhanger ending I have every read.' Oh dear. 

xxAvalon

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Rating: 5 stars

Once again, ladies and gentlemen, Cassandra Clare has managed to rip out my heart, tape it back inside, only to rip it out again at the end. This book was pure torturous awesomeness, and the City of Heavenly Fire cannot come out soon enough. And the movie, I can't wait for that too

I actually liked this book more than the previous ones, because it had more Jace moments. Seriously, evil Jace has got sass, and he isn't afraid to use it.  Yes, evil Jace, from the very beginning of the book, Jace was possessed by Sebastian, straight through to almost the end. Well, he wasn't possessed really, more of...compliant to whatever Sebastian wanted him to do. He was still him...but not. It was really complicated and awful...but I'm glad he wasn't completely under Sebastian's control, that would've drove me nuts.

I can't really talk about the characters, I mean, if you've read the first four books you already know who they are and all that jazz...and no one other than Jace really changes. Except Sebastian, you kind of grow to like Sebastian in this book, at least until the end, then you go back to hating him again. So it's all good...

But what happened with Malec...I just don't know...Their relationship is so beautiful...there's nothing more to say.

With Jordan and Maia's relationship...I guess I really couldn't care less...just because I'm so caught up in the Malec and Clace stuff I just don't have the feels to take this.

And that's exactly what happens with these books, they literally tear up you feels, and you will never be okay after that.

I guess I'm done, I can't say anymore without spoiling the book, so...goodbye

xxAvalon

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Talk about terrible timing...Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. With her powers locked inside her, Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies--the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that's what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn't so sure. The only known spell that can help Sophie regain her magic is at Hex Hall--the place where it all began, and now the headquarters of the evil Casnoffs. Together with her best friend, the vampire Jenna; her boyfriend, Archer; her fiance, Cal (yeah, her love life is complicated); and a ghost for a sidekick, Sophie must battle an army of demons. But even iwth her friends at her side, the fate of all Prodigium rests on her shoulders alone. Sophie's bound for one hell of a ride....Can she get her powers back before it's too late?

Rating: 4.5 stars

Wow...this was a great series. The characters were witty and likeable, unless you were supposed to hate them, in which case you did just that. Even Elodie, who you were supposed to hate in the first book, actually became likeable in the third. Well, she was tolerable at least.

I don't know what I was really expecting from Hex Hall, judging by the cover (which seemed a bit tacky) I was kind of expecting another witch/wizard type of thing with a good against evil kind of plot.

I didn't get that, I got humor, excitement, sorrow, pain, and loss. I suppose I would classify this series as a light and fuzzy series, a nice series if you're looking for a nice, comfortable, happy book to read. With a twist, two hot guys, and a smart ass ghost.

Sophie was a fun character with realistic and understandable feelings. After reading a horror of a book just a few days ago, she was a nice change. She was so down-to-earth and blunt, she wouldn't try to convince herself that things weren't going on around her, she took it like a real woman (cue sexist laugh in the background) and sucked it up and moved on with her life. Except with Archer, it was plain out obvious she was smitten with him as soon as he entered in the first book.

On top of all that, Sophie's powers were pretty bad ass. She seemed a bit pathetic in the first book, with Elodie doing way better than her all the time and everything, but she came back with a vengeance in Demon Glass and Spell Bound, especially.

Archer was the perfect match for Sophie. She needed someone who she could hold a witty conversation with, and Archer was that guy. I was on Team Cal in Demon Glass, but Archer definitely won me over in Spell Bound.

(Spoilers lay ahead, ye be warned) I loved Cal, and even though I didn't think he'd end up with Sophie. He was a sweet guy, and he truly cared about Sophie, and I was pissed when he died. Like, WTF Hawkins? You couldn't have given him a happy ending, no, he had to die. Uncool, man, uncool.

He speaks truth

I liked Jenna, she was cool, in a super girly pink loving vampire way. XP she was pretty awesome, and she was always right, like, about everything. It was a bit creepy, but it suited her character. I'm glad she lived :D

I liked this series, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a nice, fluffy book to read.

xxAvalon

Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowan

I don't do dangerous.

Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that's me. But I just couldn't pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me...something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It's like part of me is missing-and I don't know if I can get it back.

Then there's Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he's keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he's what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me....

When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...

Rating: 1 star

This book was positively awful. I have so much to rant on about it, and I only got about two-thirds of the way through it. The characters were annoying, the plot was iffy, and the writing was poor. And oh my God, the romance was absolutely awful.

The book starts off at a club, but it’s an all ages club, you know, so she’s legal to be in it. She sees her crush, and he tells her to follow him. No explanations, nothing other than a follow me kind of thing. According to the blurb (shown above) Sam is super careful and she never gets into trouble. Yeah, that lasted four pages.

Sam, of course, as all idiotic protagonists do, follows him. Her crush then begins to ramble on about how she has to want him to kiss her, and that it’s going to change her life forever. She doesn’t catch on to the fact that this guy is a little bit, I don’t know, crazy? because she’s so caught up in the moment or whatever. So they kiss, and about halfway through the kiss the guy pulls back, comments on how delicious she is, and then resumes sucking her face off. And surprise, surprise, her limbs start to turn to ice. Not literally, obviously.

As if this little ordeal weren’t enough, as soon as their done the guy walks off. And Sam passes out. A minute later her friend, Carly, wakes her up and lets her go home by herself. What kind of friend does that? Sorry your crush just kissed you then dumped you, not to mention the fact you just fainted, but I have better things to do then walk you home.

But, it does create the perfect stage in which she finds Bishop. And this is still on like, chapter two. She finds Bishop and she sees that he is absolutely insane. So what does she do? She grabs his arm, like all smart, super careful girls do to psychopaths. Yet, when she touches him, everything becomes so clear. Literally. He loses his insanity as long as she’s touching him. Well, as beautiful and romantic as that is, it’s stupid. It’s a stupid plot move, and a stupid romance move.

Normally, I wouldn’t go any farther into the book, because that would be considered spoiling, but, seeing as we’re still on chapter two or three, I’ll continue the rain of stupidity for you all (you welcome -_-) So she and Bishop are besties now, and they go off to find a white light, shining next to the theater. When they find this not-so-illusive light, shining above the head of a guy eating a hamburger out of the garbage, Bishop deems it necessary to stab him.

But at least he has the courtesy to tell Sam to go home first, which, obviously, she doesn’t, like all super careful protagonists. -__-

The next day she goes to school, almost makes out with her best friends ex-boyfriend-hence sucking his soul out; gets in a fight with the guy who was stabbed the night before, Bishop comes to her rescue and she finds out that she’s something called a ‘gray’. Not to mention that she’s always a complete and utter jerk to Bishop, no matter what he does. He is always the nicest guy to her and she’s always blaming him for something and accusing him of something and yelling at him, only to tell herself later that she is falling for this angel guy. Who she’s known for two days.

I don’t quite remember exactly when the following happened, whether it was that day, or the next: She goes back to the club where she was kissed by her crush and ditches her friend to go gallivanting off with Bishop, where they almost kiss, and she practically confesses her love to him (in her head, of course); she gets attacked by a demon, flips out when she sees the guy stabbed, even though she knows that he won’t die.

I won’t go any farther, it’s too much of a frustration. Everything was so incredibly wrong in this book. I ended up gently folding up my bookmark, carefully closing the book, setting it down, getting up and hitting something, because I always finish books. No matter how awful.

In obvious conclusion, I hated this book. I made it all the way to page 233 before giving it up. I was going to stop earlier, but I wanted to give it a second chance…followed by a third chance…you get the point. I suppose I could challenge you to see how far you make it in this book, but I wouldn’t try to do something that horrible to you. And I so badly wanted to finish this book, I literally hate not finishing books and this was just..GAH I WANTED TO FINISH IT!!

If you read this book and actually enjoyed it, tell me why. Does it get better? Did I miss something?  Please, I just don’t understand…

xxAvalon

Angelfall Fanfiction 2

Okay, so here we go again. I got a few requests to do this, so Imma try. Let's see how this goes :0

This is when Raffe holds Penryn while she's having a nightmare in Chapter 10 of Angelfall by Susan Ee.
 
I tried to block it out. I really did. I knew I shouldn't show any sort of compassion towards a human, especially one who leave me for the dead in a heartbeat. Or maybe she wouldn't, her loyalty towards her sister was astounding.

But right now her screams were getting worse. She was tossing and turning in her sleep, yelling out her sister's name. Just looking at her now I could see the sweat beginning to glisten on her forehead as she clawed at the couch she was laying on. Tears were beginning to run down her face as she flailed desperately. Sympathy hit me, cold and hard. 

I got up and walked over to her, hesitating only a moment before scooping her in my arms, clutching her small, half starved form. She began to scratch at my chest, "Hush, shhh." I whispered and she shuddered. I held her trembling body tight, stroking stray hairs out of her face. Her body writhed a little, moving against mine gently, now. I whispered more cool, smooth things in her ear and after a few minutes she had fallen back into a peaceful sleep.

I was about to get up when Penryn snuggled deeper in my lap, murmuring softly. I was fascinated by this human, she was the most loyal and self-less creature I had ever encountered. And I was the key to getting her sister back. I remembered her face when she asked me to take her to the aerie, she tried to sound indifferent, but her eyes lit up at the mention of saving her sister. She wasn't stupid, she was desperate. 

I looked back down at Penryn now, studying her peaceful face as she curled into me. Our bodies fit together perfectly, and my heart sped up at the thought of kissing her. Her lips were slightly parted, breaths coming out in light puffs. As much as I wanted to, a wave of revulsion hit me. I was thinking of kissing a human? While she was asleep? What kind of pervert did that?

I quickly stood up, her small form sliding off of mine. I would take her to the aerie, but I would not like it. As soon as she got her sister back I would get my wings back and we would go our own ways. Maybe I'd even kill her. But I would not like spending time with her, disgust went through me with the very thought. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew that hte disgust wasn't towards her...

Looking one last time at Penryn's sleeping form, small and vulnerable, I walked off, shaking my head. What made this girl so special?

Well, that's all for now folks!! Hope you all liked it :D

xxAvalon

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

tick
tick
tick
tick
tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

Rating: 5 stars

I can't get enough of this book. I am literally dying to reread it. If I thought Shatter Me was amazing, Unravel Me completely destroyed my meaning for living anymore. Damn you Warner!!!

Yes. Warner. If you are one of the people who have read Shatter Me and haven't read Unravel Me yet, you don't quite understand. At the end of Shatter Me I hated Warner, I didn't even see how people could consider him a love interest. He was nothing more to me than a sadistic freak. But then, he-gave-that-starving-puppy-food-and-now-I-just-don't-know-what-to-do-with-my-life. It was as if his entire personality changed from a horrifying monster to a guy who actually has feelings and can love and respect Juliette.

I think I'm in love. I already can tell that everything I'm writing doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I'm just to excited to say anything remarkably understandable. If you haven't read Shatter Me, read it. Now. It's good for you. The writing is just so damn beautiful, and so is Adam. And Warner. GAH!!!

And if you don't like it then, well....

xxAvalon

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

Rating: 5 stars

I was completely prepared to hate this book. I was literally anticipating the hatred I was going to have toward it. I had read some really bad reviews on it, and wanted to see what it was about for myself. I suppose I should've known that I'd like it at least a little bit...I do kind of like the bad boy kind of heroes. There. I said it. It shows that they're not completely wimpy and that they can stand up for themselves. Plus, sass is like, my thing. XP

As soon as Katy, the protagonist, met Daemon, I fangirled. Then he started being a complete douche bag, and then I hated him. Most of the book went like this, switching between loving and hating Daemon. But it wasn't entirely my fault, one minute Daemon would be being a complete and utter jack ass, and the next he would be making sure Katy was okay and completely screwing with my emotions.

Uncool Jennifer, uncool.

The book starts when Katy moves to a new town in West Virginia. If you can call it a town, more like a few streets and a stoplight. Katy's mom is really desperate for her to make some new friends, so she tells her about the hot boy that lives next door. She wants to meet them, but isn't falling head over heels to get all cushy with the neighbors.

Katy has to go shopping for groceries and plants for the garden, which is a complete wreck. She needs directions, so she goes over to her neighbors house and meets Daemon Black. He opens the door, shirtless in all his glory, v-lines showing, along with a nice little show of hair trailing down. There's no denying it, he's an absolute babe. But, all good things come to an end, and the end came when he opened his perfectly shaped mouth. Talk about douche bag. I wanted to climb inside the book and give him a piece of my mind, and I had a few choice words to use.

So you're probably wondering, 'if you hated him so much, then why do you love this book?' And there is a reason, and that reason is...he changes.

I know, so original, right?

But the thing about Daemon is, as soon as he changes into a nice, happy person you could care for, he gets his douche bag on and ruins the moment. Oh, it's so awful and horrible, and yet so artistic and beautiful. I actually don't like the guys who are sweet and nice all the time, they just kind of lack...character, I guess.

Katy was pretty awesome, and she was a pretty cool protagonist. She wasn't the smartest, or the strongest, but that just kind of made her more realistic. She did blush a lot though, I thought that was kind of weird. But non unusual for some people, at least hers was realistic.

Probably my favorite character was Dee, she was just so much fun and happy. She didn't care that people were rude to her, and she was always super sweet to Katy. She went out of her way, and made herself look bad in front of all her 'friends' to make Katy feel comfortable and loved, and she was pretty damn cool for that.

The story was well-paced and well-written, although I did think that the men in black suits would be a bit bigger in it, although they might be in Onyx, I'll have to read it :D

I was originally going to give this book 4 stars. But, I had to give it the extra one, because it's about aliens. Seriously, how on earth do you make aliens cool? (see what I did there) It's darn near impossible. But somehow Jennifer managed it, how, I will never know, but she did it, and for that, she has earned my respect.

I can't wait to read Onyx. *Squeals* Although it takes a certain kind of book lover to like this book, primarily because of Daemon's jack-ass character. Some people like the sweet guys, and Daemon was not that.

xxAvalon

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Rating: 3.5 stars

I just don't know about this book, it was good enough...just not great. I know, I know, I'm raining on your parade, cause I know you all love this book, I just didn't think it was all that spectacular, you know?

The characters were nice enough, but typical. Bad-ass guy doesn't think he's a player, sees a girl, falls in love within the first hundred and fifty pages, and tada, you have a book. And of course people will love this book, because it's from a dude's POV and because it is it shows 'a softer side' to the otherwise hardcore, douchy character. I, personally, thought he was lame.

Now before you all start throwing things at me, let me tell you why. Theseus Cassio, or Cas, never made any attempt to push Carmel and Thomas away. Maybe a little at first, but it only took like, two days before they were hunting demons together. It seemed to me that if he was so skilled at pushing people away, he'd do a better job? And he surprised himself a lot when he talked, like 'omigosh, did I just say that? I usually control my mouth...hmmm.' And it just seemed so weird that he would say such stupid things without any fore thought. Like really? You're still surprised you said that? Come on, it's like the fifth time, get used to it.

Carmel was okay, although I really didn't understand her character that much. She seemed to be pretty focused on Cas, and then she wasn't. Seriously, about halfway through the book it was as though she had switched between the pretty, flirty girl who tries to take the main character away from the real love interest and makes a love triangle, to the kinda, sorta friend who helps out with stuff and hangs around to the point of being irritating--just because she can. It became ridiculous to the point where I just wanted her to get out of the stupid story already.

Will was the most out there and wack job character I've ever encountered. Blake made it very clear in the beginning of the book that he was the smart, logical one who actually respected the main character. But, where all the changes happen, about halfway through the book it's as though Blake just decided that it would be better if he became a total douche bag and screwed up the entire story line. He literally became crazy, all that level headedness (yes of course that's a word, don't be--okay fine) he had earlier just vanished. Shame too, I actually liked him.

There's really nothing to say about Mike, he dies pretty early on in the story. It's pretty apparent that he's an awful guy who--for reasons unexplained--deems it necessary to hit strangers over the head with floor boards and knock them unconscious, and obviously we're supposed to hate him. So I did. And that's that really. No comment.

Anna was my favorite character, and even she became a little bit irritating at the end. I liked her all the way up to the last, say, fifty pages. In other words, until the romance kicked in. She was the freaking epitome of badassery, and then Blake just had to mess it up. She was so beautiful and evil and awesome and then she and Cas talked for a little while and then her entire personality just kind of washed away. I found that slightly unrealistic, even if she has been longing for love all those years. You don't love someone within a week of knowing them. It doesn't happen. I don't care how bad you wanna get it on with that girl while she's ripping someone in two, it doesn't happen.

What happened in this book is probably my second biggest pet-peeve in books. Take the romance nowhere during the entire book the at the end, all the hidden feelings neither of them experienced before come rushing out. It completely distracts from the actual plot of the book and it's plain out annoying.

All in all, I think this book would've been a whole lot better without the romance.

But of course it doesn't really matter what I say, because all of you will go out there and read it anyway. And you'll probably enjoy the book too, and kudos for you. Everything and everyone seemed a bit unrealistic to me though, but give it a try.

xxAvalon

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And - most importantly of all - she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine's Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war. Clary's best friend, Simon, can't help her. His mother just found out that he's a vampire and now he's homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side - along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls - neither of whom knows about the other one.

When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels

Rating: I can't even. No.

There will be spoilers. Throughout the entire thing, so don't read this if you haven't read the book already.

This book tore up my emotions then put them back together, only to rip them up again at the end. Like WTF??  So uncool. Now I have to read the next book, just to make sure everything works out in the end. All in all, this series has been no end of pain and heartbreak.

Although when I first started reading these books, I knew that the entire theme is just so dark, so I was expecting the characters to be too. Which is why, after four books, I'm still completely in love with Jace and his snarky attitude. Seriously, screw Simon, Team Jace :D

Even so, I really didn't want to keep reading this series after the good ending in the City of Glass. The war was over, Jace and Clary were together, I didn't see a problem. But of course, Cassandra just had to keep going. So I continued, reading the next painfully good book.

Clary is still at her best, pathetically weak, but at the same time stubbornly strong. What her physical strength lacks she makes up for in attitude. But she still cares for the other characters, especially Jace, who she is constantly reminding that not everything is his fault.

Jace meanwhile is pulling away form Clary, in fear that he'll stab her or something. He has all these dreams where he kills her, so therefore he thinks he doesn't deserve her. -_- He dreams where he kills her, therefore he deemed it necessary to punish himself. For dreaming.

There's always that one book character you just want to slap some sense into

And then everything got good again. Everyone made up to each other, Jace and Clary started making everything work out, Magnus and Alec came back (:DDDD), everything was going amazing.

And then that stupid ending came. The stupid, stupid ending. I hate the ending. I almost cried, everything was so wonderful, but of course that never lasts. :/ I guess being a Shadowhunter isn't all it's cracked up to be, because for all the good those Silent Brothers 'can do' they did absolutely NOTHING helpful.

I loved this book, I hated this book. Read it, please. I beg you.

xxAvalon

My Top Four Favorite Book Covers

As of the Beginning of 2013

Splintered by A.G. Howard QUICK REVIEW: 5 stars

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi-- QUICK REVIEW: 5 stars



As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott-- QUICK REVIEW: 2 stars (I hated this book)

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin--QUICK REVEIW: 3 stars