Cassandra Clare's "The Mortal Instruments" Series

Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series

I know that I haven't updated in a couple weeks, but it's because I wanted to knock out this whole series before I reviewed it. I had previously reviewed Cassandra Clare's "Clockwork Angel", which is the first book in her prequel series "The Infernal Devices" and I really liked it. While I didn't think that The Mortal Instruments was quite as good, mostly because I preferred the ID characters, it's a very entertaining series.

The heroes of this series are Clary and Jace. Clary is your average sixteen year-old girl, growing up in Brooklyn with her overbearing mom, her substitute father figure, Luke (who reminds me of Luke from Gilmore Girls, plaid shirt and all) and her best friend, the awkward and nerdy Simon. At least she thinks she's the average teen until her life takes a head-on collision with Jace, a handsome and arrogant Shadow Hunter, a secret class of warriors who, hidden from mortal eyes, protect the world from demons. Clary shouldn't even be able to SEE shadow hunters, so the fact that she can proves that she isn't so ordinary afterall, and as it turns out, neither are the other people in her life. While Clary proves to be not-your-ordinary human girl, Jace also proves to be not-your-ordinary shadow hunter, and both characters are lead on long journey to battle the forces of evil and find out who they really are.

While Clary and Jace are both likable characters, the real appeal lies in their fellow characters, "people" like the paternal to everyone, father to none Luke, the feisty and self-assured shadow hunter Isabelle, the forever loyal BFF Simon and the flamboyantly gay warlock, Magnus (who you'll recognize if you've read the Infernal Devices.

The one thing that I didn't care for in the series was that the last book, City of Fallen Angels, ended in a cliffhanger. Of course, I assume this to mean that the series isn't finished, but when I finish a boxset, I like all of my endings to be tied up nice and neat. I'm highly impatient with cliffhangers, and now I'm left thinking "I need to know!!!" Other than that, the series is good. Perhaps not the best fantasy series ever, but definitely worth the read, especially if you plan to see the movies, the first of which, "City of Bones", comes out in March, I believe. To its credit, I can't think of another series that has vampires, werewolves, warlocks, demons, angels, fairies... If it had a dragon, it would have everything.

Speaking of the movies, I had no interest in seeing them, because I felt like it's the kind of story that is preset for a horrible film adaptation... until I saw the casting. Aidan Turner as Luke Garroway?? Yes, PLEASE! As for the rest of the cast, they're all pretty much exactly what I pictured for the characters (or in the case of some, what the cover of the book lead me to believe they would look like). Maybe the movies won't be so bad afterall.

BUY THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS ON AMAZON

BUY A CLOCKWORK ANGEL ON AMAZON

J.T. Geissinger's "Shadow's Edge"

Night Prowler Series - Book 1 Shadow's Edge

I'm not sure how I came upon this book, maybe from one of those "Top Fantasy/Sc-fi Books" lists, but I'm glad I did. In the world of paranormal fiction, The Night Prowler series has the potential to be one of the best. Admittedly, I'm basing this opinion soley off of the first book "Shadow's Edge", but that's how good I thought it was. 

So, what makes it so great? Simply stated, it's beautifully written. Every aspect of the book is wonderfully descriptive without being tedious. The characters are approachable and believable. But most of all, the premise of the story is fairly unique, especially in a genre filled to the rafters with vampires, werewolves and witches. 

The Night Prowler series is about a hidden race of ancient creatures, the Ikati, "people" with magical powers and the ability to shapeshift into panthers. They live in secluded communities and keep to themselves, following a strict Ikati Law to keep their kind protected. 

The main character, Jenna, is not aware that she is the daughter of a renegade Ikati leader, or that his former Ikati tribe has been keeping tabs on her. All she knows is that she is different, that is until the current Alpha, a tall, dark and handsome Englishman named Leander shows up with two other members looking for her. Jenna must return to their tribe with them to get the answers to who, what and just how powerful she is.

The book is engaging, vivid and just to reiterate - the hero is a sexy Englishman named Leander. Need I say more? Of course there's a romance, and sex scenes aplenty, but they have the added bonus of being laced with the panther's primal urges. I can't wait to start the next book in the series, "Edge of Oblivion".

BUY "SHADOW'S EDGE" ON AMAZON.COM

Stephen King's "The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three (Book 2)"

Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three

Most people who know me, know that despite my outward "coolness", on the inside, I'm a raging fantasy nerd. So, for years, I've had the gents in my life recommending Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series to me. He may be known for his horror books, but his fantasy series is his true legacy.

A few years ago, I decided to give it a shot by reading "The Gunslinger" (the first book in the series. Not being a western fan, I was immediately turned off by the title, but I read it anyway. To be honest with you, it didn't grab me, and I don't remember too much of the story. It wasn't a bad book, just not my thing. Needless to say, I didn't continue with the series...

... until the other day. A good friend of mine made me a deal. He would read my favorite series (The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind) if I would read his. That brought me back to The Dark Tower. 

"The Drawing of the Three" is infinitely more interesting than "The Gunslinger". It still has the "shoot-em-up" wild west gunslinger, Roland, but in this one, he travels through dimensions and time, fighting dope slinging mob bosses in the 80's and taking the reader into the hate-fueled race battles of the 60's. (In fact, I can't think of another time that I've heard the word "honky" thrown around quite so much.)

The book is much more sci-fi than fantasy. In fact, the only fantasy aspect is the gaint lobster creatures, but it was still interesting. Graffic, but interesting.

The place where the book scores major points in my book, is simply in the writing. There where several passages that caught my attention enough for me to actually highlight them, something I rarely do. 

"'There is steel in him, I dispute it not. But there is weakness as well.'"

"'If we were going to rape you, you would be one well-raped woman by now,' the gunslinger said evenly. 'Don't do it again.'"

and my personaly favorite, which is by far the most romantic description I've ever heard of a house of cards - 

"But they would have been amazed if he had had the words to describe it - how delicate it had been, how it had reached almost three quarters of the way from the top of the desk to the ceiling, a lacy construct of jacks and dueces and kings and tens and Big Akers, a red and black configuration of paper diamonds standing in defiance of a world spinning through a universe of incoherent motions and forces; a tower that seemed to 'Cimi's amazed eyes to be a ringing denial of all the unfair paradoxes of life.

If he had known how, he would have said: I looked at what he built, and to me it explained the stars."

I'll continue on with the series once my dear Mr. Shaw has finished the second book of his part of the bargain. For now, it's on to some Terry Pratchett.

Terry Goodkind's "The First Confessor (The Legend of Magda Searus)"

The First Confessor: The Legend of Magda Searus

If you are unfamiliar with Terry Goodkind or "The Sword of Truth" series, then I feel bad for you. It is far and away my favorite series, and I've read the entire thing - there are at least a dozen books - about 5 times. If you've seen the show "Legend of the Seeker" (it ran fortwo seasons on the CW), it was loosely based on the first book in the series. Personal note - it was ok, but the series is really better suited for a network that doesn't have to sensor it, like HBO is able to do with Game of Thrones.

The Sword of Truth series follows the lives of Richard Rahl and Kahlan Amnell, a war wizard and the last of the Confessors (a race of women created with the power to extract the truth from criminals) as they fall in love and fight to protect the land they live in (and eventually rule) from tyranny. I would love to delve into the multitude of reasons that I love the series, but you'll just have to read it. (The second you get to the Mord-Sith, you'll understand). 

The First Confessor: The Legend of Magda Searus, is (what I hope anyway) the first book new story line that introduces the reader to the origins of the Confessors. For people familiar to the series, a lot of the characters will be familiar from past references to them, such as Magda, Merrit and Baraccus. It also starts with the original banishing of the Temple of The Winds. For those new to the series, since this is an origins book, it has the fairly unique quality of being read first without being lost. Anything that you might need to know from the other books is explained in this story.

I originally thought that I would miss Richard and Kahlan, but the characters in this story have such a power on their own, that you don't find yourself pining for the others at all. Magda is every bit as well-developed as Kahlan or Cara, and is a welcome addition to Mr. Goodkind's cast of strong, powerful heroines, as Baraccus, Merritt and Alric Rahl are to the men.  

I look forward to the next installment in the telling of this tale and finding out more about the war between and The New World and Emperor Sulachan's forces from The Old World.

Cassandra Clare's "Clockwork Angel"

"Clockwork Angel" on Amazon.com

They say "never judge a book by its cover", but when it comes to my love for fantasy books, I always judge the book by the cover. When I see a handsome dude in dapper clothes, and it's not a cheest romance novel, there's a good chance that I'll pick it up.

This particular book also peaked another interest of mine, which was find out what this whole "steampunk" genre was about, and Cassandra Clare's "Clockwork Angel" was my first foray into that domain. I'm glad that the book was a strong mix of steampunk and fantasy, because the mechanical elements didn't really appeal to me. I hear the word "automaton" and I instantly assume Will Smith will make an appearance a la "I-Robot". The robots in this book, while it was set in old-time London, were much closer to those of current time than the creepy yet benign automaton of "Hugo".

Cogs and mechanics aside, I loved the fantastical elements - the classic battle between angels and demons, intermingling with humans, vampires, warlocks and the fey. 

This series looks to be a bit darker than most fantasy, with certain scenes that could rival the creepiness of Silent Hill. Fires blaze and blood abounds, so while it's not terribly scary, faint of heart fairy-tale lovers should be warned. This isn't a fairy tale. 

The characters vary from the sensitive and intelligent angel warrior, Jem, to the flighty and shallow yet comically fierce Jessamine and everyone in between. The main focus is on the 17 year-old angel-soldier Will Herondale, who is arrogant and broody yet quite entertaining (and also the handome devil on the cover) and the equally young heroine of the story, polite yet feisty Underworlder, Tessa Gray. With a pairing like that, the obvious sparks and passions ensue. 

The story itself is great. It's well thought out, action packed with all the right elements to keep you engaged. But you can tell that it's a series because it just kind of fizzles out. There are a lot of unanswered questions to lead you into the next book, but no big cliff hanger. That was really the only disappointment. Other than that, it was a definite page-turner. I read all 450ish pages in about a day and a half. 

Kim Gray is a mom, blogger, nutrition fanatic and founder of the Voracious Readers Society and ePaleoCookbooks.net. If you would like to join the society and submit your own book reviews, you can contact her at voraciousreaders@yahoo.com or on twitter @artex1024.

Richelle Mead's "Bloodlines"

"Bloodlines" on Amazon

For those of you who have read my review of Richelle Mead's "Vampire Academy" series, you'll know that I LOVE the series. "Bloodlines" is the first book in her spin-off series, but before you start it, I highly recommend that you read the original series. Most of the characters in Bloodlines are familiar to those who have read the Vampire Academy series, and without reading that, you'll lack a lot of the prior character development. 

Bloodlines follows Sydney Sage, the Alchemist who assisted Rose in the original series. For those not familiar with it, an Alchemist is a human faction responsible for keeping other humans in the dark about the existance of vampires and dhampirs.

After her involvement in the events of the final Vampire Academy book, Sydney is given the opportunity to redeem herself with an assignment to keep an eye on  the Moroi princess, Jill, while she is in hiding after an assassination attempt. 

Also along for the ride are VA alums Eddie Castile, the devoted dhampir guardian, Rose's crime boss father, Abe Mazur and love-crushed vampire pretty-boy Adrian Ivashkov. Several new characters are introduced, but I doubt that they'll make much of an appearance in subsequent books, with the possible exception of Sydney's younger sister, and a future Alchemist, Zoe Sage.

As was the case in a couple of the VA books, Bloodlines is less about ass-kicking action and more about plot and character development. You're given plenty of insight into the Alchemist organization and both Sydney's background and family life. 

Observing the blossoming friendship between Sydney and Adrian, two characters who couldn't be more different, is entertaining and heartwarming, and you can't help but root for something more to happen there. Adrian's cocky confidence mixes with Sydney's introverted awkwardness for amusing results.

This book reads like a Nancy Drew novel, which is to be expected, since Sydney is very clinical and academic (a far cry from the heroine of the VA books, the "hit first, ask questions later" Rose Hathaway), but in true Richelle fashion, it finishes with a bang that leaves you craving more.

Anne Bishop's "Daughter of the Blood" - Book 1 of The Black Jewels Trilogy

Anne Bishop's The Black Jewels series is without a doubt, one of my favorite book series EVER. It's not recent, and I'm usually hard-pressed to find anyone who's familiar with it, which makes my heart hurt. It's a must-read if you like dark fantasy, and a should-read even if you don't.

The series starts off with a book called "Daughter of the Blood" about a young girl, Jaenelle Angelline, who, even from birth is destined to be the greatest witch and ruler that their world has ever seen. Sounds like your typical fantasy novel, right?

What sets Anne's series apart are the characters. To start, the world in which they live, while it contains both those people with magic - the Blood - lead those without, it is set amid severe role reversal. The female witches rule, and the men follow, either willingly or not-so-willingly. As with most dark fantasy series, this one is pretty sensual. Sex is portrayed as both an act of love and a weapon to be used by the corrupt. Jaenelle's tender age in the first book makes her a target for deprivation from those seeking to control her, yet her power makes her a force to be reckoned with.

"Daughter of the Blood" introduces you not only to Jaenelle, but to two of the best characters in fiction, the High Lord of Hell (yes, Hell is a kingdom in the series) Saetan SaDiablo and his son, Daemon Sadi. I picture Saetan to look a lot like John Travolta, back when he was cool and attractive and Daemon to look like another fictional Damon - Damon Salvator from the Vampire Diaries (Ian Somerhalder if you want to google that hotness). Needless to say, these are smokin' sexy characters. They're also the two most powerful people in the realm, short of Jaenelle, and feared by everyone - with good reason. A good majority of the violence in the series is a product of one or both of them. You also meet Surreal SaDiablo, a female assassin who could give Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman's character in Kill Bill) a run for her money.

Anne does an excellent job with character development for all of her characters and plot twists leave you laughing, crying and on edge. As if all of that didn't appeal to a wide audience, you also have the Kindred, talking animal members of the Blood's society. They're kind of the cute fuzzy ewoks of the Black Jewels series.

So, do yourself a favor - read it! If you aren't hooked by the time you finish "Daughter of the Blood", I'll be shocked (and probably judge you a bit). As a matter of fact, you should probably just get The Black Jewels Trilogy to start. You'll end up getting the rest anyway.



Kim Gray is a mom, blogger, nutrition fanatic and founder of the Voracious Readers Society and ePaleoCookbooks.net. If you would like to join the society and submit your own book reviews, you can contact her at voraciousreaders@yahoo.com or on twitter @artex1024.