City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5)

Title: City of Lost Souls
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series?: The Mortal Instruments
Synopsis:
The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

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.

 Why I Read This: 
I read the other books and wanted to read this one too, after the cliff hanger of the last book.

My Thoughts/Review:
"Harrowing" is a good word to describe this book (in more ways than one).

Clary, Simon, Jace, Sebastian, Maia, Jordan, Alec, Magnus, Isabelle and the Clave are all back for another installment of The Mortal Instruments series! While trying to figure what the heck is wrong with Jace for hanging out with Sebastian like they're brothers or something, Clary discovers that something is horribly wrong--Lilith's magic has bonded the two together; neither can die without the other dying, as well. Jace is submissive to Sebastian and loses himself, though he retains his love for her (no matter how twisted it becomes). Clary makes a move and acts like she's joining them, when she's actually communicating to Simon what's going on. Meanwhile, everyone else is trying to find a way to kill Sebastian without killing Jace--and they discover a solution that could end up killing someone in the process of getting an impossible weapon. Alec and Magnus have more relationship problems--problems bound to happen with a mortal and an immortal. Alec is tempted by an offer to take away Magnus' immortality, but will he take it? Will Jace live or die? Will Jace even get away from the control of Sebastian? Will Clary be able to pull of her most dangerous stunt yet? Will Maia and Jordan get back together? Will Simon and Isabelle be a happy couple? Who knows. You'll have to read to find out, I suppose.

On another note, we find out quite a bit about Sebastian in this book. I guess he's not all that bad of a guy, but still. Evil. Genius. Gotta admire his brains, though he does seem to underestimate Clary quite a bit, which wasn't necessarily the brightest move.

All those relationships that grow? Clary and Sebastian (as bro and sis of course), Clary and Jace, Simon and Isabelle, Maia and Jordan, and several others.
All those that crumble to dust? Sebastian and Jace, Simon and Maia, and Alec and Magnus (O.O)

The Alec/Magnus scenes were heart-wrenching and if they don't get back together, I will be forced to send angry fan letters to Cassy Clare because THEY ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER. I CRIED DAMMIT.

Anyway, it's an okay book overall, but it didn't live up to my expectations, to be honest. The first three books were better than these past two, and I hope the last one will be getting better. The plot was kind of all over the place, but I can deal with that as long as I can piece it together. It was still pretty clear in the direction the book wanted to go.

I won't hold as high expectations for the next book, but I definitely will read it. I didn't stick with these books thus far just to give up now. It's happening.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters (2013 MOVIE)

Hey, guys. So, I saw PJO: SoM earlier today! It was pretty awesome.

Title: Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Release Date: August 7, 2013 (US)
Rating: PG
Duration: 106 min.
Synopsis:
Based on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters. In order to restore their dying safe haven, the son of Poseidon and his friends embark on a quest to the Sea of Monsters to find the mythical Golden Fleece while trying to stop an ancient evil from rising.

 Why I Watched This:
Because I foolishly thought that this movie would be better and more to the plot line than the last movie and I couldn't help it: I love those books. I had to see what they would do this time.

My Thoughts/Review:
I had never been so excited to see a movie IN MY LIFE. I've never gone to a movie on the day of the premier, and I was begging people to go see it with me! I just could not wait. I was so excited. I thought that maybe, just MAYBE, the director might have seen the light and realized that he did not need to screw with the plot line of the books so damn much. I get it, you have to make a few changes when making a movie from a book to fit it all into the time. BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SCREW WITH THE ENTIRE PLOT LINE OF THE ENTIRE SERIES.

I was sooo disappointed. It was good and had good graphics, but the plot line was too screwed. I hated it. If I hadn't read the books, it would've been awesome. But I did read the books. Several times, in fact. I fell in love with the books. My mom even said that she thought the movie was amazing. I simply told her that she needed to read PJO when she gets done with LotR (I'm practically in charge of what she reads).

The graphics were amazing and all, and I really liked some things that they did. However. It was so lacking in the humor that Rick Riordan had in his books, the banter, the everything. So many things were too....dull. Or too overdone. Or too LEFT OUT. Half the story line of the book was left out of the movie. The half that was left out was replaced by bits and pieces of skewed information from other books. IT SUCKED.

THE PROPHECY WAS CHANGED! WHY OH WHY WAS THE PROPHECY CHANGED?! THE PROPHECY WAS SOMETHING THAT I LOVED IN THAT SERIES AND THEY CHANGED IT! ALSO, THAT PROPHECY WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN YET! So disappointed!!! ARGH!

I hated this movie; I think it was an awesome movie, great actors (Logan Lerman is one of my fave actors, to be honest), but I just didn't enjoy it like I thought I should. It was way too skewed for me to enjoy it. Maybe I'll enjoy it once I've watched it again. Maybe my expectations were too high. I don't know.

If there's one thing this experience has taught me, it's that I will never get so excited about a movie again. I don't wanna be disappointed like this again. Ever.

On the bright side, at least Annabeth's hair was blonde(ish) this time, like it should be. PLUS, Clarisse was really pretty, though she was kind of OOC most of the time. PLUS, I really liked the character of Tyson, though he was also OOC part of the time (but only a little; not a whole lot). PLUS, Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson was still hot. Oh, and we were *coughFINALLYcough* introduced to Dionysus, who is kind of important considering HE'S A GOD AND ALSO THE CAMP DIRECTOR AND HATES PERCY'S GUTS.

OH AND WE GOT TO MEET GEORGE AND MARTHA YAY EVEN THOUGH THEY WEREN'T AS FUNNY AS IN THE BOOK BUT STILL.

Okay, so the barrier was pretty cool, but I still wasn't very pleased over all.

So, as this is really turning out to be a rant about the movie, I'm just gonna go ahead and give the rating.

I give this movie 3.5 stars out of 5.

~Jessicah

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)

Title: City of Glass
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series?: The Mortal Instruments
Synopsis: 

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.

Why I Read This:
I read the first two books in the series and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. I'm very glad that I got over my fear of mainstream books being horrible (because not all of them are *coughMortalInstrumentscough*)

My Thoughts/Review:
City of Glass starts out with Clary getting ready to go to Idris with Jace and the Lightwoods. Jace is trying to get her to stay home, so he gets Simon out there to try to convince everyone that she changed her mind, while he had tricked Clary into thinking it was another time. However, it all goes wrong when some Fallen attack Jace, Simon, and the Lightwoods. They rush though the portal to Idris, taking the injured Simon with them, and leaving Clary behind in New York.

Clary soon finds out what happens, throws practically a temper tantrum, and makes a portal to Idris, nevermind the danger. She accidentally drags Luke along, and they land in the middle of a lake that the is like poison to Shadowhunters. Clary accidentally swallows some water, but they are now at Idris, on their way to Alicante, so there's nowhere for her to get help. Her and Luke get into Alicante illegally, so they can't let anyone know they're there, but Luke requests the helps of an unusual woman in the city to help Clary get better.

Clary's not supposed to go out because she's there illegally, but she does anyway, and she goes to see Jace and the Lightwoods, oblivious to Simon's dilemma, and that ends in heartbreak.

Meanwhile, Simon is being kept in the Gard's prison and coerced to try to sell out the Lightwoods.

Jace and Clary slowly but steadily find out more about their pasts, their family's past, and breakthrough discoveries are made. Their forbidden love is at an all-time high, even though they're trying harder than ever to make that not-so-obvious. The time comes to face it, to face everything, and to make hard decisions that could just result in the deaths of not just themselves, but lots of other people too.

This book was a great ride, though I didn't feel some emotions as I think I should have. I didn't get so sad where I should have, I didn't cry, I didn't get extremely happy. It's just not as much of an emotional roller coaster as I would've liked for it to be.

It was a good plot, with lots of twists that I didn't see coming. However, I had to skip through some parts because they were too boring for me to read all of it.

We find out more about Jace in this book, more than ever before, and we get to watch him grow even more, too. Same with Clary and Simon. Simon was a nice relief from Clary there for a while. I liked his point of view. Jace's point of view was also a nice change, but I didn't like it as much as Simon's.

Magnus was in here a lot more, which is an awesome thing.

I really liked this book, but it was not as good as its predecessors. I don't know what else to say. It was nice, but not fantabulous or anything.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

~Jessicah

The Academy - First Days (Year One, Book Two) (The Academy #2)

Title: The Academy - First Days

Author: C.L. Stone

Series?: The Academy

Synopsis:

Sang Sorenson used to be the invisible girl in class. As a new student to Ashley Waters High School, Sang hopes that her new friends will be the change she’s been craving and will make fitting in a breeze.
But Academy students aren’t there to take it easy. The high school is overcrowded and rife with violence. When fights begin, Sang will uncover the true reason the boys traded in their private school life for a public one.

This year, Sang will no longer be invisible. This year, Sang is a target.

The principal and vice principal are hot to take Sang down, and her own mother is determined to entrap Sang forever in her belief that the safest place to be is in the shadows. Despite this, Nathan, Luke, Kota, North, Silas, Victor, and Gabriel will discover Sang’s unyielding loyalty.

And they will sorely need it.

The Academy, supremely influential.

 

Why I Read This:

I was in love with book one of this series and thus looked all over for a copy of book two, which I do not regret having to buy to read. It was only $3 for my Kindle edition, so it's not much, but I think I would've paid more if I had needed to because I was interested in it.

 

My Thoughts/Review:

This sequel to the first book of The Academy series was amazing. I loved it through and through. While it doesn't have my usual likes for supernatural and things like that, I have always loved a good spy book.

 

This book starts off when Sang Sorenson and the boys are going to go to their first day of school at the new high school. Of course they stood out, they wore better clothes than everyone else, they were new, they were 7 freaking hot guys and one girl who kept to themselves. Them standing out quickly becomes a problem. Fights ensue, people are hurt, and everyone must stand together to stay out of it.

 

Sang has a problem with staying out of fights when people are beating up on her friends. In turn, she gets hurt. In turn, the guys are pissed, but also glad that she stepped in. She seriously needs training. Bad.

 

I loved Sang, don't get me wrong. She's probably my favorite heroin ever. I think she's so clueless that it's funny sometimes, but I get why she's clueless. I mean, she's never had friends before. We're going through more of what happened in the first book, except better than ever, and on a bigger scale. Now, Sang has to avoid certain people in school instead of just her mother, though there's a bit of that in there, too. Sang is so brave and loyal, as well as quite clever, though she tends not to realize it. I absolutely loved her character and while there were a few things I would've done differently, I admired her for the things she did. It was pretty awesome.

 

Kota, North, Silas, Luke, Nathan, Victor and Gabriel were all wonderful in this book! I lived for the moments where they showed up. I'm having trouble with maintaining who my fave is. I think it's still North, but I'm starting to like Kota, Victor, and Gabriel even more. And Luke. And...everyone else. Dang it! I love  them all, but I'm still in love with North. :) They're all so amazing!

 

So, I highly recommend that you go get this book. It's pretty awesome. Go find it and read it.

 

I can't wait for the next book to come out! The Academy - Friends Vs. Family (Year One, Book Three)! It sounds uber-good! I'm keeping it on my list of books I'm waiting for to come out!

 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

 

~Jessicah