Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Let me start off by saying that I LOVED this book!  I had no expectations going in, but hoped for a good, entertaining read.  I was not disappointed.  Cynthia Hand has written an exceptional story.

I loved Clara, Christian, and Tucker.  They seemed so real, so likeable.  Ms Hand allowed their relationships with each other to develop over time, as real relationships do.  That in itself was a breath of fresh air.  I love that I initially didn't know whether or not to like Tucker.  I didn't know if he'd get in the way of Clara and Christian, or if he'd end up being the love interest.  Clara's two friends, Wendy and Angela, were so very likeable as well.  I simply adored everyone in this book.

The story was well-paced and very well-written; it was so easy and fun to read.  Details about Clara's purpose were given a bit at a time, and I loved the mystery of it.  I loved that Clara was so realistic.  She had struggles, and like any teenager, she wanted a normal life, all the while knowing that she had a greater purpose to fulfill.

I was sucked in to the story immediately, and couldn't put the book down.  And, wow, was there a big twist!  I CAN'T WAIT for the next one to be released!

5/5

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Not wanting to leave her life - or boyfriend - behind on Earth, but not able to face a life without her parents, seventeen-year-old Amy follows her parents and is cryogenically frozen for a 300-year journey across the universe.  Her parents are specialists who have been asked to help colonize a new planet, Centauri-Earth.  By a mysterious turn of events, Amy is reawakened 50 years too early.  She quickly realizes that her awakening wasn't an accident; someone tried to kill her.  With the help of Elder, the future leader of the ship, Amy goes on a quest to find who attempted to kill her, and who has been murdering the other frozen people.  She desperately wants to protect her parents from the same fate that awaited her.

 

I really wanted to love this book.  It sounded so amazing.  Unfortunately, I can only say that I liked it.  The premise was fascinating, but there was just something about the book that turned me off.  The alternating chapters between Amy and Elder were interesting (I love being privy to both points of view in a book), but I'd sometimes forget who was speaking and then have to re-read entire excerpts.  The characters weren't unlikeable, but I found that I didn't ever really care what happened to them.  I wasn't really cheering them on, though I was hoping that Amy would be able to save her parents.  I just wasn't as invested in the characters as I wanted to be.  Another problem I had was with "The Season".  Way too much time was spent on that particular plot point.  Eww.  I also sometimes felt like there was too much detail given.  Some parts of the book really dragged for me, and I couldn't help but wish that the book would end already.  Definitely not a feeling I want when reading a book.

Overall, it was a good read, but I don't know that I'll read the sequels when they're released.

3/5

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Oh my goodness, was this book awesome or what?  The following summary contains spoilers from the first and second books, so read at your own risk:

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 new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?

Even better than City of Ashes, City of Glass had me setting everything aside so that I could read.  I was on pins and needles, waiting to see what would become of the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders, and when Clary and Jace would realize that their relationship wasn't what they thought.  I had a lot figured out, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the reactions of the characters as certain things were revealed.

I was so happy that the Shadowhunters and Downworlders formed an alliance.  Clary's growth amazed me.  She went from a know-nothing Mundane to someone capable of defeating Valentine.  And Jace... oh, Jace.  His inner torment over his feelings for Clary was delicious.  He has some of the most swoon-worthy lines in this book, and I loved it, just as I loved getting to see Alec, Isabelle, and Simon grow and mature throughout the series.

I'm actually surprised that this 'trilogy' has been turned into a series of six books, though I guess I shouldn't be, given the success of the series so far.  I have to say that I thought the ending of City of Glass was perfect, though, with everything wrapped up nicely.  Even so, I'm going to have to read the next three books when they come out.

4.5/5

Also in the series: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Fallen Angels (2011), City of Lost Souls (2012), City of Heavenly Fire (2013)

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

I really should have written this review immediately after finishing the book.  I just finished the third book in this series, City of Glass, and the plots of all three books are kind of muddled together in my brain now, and I can't really remember what happened in which book.  So I'm just going to use the summary from the book cover for this review (there are spoilers from the first book, so read at your own risk):

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?

After the revelations in City of Bones, I was definitely looking forward to seeing what City of Ashes had in store for Clary, Jace, Simon, and the gang.  All I can say is, wow.  I definitely didn't see some things coming (like Simon's transformation), but other storylines had some definite foreshadowing of what was to come in the third book.  I grew to love Jace even more, and felt for him and Clary with everything they had to deal with.  But I could already see where the whole Jace and Clary storyline was headed, so I had hope that things would work out (as in, be revealed) in City of Glass, even though there were more books still to come in the series.

Definitely more fast-paced than the first book.  I was left wanting more, and put everything else on hold to delve right into City of Glass.

4/5

Also in the series: City of Bones, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels (2011), City of Lost Souls (2012), City of Heavenly Fire (2013)