First, I've been meaning to ask you guys . . . Are there any legitimate blogging relationships out there in the blogosphere? I totally get the idea of commenting for comments and followers, but I find that a lot of comments aren't vested in what the blogger has said. They will sort of touch on the content and then go immediately for a plug on their own blog. If that's the case, I may end up being more of a blog follower than a blogger. No sense in recording all of my thoughts on something if the readers just want comments back! Silly.
ON TO THE BOOKS!
City of Ashes absolutely sucked me into this series. I'll move right into what I loved and didn't love.
What I loved:- Simon! He gets totally hot in this book. He gets sort of gutsy and speaks up a lot more. I think I wasn't really able to connect with his character in City of Bones (probably because he spent a lot of that book unable to really speak
- The freakin' Seelie Queen! Even though she was a super jerk, she brought the romance (and KISSING) back! Thank you, jerky faerie queen!
- Magnus Bane! He has quickly become one of my favorite characters.
- I thought there was a really great balance between the action and character-building in this book. After reading City of Bones I just didn't feel truly invested in many of the characters, but that all changed in City of Ashes.
What I didn't love:
- While I didn't know exactly what the answers were, I knew that a lot of things weren't as they seemed (trying to keep this spoil free - as though there is anyone out there but me that's reading these for the first time). So, there were some parts of the book where I knew things weren't true and wasn't buying into the story line.
- Sometimes descriptions get very repetitive. I can't say how many times I read about someone shivering, "and not just from the cold."
- I spotted a decent amount of typos! They distracted me every time!
Overall, I'd give it 4/5 stars!
Check the book description out here.
I actually liked City of Glass better.
What I loved:- That I enjoyed this book so much I forgot to really take notes!
- It was the longest of the 3 that I've read and took me the least time to read
- Clare really helps you to further understand some characters we have and a few we haven't already really gotten to know. Alec's love life becomes more of a focus, Valentine's intentions become more clear, we understand Jace's lineage a whole lot better, Luke and Jocelyn's relationship is defined. In this book all of the things you're waiting to figure out get figured out. It really is the perfect end to the trilogy.
- Clary really comes into her own in this one. She stops being so darn whiny and really becomes the heroine we've been waiting to see.
- Sibling sleepovers. I get it, that's weird. It's also so totally right!
What I didn't love:
- If this is the perfect end to a trilogy, why am I starting Book 4?! Though, I'm glad their story isn't over, I wonder how far extended this thing will go. There's a prequel trilogy as well as a post-trilogy?
- I missed laughing in this one. One great thing about City of Bones was that the dialogue really kept things light and humorous, but there wasn't a whole lot of that in this one.
- Again with repeating phrases! I get that it is a long book, but it's not that long!
I'd still give it a solid 4/5! Check this one out here.
YAY! I'm so glad you're speeding through this series Ashley--it's addictive, isn't it? Ugh! I hate the Seelie Queen, but I agree that we have to give her cudos for bringing on the romance in City of Ashes. And what a scene!!!
ReplyDeleteIn regards to what you mentioned in the beginning of your post, I know what you mean. It's really difficult to tell if people are really reading what you write and if they're actually interested. I think you just have to give people the benefit of the doubt. With blogging (I've found) it's really easy to make some great friends who generally care what you thought of certain books. They're the ones you can rely on to generally care what you think :)
Happy reading,
Rachel @ The Rest Is Still Unwritten
Great reviews! I absolutely love Magnus Bane, he's possibly my favourite character in the entire series! There's a scene I love in City of Ashes (I think) where he has his hair in a towel, sees Alec and panics. And you're gonna hate the end to book 4 and wish you had book 5 right away!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd completely recommend the prequel series, The Infernal Devices. They're set in Victorian England (you'll recognise some names) and they're absolutely brilliant, easily as good as the TMI series.
I'm glad you thought City of ashes and City of Glass were better than City of Bones! I backed off after the first chapter since it didn't seem particularly interesting, but I did like the Mortal Instruments (I see that you got a copy of Clockwork Angel-it is SO good!)
ReplyDeleteI love how your reviews are so short and sweet. They're great!
Great series! I love Cassandra Clare! New follower :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome review!! I love this series :)
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone! I just finished City of Bones in December and haven't gotten around to ordering the next one. My boyfriend will probably like City of Ashes more too, he loved Simon in the first but I just couldn't connect to him either. I love it when books later in a series focus more on other characters, I think it gives the whole story more depth.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear the next couple books are so great. :)
I absolutely love these books, and can't wait for the movie! However, I don't think she should have included the 4th book - City of Fallen Angels - in the Mortal Instruments series, she could have used a different main character and made a whole new series! Preferably, I love the Infernal Device series slightly more!
ReplyDeleteI'm your newest follower, stumbled upon your blog via Book Blogs! Can't wait to read more :)
Hi
ReplyDeleteFirst off I must say that I love your purple glitter...
Then... yes, I agree about the blog hounds. I admit that I join a lot of blogs to get followers, but I acknowledge that this is really stupid. While high numbers look god, it is people interested enough to actually READ your blog AND to come back to it that matters. I always look for a "please email me' button on blogs I like so I can get the regular post sent to me on blogs I like. I missed it on your page. Now down to your review of the Cassandra Claire books. I wish I had loved them as much as everyone else did. I loved the City of Glass book, but HATED the City of Fallen Angels. Agree that the series should have stopped at a Trilogy. Just my thoughts.
Gwynneth White
http://todayinshenaya.blogspot.com