Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Summary (via the author's website):  "When 16-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld,where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa’s power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm’s length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all."

Review: So here it is... it took me forever to finally read it, but once I got into it, it only took about two days. So hooray!

Can I talk about Will for a minute? Here is the actual "Bad Boy." Jace is not really a bad boy, he only pretends to be. He's sarcastic and impertinent and stuff, but when it comes down to it he's nice to the people around him, loyal, and a genuinely good person. Will, on the other hand, is rude and sarcastic too, but when it comes down to it he has a lot of psychological damage and he's not very nice to people. Ever. I'm proud of Ms. Clare, because so many people create these characters they say are "bad" who are actually just Jaces... teddy bears on the inside. But Will is an actual jerk. So, you know, props. Also, if you couldn't tell, I'm on Team Jem. But I reserve the right to change my mind when I read the next book(s) in the trilogy.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, i-own-it, is-this-a-kissing-book, pretentious

Rating:

New Awards

I've won a couple awards in the last few weeks!

Thanks to Missy at Missy's Reads & Reviews and Jennifer at Book Noise for the One Lovely Blog award!

Here are the rules:
1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers that you have newly discovered.

3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they've been chosen.

And thanks to Tina at Book Couture for the Life is Good award!

Here are the rules:
1. Thank and link back to the person that gave this award.
2. Answer the 10 survey questions.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic.
4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked to let them know about the award.

Here are the questions:
1. If you blog anonymously are you happy doing it that way; if you are not anonymous do you wish you had started out anonymously so you could be anonymous now?
I'm semi-anonymous; if you were intent on finding me, you could, but it's not super easy... question mark? I'm happy with the way it is, though. :)

2. Describe one incident that shows your inner stubborn side:

Um... I dunno! Maybe one time I insisted on where to eat dinner?

3. What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?

Hm... blond hair, hazel eyes, and a nose I'll probably never like. lol

4. What is your favourite summer cold drink?

There's this Korean drink called Milkus... it's pretty much carbonated milk. It sounds gross, but it's actually very tasty.

5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?

 I watch TV, especially "guilty pleasure" shows like Buffy.

6. Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life? What is it?

 Of course! What good would life be if there weren't anything I wanted to accomplish?? Right now I'm working on getting a job... some time in the future I want to start a family.

7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever , the shy person, or always ditching?
I was the smart one, I admit it. Also, my senior year I took a bunch of classes that didn't involve much academia, so my teachers didn't care if I left. That was nice. :)

8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment of your life what would you see?

Hm... probably my wedding day.

9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?
I guess I'm more comfortable talking about other things (you know, like books and stuff...) because I don't know if people care about my personal life. I think there's an important balance to strike between talking about my life and talking about books, and I think I'm a little skewed towards the book side. I'll try to work on that, eh?

10. If you had the choice to sit down and read or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?

That depends on who was on the phone! I wouldn't hang up on someone just to read, but if I had the choice between reading and just calling some random friend for the heck of it, I'd probably read.

I'm afraid I'm going to cop out in the "passing these along" category and give them to everyone! Feel free to take these and pass them on! :)

The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart

Summary: "Ruby is back at Tate Prep, and it’s her thirty-seventh week in the state of Noboyfriend. Her panic attacks are bad, her love life is even worse, and what’s more: Noel is writing her notes, Jackson is giving her frogs, Gideon is helping her cook, and Finn is making her brownies. Rumors are flying, and Ruby’s already-sucky reputation is heading downhill.

Not only that, she’s also: running a bake sale, learning the secrets of heavymetal therapy, encountering some seriously smelly feet, defending the rights of pygmy goats, and body-guarding Noel from unwanted advances.

In this companion novel to The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book, Ruby struggles to secure some sort of mental health, to understand what constitutes a real friendship, and to find true love—if such a thing exists."

Review: I think I'm having a hard time reviewing this one because I read all three of them right in a row. I feel like pretty much everything I have to say here has already been said, but I'll give it a try.

So. I like Ruby's movie lists in her footnotes. I especially like when she's illustrating something that never happens in the movies: "Movies where [something that has happened to her/might happen]: none." In fact, now that I think of it, I like all of her footnotes. Even though a lot of the ones give definitions that I already know, which I'm going to pretentiously attribute to the fact that I'm a college graduate reading books aimed at high school students.

I like seeing Ruby's growth. She goes from the girl who kisses her best friend's boyfriend at a dance to someone who can say no to boys, stand up to her friends, and objectively admit that the people she was once close to aren't actually very good friends at all. So hooray for character development!

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, thought-provoking, to-own

Rating:

The Boy Book by E. Lockhart

Summary: "Here is how things stand at the beginning of newly-licensed driver Ruby Oliver's junior year at Tate Prep:

 • Kim: Not speaking. But far away in Tokyo.
 • Cricket: Not speaking.
 • Nora: Speaking--sort of. Chatted a couple times this summer when they bumped into each other outside of school--once shopping in the U District, and once in the Elliot Bay Bookstore. But she hadn't called Ruby, or anything.
 • Noel: Didn't care what anyone thinks.
 • Meghan: Didn't have any other friends.
 • Dr. Z: Speaking.
 • And Jackson. The big one. Not speaking.

But, by Winter Break, a new job, an unlikely but satisfying friend combo, additional entries to The Boy Book and many difficult decisions help Ruby to see that there is, indeed, life outside the Tate Universe."

Review: I liked this one as well. Ruby is still awesome, and still doing her thing. I like that things with boys happen the way they do in real life: Sometimes it's not meant to be, and they start dating other girls, and that's ok.

I like Ruby's therapy sessions. Doctor Z is pretty cool, and I like reading about them and about mental health and stuff. (Can you tell that I like my reading to be slightly educational? Because I do.)

I'm frustrated by Ruby's friends sometimes. Like how Kim and Cricket won't let Ruby have a side to the story, and won't give her a chance to slip up and make mistakes sometimes. That's frustrating.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, thought-provoking, to-own

Rating: