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Kyera (8 KP) rated City of Heavenly Fire in Books
Jan 31, 2018
The conclusion to the Mortal Instruments was certainly a pleasing one. There is nothing worse than reading a great book or series, or perhaps watching a tv show that creates a multitude of story lines... And then fails to resolve them. It leaves the reader with a sense of dismay and confusion. What happened to my favourite character? Did the problem ever get resolved? No one likes that feeling.
Cassandra Clare did a wonderful job of making the reader feel like the series had all of its loose ends tied up. People found or lost their loves. Villains plotted and heroes fought. It was beautiful. (And incredibly long.) I never found myself drifting from the text, although I love long books, so I may be biased. Each change of scene held my attention and I was loathe to put the book down each night to go to sleep. While I am sure that there were some scenes or dialogue that could have been trimmed to improve the flow of the novel, I never found those things distracting to me as the reader.
I also praise Cassandra Clare for the way she writes her dialogue. The characters seem so much more realistic as a result. I find myself laughing at the jokes or smirking when Jace or Clary say something snarky/sarcastic. I'm left with lines or quotes that I absolutely love (and save to my goodreads quotes.)
SPOILERS:
I love Jace and Clary's relationship. They are supportive of one another, and I believe bring out the best in the other. But they are not perfect, which makes the coupling that much more authentic. You relate to Clary (unless you're a brunette bombshell, Izzy, or you know... Excessively hairy and prone to outbursts when the moon is full, Maia) because she is authentic. She has her selfish moments, times when she is incredibly strong and others when she's unbelievably stubborn. Jace is the guy you wish actually existed because he's strong, protective, and maybe, when he lets his guard down, just a little bit sensitive.
I'm just wondering one thing - why did Jace expect to have sex (for the first time, mind you) with Clary in the demon dimension? The one they expected to die in. Boys.
Izzy and Simon? Well they don't make as much sense, but are still cute together in their own way. Simon is generally the perfect sidekick. The best friend you always wanted and sometimes the one you never knew you needed. Izzy is the female archetype that you should live up to - tough, courageous, and loyal.
Cassandra Clare did a wonderful job of making the reader feel like the series had all of its loose ends tied up. People found or lost their loves. Villains plotted and heroes fought. It was beautiful. (And incredibly long.) I never found myself drifting from the text, although I love long books, so I may be biased. Each change of scene held my attention and I was loathe to put the book down each night to go to sleep. While I am sure that there were some scenes or dialogue that could have been trimmed to improve the flow of the novel, I never found those things distracting to me as the reader.
I also praise Cassandra Clare for the way she writes her dialogue. The characters seem so much more realistic as a result. I find myself laughing at the jokes or smirking when Jace or Clary say something snarky/sarcastic. I'm left with lines or quotes that I absolutely love (and save to my goodreads quotes.)
SPOILERS:
I love Jace and Clary's relationship. They are supportive of one another, and I believe bring out the best in the other. But they are not perfect, which makes the coupling that much more authentic. You relate to Clary (unless you're a brunette bombshell, Izzy, or you know... Excessively hairy and prone to outbursts when the moon is full, Maia) because she is authentic. She has her selfish moments, times when she is incredibly strong and others when she's unbelievably stubborn. Jace is the guy you wish actually existed because he's strong, protective, and maybe, when he lets his guard down, just a little bit sensitive.
I'm just wondering one thing - why did Jace expect to have sex (for the first time, mind you) with Clary in the demon dimension? The one they expected to die in. Boys.
Izzy and Simon? Well they don't make as much sense, but are still cute together in their own way. Simon is generally the perfect sidekick. The best friend you always wanted and sometimes the one you never knew you needed. Izzy is the female archetype that you should live up to - tough, courageous, and loyal.
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
7.2
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While visiting the grave of his deceased wife, Tracy, James Bond is called back to MI6 headquarters....
Merissa (11805 KP) created a post
Jun 25, 2021
Daimon (Guardians of Hades #6)
10.0
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Daimon is ice. His heart is frozen by it. His body caged by it. And he likes it that way. But the...
Paranormal Romance
The Flight Attendant
8.0
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Cassandra Bowden is no stranger to hungover mornings. She's a binge drinker, her job with the...
fiction mystery thriller
Merissa (11805 KP) rated The Madness of Lord Westfall (The Order of the MUSE #2) in Books
Apr 16, 2023
I loved the first Order of the M.U.S.E. book and was looking forward to this one. Pierce Westfall is an intriguing character - tormented by the voices he can't control. Nora is an aristocrat who fell from the graces of her family when she married for love. Together these two are central to a plot to use Truth Powder on the Prince and restart a war.
This is a smoothly-written, well-rounded historical romance with paranormal aspects. I love all the characters and thoroughly enjoyed the banter between Stanstead and Westfall. I also enjoyed catching up with Lady Cassandra, as she continues her life with Stanstead. This is such a brilliant set of characters, I would be hard-pressed to say which one is my favourite.
The descriptions of Bedlam were horrible, but I'm sure nowhere near as bad as they could have been. Well done to Mia for capturing the essence of Bedlam, without it overpowering the storyline. A brilliant addition to the M.U.S.E. series - highly recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 23, 2015
This is a smoothly-written, well-rounded historical romance with paranormal aspects. I love all the characters and thoroughly enjoyed the banter between Stanstead and Westfall. I also enjoyed catching up with Lady Cassandra, as she continues her life with Stanstead. This is such a brilliant set of characters, I would be hard-pressed to say which one is my favourite.
The descriptions of Bedlam were horrible, but I'm sure nowhere near as bad as they could have been. Well done to Mia for capturing the essence of Bedlam, without it overpowering the storyline. A brilliant addition to the M.U.S.E. series - highly recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 23, 2015
Uptown Oracle (24 KP) rated Clockwork Angel in Books
Jun 30, 2017
Clare exceeds expectations with Clockwork Angel
Clockwork Angel is the first in a trilogy of books. This series is a prequel to The Mortal Instruments, also written by Cassandra Clare. Tessa traveled to London to live with her brother, when he appears missing she is captured. Saved by Will, Tessa lives within the institute with the Shadowhunters helping to find Nate, whilst also finding out what the Magister's evil plan is.
I've heard so many times that The Infernal Devices is so much better than the Mortal Instruments. In comparison I can definitely agree the writing and overall plot is improved. The main issue I had was that in some cases, it was too similar to The Mortal Instruments. My instant thought was Will was similar to Jace although I'm unsure if this was intentional or not. The love triangle was also reminiscent of Clare's previous work.
I enjoyed that Clockwork Angel was set in London rather than New York. I was getting fairly bored of being focused on New York so this gave us a chance to see a new institute. The different location and different time means the institute is extremely different to the one in TMI.
The big question of who is the Magister? in the first chapter was important in the book. I found it both predictable and unpredictable. If Pretty Little Liars has told me anything, if a character claims it's one person, it's probably not them. I was however surprised of who it actually was. So well played, Cassandra Clare.
One of the big improvements is that the adults actually take action. In TMI, there were so many times the teenagers acted purely because the adults weren't doing anything. I was so tired of the adults being incompetent that Charlotte and Henry were a welcome surprise. They also really tried to help Tessa find Nate immediately. There weren't multiple meetings with the Clave before they could do anything.
Clockwork Angel seemed to pick up a lot quicker than TMI and kept pace. The fighting scenes were written better. Less filler content was needed as we already know the world. Although there was a love triangle, a lot less content was put towards building on it. It seemed a lot more like a fantasy than a romance.
Please don't comment any spoilers as I haven't finished the other books yet. But I had a weird thought about Tessa's name being Gray. As the dark sisters are called Black and Dark, does the inclusion of the name Gray fit there? Is this an insight into who she will become? Or who she 'could' become if she is a bad guy? I just thought it was odd to use a name so similar.
I've heard so many times that The Infernal Devices is so much better than the Mortal Instruments. In comparison I can definitely agree the writing and overall plot is improved. The main issue I had was that in some cases, it was too similar to The Mortal Instruments. My instant thought was Will was similar to Jace although I'm unsure if this was intentional or not. The love triangle was also reminiscent of Clare's previous work.
I enjoyed that Clockwork Angel was set in London rather than New York. I was getting fairly bored of being focused on New York so this gave us a chance to see a new institute. The different location and different time means the institute is extremely different to the one in TMI.
The big question of who is the Magister? in the first chapter was important in the book. I found it both predictable and unpredictable. If Pretty Little Liars has told me anything, if a character claims it's one person, it's probably not them. I was however surprised of who it actually was. So well played, Cassandra Clare.
One of the big improvements is that the adults actually take action. In TMI, there were so many times the teenagers acted purely because the adults weren't doing anything. I was so tired of the adults being incompetent that Charlotte and Henry were a welcome surprise. They also really tried to help Tessa find Nate immediately. There weren't multiple meetings with the Clave before they could do anything.
Clockwork Angel seemed to pick up a lot quicker than TMI and kept pace. The fighting scenes were written better. Less filler content was needed as we already know the world. Although there was a love triangle, a lot less content was put towards building on it. It seemed a lot more like a fantasy than a romance.
Please don't comment any spoilers as I haven't finished the other books yet. But I had a weird thought about Tessa's name being Gray. As the dark sisters are called Black and Dark, does the inclusion of the name Gray fit there? Is this an insight into who she will become? Or who she 'could' become if she is a bad guy? I just thought it was odd to use a name so similar.
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988) in Movies
Oct 27, 2019
Horror movie hostess Elvira dreams of hosting a show in Vegas. When she receives saying that her Great Aunt had died she thinks her dreams have come true. Once she arrives at Fallwell, Massachusetts for the reading of the will she finds that things won’t be as easy as she had hoped. As the town turns against her and family secrets are uncovered Elvira needs to find a way to stop her great Uncles plan.
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark brings a backstory to Cassandra Pearson's character Elvira, gothic late night horror hostess. The film starts during one of Elvira’s shows when she receives a telegram telling her to go the reading of a will for a dead relative and, in the events that follow she finds out that she really is a witch.
Elvira is odd in the fact that it is almost in the style of an 80’s teen movie but it isn’t quite one. There are a few teens in the cast but the film does focus on Elvira and other people in the town.
Elvira, Mistress of the dark is rated 15 and is a comedy with a couple of scenes of peril and one jump scare. A lot of the humour focuses on Elvira’s rather ample bosom but in a quite tasteful way, it’s not a ‘Sex comedy’.
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark brings a backstory to Cassandra Pearson's character Elvira, gothic late night horror hostess. The film starts during one of Elvira’s shows when she receives a telegram telling her to go the reading of a will for a dead relative and, in the events that follow she finds out that she really is a witch.
Elvira is odd in the fact that it is almost in the style of an 80’s teen movie but it isn’t quite one. There are a few teens in the cast but the film does focus on Elvira and other people in the town.
Elvira, Mistress of the dark is rated 15 and is a comedy with a couple of scenes of peril and one jump scare. A lot of the humour focuses on Elvira’s rather ample bosom but in a quite tasteful way, it’s not a ‘Sex comedy’.
Natari (73 KP) rated Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, #1) in Books
Jul 19, 2019
This is the first novel by my all time favourite author. I remember the first time I read Touch the Dark, and each reread has been as thrilling as the last. The pages couldn't be easier to turn if they turned themselves, the Cassandra Palmer and same-world differnet heroine Dorina Basarab series keep me hooked cover to cover, book to book. I recommend Karen Chance to anyone and everyone, including all the fun, lighthearted but sexy novellas and short stories too.
What I love most about Touch the Dark is that Cassie is genuine. She has no clue about anything, understands she is just a human in a vampire and mage world, but is still plucky and doesn't let herself stay down no matter how hard she gets pushed.
This was the first ever adult paranormal romance I had read, and it opened me up to the genre. But I have never found another series that is as sexy and not-awkward with both romance (genuine relationship building) and the steamy scenes.
Balance between romance and action and world building is perfect. It is a first in a series, so be aware of that. Committing to Cassie's story is the best decision you will ever make.
Enjoy the book, fall in love with the series.
What I love most about Touch the Dark is that Cassie is genuine. She has no clue about anything, understands she is just a human in a vampire and mage world, but is still plucky and doesn't let herself stay down no matter how hard she gets pushed.
This was the first ever adult paranormal romance I had read, and it opened me up to the genre. But I have never found another series that is as sexy and not-awkward with both romance (genuine relationship building) and the steamy scenes.
Balance between romance and action and world building is perfect. It is a first in a series, so be aware of that. Committing to Cassie's story is the best decision you will ever make.
Enjoy the book, fall in love with the series.
Queen of Air and Darkness: The Dark Artifices
9.4
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Dark secrets and forbidden love threaten the very survival of the Shadowhunters in Cassandra...
fiction young adult