City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments Book 4) by Cassandra Clare

I have been putting off my review of CoFA because how do you write a review that is good enough for a book so involved?!  But it has to be done so I hope I can do it justice.  City of Fallen Angels is the fourth book in the Mortal Instruments Series and the first book in the second series within the Mortal Instruments Series.  In CoFA, we mainly follow Simon as he continues to become accustomed to life as a vampire.  We see him trying to continue living with his mother, dating both Isabelle and Maia and Simon gets his first real taste of downworlder politics.  It's not all about Simon though as we meet two new characters and get to see more from the other members of Millennium Lint (or whatever their band is called this week).

Simon isn't the only one with issues in CoFA.  Something is going on with Jace that makes him distance himself from Clary to shadow Simon- which is both fun and weird.  Jace and Simon hanging out together is odd.  But really fun to watch as well.  Of course, Clary doesn't handle Jace's behavior well.  He pulls away and she chases him.  You know, typical Cassandra Clare stuff!  There are a lot of revelations in this one and the non stop action will have you reeling.  I loved the moment near the end when Magnus and Alec are called home from their trip.  Magnus puts a certain creeper from his past in her place and even though Alec is feeling all kinds of inadequate, the feelings that Magnus puts out there really grab you.  He loves Alec and while he doesn't remember/understand how it feels for Alec to be so young and to know that Magnus will outlive him and possibly love others, you really get the feeling that this time around if different for Magnus.  He loves Alec and is thankful for whatever time they have together.  If anything, his love for Alec brings home to Magnus just how tired of this whole living forever thing he is!  Love those two.  The ending will completely blow your mind, in typical Cassandra Clare fashion.  While we learned a lot about the different characters, their past actions and their current situations in CoFA, when all is said and done, we're left with more questions than answers and now we're all chomping at the bit for City of Lost Souls.

I really hope you give this book a try if you haven't already.  I will warn you that there are a few disturbing scenes (for moms and some sensitive readers).  There are some sexual shenanigans and of course some shadowhunter fight scenes.  I would suggest this one for older teens and above- just to be safe.  The next Mortal Instruments book will be out in 2012 and Clockwork Prince will be out later this year.  I know I am waiting more than impatiently for the cover release for Clockwork Prince.

City of Fallen Angels earns 4 Fairies for a good continuation of the Mortal Instruments series.

Amazing Mortal Instruments Giveaways!

Wicked Awesome Books is giving away an entire four book set of the Mortal Instruments Series- wait for it- SIGNED by Cassandra Clare herself!  I know, right!?  So, head on over there RIGHT NOW to enter the giveaway!  It is super easy and you could win an amazing prize!! The giveaway ends April 19th so HURRY!!

Over on Paperback Dolls, you can enter to win a handmade Stele Pen from Hebel Designs.  My husband and I have her shadowhunter wedding rings and the Mizpah rings.  EVERYTHING Viviane makes is AMAZING!! Paperback Dolls is also throwing in a copy of City of Fallen Angels!! This giveaway ends April 22nd! 

Lucky Leprechaun WinnerS?!

I had a HUGE turn out for my COFA Preorder Giveaway as part of the Lucky Leprechaun Hop!! Thanks so much everyone!! A little leprechaun told me to draw a second prize winner for another prize and I did!  So we have two winners!!!

The City of Fallen Angels winner is: loveangel132 !!! I have emailed her and she has 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.  If you are a Mortal Instruments Fan, head over to Cassandra Clare's Blog and do the Hunt for DSAS.  It is a simple hunt through the blogs of YA Authors to get the password to unlock the scene that the publisher edited out of the City of Fallen Angels book trailers as too hot too handle!!! 

My second winner is: Deitre!!! She wins a signed The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting Bookplate, signed bookmarks and some stickers!!!


The winners have 48 hours to reply before another winner is chosen.  The next giveaway will be part of the Fool For Books Hop on April 1-2 and I will be Celebrating the Weasley Twins' Birthday!!!!

Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to my Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway as part of the Hop hosted by my good friends at Books Complete Me and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.  The giveaway begins at 12:01 on March 17th and ends at 11:59 on March 20th.  I am giving away a preorder for City of Fallen Angels, the next Mortal Instruments book from Cassandra Clare from the Book Depository.  Check out the first book trailer for City of Fallen Angels- it is EPIC!  I love what VLC Productions put together and there are going to be MORE trailers released before the release of City of Fallen Angels!! YAY!

If the Book Depository ships to where you live- YOU CAN ENTER!  Just be aware that your book will not ship until the release date for your country (April 5 in the US).  I have added a few ways to get extra entries this time around so those of you who are into that- there you go!  Now for my rules (sorry but they're neccesary).

You MUST be a follower through Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs.  If you follow with both, you'll get an extra point.

To Earn Extra Points:

•  Follow me on Twitter
• Tweet the giveaway
• Post the giveaway on Facebook
• Post the Giveaway Link on your Sidebar

The extra points are not required, they are just available to those who don't mind doing the extra work.  The only requirements are that you are over 13 years of age and you follow my blog.  I will be emailing the winner on the 21st and the winner will have 48 hours to respond before I pick a new winner.  Now, Here is the FORM to fill out.  NO ENTRIES IN THE COMMENTS PLEASE!  THEY WILL NOT COUNT! 


Thanks for entering now feel free to hop on down the list!  Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Hopping!!

Cassandra Clare Week Day 2: City of Ashes

Welcome to Day Two of Cassandra Clare Week!! Let's start Day 2 with some links. You can follow Cassandra Clare on Twitter HERE. You really should. I love reading her tweets while I work on the computer in the evenings. She is SO funny and SO nice. Sometimes, she even slips us a little sneak peak into up coming books and she answers questions. (Over the weekend she was tweeting pictures from the shoot for the City of Fallen Angels book trailer!) But make sure you check out her WEBSITE first and read the Frequently Asked Questions Section, it'll save you (and her) some time. If you're like me and -EEK!- over 21, you should check out Mundie Moms. The girls who run it are great and it's a wonderful place to find LOTS of information, including FORUMS. Miss Clare also has a blog HERE. Whew!! There are more sites out there but this will give you a jumping off point to explore the world of The Mortal Instruments.

Today I'll be reviewing book 2 of the Mortal Instruments Series: City of Ashes. First, the cover: how beautiful is Clary on this cover?! In City of Ashes, Clary continues to work towards saving her mother now that she knows what she is and why she can see the hidden world of the Shadowhunters. Over the course of the story, we see Clary working with her new Shadowhunter friends (and Simon!) to find a cure for her mom and to stop her dad from killing Downworlders for a sick ritual. The group goes into the Faerie Realm, destroys a ship and Simon becomes a part of the hidden world of Downworlders and Shadowhunters. We learn new things about Jace and Clary and their abilities, too.

This book has some GREAT scenes. We learn more about Alec and Magnus. Magnus has some really good lines and he shows himself to be a good person, even if he is a Downworlder. Simon goes through a pretty traumatic situation and Clary tries her best to be a good friend to him, through it all. There is a crazy fight scene on a boat, an attempted jail break, an actual jail break, awesome Runes, and lots of werewolves. I really love Alec and Magnus- it's just an interesting idea, a 20 year old Shadowhunter and an 800-ish year old Warlock. Magnus has seen so much and Alec so little but somehow... it works. I also like that Simon gets more play in this book over City of Bones. I get that Clary isn't into him like a boyfriend but Simon can now be a part of this world that Clary inhabits- whether he likes it or not. But at least they don't have to completely lose one another. I also appreciated seeing some more from Isabelle. She is bad-ass. Truly. All around, this book is a great continuation of the story that began in City of Bones. Again, I highly recommend it. Now for some of my favorite passages from the book:

"I've got a stele we can use. Who wants to do me?"

- Jace

A pair of werewolves occupied another booth. They were eating raw shanks of lamb and arguing about who would win in a fight: Dumbledore from the Harry Potter Books or Magnus Bane.

"Dumbledore would totally win," said the first one. "He has the badass Killing Curse."

The second lycanthrope made a trenchant point. "But Dumbledore isn't real."

"I don't think Magnus Bane is real either," scoffed the first. "Have you ever met him?"

Isabelle looked dubious. "Mom and Dad won't be pleased if they find out."

"That you freed a possible criminal by trading away your brother to a warlock who looks like a gay Sonic the Hedgehog and dresses like the Child Snatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?" Simon Inquired. "No, probably not."

See? This book's awesomeness speaks for itself. Tomorrow we'll have my favorite book of the three, City of Glass. Make sure you come back on Friday for a chance to win City of Bones!!

City of Ashes earns 5 Fairies.

Cassandra Clare Week Day 1: City of Bones

This week is going to be Cassandra Clare Week in honor of my first Giveaway and first Blog Hop on Friday. Can you guess what I am giving away?! A beautiful, brand spanking new copy of the first of the Mortal Instruments books: City of Bones. I have heard rumors that there are still people in this world who have not read these books. I know, the horror!! So, all this week I will be reviewing the Mortal Instruments Series and the first book in the Infernal Devices Series, Clockwork Angel. All of it will lead up to the giveaway of City of Bones during I'm a Reader Not a Writer's Dreaming of Books Giveaway Hop that runs from The 14th to the 17th. Entering to win will be totally painless, I promise! Now on to the book!




First off, let's appreciate the cover. No picture can do it justice. In person the cover is all metallic and beautiful. The boy on the cover is Jace, one of the main characters in the books. (Not my favorite but still beautiful to look at, right?!) The world of the Mortal Instruments is a really rich and vibrant world which happens to be a lot like ours... just with Shadowhunters, vampires, werewolves, warlocks and demons that we Mundanes can't see. The City of Bones begins in New York City as we meet Clary Fray and her friend Simon at a club where she thinks she stumbles across a murder. Except that further investigation shows only a cocky blonde boy (Jace) and no sign of an attack or even a corpse. Clary and Jace bump into each other again while Clary is out with Simon. She finds that only she can see the strange things going on around her, Simon, at first, doesn't see them. She wonders why that is and what Jace has to do with it. Jace leads Clary into the world of the Shadowhunters, warriors with angel blood who fight demons and keep the Downworlders under control, which is hidden right under our noses. We meet Alec, Jace's parabatai (fighting partner) who is not Clary's biggest fan. Alec's younger sister Isabelle, who is underage but SERIOUSLY lethal. Of course, Miss Clare also introduces us to the magnificent Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. He is honestly my favorite character.




City of Bones is a great first book. It is pretty fast paced and interesting. All of the main characters are brought into the story at a good pace and you don't have to trudge through tedious pages of set up, you're just dumped right into the action. And of course, we have tons of hilarious lines in the book to make it fun and light, even in the darker parts of the story. Over the course of the book, we see Clary learn the truth about who and what she is. Why she can see what other Mundies can not and what her mother has to do with it all. Clary is a good female lead character because she feels like any girl. Any one could see themselves in Clary's shoes. I also love about this book series that even though it is written from a girl's point of view, boys are still interested and can read the books easily. My husband read the books after I did and he loves them just as much as I did. The world of the Mortal Instruments is so unique and vibrant that this doesn't feel like just another YA Paranormal book. It feels like something completely new and different and it sucks you in from the start. I gave a set of the MI books to my sister in law for Christmas and I recommend them to everyone looking for something new to read. Now I think I'll leave you with what may be one of my favorite quotes from City of Bones:

"The meek may inherit the Earth, but at the moment it belongs to the conceited. Like me."

- Jace

Stay tuned for more Cassandra Clare Week tomorrow and please come back for the giveaway on Friday!!

City of Bones earns 5 Fairies.