Review: Clockwork Angel ~ Cassandra Clare

Image from Goodreads. Click on cover to read more about the book. 

Format I Used: Audiobook/Ebook/Physical Book
Pages: 479
Running Time: 14h:36m
My Rating: 5 stars
Publication Date: August 31, 2010

 

I've read this book about a zillion times, and I love it the same as always... My review has been up on Goodreads for ages, so I guess now I'll share it here too. My original review is down at the very bottom, my second set of thoughts in the middle, and the little bit that you're going to read first is my thoughts on who I want to see play specific characters (well, okay, just two lol) And as I'm looking through this, I am laughing because it's all so random and I love it.

 

I've always been pretty vocal about the fact that Adam Lambert is who I picture as Magnus Bane when I read the books

But now I've found my perfect Jem (Guan Hong/Darren Chen), thanks to me binge watching  Meteor Garden A La 2018... Then I also binge watched My Unicorn Girl, which he is also in, but that's another post entirely...)



Be still my beating heart.

*Neither picture is mine*


Review on 5-20-20

Some thoughts I had whilst listening to this again:

1. Jem Jem Jem Jem Jem Jem Jem Jem JEEEEEMmmmMMmmM

2. It's M A G N U S *Insert Heart Eyes*

3. I forgot how much I enjoy William Herondale and his adorable sarcastic self.

4. Bro. I can still quote parts of this book from heart.

5. It's my favorite immortal kitty cat Church.

6. Bleh. I forgot how annoying Jessamine is.

7. Ew. Nathaniel...

8. Sketchy Ducks...

9. D E M O N P O X!

Original Review:
I can't believe that Cassandra Clare has done it again! She's created a world that sucks you in and keeps you mesmerized. I found myself making character comparisons Jace and Will, Simon and Jem, Clary and Tessa, Jessamine and Isabelle. But for everything that was similar there was also something different.

There is definitely a love story going on, but there is no confusion about who is related to who. And it's done in more of a classical way (Keep in mind the time frame)

There are a lot of new characters that you get to meet, but then there are a few that we all already know and love (Magnus and Church for example.) For me, I read Clockwork Angel while I was re-reading The Mortal Instruments and was able to point out certain things that I hadn't noticed before.

I am already in love with this series, and am so sad that I have to wait so long for Clockwork Prince.

Review: Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Lord of Shadows
By Cassandra Clare
My Rating: 4 Stars

Hardcover, 699 pages

Published May 23rd 2017

 




Summary From Goodreads:

Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?

A Shadowhunter’s life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.

Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.

My Review:

Dear lord, I knew what was going to happen, because it was taking me forever to get through it and I needed to know, so I went in search of ALL THE SPOILERS. But dang, it still played with my heart. I like that we got to see so much more of Magnus and Alec in this one, because Magnus is my F A V O R I T E and I'm interested to see what's going to happen in the next book to wrap it all up.

I don't know why it took me so long to read this book. I had a hard time staying connected with the characters and staying focused on what was happening. I don't know if it's because I'm so much older than I was when the Shadow Hunter stories first came out, or if it was because I was listening to them instead of reading the physical book.

I do, however, love how strong the family bond is, with all the characters (as it is with all of Cassie Clare's books) They all love and support each other and will do whatever it takes to keep each other safe.  

Swoon-Worthy {Fictional} Guys From A-Z {J}

My Swoony Pick for the letter "J" is...

James "Jem" Carstairs

From The Infernal Devices

By Cassandra Clare

{I do not have any clue who this person is. I found this picture when I did a Google search of Jem Carstairs.}

Why?

Jem is really at the top of my Swoon Worthy Fictional Guys list, he really is. 

He's very sweet, and caring, but at the same time he could kick your a** without really having to think twice about it.

He plays the violin

He's so sweet. I said that once already, but it's worth repeating. He's the sweetest, most considerate and thoughtful guy EVER.

And, just, arrrgh, I can't really even articulate how awesome he is.

Some of my favorite Jem quotes are:

"Must you go? I was rather hoping you'd stay and be a ministering angel, but if you must go, you must."
"I'll stay," Will said a bit crossly, and threw himself down in the armchair Tessa had just vacated. "I can minister angelically."
"None too convincingly. And you're not as pretty to look at as Tessa is," Jem said, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the pillow.
"How rude. Many who have gazed upon me have compared the experience to gazing at the radiance of the sun."
Jem still had his eyes closed. "If they mean it gives you a headache, they aren't wrong.”

“So you don't ever get angry at him?"
Jem laughed out loud. "I would hardly say that. Sometimes I want to strangle him."
"How on earth do you prevent yourself?"
"I go to my favorite place in London," said Jem, "and I stand and look at the water, and I think about the continuity of life, and how the river rolls on, oblivious of the petty upsets in our lives."
Tessa was fascinated. "Does that work?"
"Not really, but after that I think about how I could kill him while he slept if I really wanted to, and then I feel better.”

“Jem seemed to look through her then, as if he were seeing something beyond her, beyond the corridor, beyond the Institute itself. "Whatever you are physically," he said, "male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside." He smiled them, seeming to have come back to himself, slightly embarrassed. "That's what I believe.” “Jem seemed to look through her then, as if he were seeing something beyond her, beyond the corridor, beyond the Institute itself. "Whatever you are physically," he said, "male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside." He smiled them, seeming to have come back to himself, slightly embarrassed. "That's what I believe.”

“She smiled at him. “How did you know just what I’d want to see?”
“How could I not?” he said. “When I think of you, and you are not there, I see you in my mind’s eye always with a book in your hand.” He looked away from her as he said it, but not before she caught the slight flush on his cheekbones. He was so pale, he could never hide even the least blush, she thought — and was surprised how affectionate the thought was.”

“Wo wei ni xie de,” he said, as he raised the violin to his left shoulder, tucking it under his chin. He had told her many violinists used a shoulder rest, but he did not: there was a slight mark on the side of his throat, like a permanent bruise, where the violin rested.
“You — made something for me?” Tessa asked.
“I wrote something for you,” he corrected, with a smile, and began to play.” 

“I can offer you my life, but it is a short life; I can offer you my heart, though I have no idea how many more beats it shall sustain”

“His eyes went soft and silver as she spoke. “Zhe shi jie shang, wo shi zui ai ne de,” he whispered.
She understood it. In all the world, you are what I love the most.” 

And really, there are soooooooo many more, but I'm going to stop there.

Do any of your favorite Swoon-Worthy boys have names that start with "J"? {First, last, or a nickname, it doesn't matter} If so, tell me in the comments below!!