The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - 4 stars

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
4 stars

I'm not one to usually read anything from this genre. I tend to stick more to fantasy. This book caught my attention because I saw the previews for the movie and I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie. I finally got to the book and then finally got to the movie. 

This book was wonderfully written. Chbosky did a wonderful job. It's a quick read but I liked the format. It's better than a diary. It reminds me a little of Go Ask Alice. Instead of a diary he is writing letters to a friend. These letters narrate his year as a freshman. 

There is something definitely wrong with Charlie. It's just in the way he writes and explains things. He even has a history with being in a hospital. In the beginning he is very lonely. His friend from middle school committed suicide and so he starts off as the quiet kid. His teacher notices this and gives him books to read and asks him to write about it. Charlie finds a friend in his teacher, a kind of mentor. Charlie doesn't relate to his family and he talks about his aunt Helen a lot. His sister gets into a relationship with a guy who gives her a bunch of mixed tapes. He falls in love with one song...Asleep. I keep meaning to listen to it. 

Eventually Charlie meets Patrick and Sam and becomes their friend. Patrick is gay and in a secret relationship with the star of the football team. Charlie obviously gets feelings for Sam but she doesn't see him that way. They're seniors and, although he is a freshman, he is still one of their group. 

Many things happen through the year. Things are revealed and the truth that was hinted at becomes known. Charlie is a called wallflower because he sees everything. He notices everything that other's don't see. I thought the ending was great. Overall I recommend this book. It's a great read and I really enjoyed it.

Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh - 5 stars

Archangel's Kiss (#2) by Nalini Singh
5 stars


This story starts out a couple days after Elena wakes up from her year long coma. I do love the description of her wings. Honestly, her wings and Ilium's wings are the two I am most jealous of. Elena is "an immortal with a mortal heart." She suddenly finds herself thrust into the cruel world of angels and has to deal with all the politics because she's the lover to an archangel. We have the threat of Lijuan and her reborn. Then we have someone who is going around, threatening the maiming and killing people to prove that he/she is powerful enough to become an archangel. 

One of the things I did love was the child angel aspects. They are so innocent and little Sam makes me smile every time he is in a scene. Children are so cherished and when Sam is almost killed, it's a huge crime that is punishable by death.

We learn more about Elena's past as her childhood memories she had locked away begin to surface. Her history and Raphael's history are really interesting and I'm glad Singh was able to include it to help build the characters' story arch. 

While I enjoyed this book, I think I liked Angels' Blood more. I'm not sure what it is but that's okay. Singh has a way with words when it comes to describing things. I find myself getting sucked in. I love when authors can literally paint their world right before your eyes. It allows you to get deeper into the story. 

There is still a lot of enmity between Elena and the Seven except for Ilium. He has a fascination with mortals. Poor thing. Sometimes I find this annoying but I understand the reasons behind it. Elena is a weakness to their sire and they are willing to put their lives on the line to protect him, even from himself.

Singh does a great job immersing us in the horrors of what being an immortal truly means. But in the end, we still have the love between Elena and Raphael.

Next: Archangel's Consort.

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh - 5 stars

Angels' Blood (#1) by Nalini Singh
5 stars

I really do love this book. It's probably my favorite out of the series so far. I just reread this book and absolutely loved it again. I just read a horrible review of it and could not disagree more. I love this book. Unfortunately, the summary of the next book gives away the ending. So if you want to be surprised, don't read the summary for Archangel's Kiss. 

Elena's world is set in basically an alternate universe. Archangels and angels rule the world. They create vampires because of a super secret reason. Humans still have their governments and people to rule the humans but it is basically a farce. Humans really are nothing compared to the angels and the vampires. 

Elena is the bad ass heroine who reminds me of Kate Daniels by Ilona Andrews. Elena is a Guild Hunter and also hunter-born. When vampires are made, they choose to fall under 100 years of service to their angel. When the vampires decide renege on this contract, the angels hire the Guild who is dispatched to find said vampire.  There is a lot of violence in the field and can be extremely dangerous. Because Elena is hunter-born, she can track vampires by scent and she is much stronger and faster than the average human. 

However, only certain people can become vampires. Elena is hunter-born. She can track vampires by scent. Her natural abilities makes her stronger and faster and highly talented for her career choice. It's because of her ability that Raphael, the Archangel of New York, wants her to track down an archangel, a job that will certainly get her killed. 

Elena has a horrible past that likes to pop up and torture her. Her father disowned her because she is hunter-born. She and her father haven't talked for 10 years and her sister doesn't really talk to her much either. Elena's friends become her family instead. I like the relationship between Elena and Sarah. Ransom cracks me up. Singh did a great job with the supporting characters.

Basically....read this freaking book. 

After reading all the titles from the rest of the series, this book should have been titled Archangel's Blood. It would have been so much better. 

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - 5 stars

Book 3 in The Infernal Devices Trilogy

Clockwork Princess (#3) by Cassandra Clare
5 stars

Cassandra Clare is a fantastic writer. She makes the world and the characters come alive. You fall in love with them and you become so investing in their lives. Every single character is well thought out. I love that. I love it when a writing can suck you into a world and make you have physical and emotional reactions. 

This was a wonderful ending to the trilogy. Out of the three, Princess is my favorite. After the end of Prince, I was sure there was no possible way for them to Tessa, Jem, and Will to have a happy ending. Then I got Princess and opened the dust jacket. Clare provided us with a family tree of the Carstairs, Herondales, and Lightwoods. That sent me into a spiral of questions that only the book could answer. 

In City of Lost Souls, there is a Silent Brother who didn't seem like the others. I honestly thought it was Will.  There were some hints in Fallen Angels and Lost Souls that reference this trilogy. I love that. We also find out how the Herondales have the birthmark on their body.

This book put me on an emotional roller coaster. The ending was absolutely fantastic. It was perfect. I did feel very sad for Tessa because she will live forever unless she is killed while those around her age and die. Thankfully she has Magnus. I love that he is in the trilogy as well. 

Overall this was book was amazing. I love it. 

This is the family tree that was included in the book jacket. 

http://shadowhunters.wikia.com/wiki/Extras

EDIT:

While I still enjoyed this book and this series, I find that my opinions towards the entire Shadowhunter world have change. Things about this author have come to light that has put a shadow on my enjoyment. It's disappointing when that happens and it's unfortunately that my views change because of these factors.

Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey - 3.5 stars

Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey
3.5 stars

When I was reading this I kept getting mixed feelings. I honestly didn't know why I kept reading it but I did and in the end I found myself really liking it. It's one of those stories that makes you think even after you've finished, wanting to continue on with the characters even though it seems like everything is resolved in the end. 

I think why it has so many bad reviews is the writing. It's not well written sometimes. However, I really enjoyed the overall plot. It was a little weird at times because we have a mix of fantasy and reality. Everyone is Christian and they pray to saints and they kill those accused of witchcraft. But there are also dragon's and a prophecy. I found myself getting extremely annoyed with Rose's mother but I think that was how it was supposed to be. There were many deaths and many sad moments but it added to the story. 

Overall I ended up enjoying it and I'm glad that I picked it up to read. It's probably not something that I will reread like I often do but it is one that I think will stick in my memory.