Spoiler-Free Review of "City of Fallen Angels" by Cassie Clare

From Goodreads: "City of Fallen Angels is the fourth book in the bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.”

When I first opened my package this afternoon and held the book in my hands my first thought was "It's so small!" and I was kinda disappointed because less book= less Jace for me to love (I'd say that it is a good 1/4 shorter than "City of Glass" is- but don't quote me on that, I am too lazy to check the page numbers). But then I had to remind myself, "Hey Avery... 'Member that time that you thought that this series, your most favourite book series in the entire world and the book series that pretty much defines your life, was going to be three books and now it is six book? Yeah, you remember that? So you CANNOT COMPLAIN THAT IT IS SHORT BECAUSE YOU WERE ONLY ORIGINALLY GOING TO GET THREE BOOKS. YOU GOT AN EXTRA THREE BOOKS SO JUST GET READING IT ALREADY!" So yes...

I don't think that I have ever experienced such an emotional roller coaster than I did while reading this book. On one page I could be laughing my butt off at snarky comments from equally snarky characters and the next page my heart could be stomped upon so hard that nothing, not even an iratze, could heal said stomped upon heart.

Upon finishing this book I have come to realize how flat the characters truly were in the earlier books and it sounds kinda dumb when I say it, because I wouldn't have in a million years considered them to be flat- but compared to this book? Yep, totally flat. Why I say that is because in this book each character's personalities shined and flourished like they never have before. Each and every character has grown enormously and characters that in the earlier books I felt only "meh" towards? Well, I feel head over heels for them in this book (ie. Alec and Izzy) and the characters that I previously loved? Jace, Clary, Simon, Magnus? Well I fell even harder for them (which I didn't think was possible).

As for the Jace front? Well, it is obvious that he loved Clary in the earlier books, but I never fully understood to what extent he did. I didn't fully grasp exactly how much she meant to him until last week (or around then) when Cassie posted the scene from "City of Ashes" when Jace, Clary, and the gang go to see the Seelie Court in Jace's POV (READ IT HERE, IT IS AMAZING). And in this book? Well it is totally obvious how much he truly cares for her this book. 

Though this book give us the lovey-dovey-ness that we all expected, it is by far the most action packed and darkest book of the series, and as mentioned, one page you will be laughing, the next you will be bawling your eyes out and hyperventilating. I don't think that anyone will be disappointed by this book.

Rating: 4/5

PS. Dear Cassie Clare, you are somewhat evil. You give us a major cliff-hanger ending and now we have to wait for pretty much forever for "City of Lost Souls". Thanks. A. Lot. ;)

"The Iron Queen" by Julie Kagawa

From Goodreads: "My name is Meghan Chase. 

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back."

Typically I love me a good selfless character- a character who is willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good- but the end of this book? I wish that Meghan had been selfish and gotten the ending that she deserved after all of her hard work. My heart seriously broke while reading the last couple pages of this book...

I personally wasn't all that impressed with "The Iron King"- I felt as if the characters were not as developed as they could have been and a good chunk of the story wasn't all that original- it followed almost to a tee every YA Fey already out there. The second book in the series, "The Iron Daughter", was exceptionally better- we saw greater character development, a very unique plot line, and a plot filled with action and adventure. But this third book in the series? Infinitely better than either combined.

Sometimes you have to push through a few okay books in a series to get to the fantabulous books and this is very much the case for this series (finding the diamond in the rough so to speak). If you read the first book and thought that it was just "okay" and decided not to continue on with the series, well I think that you made a bad decision and a decision that you will really come to regret.

In this book Meghan shed her whimpery-dependent-upon-the-boys-in-her-life-attitude and embraced her inner kick-butt-ness. Though I didn't always agree with her decisions (ie. her decision at the end of the book regarding one of the boys), I can understand why she did them. As for Ash and Puck? Well both boys personalities grew tenfold (well more so Ash's- Puck was always a pretty funny character whereas ice-boy was a bit harder to relate to).

After finishing this book I thought to myself "Well, that is sad that it is over" and I became quite depressed (for some reason I thought that this series was only a trilogy), so when I learned that there is another book coming out in this series, "The Iron Knight", I literally squealed out loud. I CANNOT WAIT. I think that the reigning Fey Queens- Melissa Marr, Holly Black, Lesley Livingston, and Aprilynne Pike) had better keep an eye out for Julie Kagawa, she is a true trailblazer and I think that she may herself become a Queen of Fey soon.

Rating: 10/10

"The Iron Daughter" by Julie Kagawa

From Goodreads: "Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. 

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart."

This book was exceptionally better than the first book in the series, "The Iron King", and it is obvious that the author, Julie Kagawa, is really coming into her own, she is growing as an author with each book.

I mentioned of my review of "The Iron King" that I found the characters to be quite flat, and while in this book I didn't find that the characters personalities to yet be fully formed, they were much more developed than in "The Iron King". Ash slowly thawed in this book, exposing his inner iciness, whereas Puck was more than just a trickster, and Meghan really started to accept herself, shedding her humanity (in a good way), in order to accept her Fey side.

I expressed my love for Iron Horse in the last book and who would have thunk it? That love increased tenfold in this book. Underneath that burning/ acidic/ iron exterior is a teeny, tiny, squishy, soft "My Little Pony", and once again, Iron Horse and Grim steal the story.

Julie's eye to detail and conveying that detail/ those descriptions out-loud is truly breathtaking- the world that she had creates? Truly impeccable. I don't know if I have ever been so sucked into a created world of Fey before.

Rating: 9/10

In My Mailbox!

In My Mailbox is a weekly post hosted by Kirsti at The Story Siren as a chance to share the books we've bought or received over the past week.

So this week I finally figured out how to send Kindle books from NetGalley to my Kindle! I managed to snag all of these:

I also won (Thanks so much Melissa Walker!): 

And I bought:

I stupidly thought that "The Side of the Grave" was the first book in the "Night Huntress" series (I looked at the inside flap and it had all of Jeaniene's books listed in it and because "This Side of the Grave" was listed as the first book I thought that it was the first book in the series- Nope, they decided to be all tricky and list her most recent book first and her oldest book last). Oh well, I will grab the earlier books from the library.

What did you get in your mailbox?

On My Wishlist...

On My Wishlist is a great event that Book Chick City runs every Saturday. It's where you list all of the books that you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. I thought that this was a fantabulous idea so I thought I would join in!
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"Betrayals" by Mayandree Michel

From Goodreads: "At seventeen, Cordelia is an ordinary teen with an extraordinary and frightening secret. A secret that induces vivid dreams which she not only experiences true love, but crippling fear while barely escaping with her life each night.

After a life altering event, Cordelia has an unexpected encounter with Evan, the mysterious boy from her dreams, who reveals who and what she is a descendant of the Greek gods. At that moment everything she knows of her world is a lie, and she must leave the present and go into the past to assume the role she was put on this earth for safeguarding her ancient empire amidst evil forces that toil hastily to destroy it.

In a race against time, Cordelia must decide if she is truly a part of this dangerous world, or risk defying the gods, and ultimately lose the boy who has put a claim on her heart."
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"Winter's Shadow" by M.J. Hearle  

From Goodreads: "Blake Duchamp...

He's all that Winter Adams can think of. Ever since their fateful meeting at Pilgrim's Lament. Ever since he looked at her with those emerald eyes. Ever since he saved her life.

But Blake isn't all that he seems. There is a strangeness about him, something dark and otherworldly. Something dangerous. In his attic is a secret he would kill to defend, but Winter seems to have a special ability to make him forget his duty. And he is her only protection against the gathering darkness.

The only problem is, to protect Winter, Blake must risk exposing her to an even greater danger. Himself."
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"Burn Bright" by Marianne de Pierres 

From Goodreads: "Into a world of wild secrets and deadly pleasures comes a girl whose innocence may be her greatest strength.

In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute . . .

Retra doesn’t want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night, ever-youth and never-sleep. Retra is a Seal – sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn’t crave parties and pleasure, experience and freedom.

But her brother Joel left for Ixion two years ago, and Retra is determined to find him. Braving the intense pain of her obedience strip to escape the only home she’s ever known, Retra stows away on the barge that will take her to her brother.

When she can’t find Joel, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. Come to me, whispers a voice in her head. Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the Night Creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion?

Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures, but its secrets are deadly. Will friendship, and the creation of an eternal bond with a Riper, be enough to save her from the darkness?

Listen well, baby bats. Burn bright, but do not stray from the paths. Remember, when you live in a place of darkness you also live with creatures of the dark. "

"The Iron King" by Julie Kagawa

From Goodreads: "Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart."

200 pages into this book I found myself growing more and more frustrated with it because I didn't find it to be a unique Fey story whatsoever. I personally felt as if it followed the same storyline of Lesley Livingston's "Wondrous Strange"  novel. Girl finds out that not only is she a Fey, but she is daughter of the Summer King, befriends Puck, goes through the Great Hunt, and whatnot, and I was quite disappointed with it because I had heard such good things about it in the blogosphere world...

But then... Right when I was going to express this irritation out loud (my poor parents who always hear me grumbling/ complaining about books), 2 words jumped off the page at me- Iron Fey, and I literally did a double take. I am not going to pretend to know everything about the world of Fey, but I have read my fair share of stories that involve Fey (Lesley Livingston, Melissa Marr, Holly Black, Aprilynne Pike, etc.) so I do have a basic idea of how this world works, and Iron Fey? Iron Fey? IRON FEY? I have never come across these Fey ever, so obviously I was captivated and for me, the plot finally found that unique plot line that I had been looking for.

But even though the unique plot line finally emerged, I do think that overall the book, for me personally, still couldn't save itself. What really threw me off what the flatness of the characters. I don't feel like they were near as developed as they could have been. For instance, what do we really know about Ash? He is a Winter Prince, he is good looking, and he has mad fighting skills. Okay.... Well what else about him? Well not much. Or what about Puck? He, as a character, also threw me off quite a bit- right when I was really starting to like Robbie his true identity was revealed and I think that he became a completely different person. I think that hands down the most memorable/ best characters of the book were Grimalkin and Iron Horse (that's right- Iron Horse... IRON HORSE WHO IS MADE OF IRON AND CAN BREATHE FIRE OUT OF HIS NOSE AND TALKS LIKE THIS... ;) ).

All in all, this initially is not the most unique Fey novel ever- though it does get more unique with time. The main characters are not the most developed characters of all time, but the secondary characters almost make up for them. If you do like Fey novels I do think that you will like this, but it might just not be your most favourite Fey novel ever.

Rating: 7/10