Title: Clockwork Prince
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: Infernal Devices #2
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, Young Adult
Spice: 0.5 / 5
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 502
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating: Also in this series: Clockwork Princess
My Thoughts
I absolutely adored CLOCKWORK PRINCE. The story had it all–suspense, intrigue, humor, love, happiness, and anguish. There were times when I was giddy and other times when I wanted to sob because of the heartache I was feeling. I’m on the edge of my seat wondering what’s going to happen, if things will be resolved the way I want them to be, and if I even know how I want things to be resolved.
Even though I have an extreme dislike for love triangles, I like them both Will and Jem and I think either one could be good for Tessa. I just don’t want either of them to be heartbroken or for this situation to ruin what they have as friends and parabatai.
This story was so worth the wait. It definitely met and exceeded my expectations. I loved the story and character development. There’s so many places this story could go that I have a feeling CLOCKWORK PRINCESS is going to be hard to get through emotionally. I’m excited to see how it all resolves itself. I only hope my heart can take it.
Update: When I read this for a third time, I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it. I thought Heather Lind and Ed Westwick did an amazing job. I liked them better than the narrators for CLOCKWORK ANGEL.
Precious Bane
Author: Mary Webb
Genre: Classic, Historical Fiction
Format: Paperback
Pages: 328
Reason Read: Book Club
Rating:
My Thoughts
It took me a very long time to get into PRECIOUS BANE. The Shropshire English dialect of the early 1800s made it a little hard for me to understand at first and the story is a bit boring and slow. Without being invested in the characters, which I wasn’t until about page 120, I had a hard time wanting to keep reading. Once I did care, I was able to overlook the slowness.
There are a lot of interesting concepts in this story. The most interesting to me was that of the sin-eater–a poor person usually, because they needed the free food, that eats the sins of someone who recently passed away. The story explained that everyone dies in their sins and that they couldn’t be saved without a sin-eater. I thought it was so interesting because it’s such a contrast to my own religious beliefs.
Webb did a great job of showing the good with the bad, what happens when all you are is greedy and the contrast of what happens when all you are is selfless. She also did a great job of showing that a person is worth more than their outwardly appearance, that their true nature / self is on the inside and that anyone, even a woman with a “hare-shotten lip,” can be loved.
Lola And The Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: Anna and the French Kiss #2
Genre: Romance, Young Adult
Spice: 1 / 5
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 338
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:
Also in this series: Anna and the French Kiss, Isla and the Happily Ever After
My Thoughts
I was so excited to read LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR because I loved ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS so much. And, even though I loved Anna more, Lola didn’t disappoint me. It was such a fun story!
I loved Lola’s parents (all three of them). I loved that they weren’t absent like a lot of parents in YA stories. It made for some interesting dynamics. I loved Cricket from the get go. He was such a great guy. He was so nice and so devoted to Lola that I almost thought he was too good for her. I had a hard time with Lola a little bit. Most YA characters act older than they are, but I felt like Lola acted her age–seventeen. Because of that, she seemed immature, whiny, and selfish at times. She grew on me and I realized she was just confused and didn’t know what she wanted like most teenagers her age. By the end of the book, I really liked her.
I loved reading about all of her awesome outfits. I kept thinking how would it be to dress like her? It would be so fun, but I don’t think I could deal with the insults like she did. I’m too self-conscious. I’m glad she was able to find herself because she struggled with who she was amidst all her crazy outfits.
I especially loved seeing Anna and Étienne. It was so much fun to see them from a different perspective and to see that they were still together. I can’t wait to read ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER and wish I didn’t have to wait so long.
Clockwork Prince
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: Infernal Devices #2
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, Young Adult
Spice: 0.5 / 5
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 502
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:
Also in this series: Clockwork Princess
My Thoughts
I absolutely adored CLOCKWORK PRINCE. The story had it all–suspense, intrigue, humor, love, happiness, and anguish. There were times when I was giddy and other times when I wanted to sob because of the heartache I was feeling. I’m on the edge of my seat wondering what’s going to happen, if things will be resolved the way I want them to be, and if I even know how I want things to be resolved.
Even though I have an extreme dislike for love triangles, I like them both Will and Jem and I think either one could be good for Tessa. I just don’t want either of them to be heartbroken or for this situation to ruin what they have as friends and parabatai.
This story was so worth the wait. It definitely met and exceeded my expectations. I loved the story and character development. There’s so many places this story could go that I have a feeling CLOCKWORK PRINCESS is going to be hard to get through emotionally. I’m excited to see how it all resolves itself. I only hope my heart can take it.
Update: When I read this for a third time, I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it. I thought Heather Lind and Ed Westwick did an amazing job. I liked them better than the narrators for CLOCKWORK ANGEL.
The Wednesday Wars
Author: Gary D. Schmidt
Genre: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 264
Reason Read: Book Club
Rating:
My Thoughts
THE WEDNESDAY WARS was such a sweet, comedic story. There were many times I laughed out loud, wanted to chuck something at Holling’s father, and felt a warmth so great that I felt like Hallmark couldn’t have produced a better feeling with one of their happy-go-lucky cards.
Holling’s father made me so angry. He was a selfish, arrogant jerk and I really enjoyed seeing Holling come out from under his grasp and learn that he could be whatever he wanted to be not what his father wanted.
I’ve never been a fan of Shakespeare. I don’t really understand it. The only one of his plays I’ve read is OTHELLO. After reading this story, I really want to read more, especially the plays that Mrs. Baker had Holling read together. Holling learned a lot of valuable lessons from those plays, lessons I think I could help me as well.
I’m quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this heart-warming story. This is not usually my typical read, but I think I might actually want to read this one again.
Anna Dressed In Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #1
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult
Format: Kindle
Pages: 387
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:
Also in this series: Girl of Nightmares
My Thoughts
I’ve never read a ghost story before. And, now having read one, I have no idea why. ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD was a fun adventure, one I’m looking forward to repeating.
This story was so unique. I didn’t expect anything that happened to happen. I loved all the unexpected twists and turns. I also loved Blake’s writing. It was so descriptive. I loved the characters’ personalities. They all had distinct ones and I loved the humor they brought into such a serious story. I particularly liked that the story was written from Cas’ POV. I don’t read many male POVs and it was a refreshing change. I absolutely loved all the pop culture references Blake had in the story. It brought back my own memories of experiencing them throughout my life. It helped me relate to the characters better.