Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

THE HOUSE OF NIGHT SERIES BOOK 05

Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

St. Martin's Griffin

Published in 2009

ISBN 9780312379827

323 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Ebook)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

3 out of 5



After Kalona, Neferet's consort, appears from underneath the Earth, Neferet, Kalona, and Kalona's sons start destroying the House of Night. However, Zoey and the gang escapes their destruction by going underground to the tunnels, where the red fledglings live. Now, Zoey and the gang must come up with a plan to prevent the world from becoming a violent and chaotic one, but that stops when Zoey gets injured and must go back to the House of Night. There she has to fight with Neferet more head-on than she would like, and not only that, are the red fledglings really as civilized as they appear? And will Zoey be able to bring Stark away from Neferet's sinister side? What will they do when the evil has hidden among them?

I actually finished this book faster than the others because my computer died. x_x The motherboard went ka-plooey, so I was able to read until Black Friday, which was today, in order to get a new computer. :) Anyways, isn't it amazing what you get done with when computers (mostly the Internet) are down? ;) Oh, there might be some spoilers below. :X

Hunted starts off almost immediately where Untamed left off --- Zoey and the gang are now in the tunnels with the kind of civilized version of the red fledglings, waiting for Kalona and Neferet's invasion to calm down or at least wait until they have a plan on how to deal with the new threat. However, when Zoey gets injured, she has to fight more head on than she would like.

All right, let's start with the things I didn't like about this book. One, the authors keep on describing the same characters with almost the exact same words as the other books. I know it is good to remind readers on what the characters look like, but don't do it in every single book, unless they somehow changed their appearance between the last book and the beginning of book they are going to read. Two, can't Zoey ever NOT have a boyfriend or boyfriends in a book? Even in Untamed, Zoey wasn't without a boy/boyfriend for long since she became attached to Stark. She even went as far as calling him her "soul mate". What the hell is wrong with having one boyfriend throughout the series? Or even having no boyfriend? Do those two authors really think that teenagers are all like that --- always needing a boyfriend/love? Three, it is getting very predictable and is almost like all the other books I have read.

Now for the things I liked about the book. One, all the new descriptions and the use of so many of them. :D Two, the development of Aphrodite and how much she has changed (attitude wise). Out of all the characters, I think the authors did a better job at making Aphrodite develop as a character than almost all the others. Three, there was a lot more supernatural, but there was still some drama in there. UGH! Four, using Cherokee legends in a creative way.

One last bit of interesting information. Erik's name is spelled wrong in the summary. Oh, and also, on one of the pages (247), it says that Darius would be pleased about the vocabulary words she has been using. Isn't it Damien who is the vocabulary nerd, or did I miss something?

Anyways, overall the book is good for a quick read, but it is getting a little tiresome since it is becoming a little bit predictable. :X Just a warning, there is a gay character in the book, and they talk about sex, kissing, and things like that a couple of times.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

P.C. and Kristin Cast
House of Night Series
Goodreads: Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Library Thing: Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast
She Loves Books: Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Quick & Dirty Book Reviews: Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

THE HOUSE OF NIGHT SERIES BOOK 04

Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

St. Martin's Griffin

Published in 2008

ISBN 9780312596309

338 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Ebook)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5




Zoey's problems have just recently blew up in her face, so now she has to deal with the consequences of her actions. Her friends all hate her, she no longer has any boyfriends, Neferet has declared war on the humans, and now Aphrodite has a vision that Zoey's death will bring violence, hatred, and darkness to the world. Zoey knows what she has to do, but how can she do it when even her friends don't want to listen to her? Also, how will she be able stop Neferet's new plans of destroying the world they all know?

Okay, it has been over a year since I have read the last book of this series, so I kind of had to reread all three of the books I have already read. Why? So I can remember how the series was liked --- I don't have that good of an memory, people.

Anyways, in the fourth book of the House of Night series, things are heating up for Zoey and it all blows up in her face in this book. *SIGHS* This book is starting to be like all the other supernatural young adult books I have read. Yeah, I'm starting to go, "When will this freaking series ends, the high school drama is getting on my freaking nerves!" Though, there is a little bit more supernatural in this book than the last one, but not as much as I would like it to be. There are a couple of things that annoy me in this book. First, all the drama, I know you need action, but can't the authors think of a better way of getting action and attention the, "Booo hooo, my friends don't like me, but I need them in order to save the world," is a little unbelieving. I also hate the bossy attitude of Zoey's, the "I'm going to be their high priestess, so they have to listen to me," is a little *BARF*. I like that kind of attitude (kind of) in the male characters, but in females, I find it bitchy. ^^; Yes, I'm vain.

Things I like in this book is how Aphrodite is turning out --- nicer, but still uses her attitude as comic relief, almost like Erin, Shaunee, Damien, and Jack. I also like Darius and how he can appreciate Aphrodite. :) Yes, I like the other characters more Zoey. Let's see, what else do I like. Hmmm... Oh, I also like how the authors are starting to merge Cherokee legends into the book. Also, the descriptions are done very well. In this series, descriptions are a little bit better than most other series. :D

After you skip over the high school drama, this book is pretty good, but the page amount for this book is pretty all right. If there were a little bit less high school drama, I would most likely like this series better. Also, Zoey is definitely annoying in this book. *SIGHS* I wish the book was more centered around her friends than Zoey and her growing powers and how she will be a priestess. Other than the high school drama and Zoey's attitude, this book is great for a quick read. Though, it is kind of turning a little boring with all of the high school drama. ^^ Just a warning, there is a gay character in the book, and they talk about sex, kissing, and things like that a couple of times.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

P.C. and Kristin Cast
House of Night Series
Goodreads: Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Library Thing: Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Shide Vicious Reviews: Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

HUSH, HUSH SERIES BOOK 01

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Simon & Schuster BFYR

Published in 2009

ISBN 9781416989417

391 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Hardcover)
Barnes & Noble (Hardcover)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



Nora Grey has always been a normal girl: trying to get into a good college, a worried and overprotective mother, and a best friend who thinks she needs a little spice and a man in her life. Nora has never thought about boys or even romance, to the disappointment of her best friend, Vee, at least, not until Patch comes along. Then after meeting him, strange and terrifying things start to happen to her: Patch turning up almost everywhere she is, a strange figure following her and attacking her, and Patch's mysterious ways that make her unable to decide to love him or run away. As she discovers the truth behind her attacker, Patch, and herself, she finds herself her in the battle between fallen angels and immortal beings called the Nephilium. Will she choose the right path that will keep her alive and next to Patch?

Ahhh... another fallen angel book. Is it me, or are novels with fallen angels getting popular? >.>" Well, at least with this novel, it was a lot better than Fallen, which completely reminded me of Twilight. Good news, this one only sort of reminds me of Twilight. Though the way Patch acts like sort of reminds me of Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, where Lucius acts with mysteriousness and what seems like verbal abuse.

Unlike Fallen and Twilight, the lead female character acts with both strength and weakness, which makes her out as a believable teenage girl. Also, the lead guy character, even though he's still mysterious, he acts almost like Lucius, a bad boy character, but without showing that much violence towards the one he loves. Another thing that made this book better than Twilight was the humor attempts were actually kind of funny, and it reminded me of how I was as a teenager. Unlike with Twilight and Fallen, you were actually able to tell the characters were all teenagers without having to remind yourself -- which was the main things that made it better than Twilight, despite the similarities they still kind of share.

Even though it was better than Twilight and Fallen, you couldn't miss how some things were kind of similar. Like, how Nora discovers she's not completely human and has a side to her she doesn't understand. Also, how there are some plot holes and didn't explain the past of Chauncey's/Jules's that much, or explain more about the Book of Enoch. However, unlike the Twilight saga, which is completed, I'm willing to wait until the series are completed before I judge on plot holes.

I thought the descriptions were kind of okay and had enough to make the first book interesting, but I'm going to expect much more in the second book. Go ahead and read it. The characters are not that annoying, and I find it much more delightful than the Twilight saga. *SHUDDERS*

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Becca Fitzpatrick
Goodreads: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Library Thing: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
The Crescive Library: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
What to Read After Twilight: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
After Twilight: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES BOOK 03

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published in 2009
ISBN 9781416914303
541 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



Clary Fray is very close to waking her mother up from her magically induced coma, all she has to do is travel to the Glass City and find the missing key to waking her up. However, traveling to the Glass City is easier said than done since going to the city without permission against the Law and is punishable by death. Not to mention, Jace doesn't even want Clary to go to the ancient Shadowhunter home. So, when an incident happens, Simon is taken to the Glass City along with Jace and the Lightwoods, but he is imprisoned later for being a vampire who can walk in sunlight. However, when Clary arrives in the Glass City, she finds out more about her family's past. While she is in the Glass City, she finds an ally in Sebastian, a Shadowhunter, after Jace abandons her. Then Valentine makes his presence known in the Glass City, and he gives all of the Shadowhunters a choice: surrender and serve him or be killed. Time is running out for Shadowhunters and Downworlders, will they all be able to work together to save themselves? Will Clary's powers be enough to help save them all?

Okay, another supernatural book, but this one that I don't really like that much. For the genre, this book has pretty much every kind known to me, so I just picked "Supernatural" and picked the subcategories that the book mentioned.

Like City of Bones and City of Ashes, this book is extremely slow-moving, which is good in the way of details of events, but bad if you want to read in a day. As I mentioned just now, the details in this book are well-written and there are a lot. The author of this books seems to value that the reader needs to know details of events, as well as what the characters look like. Most books I have read do not leave enough of an impression of how the characters look like. Though, I don't like how the page number jumped by about 100 pages. Zzzzz...

Although the descriptions of the characters are more well-written than other books, the character's personalities are kind of stereotypical. Though, having stereotypes for characters are frequent in most books, not just this one. However, I still found Clary's personality extremely annoying. She is very weak and spoiled, which kind of reminds me of most people who I know. :| Though, I'm kind of happy with Simon's development in both this book and City of Ashes. :) Also, I'm happy with the development between Magnas and Alec. :D

In this book, the plot of the series becomes a little bit better and more detailed. So, it is not as boring as the first one, but you have to have patience to read the extra 100 pages. Also, you start seeing more of a relationship between Magnas and Alec. To those of you who don't approve of boy x boy relationships, I don't care. ^^ Oh, spoiler, my favorite part is when Magnas and Alec kiss, and Maia goes, "Do we have to do that, too?"

And, I have noticed people accusing this author of plagiarism, but what book doesn't do a little bit of plagiarizing? Most books I read have so similar plots with similar characters that I forget which book is which. >.> So, please, do not comment or rant about this on my blog. It's mine, not yours. :(

I liked the ending of this book and series (?). However, when I looked on her website, there is another book to this series called City of Fallen Angels. Also, there is a prequel series called The Infernal Devices, though they are not published yet. I just hope that City of Fallen Angels won't ruin the ending of this book.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Cassandra Clare
Goodreads: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Library Thing: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
After Twilight: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
A Trillian Books: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES BOOK 02

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published in 2008
ISBN 9781416914297
453 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



Clary Fray is suddenly thrown into the world of the Shadowhunters and Downworlders, and no matter how much she wishes, she can never go back to her normal life. With her mother still in a magically induced coma, Clary is left trying to find a way to wake her up. Though, the only way she can think of is the track down her father, a rogue Shadowhunter. However, new problems arise when someone is murdering Downwordler. Who is behind the killings? Is it her father, Valentine? If he is, what is he trying to do with the blood of those children? Also, what will happen to Jace when the Inquisitor zeros in on him and accuses him of helping his father, Valentine?

Okay, another supernatural book, but this one that I don't really like that much. For the genre, this book has pretty much every kind known to me, so I just picked "Supernatural" and picked the subcategories that the book mentioned.

Like City of Bones, this book is extremely slow-moving, which is good in the way of details of events, but bad if you want to read in a day. As I mentioned just now, the details in this book are well-written and there are a lot. The author of this books seems to value that the reader needs to know details of events, as well as what the characters look like. Most books I have read do not leave enough of an impression of how the characters look like.

Although the descriptions of the characters are more well-written than other books, the character's personalities are kind of stereotypical. Though, having stereotypes for characters are frequent in most books, not just this one. However, I still found Clary's personality extremely annoying. She is very weak and spoiled, which kind of reminds me of most people who I know. :| Though, I'm kind of happy with Simon's development towards the end of the book, instead of just waiting for the stupid girl, Clary. :)

In this book, the plot of the series becomes a little bit better. So, it is not as boring as the first one. Also, you start seeing more of a relationship between Magnas and Alec. To those of you who don't approve of boy x boy relationships, I don't care. ^^

And, I have noticed people accusing this author of plagiarism, but what book doesn't do a little bit of plagiarizing? Most books I read have so similar plots with similar characters that I forget which book is which. >.> So, please, do not comment or rant about this on my blog. It's mine, not yours. :(

Anyways, the ending is kind of unexpected, but I read the other books in this series already. So, don't freak at the ending parts --- the author kind of switches it in the other books. ;)

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Cassandra Clare
Goodreads: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Library Thing: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
After Twilight: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Finding the Magic in Books: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Book Love: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
A Trillian Books: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES BOOK 01

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published in 2007
ISBN 9781416914280
485 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



Clary Fray has always thought she was an ordinary girl who lives with her mother, however, she finds out that her family is far from ordinary. At the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she sees some people murdering a boy, but then, the boy's body disappears. With no evidence to show the police, she is left confused and thinking that what she saw was just her imagination. Then, after her mother gets kidnapped, she meets the murderers again --- but this time they tell her about the secret world of the Shadowhunters, warriors who are dedicated to hunting demons on earth. Why does she have this Sight? Why did demons kidnapped her mother? And, why is she strangely attracted to this world? Clary wants to know this, and so do the Shadowhunters...

Okay, another supernatural book, but this one that I don't really like that much. For the genre, this book has pretty much every kind known to me, so I just picked "Supernatural" and picked the subcategories that the book mentioned.

City of Bones is extremely slow-moving, which is good in the way of details of events, but bad if you want to read in a day. As I mentioned just now, the details in this book are well-written and there are a lot. The author of this books seems to value that the reader needs to know details of events, as well as what the characters look like. Most books I have read do not leave enough of an impression of how the characters look like.

Although the descriptions of the characters are more well-written than other books, the character's personalities are kind of stereotypical. Though, having stereotypes for characters are frequent in most books, not just this one. However, I found Clary's personality extremely annoying. She is very weak and spoiled, which kind of reminds me of most people who I know. :|

In my opinion, the plot is okay, but it could have been a little bit better. And, I have noticed people accusing this author of plagiarism, but what book doesn't do a little bit of plagiarizing? Most books I read have so similar plots with similar characters that I forget which book is which. >.> So, please, do not comment or rant about this on my blog. It's mine, not yours. :(

Anyways, the ending is kind of unexpected, but I read the other books in this series already. So, don't freak at the ending parts --- the author kind of switches it in the other books. ;)

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Cassandra Clare
Goodreads: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Library Thing: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
After Twilight: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Consumed by Books: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Finding the Magic in Books: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Book Love: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
A Trillian Books: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare