City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

The following review is SPOILER FREE! WOOOO!

I'm going to be completely honest with you. I was more than a bit worried about reading City of Fallen Angels. For one, The Mortal Instruments is my favourite series written by my favourite author. For another, that series was originally meant to be a trilogy and came to a solid conclusion in City of Glass. It's easy to be skeptical when all of a sudden there's a new line of books coming off of an already ended trilogy. How could she possibly write another TMI book without dragging the series on?

Oh, ye of little faith.

City of Fallen Angels charters out into new territory without abandoning the things we love the most about the series. It's sexy, smart, hilarious, and action packed. One second I was laughing hysterically, the next I was shouting and shaking my fists at the sky - it was unbelievably awkward, seeing as how I was sitting in my school library. The characters stay true to who they were in the previous novels while simultaneously developing further. This can be seen the clearest in Simon, but I'm going to zip my lips on the subject. This is a spoiler free review and according to my partner in crime knowing whether or not a character is angst ridden counts as a spoiler.

As with every book, there were a few things that I didn't necessarily like, mainly the large absence of a certain sparkling witty warlock for most of the first half. I will note, however, that the return of Magnus Bane is certainly worth the wait, though once again I'm bound and gagged to not say why *cough* problems of the mortality variety *cough*.

Like all Cassandra Clare books, City of Fallen Angels is easy to get lost in. It holds all of the magnetism of Harry Potter without trying to be Harry Potter (and the foreshadowing, I might add, doesn't all but smack you in the face with a rubber boot). City of Fallen Angels consists of thick curving plots and realistic, lovable characters topped off with the perfect blend of humor and drama. Clare manages to expand on her addictive universe of Shadowhunters and Downworlders, smoothly connecting her past three books to a completely new adventure.

And, as always, the ending will leave you breathless and begging for more.

City of Fallen Angels is a must-read - 10/10.

Tell me what you thought of the book in a comment below, or send us an email at blissfullynerdy@hotmail.com! Feel free to comment on what you thought of this review. Flames are welcome and will be printed out and taped to the inside of my locker. If you want to know more about the critics, visit our other blog, http://www.blogger.blissfullynerdy.com/. If you wish to submit a critique of your own, send it to our email.

-Cara :D

Choker by Elizabeth Woods

Let me just say that I had minimal expectations for this book. In fact, I only bought it because it appeared to be about an alienated sixteen-year-old named Cara who missed her best friend. By God, we're practically the same person! At least that was what I thought when I started the book. When I reached the end, I was too baffled by what I'd just read to think of just how different we were.

Summary

Cara is your average lonely, alienated victim of bullying. She eats lunch with people who ignore her and pines over gorgeous track star Ethan Gray, her parents are neglectful and her friend count is zero. One day in the cafeteria, she begins choking on a baby carrot and Ethan has to give her the Heimlich, which results in her having the nickname Choker. The bullying escalates to a peak - and that`s when Zoe comes in. With her old best friend hiding out in her bedroom, things begin to get better for Cara. But when students start dying at her school, Cara has to ask the question `How far is Zoe willing to go to make her friend happy?'

Point of the Novel

The point of the novel is pretty clear - bullying leads to tragedy. It's difficult to provide evidence for this point without ruining the book, but it stands fairly obvious once you read it.

Characters

Ah, Cara, you big push over. I liked Cara for a lot of reasons, one being that she has a beautiful name. Another was that she was awkward and victimized and constantly bending over backwards for her friend. At the same time, she was a very broken, neglected person with a lot of isolation issues. The author did a great job at keeping these traits under the surface, there for you to see but not in your face. And then when the end came, they all came rushing up in a very lovely way.

Zoe is eerie, and not because she's constantly whoop-de-freaking crazy. Her shifts in behavior keep you on your toes for most of the novel. You never know if it will be sunny, happy, childhood friend Zoe or psychotic, scheming, sociopath Zoe. And what's more, she represents that friend we've all had. You know, the one who over stays their welcome and ends up digging their claws into the relationships you have with other people.

The best thing about Ethan Gray is that he's real. Ethan is not the vague, brooding, sexy man that most YA novels seem to be promoting. He's a real guy who has real feelings and insecurities. And he used to be a fat kid. I can relate to that.

Something I Didn't Like

I saw the ending coming in the third chapter and the rest of the novel was just spent waiting for it to happen. Sometimes the action lagged and parts were just unrealistic. I tried to chock it up to insanity, but COME ON. You can not kill that many people without anyone noticing! (Please note that I didn't say who was the killer.) Besides that, Cara's complacency was terribly irritating.

Something I Loved

Besides the cover and the name? Not a lot. I thought it was alright as something to read in the bathtub or after a test, but it didn't keep me reading up into the night. The plot was clear, the end was satisfying, and there were some really good, honestly creepy scenes in between.

Like It or Lump It?

Something in the middle. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't the most fascinating thing I've ever read.

Tell me what you thought of the book in a comment below, or send us an email atblissfullynerdy@hotmail.com! Feel free to comment on what you thought of this review. Flames are welcome and will be printed out and taped to the inside of my locker. If you want to know more about the critics, visit our other blog, http://www.blogger.blissfullynerdy.com/. If you wish to submit a critique of your own, send it to our email.

-Cara :D