BOOK REVIEW | City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Lost Souls
Series: The Mortal Instruments #5
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publication Date:Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster)
Publisher: May 8, 2012
Pages: 534
Source: I checked this out from my local library!

The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

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Adaption Talk: Shadowhunters S1E9 - Rise Up

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni and today I'll be doing another adaption talk of Shadowhunters, the TV adaption of the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. As with every adaption talk, my thoughts will be listed below as I watch the episode! Hope you enjoy! :D

1.) Last week's episode was my favorite of the year, so hopefully this won't disappoint!

2.) I already like Simon's reaction to his vampirism.

3.) Kat McNamara's acting is really strong with these scenes about Simon. It's actually really believable that she cares about him.

4.) The whole Forsaken plot is throwing me off....what's the point of all of City of Glass if they're going to do this to the plot?

5.) Why are Jace and Clary kissing right now? Their relationship works so well because they know how to balance priorities.

6.) I don't like how Magnus isn't as strong of a character as he is in the novel. Magnus knows what he wants and is confident. This doesn't seem like the same person.

 7.) Why is Meliorn even a character.... he serves no point really.

8.) Even though Alec's plot is drastically different from the books, I'm interested to see how it will play out.

9.) The scene with Simon, Clary, and his mom was SO good!

10.) Shade THROWN by quarterback Alec Lightwood to wide receiver Robert Lightwood!

11.) In Simon's case, I would be happy that my best friend gave me some more time with my friends and family!

12.) Okay, Dom's line "Jace Wayland is Switzerland." is so Jace, but the line wasn't delivered well at all. It didn't seem sassy!

13.) The fact that I get excited for any scene with Simon is saying something! He's such a strong actor.

14.) I like the set up for this situation between Clary and Simon at Hotel DuMort. I like that it tests the boundaries of their friendship. 

15.) Aw man, poor Magnus. :( At least they're drawing out Malec's relationship. Unlike SOME relationships. *cough* Clace *cough*

16.) I like that Lydia is a really complex character. Hopefully she won't be an antagonist of every episode!


17.) I completely adore Simon and Clary's friendship! <3

18.) Downworlders and Shadowhunters have been fighting for hundreds of years. One speech won't change it. It's why we have this wonderful thing called City of Glass!

19.) Loved the whole pun-off thing between Raphael and Luke!

20.) Paraba-WHYY stop fighting! Also, what the heck Jace! Best scene so far when he said he'd want to die before they were on different sides. *claps*

21.) Alec you're breaking my heart just like you did Jace's.

22.) While Simon and Clary's friendship grew stronger, Jace and Alec's crumpled.

23.) "You're still you. I'm still me." SO GOOD! Also, good music in the background. It actually fit the mood.

24.) When you're such a big Sizzy fan you have to look away when Izzy kisses another guy.

25.) Nice ending! It's making me anticipate the next episode.

So, it was a pretty good episode! It didn't blow me away, but there were several scenes that did. Every and any scene between Kat (Clary) and Alberto (Simon) were amazing! The fight scene between Matthew (Alec) and Dom (Jace) was really strong. I think that the show more accurately portrays friendship. I really feel for them in that sense, but the chemistry is really lacking when they try to do romantic relationships. So far, Matthew and Harry (Magnus) are the weakest to me.

I'm excited to see what will come in the next episode in the alternate universe! The plots have strayed very far away from each other, but the TV show still is intriguing.

What were your thoughts on the the episode?

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon with a another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Adaption Talk: Shadowhunters TV Show Pilot

Hey guys and welcome to my blog! Down below I will be discussing the pilot episode of Shadowhunters, The Mortal Cup, by going down the list f the five main characters. I liked it more than I thought. Please don't leave spoilers for the second episode! I'm just going to be waiting for next week. :) Shadowhunters exceeded expectations! Though it was really cheesy sometimes, it was so much better than that first 7 minute preview that was on youtube! 


Shadowhunters just premiered on Freeform (lol it's still ABC Family) two days ago and though it wasn't perfect, it was entertaining! I watched the show with my mom, who also watched the movie with me as well. I would say that I liked the episode and I can see myself liking the series a ton more than the movie. The actors looked like how I pictured them in my head too, which was a plus. The gifs are going to go along with my feels on the actors/actresses!

The Cast

Clary Fray - Katherine McNamara

Okay, she overacted too much. I felt like she just tried too hard and the fact that she had some of the worst lines in the episode didn't help either. She does have a lot of potential and promise though. I can see her getting really compelling about halfway through the first season. I can't deal with her hair though. It's just so obviously fake..why can't it be darker?? Minute detail, but I know it will bother me until I get more used to it. 

Jace Wayland - Dominic Sherwood
I don't know whether or not I like Dom as Jace. He looks a lot more like the Jace I picture in my head when I read the books, but he doesn't have the attitude down yet. He seems really stilted and uncomfortable with the sass the Jace embodies, so hopefully that will get better! If it doesn't, I don't see myself fully convinced that he is Jace. I'm freakishly hopeful for him!

Alec Lightwood - Matthew Daddario
There wasn't enough scenes with Alec for me to get a feel for him yet. There really isn't any of the parabatai chemistry between Alec and Jace yet. They didn't seem like bffs, and I wish they did! Fingers crossed they will in the later episodes! I don't have a real opinion of him, so instead here's a gif of him and Magnus! <3 They're the real OTP of the series, not Clary and Jace!

Isabelle Lightwood - Emeraude Toubia
Once again, there weren't too many scenes with Isabelle in the pilot, as it focused mainly on Clary. But Isabelle is (dare I say it?) NICE! It is super weird that Isabelle isn't her hating self yet. Emeraude does look exactly like Isabelle, which is really nice! I hated though how they used her body as a distraction instead of Isabelle being a BAMF. 

Simon Lewis - Alberto Rosende 
Okay, Simon is my favorite! You can tell the actor has a really genuine passion for the series and he really portrayed Simon so well! If he was great in the pilot, I cannot wait to see how he grows in the pilot! This gif perfectly portrays my excitement for Alberto playing Simon! He was amazing! Roberto deserves alllll the claps. 

I wouldn't say that I really liked the pilot, but I liked it, you know? My mom really liked it and I appreciated how I didn't have to explain anything to her. It was easy to follow and even though the show will be a lot different from the books, I am looking forward to see where they will take it! I really liked the actor who played Valentine; he was perfect!

Okay here's some random thoughts that I just had to put out there.. Can we also talk about how the pilot ended? Clary's choice between Jace or Simon was supposed to be a cliffhanger??? Haha!! Like the episode just ended and I was like... that's it? Also, the CGI was rough but I didn't really care because they obviously won't have enough money until it gets more popular. The Circle members just looked like grade A bad guys but didn't have that air around them were I was worried. After the first scene with them in it my mom asked whether or not they were bad guys, so they obviously didn't seem bad

So yeah! Those were my thoughts on the pilot for the Shadowhunter TV show! What did you think about it?

Thanks guys for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Book Review: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels was such a fun book!

I don't have much to say about a City of Fallen Angels except that it did not disappoint me! City of Glass, the third book in the Mortal Instruments series, was marvelous and I had pretty high expectations for this one. While a lot of people see City of Fallen Angels as a sort of filler book in the series, I really liked where the book took us!

One of my favorite aspects of the book was that there was a heavier focus on Simon. The love triangle between Simon, Izzy, and Maia was really fun. Simon underwent a massive change in City of Glass, and the aftermath of that was one of my favorite plot points. I have never really liked Simon beforehand in this series because I saw him as this almost useless human against the fight that was madly in love with Clary. In City of Fallen Angels, Simon is given a lot more depth and he has become one of my favorite characters. 

I loved that the relationships I was supporting in the previous novels were full blown canon. Hopefully we can see Clary and Jace more stable in their relationship now that they have figured out what was happening to Jace. Clary and Jace in general were such a great couple and I cannot wait to see their relationship blossom! Magnus and Alec were so cute. I loved the line where Magnus was telling Camille that Alec was his future. I hope that they have their happy ending at the end of the series.


Another cool thing about the book was the parallels between this and Clockwork Angel. Though I didn't love Clockwork Angel (see my review here), it was cool to see a character that was prevalent in that book still take a big part in City of Fallen Angels. I felt like Clockwork Angel made me understand the world better and I am glad I read it.

Out of all of these aspects, my favorite one was the plot in general. I loved the arising tensions between Clary and Jace. The last 100 or so pages were so good! The ending scene was break neck action and a lot was revealed. I can't wait to see how the fight continues in City of Lost Souls. Before that, I'll be reading Clockwork Prince, the second in the Infernal Devices, because I am reading all of Cassandra Clare's novels by publication date.

Though this seems like a gushing review, I didn't love this book. I liked mostly everything about it, but I only loved a couple of things. The plot was fun and kept my interest, but there was something missing that made me like it less than City of Glass. So far, City of Glass still remains my favorite with City of Fallen Angels second and City of Ashes a close third along with Clockwork Angel.

With that, I give this book

 4 out of 5 Stars!

Have you guys read any of the Mortal Instruments or Infernal Devices? What have you thought about her novels?

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you guys soon with another post!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Book Traveling Thursdays: Giving Book

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni and today I will be participating in the weekly meme Book Traveling Thursdays, where we show off different editions of a novel that fits with the theme given.

The prompt of this week is: December is a month of giving. Choose a book in which a character gives an amazing gift to a loved one! If you are interested in participating in this weekly meme, check out the goodreads group here! Catia from The Girl Who Read Too Much and Danielle from Danielle's Book Blog are the creators of this meme, so be sure to check these lovely ladies out on their blogs!

This week I decided to feature my current read, The City of Fallen Angels. Though I oviously have not read this whole entire book, a main character in the last book, City of Glass, gave a great gift to another main character in the series. The former gave the latter a gift that saved their life. In the City of Fallen Angels features the aftermath of such actions. Sorry this is SUPER vague, but I don't want to spoil anything for those who aren't as far along in the series as I am.

Original/English Edition

 These three are all the English editions! Yes, there are definitely more that have the sticker that says "now made into a major motion picture" but here are the main three. The first one if the newly released paperback edition. These released earlier this year and unfortunately, City of Fallen Angels is my least favorite cover out of all of them. I don't know why I don't like this one as much as the others (which I really love!), but something is making it fall flat. Maybe it's because Isabelle's whip doesn't look as badass as I imagined?On the right is the most well known cover. At first, i din't really like these editions of the series, but they are really growing on me. Clary's eyes do freak me out, but I really like it overall. The last one is definitely not as well known but I really like it. I actually did not know these editions even existed until a month or two ago, but the simplicity of it draws me in. There are really cool details in the wings as well!

Favorite

My favorite has to be the original one up above. Like I said before, I never really liked these versions of the cover, but this just draws me in! The color scheme is done really well and whenever I look at the book, I just want to pick it up and read it!

Least Favorite

Okay, there are several covers I didn't like, but these stood out in the worst way possible. I am not drawn to the book but have the feeling of wanting to distance myself instead. The edition of the left is the Italian cover while the one on the right is the other. The Italian cover makes zero sense to me. I'm assuming that is meant to be Isabelle, but it doesn't give off the fun and kick-ass vibe the series is! I have the same opinion for the one on the right. It looks so unprofessional and I just hate the obvious use of photoshop and the calligraphy makes the book seem amateur. 

That is it for today guys! If you are participating in Book Traveling Thursdays, make sure to leave your link down below! I'd love to see them! :) 

Have you read the Mortal Instruments yet? If so, what did you think of the City of Fallen Angels?

Thank you guys for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

P.S. Sorry I've been absent for a couple days! The last week of winter break does not mean parties now that I am a junior and instead is synonymous with more tests in a week than I have classes. 

Currently Reading #6!

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni and today I'll be showing you guys what I am currently reading. One novel is an urban young adult fantasy while the other is a contemporary new adult novel.


The new adult I am reading right now isn't as well known compared to my other current read. It is a new adult contemporary romance titled Breathe Into Me and is by Sarah Fawkes. The story revolves around Lacy St. Clair, and her life as it is spilling out of control. All the while, Lacy starts spending time with mysterious boy Everette. He seems to respect her and not only want her for sex, which rarely occurs for her because of her horrible reputation around town. I'm almost done with this book, and it is looking to be a four star read for me. I actually stopped reading so that I could do this post! :D Yes, I do have small problems with inconsistencies in the book, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons. I love Lacy and Everette together and can't wait to see how the last 30 pages resolves. It isn't necessarily out of the box and life changing, but it is super fun. If you are looking for a quick paced drama filled new adult novel that doesn't make you think too hard, then read this! I'm sure you'll have fun!

The urban fantasy I'm talking about is none other than City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare. This is the fourth installment of the Mortal Instruments Series and the fifth novel of Clare's that I have read. I am reading her books in publication order, so next up after this one is the second book in The Infernal Devices trilogy, which began with Clockwork Angel. I was a bit disappointed with the book, but you can find my full thoughts here on my review! I'm just a bit less than a fourth way through right now and I am really liking it so far! What have you guys thought about City of Fallen Angels?

What about you guys? What are you currently reading? Have you read or heard of the two books up above? 

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!