From Hicklebee’s: In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

I feel very confident saying that Cassandra Clare is one of the most stunning fantasy authors in YA Literature. I have dutifully read each and every one of her books and I have found myself in love with each book for different reasons. Her Infernal Devices series is my favorite of her two. If you haven’t read Clockwork Angel this review will hold spoilers from that book. Also, if you haven’t read Clockwork Angel – get on that now. I promise you won’t regret it.

There are a great many things I loved about Clockwork Prince. The evolution of Jem from being pitiable and weak to a strong young man with a brilliant disposition on life. Jem was understanding, constantly there for Tessa and isn’t bitter with the lot he has been given. He is swiftly becoming my favorite character from Clare’s cannon.

Will on the other hand acted like an entitled ass through most of the novel. Yes, it is explained why he is an ass, and its sad tear-worthy even- especially when you learn the truth about him and Magnus Bane helps him solve his biggest life mystery. It was the last few pages of the book and his “Jem can take it” attitude that made me incredibly mad at him. I am in awe of Clare’s ability to elicit such strong emotions from me, especially related to the characters.

Tessa is still Tessa, smart, funny and well read. We are little closer to finding out what she really is at the end of the novel and the wait for book three where I hope we do find out is going to kill me. Tessa grows so much in this novel, she goes from proper American lady living in England to kick ass down and dirty I will do anything to save any of you and that was my favorite part of this novel.

The Lightwoods are introduced, Morty is still deliciously evil, there are still clockwork devices but they aren’t the main focus of the book. I did enjoy how the devices took a backseat here for plot and I have a feeling they will play a major part in book three.

The most important thing Henry is still awesome. Charlotte is going through a very hard time in Clockwork Prince and I hope everything works out and she and Henry become very happy together; they deserve it.

New characters, new hints and mysteries are introduced. The world building is superb and if I had the next book I would have dove into it immediately. If you haven’t had a chance to read Clare I highly suggest you drop everything and do that now.

For those who have read Clockwork Prince here is the balcony scene re-imagined by Vanya from VLC Photo:

From the press release: Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

This is the second Armentrout book I have read this year. From Greek to Alien Invasions, you are promised a fast-paced fun romp through whatever landscape you choose when you pick up one of Jennifer’s books.

I really liked Katie, she was a book blogger (HOLLA!) and incredibly smart as well. When the boy next door is being a creep she doesn’t turn to mush, she fights back and stays away from him. With no internet in the new place and the neighbors being weird Katie hates her new town.

Then she makes besties with the alien girl next door and Daemon starts trying to be nicer to her. When he saves her life with his alien powers he leaves a signature on her that makes her vulnerable to another set of aliens who hunt Daemon’s kind. She is under his strict rules and observation until the signature fades.

This is a really fun book that is quick to read. I definitely recommend picking it up for the fun times and watching a really cute love story develop. And today is the release date! Don’t forget to look around the blog today for Katie’s letter to Santa and a giveaway of an ebook of Obsidian.

From Hicklebee’s Part two of the literary sci-fi thriller follows a boy and a girl who are caught in a warring town where thoughts can be heard — and secrets are never safe.

Reaching the end of their flight in THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, Todd and Viola did not find healing and hope in Haven. They found instead their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss, waiting to welcome them to New Prentisstown. There they are forced into separate lives: Todd to prison, and Viola to a house of healing where her wounds are treated. Soon Viola is swept into the ruthless activities of the Answer, while Todd faces impossible choices when forced to join the mayor’s oppressive new regime. In alternating narratives the two struggle to reconcile their own dubious actions with their deepest beliefs. Torn by confusion and compromise, suspicion and betrayal, can their trust in each other possibly survive?

I had a lot of trouble reading book one in this series, The Knife of Never Letting Go. I could see it was beautifully written, that the story was crazy imaginative, but being a Southerner I felt peeved with the blatant misspellings to make the population of Todd’s village seem backwoods. I was ready to abandon the series. Then Brilliance Audio sent me The Ask and the Answer for review on disc. Oh, how I wish I had listened to the first instead of reading it. I was able to enjoy the story without feeling Southern = Stupid.

Todd and Viola have made it to Haven, but they arrive a little bit too late. Mayor Prentiss beat them to the city and has already taken over. Todd and Viola are separated and Prentiss has a plan, a very dastardly and ingenius plan.

Read by Angela Dawe and Nick Podehl The Ask and the Answer is addicting to listen to. The narrators build a sense of urgency through-out the novel, leading to the conclusion -and oh, what a conclusion- that keeps you switching disk for disk to hear more.

The story is told in multiple PoV and each narrator does a fine job of emulating the voices of side characters when their PoV is on display. I cried tears during this book. Ness is swiftly on his way to becoming a favorite of mine and I can’t wait to listen to the conclusion of this series.

The plot is meaty and the side plots full of thick gravy, its hard for me to comprehend how Ness came up with every small nuance of this world. Masterfully written and brilliant voice acting make this book my favorite audio of the year.

You can pick the series up on the cheap or listen to a sample at AudioBookStand.com

From Hicklebee’s: A thrilling debut story of death, love, destiny and danger

Lenzi hears voices and has visions – gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can’t help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she’s a reincarnated Speaker – someone who can talk to and help lost souls – and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn’t make a decision soon.

A new take on the classic medium vs ghost story. Lindsey delights the reader by adding her own flair and lore, breathing new life into an over told tale.

Lenzi is a great character, she is incredibly flawed and broken. Her father is dead, he heard voices and was treated for a mental disease. When Lenzi starts hearing voice she fears the worst. That she is like her dad, destined to a life of the crazy and eventual suicide. She has a boyfriend names Zak who seems like he really cares for her. At least until Alden shows up.

Alden swaggers onto the page with the confidence of a character who has known Lenzi for years; and he has – via all her reincarnations. He is her protector. Unlike her father what Lenzi hears is real. She is a speaker and it is her job to tag and bag ghosts so that they can move on to the next plane.

Unlike most protagonists of recent, Lenzi doesn’t want to accept her paranormal gifts. She wants to be normal. To hang out with Zak, not hear voices and play her dad’s old guitar. When a malevolent spirit latches on to Lenzi and begins to show her how many times he has killed her in previous lives, she takes charge of her destiny and agrees to battle with Alden and save her life.

Shattered Souls is fast paced, well written and wholly unputdownable. I adored Alden and the rest of the protectors we got to meet and enjoyed Lenzi’s spunk. If you are a fan of ghostly paranormal writing, Shattered Souls is the book for you.

From Hicklebee’s: Eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, troubled family she serves. It’s 1912, and Tess has been trapped in the employ of the Lisles for years, amid painful memories and twisted secrets. But now the Lisle family is headed to America, with Tess in tow. Once the ship they’re sailing on—the RMS Titanic—reaches its destination, Tess plans to strike out and create a new life for herself.

Her single-minded focus shatters when she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets of his own. He’s in a hurry to leave Europe, and whispers aboard the ship say it’s because of the tragic end of his last affair with the French actress who died so gruesomely and so mysteriously. . . .

Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves exist and are stalking him—and now her, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.

In Fateful, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray delivers paranormal adventure, dark suspense, and alluring romance set against the opulent backdrop of the Titanic’s first—and last—voyage.

I love when historical meets fantasy and Claudia Gray did such an amazing job with Fateful. We all know the fated story of the ship Titanic, but Gray’s imaginative retelling of what really happened on the ship is masterfully told and incredibly fun to read.

Tess is a maid in a good family household. Like most servants she is treated horribly and hates every moment of it. When she finds out she is going on the Titanic to America, she devises an plan to leave service and start a new life on American soil.

Tessa is a hardworking, smart, and interesting character. While the family she is in service too isn’t very fleshed out, I think that most of the peerage were concerned with flippant things at this time period and Gray showed their lack of passion well.

When Tess meets two werewolves on board things get extremely interesting and steamy. Alec tries to protect Tess while protecting himself from the Brotherhood. A society of wolves that believe they are gods, they need Alec and his family money and influence on their side and they will stop at nothing to get it. They turn Alec on Tess, then on the general population while he is in wolf form. It seems he has no choice but to join the Brotherhood and leave Tess behind, even though they have began to have feelings for each other.

The book continues at a break neck pace, here’s a spoiler for you – the ship sinks – but who makes it off alive? Who makes it to American soil to start again, and who is lost to the tragedy?

While I think the ending of the book was way too easy, and far-fetching I did enjoy the other 95% of the novel. I understand that the ending was there to coax a possible sequel but it didn’t jive with the other part of the book. I was wholly disappointed by the conclusion, but wouldn’t be averse to picking up a second and seeing what trouble Tess can get herself into next time.

From Hicklebee’s: Savannah Colbert has never known why she’s so hated by the kids of the Clann. Nor can she deny her instinct to get close to Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman. Especially when she recovers from a strange illness and the attraction becomes nearly irresistible. It’s as if he’s a magnet, pulling her gaze, her thoughts, even her dreams. Her family has warned her to have nothing to do with him, or any members of the Clann. But when Tristan is suddenly everywhere she goes, Savannah fears she’s destined to fail.

For years, Tristan has been forbidden to even speak to Savannah Colbert. Then Savannah disappears from school for a week and comes back…different, and suddenly he can’t stay away. Boys seem intoxicated just from looking at her. His own family becomes stricter than ever. And Tristan has to fight his own urge to protect her, to be near her no matter the consequences….

Crave added a unique twist to the legend of vampire and the witches vs. vampire feud. Savannah has always lived in her small Texas town, and ever since a faux childhood wedding to Tristan -which prompted his parents, and the parents of her two besties to cut off contact – she has been alone.

Savannah has always wondered what she did wrong, to make The Clann tell their children not to play with her anymore. As a teen Savannah has good friends and a great family structure. She is confident and all-in-all a great character.

Savannah and Tristan seem to be gravitating towards each other. This causes some bristling of The Clann and to Savannah’s surprise, her family as well. She and Tristan are constantly told to stay away from each other – its the best thing for everyone, but as the mystery unfolds the ‘why’ of the mandate comes to light and Savannah and Tristan take matters into their own hands.

Crave was sweet, and an interesting read. I finished it quickly and would read a second. Its not mind-blowy in any sense but a great romantic fated lovers tale and perfect for reading in colder weather.

From Hicklebee’s: Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they’re triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful Gorgon maligned in myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

This is one of those books that came in the mail and I read the synopsis and thought “hmmm its either going to be really good, or really, really bad”. I haven’t read Tera before this, but I have heard a great many good things about her goddess in training series.

From the moment you open the book you are transported to an urban fantasy metropolis. Since the story was set in San Francisco I was able to follow the sisters on their escapades in a highly visual way. Gretchen had been raised a monster hunter, she knew how to do it all and she didn’t need anyone else; or so she told herself. Grace, after just moving to San Francisco to go to a fancy school spots Gretchen and the pair silently freak out. Gretchen pretty much kidnaps grace and takes her to her flat. This is where Grace finds out she is a descendent of Medusa, that all those bad things said about Medusa was just bad PR because she was so beautiful she stole a god away from his goddess. Grace readily accepts her destiny, even though Gretchen doesn’t want her to.

Together the pair train and locate Greer, who had been raised as San Francisco elite. Greer was extremely hesitant to even speak with the two girls who looked exactly like her (except not a put together, obviously) and kicks them out with a warning.

From here the book picks up at a break-neck pace we learn so much about the girls, their destiny, and what is really going on over in god-land.

I loved this book for so many reasons. The multiple PoV was refreshing and not rehashing the same scene through three different eyes. The girls were all well fleshed out with a unique personality. You got to see more than just the character traits, Childs has a way of showing character emotion. The gods, and goddesses and other lore. If you love Greek anything this book is like a trip to the candy store.

Highly recommended.

From Hicklebee’s: Dragons exist. They’re ferocious. And they’re smart: Before they were killed off by slayer-knights, they rendered a select group of eggs dormant, so their offspring would survive. Only a handful of people know about this, let alone believe it – these “Slayers” are descended from the original knights, and are now a diverse group of teens that includes Tori, a smart but spoiled senator’s daughter who didn’t sign up to save the world.
The dragon eggs have fallen into the wrong hands. The Slayers must work together to stop the eggs from hatching. They will fight; they will fall in love. But will they survive?

I enjoy these types of books immensely. Kids with special abilities at camp learning how to kick some butt. The idea of secret societies as a whole interests me greatly. Who are we to know if there are not fancy meetings happening right now, where fairies or slayers or vampires are deciding the world’s fate while we are watching America’s Next Top Model? Having a fascination for dragons also doesn’t hurt when one is reading the book.

There are many characters in this book and while they are not fleshed out very deeply they still showcase unique traits that make it easy to distinguish one character from another. In Slayers there is hope, mystery, action and even a little espionage. I adored every minute of it.

The idea that dragons used to stalk the earth and alchemists devised two ways to deal with the species and those two ways are at war with each other is a unique and thrilling concept. One group of alchemists infused themselves with dragon DNA and can control dragons with their mind, this is your bad guy. The other drank a potion and created special abilities in order to kill dragons. Years went by with no dragons and the abilities were watered down in the blood over time, but when eggs are brought on a plane to DC several pregnant women gave birth to a new generation of slayers to combat the dragons when they hatch.

At camp the kids work to become ready for the dragon invasion. Circumstances push the group to act faster than they had originally thought and the book takes off at a break-neck pace to a great conclusion leaving room for a sequel.

If you like dragons, camp stories, or secret societies you will love Slayers.

Book Trailer:

From Hicklebee’s: My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn’darkmyr Tallyn.

I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her.

My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl…

This is the fourth book in the Iron Fey Series by New York Times Bestselling author Julie Kagawa. I have been a fan of this series from book one. I never have any complaints and my reviews border on inane gushing and keyboard gnashing fun.

The previous three books have been told from Meghan’s point of view, and I have always loved her as a character and a narrator. This book was told by Ash, or as I like to call him, His Royal Iciness. Ash has always been an amazingly intriguing character. Fans of the series have always swooned by his mere entrance to the page.

I was a bit unsure how changing narrators would work for me, I had read Summer’s Crossing the e-novella in between book three and this one and thought Kagawa commanded Puck’s character in a very interesting way. We were able, for the first time, to see inside of his zany head and know the pain he carried around with him daily. The same can be said for The Iron Knight.

You see, we have only known about Ash what Meghan knows about Ash, reading The Iron Knight was an amazing explosion of wintery goodness and while I have never swooned over Ash, I was oh, so very close.

Kagawa masterfully weaved depth into a character that I was sure I knew inside and out. I loved every minute of watching Ash do whatever it took to be with Meghan in the Iron Realm. Even if it killed him, life without her wasn’t worth living anyway.

Sprawling across 400 pages of fantasy the reader becomes so entranced by the story of Ash and his rag tag group of misfits it is easy to forget, or to want to step back into the real world.

Its not often that I wear my fan hat, but Julie Kagawa, after four five star books, I am a fan. If you haven’t read this series please get on that right now, or I will send Grim after you. I mean it folks this book has it all, including the Big Bad Wolf, yes that Big Bad Wolf. The better to eat you with, my dear.

Also tomorrow on Twitter the 24th at 10 PM EST we are having an Iron Knight party. Be there or be square. Just use the hashtag #IRONKNIGHTPARTY to play along and win some fun stuff. In the spirit of winning fun stuff, one lucky comment here will win a choice of Julie’s books. Contest is open until the Twitter party starts.

While you are here why not check out my reviews of the previous three books?

The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, and The Iron Queen.

Oh and just in case you missed the news, we are getting a vampire book from Julie in 2012, before the scheduled end of the earth and everything!

Book cover synopsis:Is life offering fewer and fewer options? Then join the dead. When Annelise goes off to college, it means good riddance to her abusive father and stepmother, but a bureaucratic screwup leaves her without a high school diploma, flat broke, and facing a future that seems more elusive than ever. Then she meets Ronan-tall, dark, and way too seductive for her own good. He promises Annelise a new life…if she has the courage to chance the unknown. One look at him, and she certainly has the desire. He offers her a lift, and, sure enough, accepting rides from strangers does yield surprises.
Whisked away to a mysterious island in the North Sea, Annelise is pitted against other female recruits in tests of skill, smarts, and strength. To win is to become a member of the Watchers, a unique elite partnership with the vampires that dispatches its teams on the most dangerous missions imaginable. It’s not exactly what Annelise had in mind for a new beginning, but it’s livelier than the alternative. Because on the Isle of Night, to lose a challenge doesn’t mean just dishonor. It means death.
Let the games begin.

To be quite honest I have no idea where to start on this book. From the description I had high hopes for liking it, but it fell flat in so many ways it was hard for me to look past the ways it didn’t live up to the synopsis.

Firstly Annelise who likes to be called Drew is supposed to be a genius. Like a real genius. That paired with the fact she come from an abusive family is why the vampires and their trackers picked her as a recruit, however in any class you see Drew in her knowledge is smart but not genius levels. The mathematics discussed in small detail were Sophmore AP at best. I know that being super-smart can translate into having no street smarts so to say but Drew is one of those heroines that seems to have no care for her safety, and knowing that she ran off to go to college without telling a soul its hard for me to believe that she is some kick ass fighter later on.

Its hard for me to believe that a girl who is super-king-kong-mega smart has no one. Sure, I understand she doesn’t have friends inside of her classrooms but shouldn’t there be a concerned teacher? Especially since she comes to school beaten by an abusive dad? It is extremely hard to believe that she spent all of her life never making not one single connection in her life. Hard to believe and very convenient for the author.

When Annelise gets to the college registers office she learns she didn’t actually graduate due to a swimming accreditation that the school enacted. Instead of asking to speak to her admissions counselor she just walks back out to her car that conveniently doesn’t start. So when a hot guy with a Proust tattoo offers to give her a ride she accepts. Oh, and I forgot, super hot guy can tell just by looking under her hood that its the carburetor.

In the car she asks him to take her to the coast, instead he takes her to an airfield where he uses his voodoo stare to get her on a plane bound for a tiny island in the middle of nowhere. On the plane sits two girls, one will become her nemesis.

In order to avoid spoilers I won’t go into greater detail, but suffice to say that once Drew gets on the island things in the book do not improve. She is continually telling me how smart she is while doing the most mind numbingly things. She tries hard and learns to fight and I give her that, but in reality I just don’t think that Drew is the kind of girl who can trade her book smarts that she keeps telling me she has into ninja star throwing kick assery.

If The Hunger Games, Lost, and Vampire Academy had a baby full of trope it would be this book. I wanted to try hard to look past all of the obvious plays on other series because I wanted to love the premise. For me it just didn’t work.

Have you read it and have the same or a different opinion?