My November Wrap-Up

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All in all, November's been a good reading month for me; 11 books read means 11 books closer to my Goodreads goal of 100. I might just achieve it! If not, I may get to about 95 and you know what, I'll settle for that. From urban fantasy, to Zoella's Girl Online, to heart-breaking historical fiction, I tried it all this month - and here are my thoughts.

City of Fallen Angels: The Mortal Instruments #4

- by Cassandra Clare

3.5/5.0 stars

Oh, Cassandra Clare. I wish I could make my mind up about your renowned series that is The Shadowhunter Chronicles, but I just can't. I like it, then I get frustrated with it, but I can't stop reading it because I do kind of want to know what happens at the end of it, then I reach the ending and think "huh, okay" whilst feeling entirely disengaged from it, but then, BUT THEN, I feel the nagging impulse to pick up the next book. THIS IS HOW ON THE FENCE I AM WITH IT. God, the frustration.

Book four picks up from the ending of the Mortal War and is, thank heaven, devoid of Valentine and any other Mortal Instrument he could possibly get his hand on. The Shadow World has entered a new era where Shadowhunters and their once-upon-a-time enemies, the Downworlders, live in peace and meanwhile, Clary has truly begun her Shadowhunter training and is honing in her newly discovered power. But there seems to be a new threat as Shadowhunter bodies begin to turn up dead in a ploy to turn Shadowhunters against Downworlders to spark off Mortal War II...

I liked the turn of events in this book; the shift of focus away from Valentine, towards a different enemy manipulating a loose end we didn't really see tied up in City of Glass, breathed fresh air into this series (especially as the repetitive storyline in the first three books was really starting to irk me). The ending was probably the highlight and it seemed to be the only point in the book where something was even happening. When the plot was finally starting to kick in, I was like 80% through. So essentially, only 20% of the of the book is honestly dedicated to a plot that should have kicked ass. But the rest of it? So. Much. Teenage. Angst.

Cut me a break! It flicks back and forth between relationships and their drama (unnecessary drama at that - literally every little drama that is created could be solved with a page's worth of communication). And it made me un-ship the couples I was shipping for so hard in the previous books. Jace, for me, has been ruined. I miss that cocky, flirty, arrogant asshole with a heart of gold. There are glimpses of his banter and witty snark but other than that, he was almost insufferable throughout the book. I'm all for tortured characters with a hidden vulnerability, wickedly hidden by a cool, calm, collected exterior, but Cassandra Clare has massacred that character development. Her execution of a tough guy broken and damaged by all that he's endured fell flat. Which is a damn shame because there was so much promise in his character. Not only that, she went ahead and ruined the character development of every other character that exists in this world, bar one. The latter is Simon, Clary's best friend who I hated from book one but honestly, he's grown on me and he's developed incredibly throughout to a point where he's now my favourite to read about. He also brings out Jace's dry and sarcastic humour/insults so you know, it's a no-brainer. Ultimately though, stars lost for poor plot building, making star characters lose their shine, and the painful end of Jace as we know him. Stars gained for its premise, the usual well-written action scenes, the plot twist at the end and shockingly, making me like - admittedly not yet love - Simon.

If you're reading this feeling slightly confused, I'm sorry, my reading of this series split between two months so if you didn't read last month's wrap-up, you can head over there now and read the synopsis (and my thoughts, naturally) of the first three books here - who knows, it may, or may not, inspire you to pick them up and share my angsty feelings.

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- City of Fallen Angels

City of Lost Souls: The Mortal Instruments #5

- by Cassandra Clare

3.5/5.0 stars

The best of the series. So far.

The penultimate book in this series sees a whole new evil, aside from Valentine, try to pull out the Shadow World from under the feet of the Shadowhunters and breed a new type of evil altogether. With their world at the brink of darkness, Clary and team make new allies, form new enemies, and take dangerous risks that begs the question - what price is too high to pay, even for love?

I actually really enjoyed City of Lost Souls. Such a step-up from its predecessor. I liked the new direction the plot took and I thought it was executed well with scope to take it further and build on in the sixth and final instalment. It has its flaws that are reminsicent of those in the others; from its predictability to the injustice done to certain characters that were favourites in the first few books, but that said, it was still a good read. Clary remains a difficult character to like and her decisions are just as rash and reckless as they always are, and she can be so utterly stupid sometimes that it's incredibly frustrating to read, but I feel like she was at her strongest in this book. I also like the way her relationship with Jace builds in it - it's less angsty and a lot more mature, and it just feels a lot more solid than it was portrayed in CoFA. And compared to other teen fiction, it's an unconditional, deep-rooted love that I can buy into and ship with all the hopeless romantic that's left in me. So I guess Cassandra Clare redeemed herself on that front. Other than that, she delivered with the plot, the action, and Simon. Yay. Into the last book we go!

City of Heavenly Fire: The Mortal Instruments #6

- by Cassandra Clare

4.0/5.0 stars

Yes, yes, yes. Freaking finally! Hands down the best book of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. I - *gasp* - LOVED reading City of Heavenly Fire. As the conclusion to an intensely drawn-out story that surrounds so many characters we grow to love (and hate), it delivered brilliantly.

The war in the Shadow World has escalated as Shadowhunter is turned against Shadowhunter, allies are betrayed and broken, and families are torn apart. The rise of a new Shadowhunter race, the Endarkened, pose a new threat to Clary and her Shadowhunter friends until they are forced to flee and enter a demon realm as the ultimate sacrifice in a bid to save the world that they have been sworn to protect, a mandate from Heaven itself. But the Endarkened are ruthless and are irretrievably bound to their deadly leader who will stop at no end to corrupt and ruin the Shadow World, making Heaven's mandate more difficult than ever to live by...

This book is a whopping 725 pages long but damn I was hooked. Of all the previous works, CoHF is the most captivating, most engaging, and most thrilling. The plot thickened throughout and whilst some punches didn't throw me at all, others had me mentally gasping in shock because they took a turn I just didn't expect. The action is non-stop - compared to the others that seemed to overflow with "filler" information, CoHF takes you to the core of the plot from page one, and keeps you there as you're utterly immersed and invested in what's happening. The suspense, politics, plot/character development, and general badass-ery does not disappoint for even a moment in this book. AND THE BANTER IS BACK! *cheers* Jace makes his grand cocky return and I bloody loved it. The witty back and forth that was such a highlight in book 1 is well and truly back and there are so many laugh-out-loud moments that I found myself subconsciously grinning whilst reading on the train, trying to hold back a laugh, whilst the other passengers gave me strange looks. Honestly, Cassandra Clare's humour is so on point. Clary is finally, after six long books, the protagonist I wanted her to be. Fearless, brave, and smart, she kicks ass to save her world. And with it, her relationship with Jace is one that I really admire. They make such an incredible team, not just a couple; they strengthen one another, understand one another, and love one another in a very mature and real way. It's a breath of fresh air from the romantic YA fiction that's out there. And I think it's to Clare's credit that when I was reading, I forgot that the characters are teens. It was so easy to lose myself in their world and imagine them as adults because she's created such well-fleshed out characters that are realistic and mature in the world that they're living in. The love angles and relationships, the conversations, the character growth that accompanies every character...it's all so well crafted in this ultimate instalment. I loved City of Heavenly Fire. That is all. After weeks of agonising torture and flip-flopping between opinions, I actually bloody loved it.

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Clockwork Angel // Clockwork Prince // Clockwork Princess
THE INFERNAL DEVICES TRILOGY

- by Cassandra Clare

2.0/5.0 stars

A sort-of spin-off trilogy to The Mortal Instruments series, The Infernal Devices follows the Shadow World but in London, 1878 where Tessa Gray is thrown into the supernatural underworld as she searches for her missing brother. It's not long before she realises she's in a game of cat-and-mouse and that her only allies are the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, including Will and Jem who join her in her desperate search for the truth. But what they uncover is darker than what any of them imagined and it's soon revealed that their enemy is in fact the Pandemonium Club - a secret organisation of Downworlders and recruited humans - that are building an invincible army of clockwork soldiers in an attempt to destroy Shadowhunters and all that they stand for. Suddenly, the fate of their world lies in the hands of two teenage boys and a girl who's only ever known what it's like to wear elegant dresses and how to act "right and proper"...do they even stand a chance against the clockwork army?

This series is so hyped up and it was promised repeatedly to be better than TMI, and after all my mixed feelings about those books, I was kind of excited to start these. And it fell flat.

I think Cassandra Clare's strong suits will always be world-building and creating action scenes, and she delivers again as she writes of the Victorian era and describes London beautifully. It's how I've always imagined London to have been. Together with the mannerisms and language that her characters employ, she's succeeded in realistically representing the time period in which her story evolves and that's no easy feat. But her plot was weak and the story dragged for the most part; it felt very reminiscent of TMI from all sorts of angles and I think I just got tired of reading it. The characters are merely mildly likeable, the love interest(s) simply weren't interesting, and the attempted humour didn't work. It just wasn't for me. It didn't quite hold the magic of TMI because whilst I had issues with it, I loved so many of the characters and the relationships that Cassandra Clare built with it, and I could forgive her flaws because there were so many strengths in her writing that still shone through as I got caught up in the world she created. Clockwork Angel on the other hand was bland, uninteresting, and a forgery of Clare's first series that swept us up in the Shadow World in the first place. Clockwork Prince was just the same but declined so badly that I didn't even bother reading past twenty pages of Clockwork Princess.

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Girl Online

- by Zoe Sugg a.k.a. ZOELLA

1.0/5.0 stars

I should have stuck to my guns and never picked this up. But curiosity got the better of me. As it so often does.

For those of you who don't know, Zoe, otherwise known as Zoella, is a Youtuber/vlogger who released a book last year based on a main character that is loosely centred around her. Penny is sixteen and the writer of the anonymous blog, Girl Online. She blogs about high school dramas, her (non-existent) love life, and her struggles with anxiety and her recent panic attacks. But when she suffers from an awkward, embarrassing moment that immediately goes viral, her social status heavily falls through the ground and even her blog isn't enough of an escape. Unable to face the world, she joins her parents on a trip to New York where she discovers new things, faces her fears, and falls in love. The new Penny is fearless - but when she returns to the UK high on love and liberation, can she still be fearless when secrets are leaked that threaten not just her relationship, but also her online space?

The target audience for this book is 12-16 years and it shows. The writing is juvenile, the descriptions too "fluffy", the story ludicrous. Penny is naive and I just couldn't like her enough to get a grip with the story. The rest of the characters were shallow and rigidly built towards certain stereotypes. The plot was so far-fetched, it's ridiculous. It was a cheesy insta-love story that was cliched to the T and the so-called climax was so stupid that I had to laugh. And the ending was as fluffy as the remainder of the book. I can't fathom how on earth there's a sequel to this story. I mean, I'm ten years older than Zoe's target audience and perhaps even 90% of her fan-base so maybe my opinion doesn't count, but I'm still entitled to it. Personally, the lack of creative flair and writing talent shows and maybe it's best if she sticks to all things beauty and Youtube because writing is definitely not in her talent arsenal.

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Things We Know By Heart

- by Jessi Kirby

3.0/5.0 stars

Quinn's boyfriend, Trent, was involved in an accident in which he lost his life at seventeen. Over a year later, Quinn has contacted all the recipients of his donated organs in an attempt to get closure and move on with her life. As she hears back from all but one, she wonders why the recipient of Trent's heart has remained silent. And it is him, from among all the recipients, that she is desperate to hear from the most because the heart is not just an organ; there is a stranger out there with the essence of Trent flowing through his veins. Maybe if she can meet him, Quinn will find her peace of mind. But once she has tracked down nineteen year old Colton Thomas, the guy who lives and breathes because Trent unknowingly gifted him with the gift of life, she feels a connection - a connection that may not be because of what links the two together. And as she spends more time with him, Quinn is torn between falling for the guy whose every heartbeat reminds her of the past, and taking a chance on him to re-build a future in which she feels alive...

I actually quite liked this book. It hovers somewhere between "okay" and "liked it". I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, but it was an easy read that I found myself enjoying. Quinn was a realistic main character; I felt her pain and her struggle as she's trapped in her guilt for trying to move on from Trent. I could relate to her internal conflict when it came to opening up and letting someone in again. The story-line, whilst predictable and simple, was different and it worked in telling a light story that held deeper meaning. Its themes are powerful and it tells the wonderful truth that there truly are second chances. The supporting characters were likeable and glimpses into their personalities and their roles in Quinn's life added to the story that we follow as readers. And lastly, Colton is a beautifully constructed character. He's thoughtful, kind and just so genuine; he cares for Quinn and after what he's gone through, he wants to make her see the beauty in life. I loved how he strengthened her, gave her faith, and gave her reason to let go of the hurt she carries in order to make space for a little happiness. But beyond that, he has a much more complex dimension; despite now having a healthy heart beating in his chest, he still deals with the aftermath of having lived with a failing heart and the surgeries, medication, and emotional struggle that came with it. His side of the story is not one that is usually told, and to have an insight into life post-heart transplant was pretty eye-opening. Jessi Kirby made him a profound character with soul and a desire to just live life, and it made his relationship with Quinn a joy to watch unravel. It wasn't a WOW book; it didn't change my life or make the ground beneath me shatter, but it was a lovely read that resounded with meaningful messages.

I've Got Your Number

- by Sophie Kinsella

4.0/5.0 stars

Any fan of Sophie Kinsella will know that her books are outright hilarious. To the point where it is so dangerous to read her in public. And I've Got Your Number is no exception. I read it on the train and I read it in lectures and it was so damn hard to hold my laughter in; my face was probably so contorted with the effort of suppressing subsequent laugh-out-loud moments that I must have looked like a bloody lunatic.

I'm immediately drawn to anything Sophie Kinsella writes; she promises a love story full of laughs and heart-warming moments, an easy, feel-good, chick-lit read that whilst predictable, will make you fall in love with her characters and leave you feeling glowing on the inside. I was in desperate need of a book that I wouldn't have to try too hard to enjoy, so a book written by her felt like a no-brainer and so began my journey with I've Got Your Number, a story about Poppy who is engaged to her perfect boyfriend, Magnus. There's just a slight glitch. She's lost her engagement ring, a family heirloom, at the hotel where her hen-do was held and her in-laws are due to fly in from America that very day expecting to see the ring that's been in their family for three generations, on her ring finger. To top it all off, her phone gets stolen and she descends into the ultimate panic. Then she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. That makes it public property right? In her desperation to find the ring, she snatches up the phone and gives out the number to the hotel staff so they can contact her in case they find it. But the phone belongs to businessman Sam Raxton and he wants his phone back...Poppy however cannot afford to give it back while she could be one phone call away from finding her ring. They strike a deal and what follows is a disastrous but hilarious mess as they upend each other's lives through emails and text messages. Drowning in wedding preparations, lousy attempts at hiding her left hand, and a whole lot of misunderstandings as she gets dragged into Sam's world, Poppy is about to have the shocker of her life as truths surface, truths that will inevitably change Poppy's life.

This book was a joy to read. From start to finish, I couldn't put it down because I was so caught up in Poppy's world and the ridiculous situations that engulfed her. Poppy is likeable, funny, and so entertaining, and it was fun to follow her story and the revelations that shook her world. The back and forth communication between her and Sam, and their altercations were so hilarious and their little Sherlock Holmes adventure that captures the last 40% of the book added something to this adorable read and it was just as compelling and engaging as the other 60%. Sophie Kinsella always writes these super cute but relatable romances that are a light, guilty pleasure read and she almost always veers off into the "ridiculous zone" but you know what, I am yet to come across another author that makes it work. She makes it work. I don't know how she pulls it off, how she can inject so much humour into 300 pages, develop a ludicrous plot that you somehow buy into and can't stop reading, and create wonderfully flawed characters that you instantly connect with - I mean, kudos to her. She is an absolute pleasure to read. And to hell with it, it's not guilty at all. Go pick up one of her books. Any of them. You won't regret it.

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Rebel Belle // Miss Mayhem

- by Rachel Hawkins

4.0/5.0 stars

Rebel Belle was a pleasant surprise. It's had its fair share of praise and it was the subject of booktube/booklr when it was first released and I have to admit, it's somewhat deserved. Oh, and can we please appreciate how pretty this cover is? (Not gonna lie - it was a contributing factor to me picking it up).

Harper Price is the definition of perfect at her high school; the president of multiple committees, the head of cheerleading, and about to be crowned Homecoming Queen, she is preened to perfection. But come the night of the Homecoming Dance, an accidental run-in with the dying janitor who was attacked by her history teacher leaves her with a string of "superpowers" as she is marked as the new Paladin; an ancient warrior who is sworn to protect something - or someone - to her death, and with her role comes the power of incredible strength, agility, and lethal fighting instincts. She thinks she's going insane. But just as she's thrown into this almost-alternate universe where her life is completely upside down, she discovers that her duty as Paladin is to protect David Stark, writer of the school newspaper, nephew of the woman Harper would die to impress, and the guy she has loathed since kindergarten who reciprocates this feeling of loathing. Together, they unravel the secrets that lie in him being the subject of her protection and before long, they realise that they're irrevocably bound to one another - and as powerful people catch up with David in an attempt to use him to possibly destroy the world, he and Harper must join forces to not only protect him, but also to protect the rest of the world before all hell breaks loose.

I almost gave up on this book about 10% in. Almost. It all started off as a "fluffy", shallow high-school teen soap that I couldn't care for and then Harper got her abilities and it all seemed so stupidly ridiculous. I forced myself to go on though, and as Harper takes all this craziness into her stride, the mystery surrounding David comes undone and I got totally sucked in. Harper goes from party princess to kickass heroine in a matter of chapters and it's done brilliantly. The insults that are traded between her and David are entertaining and it was so fun to watch them work together to discover what's going on; they have the perfect combination of wit and intellect and to see them have one another's backs despite their differences made the story, and their building relationship, work. The character development was spot on and the high-school dramas weren't angsty or tedious, but rather relevant to the story and it played a role in the overall execution of the plot. The plot itself had just enough suspense, humour and romance to successfully hook me in and honestly, this book was quite simply a light, entertaining read that I shouldn't have enjoyed, but I well and truly did. If there's ever a guilty pleasure read, it's this one.

Also - the ending of the second book?!?
NO. NO NO NO NO NO
IT IS UNACCEPTABLE FOR AN AUTHOR TO END A BOOK LIKE THAT WHEN THE NEXT ONE ISN'T OUT TILL NEXT YEAR
fjdkgdghsgnjdsgjdbgj

Bloody authors and their bloody cliffhangers.

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Between Shades of Gray

- by Ruta Sepetys

4.5/5.0 stars

I can't fault Between Shades of Gray. From its writing style to vivid imagery to a harsh realism that brought an untold story to life, Ruta Sepetys nailed her debut novel.

Fifteen year old Lina is an artist; her talent is beyond her years and it is in her drawings that she finds solace. It is drawing that keeps her alive in 1941 when the Soviets invade her home in Lithuania, deporting her to a labour camp in the Arctic Circle in Siberia alongside her mother and younger brother whilst her father's whereabouts remain unknown. Her fight for survival against Stalin's brutal regimes and the cruel conditions she is subjected to spans decades, during which she draws the cities through which they travel on her harrowing journey North. Documenting the locations like a dot-to-dot map, and writing in letters the events that transpire, she hopes to get word to her father who is locked up in prison, that they are alive. She desperately hopes that he will save them.

A tale about survival and the stories of people that are bound together by the brutal circumstances of war, I couldn't put this book down. I've studied WWII from the perspective of Russia and Germany so I'm well acquainted with Stalin's dictatorship, Hitler's plans for Germany, and the alliances that Russia formed - initially with Britain and France, before switching sides and siding with Germany. I learnt about their respective armies as well as their innocent civilians that suffered at the hands of these two ruthless armies. And whilst I also learnt about their invasions of Poland, Lithuania, and Finland - to name a few - my history lessons didn't cover what their people went through, how their lives were ripped apart as these alliances were broken and formed. Ruta Sepetys delivers an insight into it that is both deeply harrowing, and powerfully poignant.

I was grossly fascinated by the inhumane acts that were carried out on human beings, at the hands of human beings. How an iota of compassion couldn't be found in the hearts of soldiers as they tortured, raped, killed the people that they had forced out of their home country. How human life meant so little, how it had no value. Lina's story was captivating. It made me feel every emotion that exists on the spectrum with a story told in simple prose. Lina's narrative is so raw, so heart-breakingly tragic, that whilst she expresses little emotion herself, the reader of that narrative feels it ten-fold. Without descriptive world-building, through Lina's eyes I could picture the crowded trains that took her from the safety of her home to the freezing winters of Siberia, the picturesque Lithuania that she lost and remembered through her memories, and the bitter cold of the labour camps that stole life and hope in barbaric ways. It's just such an exceptionally written novel based on truth that opens up your eyes to the horrors that human beings are capable of inflicting on one another. It truly hits home. Cold-blooded murder without a shred of mercy for the innocent - kind of makes you think of the world we're living in now doesn't it?

"I felt as if I were riding a pendulum. Just as I would swing into the abyss of hopelessness, the pendulum would swing back with some small goodness" ~ Lina

Kauser

Part-time blogger, full-time scientist, and lifetime Liverpool fan. Follow me as I document my life, from uni woes, to the chaos of adulthood, and every other awkward moment in-between that is part and parcel of being a socially introverted twenty-something year old.