"City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments #1)

"When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . "

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City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Completed: 04.08.2013

I'd been contemplating about whether I should read this series, since a tremendous amount of people have recommended this book I thought 'eh, why not?' And I swear that picking up this book has been the best thing to happen to me in a long time!

Meet Clary, she's the epitome of an ordinary girl, until one day - she sees a group of people murder someone in a club. The only problem is, why does it seem like only she can see them? Enter Jace, the biggest jerk you'll ever meet, but you'll end up falling in love with him anyway, just because - he's freaking sexy. 

The storyline was by far the most original piece that I have ever read, and I enjoyed the action and the occasional romance. I'm so tempted to run back to my kindle and start reading the next one, but then I realize that there's yet ANOTHER book coming out next year. Whaaaat?

Four stars! A well written book, with lots of plot twists & heart-thumping action.

"Fae" by C.J. Abedi

"The battle between Light and Dark is about to begin. 

Caroline Ellis sixteenth birthday sets into motion a series of events that have been fated for centuries. A descendant of Virginia Dare, the first child born in the lost colony of Roanoke, and unaware of her birthright as the heir to the throne of the Light Fae, it isn’t until she begins a tumultuous relationship with Devilyn Reilly that the truth is revealed. 

Devilyn is the only one of the Fae who is both of the Light and of the Dark, and struggles to maintain that precarious balance to avoid succumbing to the power of the Dark within him. He is the only one who can save Caroline from those who would destroy her and destroy all hope for unity among the Fae. He promises Caroline that he will protect her at all costs, even when it means protecting her from himself. 

Told from the alternating perspectives of Caroline and Devilyn, FAE draws on mysteries, myths and legends to create a world, and a romance, dangerously poised between Light and Dark."

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Fae by C.J. Abedi

Completed: 04.08.2013

C.J. Abedi have created a world of their own, based in Roanoke the storyline combines folklore with what I like to call "fae-lore".

I do admit that there is a bit of work to be done when it comes to descriptions (or the lack thereof at certain parts of the book) and the overall editing of the book, but nevertheless, this book was an easy read, I loved that each chapter began with quotes and especially how we got to see things from both Devilyn and Caroline's point of view. It really made all the difference!

I commend the effort put into writing a book; especially the first book. So if anyone were to ask me whether I'd read the next book in this series, I'd definitely say yes, because that ending... MAN, THAT ENDING. I need to know what happens!

*I received this book as an eARC from NetGalley*

Three stars! 

"Tempest Revealed" by Tracy Deebs (Tempest #3)

"Half-mermaid Tempest Maguire is trying to have it all: fulfilling her duties as second-in-line to the merQueen Hailana while periodically returning home to the California coastline to be with her family and longtime boyfriend, Mark.

Living under the sea and rebuilding Coral Straits is grueling work, while being back home reminds her of everyone she loves and misses. But when her old flame Kona arrives bearing news that Hailana has died and Tempest is now officially merQueen, she returns permanently to Coral Straits, even though it devastates her family and rips her apart from Mark.

Once there, she discovers that an old enemy has resurfaced, hell-bent on taking over her throne... with or without her. As Tempest prepares for her final showdown against Tiamat and anyone who stands with her, she must decide what - and who - is really important to her. Because there will be few survivors in the ultimate sea battle that is brewing - and Tempest isn't sure she will be one of them."

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Tempest Revealed by Tracy Deebs
Completed: 02.08.2013

After waiting for what felt like eons for this books to come out, I was considerably excited to read this book, seeing as it's the final installment... Let's just say that the excitement started to disappear as I continued reading, and within the first five chapters, I completely lost it.

Starting with the fact that Tempest, who I thought was a strong female character, has turned into the most infuriatingly dependent person. Always expecting someone to fix her mistakes, or deciding to run away instead of facing her problems head-on, not to mention the fact that she's become extremely whiny. I also found that the book had a large amount of loose-ends, so many things left unexplained, or even just certain parts of the book didn't feel... justified.

Then comes the love story. WHAT IN THE GOOD LORD WERE YOU THINKING, TEMPEST? From book one, I had never liked Mark, not that I had anything against him as a character, but I found that he was always so possessive and dominative over Tempest, telling her what to do, where to go, how to deal with things. Gah!

The final book in a series, definitely has to be, for me, one of those books that go out with a BANG! But this one just seemed so, anticlimactic. Now don't get me wrong, there were some parts in this book that had my heart racing, and adrenaline pumping, but I just didn't feel like the author packed enough of a punch into her final book.

Three stars.