Month: March 2021

Review: Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3)

Title: Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: March 19, 2013
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Review:

The Shadowhunters of the London Institute must find Mortmain before he can release his automatons on the world. Tessa and Jem are engaged to be married, but the countdown is on when his condition worsens. After a battle with the automatons, Tessa is kidnapped, leading the Shadowhunters on a mission to save her and stop Mortmain.

This was a fabulous finale to this trilogy! There was so much love and heartbreak. I felt like there were so many endings to the story. Halfway through, I felt like the story could have been finished, so I didn’t know what would happen next. The same thing happened with 100 pages left. The ending was quite drawn out but it completed each character’s storyline.

The ending of this book was both beautiful and heartbreaking. I didn’t see how the love triangle between Tessa, Will, and Jem could possibly end happily. There was a much more positive conclusion to that story than I could have predicted, even though it was still so heartbreaking.

I’m very curious to see what happens in Chain of Gold, which is the start of the series that follows this one chronologically. The Infernal Devices was such an amazing series!

What to read next:

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Other books in the series:

Have you read Clockwork Princess? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday – Spring Cleaning My TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is a Spring Cleaning Freebie, so these books are ones I want to read and clean off my TBR this year. Here’s my list:

1. From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

2. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

3. The Camelot Betrayal by Kiersten White

4. Fable by Adrienne Young

5. A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

6. Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez

7. The Guest List by Lucy Foley

8. Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

9. Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

10. The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

(All book covers from Goodreads)

What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?

Happy Pub Day – March 9

Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett

Martian Ghost Centaur by Mat Heagerty, Steph Mided

Amina’s Song by Hena Khan

When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert

Her Dark Lies by J.T. Ellison

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

City of Spells by Alexandra Christo

Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olson

Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst

American Betiya by Anuradha D. Rajurkar

It’s Kind of a Cheesy Love Story by Lauren Morrill

Can’t Take That Away by Steven Salvatore

Tell Me My Name by Amy Reed

Ravage the Dark by Tara Sim

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Martian Ghost Centaur

Title: Martian Ghost Centaur
Author: Mat Heagerty, Steph Mided
Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Oni Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 16, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Full of humor, heart, and hilarious hijinks, Martian Ghost Centaur is a touching story about protecting the things you love and following your passion.

The town of Southborough used to be a major tourism destination, drawing folks from all over in the hopes they’d spot the famous Sasquatch, reportedly seen in the town many times over the years. But it’s been ages since anyone’s spotted the ‘squatch, and tourism is starting to dry up. To build their techie headquarters, a tech company called Start-up.com begins buying places all over town, driving out all the local townspeople. Luckily, Southborough is also home to Louie O’Connor, firm believer in the Sasquatch’s existence and all-around mega ‘squatch fan.

When Louie’s dads’ restaurant, Squatch Burger, starts to go under and fall prey to the techie start-up, Louie and her best friend Felix decide they’ll do whatever it takes to save the town from losing all the people and places that make it special. In hopes that convincing people the Sasquatch is real and to re-attract tourism, Louie and Felix plan an elaborate hoax in hopes of saving the town from the dot-com takeover. But when Felix starts talking about leaving their hometown for college in LA, Louie will have to face some tough questions about herself, her future career, and her place in her beloved hometown.

Review:

The town of Southborough is known for their Sasquatch sightings. Since the first sighting eighteen years ago, it has been a popular tourist destination. However, now people aren’t as eager to visit the famous town. Louie O’Connor is worried about her family and their restaurant. Many stores and houses in the town are being bought by a tech entrepreneur who wants to own the town. When the truth behind their Sasquatch is uncovered by an vlogger who Louie invited to the town, they have to find another way to draw tourists to the town. Louie and her best friend Felix form a plan to save their town.

This story shows how our perception of things has changed over time. It wasn’t very long ago that we didn’t have the internet and smartphones with us everywhere we went. Now, we know how easily photos or videos can be edited to show something that isn’t real. That becomes a problem for towns like Southborough in this story, which survived on the mystery around their Sasquatch. It wasn’t difficult to find the truth behind those sightings, which destroyed the tourism in the town.

There were some fun references to pop culture from the 90s and early 2000s. The first Sasquatch sighting was made by Louie’s dad while he was filming an audition tape for American Idol in 2003. Louie had a friend who made costumes, including many different costumes of Uncle Joey from Full House. Those were so funny and accurate. I love it when stories make references to things from my childhood, because it makes me feel more connected to the story.

This was a really fun story!

Thank you Oni Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Unplugged and Unpopular by Mat Heagerty, Tintin Pantoja, Mike Amante

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

Have you read Martian Ghost Centaur? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – March 8

This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!

What I just finished:

This weekend I finished Martian Ghost Centaur by Mat Heagerty, Steph Mided.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – March 7

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 9 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?

Sundays in Bed With… Clockwork Princess

The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.

This Sunday I’m reading Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898.png

Goodreads Synopsis:

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

What book are you in bed with today?

Six for Sunday – Books Set in Canada

This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.

This week’s prompt is Books Set in the Country You Live In, so I did Books Set in Canada. Here’s my list:

1. The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham

2. Clara Voyant by Rachelle Delaney

3. Fight Like a Girl by Sheena Kamal

4. Barry Squires, Full Tilt by Heather Smith

5. Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy

6. The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman

(All book covers from Goodreads)

Did you make a Six for Sunday list?

Review: Cemetery Boys

Title: Cemetery Boys
Author: Aiden Thomas
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBTQ
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Source: Purchased
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

Review:

Yadriel’s brujx family has trouble accepting him as a transgender boy. He wants to prove to them that he can be a brujo, so he summons a ghost. The problem is that he can’t send the ghost on to the afterlife. The ghost turns out to be a bad boy from his school, Julian. Julian wants to make sure his friends are okay before going to the afterlife because he can’t remember the final moments of his life. Yadriel agrees to help Julian, but as they get closer, Yadriel gets more reluctant to send Julian’s spirit away.

I loved the way this story looked at gender through traditions and magic. Yadriel’s family was very traditional. They didn’t want to accept him as a brujo because he was born a girl. Some of his family members refused to use his correct pronouns or his preferred name. This was a little complicated, since the Spanish language uses only male or female genders. Similarly, their magic system only identifies someone as a brujo (a boy) or a bruja (a girl). That becomes a problem when someone identifies as male, but the family sees them as female. Yadriel had the support of a couple of family members who helped him find his true magic.

I was shocked at the ending. I didn’t see the final twists coming at all. During the last few chapters, I was getting worried that the story wouldn’t end the way I wanted it to. However, there were some surprises and I was pleased with the ending.

This is an amazing debut! I’m so glad I finally read it.

What to read next:

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

Love and Other Curses by Michael Thomas Ford

Have you read Cemetery Boys? What did you think of it?

Top 5 Saturday – Books I Received As A Gift

This is a weekly meme hosted Devouring Books. This week’s prompt is Books I Got as a Gift. Here’s my list:

1. The Damned by Renée Ahdieh

2. The Camelot Betrayal by Kiersten White

3. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

4. The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

5. The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

(All book covers from Goodreads)

If you’d like to do this list too, consider yourself tagged!

Did you make a Top 5 Saturday list?