The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Before I read this trilogy, I have read The Mortal Instruments series. So I was already well-known with Cassandra's fantastic writing-style. Because of that, I really wanted to read the stunning prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

I tried really hard to write a non-spoiler review, but I just couldn't do it. So if you haven't read the books yet, do NOT read the review of Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess.

Book one: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Published: August 31st 2010 by Simon & Schuster, Margaret K. McElderry
Genres: Ya, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance
Pages: 479
Goodreads




Clockwork Angel is a novel written by Cassandra Clare. It's about Tessa Gray who goes to London to live with her brother. But when she arrives she is captured by 'the Dark Sisters'. After a few weeks Tessa is finally rescued by the beautiful Shadowhunter William Herondale. She is taken to the London Institute, were she agrees to use her ability ( =shape-shifting) to help the Nephilim. In return they promised Tessa to help her search for her brother Nate. During her days at the Institute she befriends the two mysterious shadowhunters Will and Jem.

The first 50-100 pages of this book were a bit boring, but when I read further I was really into the story. As usual Cassandra wrote a beautiful trilogy.

Characters: 
There were a few characters that are also in TMI, for example Magnus Bane and Camille. I found it pleasant to read about characters that you already knew. I also enjoyed reading about the Lightwoods and Herondales. After reading this trilogy I really want/need to re-read TMI.

Tessa: What I really liked about Tessa is that sometimes she can be very stubborn and immensely curious. Tessa's love-story was very complicated. She loves Will and Jem at the same time. Normally I hate love triangles. I just really hate it! But in this story I kind of liked it... . I mean I wanted Tessa to end up with Will, but at the same time I thought that Tessa and Jem were really cute together. This is the first love triangle that I did not hate, although I was sometimes irritated. I'm just not a person who supports love triangles.

Will: I'm team Will all the way! He comes across as rude and arrogant, but I loved his quick wit and sarcasm. He often made me laugh out loud. And if a character can make me laugh out loud a lot, it means it's a great character! Will's character resembles a lot to Jace's and I loved Jace in the Mortal Instruments so how could I not love Will? Will pretends that he doesn't care about others (besides his Parabatai Jem) and he keeps everyone at arms-length. But I knew he did this with a reason...only...what is the reason?? (You'll find out in the second book.)

Jem: James is the opposite of his Parabatai Will. He is kind, calm and quiet. I love Jem, but not so much as I love Will. Jem cares a lot about others and he is so nice. Sometimes I found him too nice haha. Who would have thought that? Unfortunately, Jem is sick, when he was little and lived in the Shanghai Institute, the Greater Demon Yanluo killed his parents and tortured Jem by poisoning him with Yin Fen. Now he is addicted to the drug and there is no cure. Because of all of this, Jem would not have long to live.

Charlotte and Henry: I love this couple! They run the Institute together, but Henry actually doesn't help. Charlotte is kind and loving, but she's very capable of leading. Henry is an optimist, he likes to think positive at all times and he is always so cheerful, which I love about him. Henry is also an inventor.

Sophie: Sophie works at the Institute as the ladies' maid. She's kind, but often shy. Before she worked at the Institute, she worked as a parlor maid in a house in St. Johns Wood. The son of her employer, Teddy, tried to seduce her several times. Sophie turned him down. Teddy was so furious that he cut Sophie's face with a knife and he said that if he couldn't have her, nobody would want her. I feel sorry for Sophie, she's such a sweet girl and she did not deserve this. You see her grow out of her shell during the story. Every time she became stronger, I began to like her more and more.

Book Two: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Published: December 6th 2011 by Simon & Schuster Margaret K. McElderry
Genres: Ya, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance
Pages: 502
Goodreads



Clockwork prince is the second novel in the Infernal Devices trilogy. Tessa and her friends must find the Magister (=Mortmain) who hopes to marry Tessa and wants to use her ability of shape-shifting for his revenge on the shadowhunters.

I loved this book as much as the first one. They were both brilliant books. I loved Will even more in this book, because the wall he has built around himself was crumbling. Clockwork Prince reveals why he always was so mean. It's because he thought he was cursed and if anyone would love him, they would die. When the truth was finally out, we got to know the real Will. Then Will explained his love for Tessa, but it was too late. She was already engaged with Jem. Jem and Tessa were so cute together in Clockwork Prince. Jem was stronger and happier then he was before because of her. How lovely :)

New Characters: In the second and third book you get to know new characters. Cassandra's characters are so amazing. I loved everyone in this story.

Gabriel Lightwood: I always found that Will and Gabriel had a lot of the same character traits. If they didn't hate each other so much they would be good friends. I'm sure about that. But I actually liked to read about how they hate each other. It was very entertaining. It was also very predictable when Gabriel and Cecily fell in love, I loved the interaction between them. They are meant to be and they're my OTP!

Gideon Lightwood: Gideon was stupidly in love with Sophie, he tried to get her attention a lot. The way he always searched for a reason to just talk to her made me smile. I'm glad that a gentleman like Gideon was in love with her, because Sophie deserve someone like him. They are so sweet together!

Cecily Herondale: I love Cecily! She was the female replica of Will. Which is actually obvious 
because they are brother and sister. Cecily also had a great sense of humor and sarcasm. You get to know her well in the third book. She came to the Institute to rescue her brother. She thought that shadowhunters were evil creatures. So Cecily wanted to bring Will home .After a while she realizes that Will is already home, and so is she.

Book three; Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
Published: September 5th 2013 by Walker Books Ltd (First Published March 19th 2013)
Genres: Ya, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance
Pages: 567
Goodreads

Mortmain wants to destroy the shadowhunters world. But before he can do that, he needs someone who can help him with that. He needs Tessa. When Mortmain abducts Tessa, Jem and Will will do anything to rescue her. But time is precious in this heart-breaking end... .

This was the best book of the trilogy! I did not even care about Mortmain in this story, I only wanted to know what happened with Tessa, Jem and Will. Was Tessa going to choose between them? Is Jem going to die because of the Yin Fen? I had so many questions. Fortunately, all of my questions were answered in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Ending/epilogue: I loved the end so much! It was perfect! I am still not over it! SPOILER ALERT everyone gets what they wanted. Will got the life he always dreamed about. He married Tessa and they have two children. Eventually he died of age. I was so sad and happy at the same time. It saddens me that Will is dead, but from the beginning I hoped that Will would have his dream life and he did. Even Jem got his. Because Tessa was immortal, she did not age and neither did Jem. He changed into a silent brother so that he wasn't addicted to the Yin Fen anymore. At the end (eighty years later), Jem was released from the Silent Brothers and he and Tessa got back together. Tessa truly loved the two boys and that is what matters to me.

“Most people are lucky to have even one great love in their life. You have found two.”

There is one more thing that I wanted to talk about and that is: when Jem transformed into a Silent Brother they named him brother Zachariah. I immediately knew that this name came for in The Mortal Instruments. So now I need to re-read the Mortal Instruments, I want to know more about Jem! When I read the Mortal Instruments I did not care about Brother Zachariah, and now I blame myself for it.

“Life was an uncertain thing.”

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Published by Viking's Children's Books on June 16th 2009
Genres: YA contemporary, romance
Pages: 383

Goodreads

Along for the Ride is a novel written by Sarah Dessen. It follows Auden West, an insomniac. Ever since her parents started fighting she had not been able to rest well. (They're divorced now.) In the late hours, she goes to a cafe called Rays to spend her time until the morning lights come shining through. Auden decides to spend the summer at Colby where her father, stepmom Heidi and her new-born stepsister Thisbe reside. There she expects to do the same things as she always does: studying ahead for her upcoming university classes. What Auden did not expect, was that she was going to meet some kick-ass friends and a boy who shares the same problem as her. They spend their nights together and make some amazing memories, but who knows what will happen?

Characters:
I think Sarah Dessen's characters are so amazing and also relatable. She creates these characters that remind us that not everyone is perfect and everyone does have flaws. I especially loved the growth and transformation of each character. The development of each and every one in this book was just marvelous. I loved and enjoyed reading about them.

Auden:
For once I didn't hate the main character, I didn't find her annoying and I didn't get irritated. That’s actually a surprise lol, a very good one because I absolutely CANNOT stand annoying, immature protagonists. Most of the times I get very annoyed with the MC. Not for the whole book, just some scenes. I didn’t have that problem here and I’m so glad I didn’t because I was kind of tired of hating everyone and everything in this world of ours. The way Auden grew to the person she is now, is fantastic. One summer changed her entire life. She grew out of her shell and learned who she truly is. Not the person her mother and father had strived her to be. My guess is that they were much stricter with Auden because of her brother, who is traveling Europe instead of fulfilling the dream of their parents by becoming a lawyer. Or something like that. But thanks to the wonderful Eli, she got to relive the childhood she never had. It was so heart-warming to read about them and every time they got a little bit closer, I was just smiling so hard : ). I actually found it pretty funny that Jason dumped Auden, TWICE! Poor Auden even though I was relieved he cancelled the second time too because duh. Eli. They’re my OTP for sure.

Eli: *Swoons* I love Eli Stock. He's so incredibly...Eli? Haha. I just really adore him. He's been through a lot and is still being pressured by some people to continue what he did before the accident. I understand why he stopped doing what he did. He was so mysterious at first and I didn’t really know what to expect from him. I ended up really, really liking him as you may already have noticed. Auli (a.k.a. my ship name for Auden and Eli) moments were my favourite to read about. They’re just so cute and ughhh the feels. Anyways, Eli is boyfriend material.

Heidi: When Auden's mom described Heidi, I expected her to be a woman whose wardrobe only consists of pink clothing and is a (little bit) dumb. She was the opposite of that. Well not the pink part because she does wear a shit lot of pink. Heidi's actually a really good business woman. She runs the clothing shop Clementine's but isn’t in the store a lot because she’s taking care of Thisbe, and Robert (Auden’s dad) isn’t really helping her with anything. Heidi doesn't want help with the baby because she wants to do it all by herself. This causes her to stress a lot and when Auden arrives, Robert's using his daughter to watch Thisbe so he doesn't have to do it. Anyways, Heidi is a headstrong person, just like almost every other character in the book. She knows that she's doing. I really enjoyed reading about Heidi.

Hollis: Hollis is living my dream. He's traveling through Europe and even though I live in Europe I haven't been able to travel to every country. I'd love to do that one day! Hollis is that funny brother that loves himself a lot. I laughed at how he sent Auden a photo-frame with 'the best time' on it and a picture of him in front of the Taj Mahal inside. The note was even better! And when he met Laura, Hollis changed completely! He was willing to change because of a girl soooooo I think he really likes her. ;)

Maddie, Esther & Leah: I LOVE THESE GIRLS. They're your typical teenage/on the verge of being adult girls! They gossip, they read magazines and they talk about boys of course.
Maddie's my favourite of the three girls just because she's the most relatable to me. And she was the one that accompanied Auden when she was feeling a little down. Maddie also surprised me when she was riding that BMX. I thought she was too girly to do those things, oops. I shouldn't be judging someone by her/his looks, I know. When I read that Auden and her were roomies, I was internally screaming.
Leah was so funny! She constantly talked about how she wanted to go to the Taliho (??? I forgot the name of that club) and score some hot, older guy who she doesn't already know for a long time. But no, no, no to the Taliho!
Esther was the nicer one of the group and she had a car, that broke. When she first said that, I thought someone of her family died or something, not her car.
So in short: I loved all three of their personalities and them of course.

Robert (Auden's dad): In my opinion, Robert should've helped Heidi more with Thisbe. He is so egoistical and keeps using his excuse that he needs more than 9 hours of sleep to not be moody or something. Just like Auden's mom said: 'people never change'. He was just like this when Hollis and Auden were born. In the end, he did his 'best' and helped Heidi more.

Auden's mom (I forgot her name): She expected Auden to be a copy of her own and was disappointed when she saw that Auden changed during her stay in Colby. They fought because of that etc.. She learned to accept that Auden wasn’t going to be a copy her. I’m actually hoping that she ends up with Finn (the student) and does not shut him out.

Thisbe: Like I said, I loved all of the people in this book. Even Thisbe had character! As a new-born baby, she cried a lot, more than the average baby I’m guessing, because she has intestinal cramps (I’m not sure if that’s how you say it). It’s normal for a baby to do that though!


Plot:
Just like most contemporaries, I did not know what to expect from this book. I also didn't expect to love it. But man, I loved it! I loved the characters, their growth throughout the story, the plot, just everything!

I did read the Dutch version, which is called Spring Maar Achterop and had some troubles with it. Some details weren't correct and some sentences just didn't make sense? I don't think that's the case with the original.
(I recommend you to read the original, English version instead of a translated one for the sake of those who're like me and get annoyed easily with these minor details.)

When I got the book at this book expo, it seemed very appealing. Afterwards, I was not anticipating reading the book because...I don't really know. I forced myself to start reading Along for the Ride and the first 30-50 pages were a bit slow for me, but after those pages I was very into the story and loving it. I enjoyed Along for the Ride way more than I expected and I hope you do to because I recommend you to read it! I haven't read any other of Dessen's books, but I'm excited to because I really liked this one and can't wait to find out if I'll like the rest.

Overall I gave it a 4.5 stars.

“Life is full of screw-ups. You're supposed to fail sometimes. It's a required part of the human existence.”

“What defines you isn't how many times you crash, but the number of times you get back up.”

The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Published March 14th 2006 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Genres: Historical Fiction, Ya, World War II
Pages: 550
Goodreads

The Book Thief is a historical fiction written by Markus Zusak. The story follows Liesel Meminger, a 9-year-old German girl who is going to live with her foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Hans teaches Liesel to read and write. Liesel becomes obsessed with reading and shares her stolen books with her neighbors and the Jewish man hidden in her basement during bombing raids. She quickly befriends the neighbor boy Rudy, who has a crush on her. But is her life going to stay the same after these dark times?

Well, there are already many reviews for this book, so I know that there are people who hate and people who love this book. I just loved every piece of it! It's actually one of my favorite books and I don't easily say that. Zusak's writing-style was really special but beautiful. The Book Thief is narrated by Death. At first I found it a little strange but when I read further it made perfect sense.

Characters: I did not always agree with Liesel, but that does not mean that I didn't love her. I loved that little girl with all my heart! The way Liesel was always busy with 'words' was fascinating, like she loves how words can fill her up, but she realizes that words can be ugly things at the same time. I also loved the other characters like Max, the Jewish man that was hidden in her basement. Max became a good friend of Liesel. I loved the way they had taken care of each other and when Max was ill, Liesel searched for gifts for him. I just found that so cute. They were like brother and sister. And then you have Rudy. I adore that boy. He was my favorite character of this book. The way he always looked for opportunities to get a kiss from Liesel was heartwarming and he often made me laugh. Every character in this book was unique and you get attached to the them so easily.

Ending: This was such a heart wrenching end, but it was so BRILLIANT! I can't explain it... . It was really sad but so realistic and that makes it marvelous. It's a story that really left me speechless. I'm not going to tell you more about it, because if you haven't read it yet I would ruin the whole story for you.

I recommend the Book Thief not only to teenagers but to adults as well. It is a book for anyone who loves a beautiful heart-breaking novel.

           "I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Published by St. Martin's Press on September 3d 2013

Genres: contemporary, romance, young adult

Pages: 438

Goodreads

Fangirl is a contemporary young adult novel written by Rainbow Rowell. The story follows Cath Avery, an eighteen year old girl who just started college. She's fan of Simon Snow, kind of like the Harry Potter books. With her twin-sister Wren, Cath writes fan fiction. Cath is famous on there, anonymously as Magicath. But now they're going to college and Wren is done with Simon Snow and decides to room with another person. Cath is very uncomfortable with these changes, but she'll get through it right? Or not? Not only does Cath meet incredible friends and maybe a possible boyfriend. She reconnects with Wren and everything seems to fall back in place.

*WARNING: CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS*

Characters

Rainbow Rowell's characters always seem so realistic. (I’ve only read Fangirl [FOR NOW] but just go with it.) That's what I loved so much about this book. Every character is someone special and unique with their own flaws. I connected to them immediately and felt as if I knew them in real life. My favourite character was Cath though. I know, I know. What a surprise haha. I could relate so much to Cath, given that I'm a total fangirl! Plus, she is hilarious and awkward around people. That totally sound like me ;). She was annoying at some points. She couldn’t accept any change. Especially when their mother was brought up. I know it’s hard to do such things, but at least give it/her (in this case) a try. However, she did grow throughout the course of the book.

I also adored Reagan oh my god. I think she might be my runner-up for favourite character. Reagan was so amazing and funny. She helped Cath grow out of her shell (room) and if she wouldn't have done that, Cath would not have experienced so many things. Reagan is a couple of years older than Cath. She’s independent and doesn’t mince her words. Everyone needs that kind of friend.  

Levi is so cute and witty and amazing and lovable and *sigh*. He’s so understanding and cares a lot about Cath, just as Cath cares about Levi. Everything a girl wants in a boyfriend. Alongside Reagan, Levi helped Cath grow out of her shell. He and Reagan took her out bowling, parties etc. . *SPOILER* He even showed her what it is like to like/love someone (my heart is smiling right now thinking of them).

Wren was not someone that I liked at first because she was so, I don't know how to say it, annoying? It was like she only wanted to go out and get drunk. Wren's roommate was even worse oh my god don't even get me started on her. I don’t necessarily hate Courtney, but I do not ‘like’ her either. Back to Wren. I think I understand why she wanted a break from Cath. They were always together: at school, at home etc., but they’re also twins so yeah. Wren was nice when she wasn’t drunk or hungover from the night before. And after that hospital visit because of alcohol poisoning, the bond between Cath and Wren was restored. Best friends forever! Lol.

In short: I liked almost all of the characters. Some more than others, but I really liked them. No one is perfect, but they’re perfect to me.

Plot

I was intrigued by the title of this book because I have to admit, I'm a total fangirl (as stated above)! The summary appealed to me, but I didn't know what I could expect. However I loved it so much. It’s about a girl dealing with her college life. She’s an introvert so making friends isn’t on her list of ‘best qualities’. She does make 2 wonderful friends, Reagan and Levi. They help her in a lot of ways. She also meets one not-so-great ‘friend’ named Nick. At first I found him okay, but THEN not so okay anymore. What he did was so wrong. Luckily the professor Piper found out because otherwise I would be smashing Nick’s face with a brick. *THIS MIGHT BE A SPOILER. I DON’T REALLY KNOW THOUGH. SO IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DON’T LOOK AT THE NEXT SENTENCE.* Plagiary is not cool people.

Anyways, I ADORE this book. Holy s**t it's so good. The writing style is on point! I had huge expectations for Fangirl and it didn't disappoint at all. I recommend this to everyone who loves a good contemporary. Actually, I recommend it to everyone! Just read it all of you lovely people out there.

Happily ever after, or even just together ever after, is not cheesy. It's the noblest, like the most courageous thing two people can do.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Published by HarperCollins on February  7th 2012 (first published January 1st 2011)
Genres: Ya science fiction
Pages: 441
Goodreads


I was looking for a fun read. So I checked goodreads and found this. It looked like a lovely trilogy and I ordered the three books so I had to read all the books. I found this a waste of money, because I did not like this serie at all. I'm so sorry for the people who love this trilogy and I do understand why they love it... but it just wasn't for me.

Delirium: Delirium is a Ya science-fiction novel written by Lauren Oliver. It's about Lena Holoway who lives in a world were love is a disease called 'Deliria'. Within ninety-five days she will be safe and get a life without love and pain because the government demands that all the citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, the unthinkable happens: Lena met a boy and falls in love.

Characters: I had a problem with Lena. She really bothered me sometimes and I do not know why. But at the same time I felt a connection with her. I think that's because she's the narrator and Lauren described her feelings/ thoughts really well. Alex (the boy Lena falls in love with) also had a great personality and I felt a connection with him. But only with those two characters, not with the others like Hanna (Lena's best friend) or Lena's aunt. In the beginning I did not like Hanna, but she changed during the books and in the last book I understood her and I began to like her.

I found the first book not so good, but not bad either.
After I finished the first one I was excited for the second one because I wanted to know what happend with Lena and Alex. So I started reading Pandemonium and damn, I just did not like it. I mean come on! I almost was going to spoil, but I don't want to do that. So let's go further with the third book: Requiem. Requiem was such a disappointing book. It was really predictable and I found it dull, but I did have the courage to read further. I'm glad I finished this trilogy and okay, I was also happy with the ending, but I think Lauren should have written an epilogue.

"You can't be happy unless you're unhappy sometimes."