The Mortal Instruments: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

   Clary and Jace once again continue their story.  Sebastian, aka Jonathan Morgenstern, has stepped up his game immensely and once again has put the lives of many into danger.  This time though he comes with the powers of Hell behind him.  His interests have changed, and it seems that he would burn the world down for his own amusement.  The only person who has any hold on his dark heart is Clary.  His sister is the only one he would see unharmed by anyone else.  And Sebastian has made allies that will help him achieve his goals.
   Jace is still battling the Heavenly Fire that burns within his veins.  It is hard to control and because of that fact he has a hard time even kissing Clary because of the fear that he will hurt her in some way.  Evidence suggests that it could happen as well.   Even though it is good news that Heavenly Fire could harm Sebastian, it is almost useless when you don't know how to wield the power inside of you.
   The fight, though, will come down to just Sebastian and Clary.  Unfortunately there will be losses and hurt, double-crossing and more.  The Endarkened warriors Sebastian has created come for them all and want blood.  And if Clary, Jace, and their friends cannot stop Sebastian then the whole world will pay.


"You know what I mean. I don't know how I got here. My life was ordinary. I was ordinary-" (Clary)
"You've never been ordinary," (Jace)


"I remember you said this war was a story of Lightwoods and Herondales and Fairchilds, and it is, and Blackthorns and Carstairs as well, and it's amazing to see them..."  (Tessa)


   City of Heavenly Fire was a very good read; one in an ever expanding line of books about The Mortal Instruments.  However, I do have my few complaints about the book.
1. It was a very long book. Cassandra Clare's books are not exactly known for being short, so this is just a minor inconvenience.  And the story is unwrapped so that it keeps your attention throughout.  That balances out the length of it.
2. Perhaps the biggest complaint I have about the book is the fact that there is a scene with teenage sex taking place.  Anyone who has read the books before knew that it was just a matter of time before Jace and Clary went that far.  What I didn't expect was two teenagers under the age of 18.  In fact, it's pointed out in the book that Jace is 17 and Clary is six months younger than he is.  This one part I just felt was a little unnecessary considering who the audience to many of these books tend to be.  Sex sells but that doesn't mean that you should write it.  The only up side to this is the fact that it doesn't go into great detail about it.  However, there's just a definite element of knowing what is going on. (Should you want to avoid this part, it's about 70% of the way through the book.)
3. Do you ever wonder if there will be an end to the series?  I do.  This is book six and it's looking like there will be another book, although this could have been an excellent ending to the series.  The end of the book is wound up together so well you start to think this is the end. Then at the very end there is that glimmer of more trouble on the horizon for the Shadowhunters.  Isn't there always some type of trouble though?  A series that ends well is much better than one that keeps going until you are absolutely tired of reading the books.  There's only so far you can stretch a story.

Shattering Halos on Sale!!

Shattering Halos by Sunniva Dee is on sale right now on Amazon for 99 cents!  It will be for a couple of days!  For all of you romance/angel lovers out there, you definitely need to check this one out!  Here is the link to the review I did on it if you want to know more about the book!

          http://claricesbooknook.blogspot.com/2014/03/shattering-halos-by-sunniva-dee.html

Reign of Blood (Book 1) by Alexia Purdy

   April should be trying to finish high school.  Instead, she's killing vampires and raiding abandoned stores for food and supplies that she, her mother, and brother need to survive.  A year ago a virus overtook the world and now nothing is how it was.  Almost everyone died and those that didn't, turned into these zombie-like vampires with fangs and a taste for blood.  This is the world she now lives in.  April and her family live in this underground bunker that has solar powered energy and even showers.  Everything gets recycled and there is a lot of non-perishable food there.  But her mom doesn't want them using it unless they absolutely have to.  So they raid the empty stores in Las Vegas.  Then one of the worst things that can happen does; her family is taken.  She has no idea who has them or even where they could be.  So she starts searching for them in the numerous casinos.  Her new-found rage for the loss of her family causes April to get reckless and vengeful, burning some of the casinos and the vampires within them.  Then things change a lot.  Apparently there is more than one type of vampire out there.  There are ones out there that are so very similar to humans it is hard to see the difference except for their glowing, strange eyes, fangs, and incredible speed.  As much as she dislikes these creatures, they are the only way she will find her family.  So for now she must rely on what had been her enemy to find them.  Once April enters their hive though, she hopes she doesn't get murdered by the others before she can get the help she needs.

   I liked reading this book.  It was a different look at post-apocalyptic Vegas and what it would be like with vampires roaming the place.  The best part?  The diversity of the vampires.  It brings a whole new spin to the story.  There is so much that changed when the virus hit and you don't even find out the full extent of it until near the end of the book.  Even April has a few surprises about herself!  However, there were some slow spots in the book that bring down its rating for me personally.  Otherwise, this is a pretty fascinating read!

Unscathed by Tim O'Rourke and C.J. Pinard

   She can't help but watch them, take their picture.  It has been something Mina had been doing for years now; videoing and taking pictures of people around her.  Sometimes it was complete strangers.  No matter what, she always had her phone with her, snapping away wherever she went.  But there was one particular guy who held her attention.   Jax was a college drop-out that had a lot of tattoos and worked at a local garage.  The longer Mina watches him, the more fascinated she becomes.  She wants to get to know him and arranges to literally run into him.  Once they do meet, Jax starts having feelings for Mina and wants to finally try to have a real relationship with someone after all of those one night stands.  There was just something about Mina.  Jax knew she had secrets and at first it was exciting.  But if he ever found out her secret, that could very well be the end of them.  This secret had gotten Mina in trouble in the past.  So much so that her mother had sent her away to her aunt and uncle.  If only someone would hear Mina out and just believe her.

   Another great paranormal read with some romance as well!  I have to admit, my first thought was that Mina was some kind of crazy stalker chick.  And the image keeps on like this for quite a while.  You really don't know the complete story behind why she does what she does until very late in the book.  And frankly, it gave me the creeps the more Mina snaps these pictures and videos and says that she sees something in them. You begin to wonder all sorts of things about what she is seeing.  And unfortunately her secret could be a relationship killer.  Her own mother rejected her after finding out her secret.  Great job Tim O'Rourke and C.J. Pinard of keeping up the suspense in this book and giving me the creeps!!

Spring Giveaway!! Win ebooks and a print copy!!

In honor of wonderful spring time coming, I am doing a giveaway with H.L.Burke and Caroline Swart!  There are a few reviews of their works on my blog, which I will provide links for, should you want to check out their work!  The prizes will be a signed print copy of The Dragon and the Scholar: Dragon's Debt (H.L. Burke's latest book which came out very recently), an Amazon ebook of The Dragon and the Scholar: Dragon's Curse (H.L. Burke, the first book in the series), and an Aspen and the Dream Walkers (Caroline Swart) Amazon ebook.  This giveaway is open to the US and Canada!  And their are several ways for you to enter!

Here is my review of H.L. Burke's The Dragon and the Scholar: Dragon's Curse: 

http://claricesbooknook.blogspot.com/2014/03/dragons-curse-dragon-and-scholar-volume.html

Here is my review of Caroline Swart's Aspen and the Dream Walkers:

http://claricesbooknook.blogspot.com/2014/01/aspen-and-dream-walkers-by-caroline.html

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spring Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the Spring Giveaway on Clarice's Book Nook!  And a big thank you to H.L. Burke and Caroline Swart for providing the prizes!  We do have our winner for the giveaway and it is....

                                 Monica Pierce!!
Congrats to Monica!  We will be in contact with you shortly!!

Dragon's Debt (The Dragon and the Scholar: Volume 2) by H.L. Burke

  In the second volume of The Dragon and the Scholar Ewan and Shannon are called back from their traveling to Ewan's brother's(Edmond) side.  Edmond is having woman trouble, you could say.  He has fallen deeply in love with the princess of a neighboring kingdom.  The only problem?  Her father.  King Riley is a harsh king and rules not only his subjects with an iron fist, but his family as well.  He always has an ulterior motive for things and won't hesitate to do what he feels is necessary to keep his children from marrying someone he doesn't want them to.  As if Edmond's troubles weren't enough, there is a strange creature kidnapping girls and bringing them back weeks later with no memories of their past.  Ewan and Shannon come back to help Prince Ryan after his sister and Edmond's love, is kidnapped by the creature.  While they try to find out what is going on, Ewan is increasingly aware of the things he cannot give Shannon.  He couldn't give her children, play cards with her, or even hold her if she needed it.  Being a dragon made this impossible.  Prince Ryan could give her all of these things and seems to be increasingly attached to Shannon.  So Ewan is stuck wondering if he should give her up while Edmond, who is also aware of how unable he is to even protect Brighid, is trying to keep his own country from war with King Riley.


   This book should have been called Battle of the Egos!  It seems that most of the men in this book have rather inflated egos and ideas about how everything should be.  King Riley's ego is only puffed up more because he is king and he does what he wants.  King Edmond has his pride, but being somewhat crippled causes it to get hurt easily when people question whether he can take care of Brighid, and because he is willing to go to any length to prove himself, it puts him in a difficult position.  Prince Ryan's ego seems to be a bit of a front for the pain of his past.  Ryan convinces himself he is better for Shannon and his attentions only make it more obvious what he can give her while Ewan can't.  And Ewan's ego just won't let him explain to Shannon how he really feels.  It causes him to make some decisions that end up hurting Shannon, but only the next book will answer who she will decide to love and be with.


Don't forget to enter the Spring Giveaway to win a signed copy of this book along with some ebooks!  Go to the link below!  There are only a few days left!
http://claricesbooknook.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-giveaway-win-ebooks-and-print.html