Review: Lotería by Cynthia Pelayo

Title: Lotería

Author: Cynthia Pelayo

Genre: Adult, anthology, horror

Publication date: July 2012

Published by: Union Square & Co.

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: The Mexican board game of Lotería is a game of chance—similar to bingo. However, in Lotería instead of matching up numbers on a game board, players match up images.

There are 54 cards in the Lotería game, and for this short story collection you will find one unique story per card based on a Latin American myth, folklore, superstition, or belief—with a slant towards the paranormal and horrific. In this deck of cards you will find murderers, ghosts, goblins and ghouls. This collection features creatures and monsters, vampires, werewolves and more.

Many of these legends existed long before their European counterparts—passed throughout the Americas via word of mouth, collected just like the tales the Brothers Grimm. These are indeed fairy tales—Latin American fairy tales—but with a horrifying slant.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I enjoyed this book so much!! I love playing Lotería and I love horror, so this book was made for me! 😆 And for those unfamiliar with Lotería:

Review: How to Survive a Horror Movie by Seth Grahame-Smith

Title: How to Survive a Horror Movie

Author: Seth Grahame-Smith

Genre: Nonfiction, adult, horror, satire

Publication date: May 2011

Published by: Quirk Books

Source: Purchased ebook

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Synopsis: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

From ghosts, vampires, and zombies to serial killers, cannibalistic hillbillies, and haunted Japanese videocassettes, How to Survive a Horror Movie shows how to defeat every obstacle found in scary films. Readers will discover:

-How to Perform an Exorcism
-What to Do If You Did Something Last Summer
-How to Persuade the Skeptical Local Sheriff
-How to Vanquish a Murderous Doll
-How to Survive an Alien Invasion
-How to Tell If You've Been Dead Since the Beginning of the Movie

and much, much more. Complete with useful instructions, insane illustrations, and a list of 100 important films to study, How to Survive a Horror Movie is essential reading for prom queens, jocks, teenage babysitters, and anyone employed by a summer camp.

My rating: ★★★★★

I’m a huge horror movie fan so when I discovered this book I knew that I needed it in my brain immediately! The thing about me though is that, honestly, I would probably be that person who dies in the first 5 minutes of a Supernatural episode 😆

Review: The Nightmare Charade (The Arkwell Academy #3) by Mindee Arnett

Title: The Nightmare Charade

Series: The Arkwell Academy #3

Previous books in this series: The Nightmare Affair (#1) The Nightmare Dilemma (#2)

Author: Mindee Arnett

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: August 2015

Published by: Tor Teen

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: It’s her junior year at Arkwell Academy, and Dusty Everhart just wants to be alone with her boyfriend, Eli Booker. But fate is literally keeping them apart. See, Dusty is a Nightmare, who can enter Eli’s dreams to find clues to the future, but an ancient curse predicts that any romance between them is doomed to end in tragedy. Dusty and Eli are willing to take that risk, but the authorities disagree—and have assigned a chaperone to make sure their relationship is strictly platonic.

As if that’s not bad enough, they’ve been recruited by the Department of Intelligence for Magickind Secrecy (D.I.M.S.) to use their dream-seer bond to help recover the most powerful object of black magic known to magickind. The Animus Mortem can raise the dead by stealing the souls of the living... which makes tracking it down a genuine matter of life and death.

To make matters worse, one of Dusty’s friends is accused of murder and is counting on her to clear his name.

Dusty has too many dreams, too many commitments, and too many people looking over her shoulder, but a Nightmare seldom plays by the rules. Curse or no curse, chaperone or not, she has to go deep into Eli’s dreams if she’s going to find the truth—and discover a way for them to truly be together at last!

My rating: ★★★★☆

I first started this series ELEVEN years ago, and I’m only completing it now...

Review: The Nightmare Dilemma (The Arkwell Academy #2) by Mindee Arnett

Title: The Nightmare Dilemma

Series: The Arkwell Academy #2

Previous book in this series: The Nightmare Affair

Author: by Mindee Arnett

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: January 2014

Published by: Tor Teen

Source: Won paperback ARC in giveaway

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Synopsis: Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn’t make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school’s jokester, Lance Rathbone, is accused of the crime, Dusty’s as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that’s easier asked than done. Eli’s dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies.

To make matters worse, Dusty’s ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, to discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty’s heart.

As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they’re connected to something bigger. And there’s something very wrong with Eli’s dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have ever imagined.

My rating: ★★★★☆

It had been a while since I read the first book in this series, I think almost 10 years, but despite that, I decided to not re-read it before going into this book. I love re-reading books but I have actually read The Nightmare Affair twice, so I thought I would be okay. And I was! I had a vague memory of what went on in the last book, but this book also did a pretty good job of touching on the important things that happened in The Nightmare Affair, so I was very happy about that.

Review: Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices #3) by Cassandra Clare

Title: Queen of Air and Darkness

Series: The Dark Artifices #3

Previous books in this series: Lady Midnight (#1) | Lord of Shadows (#2)

Other series in the Shadowhunter Chronicles: The Infernal Devices | The Mortal Instruments

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: December 2018

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: What if damnation is the price of true love?

Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the disease that is destroying the race of warlocks.

Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined.

Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

My rating: ★★★★★

This book was a rollercoaster ride. If I had to pick one gif to describe my experience reading this book, it would definitely be this one:

Review: Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) by Cassandra Clare

Title: Lord of Shadows

Series: The Dark Artifices #2

Previous books in this series: Lady Midnight (#1)

Other series in the Shadowhunter Chronicles: The Infernal Devices | The Mortal Instruments

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: May 2017

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?

A Shadowhunter’s life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.

Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.

My rating: ★★★★★

Let me just say that the fact that this book started off with a Jace cameo made me extremely happy 🥰

Review: Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1) by Cassandra Clare

Title: Lady Midnight

Series: The Dark Artifices #1)

Other series in the Shadowhunter Chronicles: The Infernal Devices | The Mortal Instruments

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: March 2016

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

My rating: ★★★★★

Lady Midnight takes place 5 years after the end of The Mortal Instruments, and about 3 years after the end of Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. In this series we follow the new characters we met in those last two books of TMI, the Blackthorn kids and Emma Carstairs, who is a distant relative of Jem! There are some sketchy murders going on in LA. that Emma thinks might be connected to the murder of her parents, who were killed all those years ago during Sebastian's attack on the institutes.

Review: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare

Title: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy

Stories in this collection: Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy (#1) | The Lost Herondale (#2) | The Whitechapel Fiend (#3) | Nothing but Shadows (#4) | The Evil We Love (#5) | Pale Kings and Princes (#6) | Bitter of Tongue (#7) | The Fiery Trial (#8) | Born to Endless Night (#9) | Angels Twice Descending (#10)

Previous series: The Mortal Instruments

Authors: Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Robin Wasserman

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: November 2016

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Own hardcover

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Synopsis: Simon Lewis has been a human and a vampire, and now he is becoming a Shadowhunter. But the events of City of Heavenly Fire left him stripped of his memories, and Simon isn’t sure who he is anymore. He knows he was friends with Clary, and that he convinced the total goddess Isabelle Lightwood to go out with him…but he doesn’t know how. And when Clary and Isabelle look at him, expecting him to be a man he doesn’t remember…Simon can’t take it.

So when the Shadowhunter Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of demon-hunting, determined to find himself again. His new self. Whomever this new Simon might be.

But the Academy is a Shadowhunter institution, which means it has some problems. Like the fact that non-Shadowhunter students have to live in the basement. And that differences—like being a former vampire—are greatly looked down upon. At least Simon is trained in weaponry—even if it’s only from hours of playing D&D.

Join Simon on his journey to become a Shadowhunter, and learn about the Academy’s illustrious history along the way, through guest lecturers such as Jace Herondale, Tessa Gray, and Magnus Bane. These ten short stories give an epilogue to The Mortal Instruments series and provide glimpses of what’s in store in The Dark Artifices.

My rating: ★★★★★

When I first got this book I had still only read the first 3 books in The Mortal Instruments and probably The Infernal Devices, so I was not the biggest fan of Simon. But then I finally read the remaining of TMI and I fell in love with the guy! The way he sacrificed himself City of Heavenly Fire and lost his memory to save everyone from the demon realm... he’s such a stand up guy. How could I dislike someone like that? It made me so sad that this happened to him, but I am so happy we got more of his story here! It was such a great journey and I loved following him through his 2 years at the academy!

Review: The Evil We Love (Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #5) by Cassandra Clare & Robin Wasserman

Title: The Evil We Love

Series: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #5

Previous novellas in this series: Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy (#1) | The Lost Herondale (#2) | The Whitechapel Fiend (#3) | Nothing but Shadows (#4)

Previous series: The Mortal Instruments

Authors: Cassandra Clare & Robin Wasserman

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: June 2015

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Own hardcover

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Synopsis: All evil starts somewhere, and Simon Lewis learns how The Circle—led by Valentine Morgenstern—began.

The Shadowhunter Academy has only just reopened following the disastrous rise of the Circle. Now the faculty can finally admit to what happened when Valentine was a student.

My rating: ★★★★★

In this story we have another guest lecturer, Robert Lightwood aka Isabelle and Alec’s dad aka the Inquisitor! His story takes place in the 1980s and is about the Circle 😬 Valentine was so terrible, but we already knew that. We also got a little insight into Robert’s relationship with his parabatai Michael Wayland, Jace’s supposed dad before we found out who he was actually a Herondale. It was a very interesting, sad story. Robert said some terrible things and, just, ugh! I really liked Michael! I felt so bad for him 😢

Review: The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, & Maureen Johnson

Title: The Bane Chronicles

Stories in this collection: What Really Happened in Peru (#1) | The Runaway Queen (#2) | Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale (#3) | The Midnight Heir (#4) | The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (#5) | Saving Raphael Santiago (#6) | The Fall of the Hotel Dumort (#7) | What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (#8) | The Last Stand of the New York Institute (#9) | The Course of True Love [and First Dates] (#10) | The Voicemail of Magnus Bane (#11)

Authors: Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, & Maureen Johnson

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: November 2014

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: Fans of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices can get to know warlock Magnus Bane like never before in this collection of New York Times bestselling tales, in print for the first time with an exclusive new story and illustrated material.

This collection of eleven short stories illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality, flamboyant style, and sharp wit populate the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

Originally released one-by-one as e-only short stories by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Rees Brennan, this compilation presents all ten together in print for the first time and includes a never-before-seen eleventh tale, as well as new illustrated material.

My rating: ★★★★★

This book is all about Magnus Bane, which, yes, please! I adore my Jace and my Will and my sweet Jem, but out of all characters in this world, my absolute favorite has got to be Magnus freaking Bane. So I was extremely happy that he got his own book! Which was awesome! It spans a couple of hundred years, starting from about the 1700s to the present day. Magnus had a lot of fun adventures, but these were my top three favorite short stories in the book:

Review: The Course of True Love [and First Dates] (The Bane Chronicles #10) by Cassandra Clare

Title: The Course of True Love [and First Dates]

Series: The Bane Chronicles #10

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: March 2014

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood might fall in love—but first they have a first date.

When Magnus Bane, warlock, meets Alec Lightwood, Shadowhunter, sparks fly. And what happens on their first date lights a flame...

My rating: ★★★★★

Out of all the stories in The Bane Chronicles, this is without a doubt my favorite! Magnus and Alec go on their first date, but then everything goes wrong, and it’s somehow still super cute! Lol. I loved it!

Review: The Last Stand of the New York Institute (The Bane Chronicles #9) by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, & Maureen Johnson

Title: The Last Stand of the New York Institute

Series: The Bane Chronicles #9

Authors: Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, & Maureen Johnson

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: December 2013

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: Magnus meets Valentine in battle as the Circle attacks the Downworlders of New York City.

In the time of the Uprising, Valentine’s Circle goes after Downworlders in New York...and the Shadowhunters of the Institute must decide whether to join him, or fight with Magnus and his kind. This is the first time Magnus sees Jocelyn, Luke, and Stephen—but not the last. It is not long before Jocelyn seeks him out...

My rating: ★★★★★

This short story takes place in 1989, back when the Circle was in full swing. Ugh. They suck. There was SO much bigotry from them I just... They are awful! And Jace’s real dad, Stephen Herondale, was such an asshole! He believed in everything Valentine did. Oh and then Valentine and his cronies wanted to rid the world of Downworlders no matter what, just because they had some demon blood in them. It was absolutely awful! The things they did to this werewolf family were despicable!

Review: The Fall of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles #7) by Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson

Title: The Fall of the Hotel Dumort

Series: The Bane Chronicles #7

Authors: Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: October 2013

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: Magnus Bane watches the once-glamorous Hotel Dumort become something else altogether in 1970s New York City.

Fifty years after the Jazz Age rise of the Hotel Dumort, immortal warlock Magnus Bane knows the Manhattan landmark is on the decline. The once-beautiful Hotel Dumort has fallen into a decayed thing, a ruin, as dead as a place can be. But the vampires don't mind...

My rating: ★★★★☆

This short story takes place in the 70s and things are crazy! Vampires being reckless and just awful. There’s a vampire killer out there and the werewolves are worried that they might be found out by mundanes and that they (the werewolves) would get in trouble too by extension. So in order to avoid this, the werewolves were covering for those assholes! It was a mess! And Camille was awful in this. While I can see (from the Edmund Herondale short story) why Magnus would like her, in this one? No. She sucks. Lol.

Review: The Rise of the Hotel Dumort (The Bane Chronicles #5) by Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson

Title: The Rise of the Hotel Dumort

Series: The Bane Chronicles #5

Authors: Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: August 2013

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: In 1920s Manhattan, Magnus Bane hobnobs with the elite at a glamorous Jazz Age hotspot.

The immortal Magnus Bane is making the most of his time in the Roaring Twenties: He's settled into New York society and is thriving among the fashionable jazz set. And there is nowhere better to see and be seen than the glamorous Hotel Dumort, a glittering new addition to the Manhattan landscape. But a different type of glamour may be at play...

My rating: ★★★★☆

This short story takes place in the Roaring 20s and it’s basically an origin story of the Hotel Dumort. Aldous Nix was the High Warlock of Manhattan and he was into some really shady stuff. He lived in the hotel and basically what he wants to do was open a portal to return to where he “belongs” aka home aka the Void aka the demon dimension 😳 Yeahhh, have fun with that. So this guy has a bunch of mundane followers who are idiots and things go about as well as you expect. It was really cool to see Magnus in action though! I always love that!

Review: Gone Rogue (Wires and Nerve #2) by Marissa Meyer

Title: Gone Rogue

Series: Wires and Nerve #2

Previous book in this series: Wires and Nerve

Prequel series: The Lunar Chronicles

Author: Marissa Meyer

Genre: YA, sci-fi, fairy tale retelling

Illustrator: Stephen Gilpin

Publication date: January 2018

Published by: Feiwel & Friends

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: Iko – an audacious android and best friend to the Lunar Queen Cinder – has been tasked with hunting down Alpha Lysander Steele, the leader of a rogue band of bioengineered wolf-soldiers who threaten to undo the tenuous peace agreement between Earth and Luna. Unless Cinder can reverse the mutations that were forced on them years before, Steele and his soldiers plan to satisfy their monstrous appetites with a massacre of the innocent people of Earth.

And to show he’s serious, Steele is taking hostages.

Cinder and Kai, Scarlet and Wolf, Cress and Thorne, and Winter and Jacin all feature in this epic new battle. But it is Iko who must face her deepest fears when she uncovers the truth about her own unusual programming.

My rating: ★★★★☆

So the crew are still dealing with the rogue wolf soldiers and their leader Steele. Throughout this whole book, I was very frustrated with Wolf and all the dumb decisions he made.

Review: City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Heavenly Fire

Series: The Mortal Instruments #6

Previous books in this series: City of Bones (#1) | City of Ashes (#2) | City of Glass (#3) | City of Fallen Angels (#4) | City of Lost Souls (#5)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: May 2014

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother.

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!

My rating: ★★★★★

“Heroes aren't always the ones who win,” [Clary] said. “They’re the ones who lose sometimes. But they keep fighting, they keep coming back. They don't give up. That's what makes them heroes.”

Here we are—the end. I was not ready, but I did it. And I loved it! As I knew I would, but I just didn’t want it to end 😩

Review: City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Lost Souls

Series: The Mortal Instruments #5

Previous books in this series: City of Bones (#1) | City of Ashes (#2) | City of Glass (#3) | City of Fallen Angels (#4)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: May 2012

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

My rating: ★★★★★

But there was something about the coldness at the back of this Jace’s eyes that shook her, something far off and unreachable that made it harder than ever to push away the question always at the back of her mind: Is any of the real Jace still in there? Is there anything left to save?

Soo, Jace is gone and is being influenced by Sebastian and I am not okay 😭

Review: City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Fallen Angels

Series: The Mortal Instruments #4

Previous books in this series: City of Bones (#1) | City of Ashes (#2) | City of Glass (#3)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: April 2011

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Source: Purchased Hardcover

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Synopsis: The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

My rating: ★★★★★

City of Glass had such a great ending, it wrapped things up really well, so for the longest time I was super nervous to read this one. And oh my god, it turns out I had every reason to be nervous because

Review: Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

Title: Winter

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4

Previous books in this series: Cinder (#1) | Scarlet (#2) | Cress (#3)

Previous novellas in this series: Glitches (#0.5) | The Little Android (#0.6) | The Queen's Army (#1.5) | Fairest (#3.5)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Genre: YA, sci-fi, fairy tale retelling

Publication date: November 2015

Published by: Feiwel & Friends

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: Princess Winter is admired for her grace, kindness and beauty, despite the scars on her face. She's said to be even more breath-taking than her stepmother, Queen Levana...

When Winter develops feelings for the handsome palace guard, Jacin, she fears the evil Queen will crush their romance before it has a chance to begin.

But there are stirrings against the Queen across the land. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even find the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter claim their happily ever afters by defeating Levana once and for all?

My rating: ★★★★★

This book was SO good! I literally finished all 823 pages in under two days!

Review: Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cress

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3

Previous books in this series: Cinder (#1) | Scarlet (#2)

Previous novellas in this series: Glitches (#0.5) | The Little Android (#0.6) | The Queen's Army (#1.5)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Genre: YA, sci-fi, fairy tale retelling

Publication date: February 2014

Published by: Feiwel & Friends

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they're plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she's just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a higher price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

My rating: ★★★★★

So this book follows the beats of the Rapunzel fairy tale, with Cress being our Rapunzel. Poor Cress has been locked away in a freaking satellite in space for a long time! However, Thorne and Cinder launch a rescue mission to save her... but then things go all sorts of wrong 😬