~2014 Reading Challenge~ discussion

I actually have an entire blog dedicated to it. ^_^ I have 100 spots for books (I couldn't think of the last few, so suggestions would be great) but I'm trying to get the first fifty by the end of the year.

http://centurybooks.tumblr.com

1. Clockwork Angel, Clarissa Clare

(1/1/11 - 1/28/11)

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still. When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa’s power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm’s length…everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world…and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

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This book took way too long to read. It was very slow at the beginning, and the end did not compel me to read more. It was a good read if you’re into historical fiction/fantasy, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought it would. Compared to “City of Bones,” by the same author, it was far better.

2. The Looking Glass Wars, Frank Beddor

(1/28/11 - 2/16/11)

THE MYTH

Alice Liddel was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented my Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook.

THE TRUTH

Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss’ parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author, to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.


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The author, Frank Beddor, wrote this as if it were a comic book. There’s a lot of “action” in it, and every time something happened, he would throw in a cheesy onomatopoeia. >_< I think that’s what bugged me most.

Also, he did a lot of Then the princess did this, then that, then blahblahblah. JUST. STOP. PLEASE.

3. Seeing Redd, Frank Beddor

(2/16/11 - 2/22/11)

Wonderland finally seems as if it’s getting back to normal. Queen Alyss is back on the throne, and reunited with her childhood sweetheart, Dodge. But the fight for Wonderland is far from over. King Arch, in nearby Boarderland, is conniving to overthrow everything for which Alyss and her friends have fought so hard. Even worse, King Arch has found an ally in the recently returned Redd, who has been biding her time and gathering new and evil assassins in the Catacombs of Paris. With enemies circling and danger looming, someone close to Alyss lets her down-and threatens the future of Wonderland forever.

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Very disappointed. I have the same beef with it as the last book. The grammar bugged me, and he started every other sentence with but! >_< It took a long time to describe any of the action, and I wasn’t interested until chapter 19. I skimmed the rest, and finished about 3/4 of the book in one day. Hopefully the third [and final] book in this series lives up to the hype.