50 Books Challenge 2013 - # 31: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instrumens # 4)

Title: City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments # 4)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Story: 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 who used to be in Valentine's Circle, 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. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side - along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls - neither of whom knows about the other one. When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she 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.
Start: august 19th 2013
End: august 28th 2013
Comment: I enjoyed this series so far, so I was ready for "City of Fallen Angels". Reading this proofs that the series is pretty consistent. The world-building has always been something that stood out in "The Mortal Instruments" and the fourth book is no exception. It's really great to read about it and feel like you're actually there. What bothered me is that there was lot of teen relationship angst, especially with Clary and Jace. Jace is actually starting to annoy me a bit. I don't know what it is. So "City of Fallen Angels" is another good read in the series.
Rating: 4/ 5

50 Books Challenge 2012 - # 51: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments # 3)

Title: City of Glass ("The Mortal Instrumenst # 3")
Author: Cassandra Clare
Story: To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight. As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?
Start: december 4th 2012
End: december 17th 2012
Comment: I like this series, I enjoy it a lot. I got this book for my birthday and I was really looking forward to reading it. "City of Glass" opens with Clary and her friends while they are about to head to Alicante, the City of Glass. Things don't go according to plan. In this book I think Clary is finally the heroine a series like this needs. She grew in her role as a shadowhunter, Clary grew stronger. Jace's character is darker then the previous two books. What I liked most about "City of Glass" are all the twists. Especially the one involving Sebastian. That really surprised me. Like the two other books, "City of Glass" is fast paced and action packed. "The Mortal Instruments" series is very solid and I hope Cassandra Clare can hold on to it.
Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (60)

This weeks trailers are about invaders who take over human bodies, shadowhunters, an admissions officer, two totally different female cops and illusionists.

The Host Description: Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact. Most of humanity has succumbed.
Director: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt, Frances Fisher
Trailer: Trailer "The Host"
Comment: I was always kind of sceptic, but this trailer makes me want to read the book.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Description: Clary Fray (Lily Collins) discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother, Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures.
Director: Harald Zwart
Starring: Lily Collins, Jaime Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Jemima West, Kevin Segers, Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, Aidan Turner, CCH Pounder, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Trailer: Trailer "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones"
Comment: I love the books, didn't even know there was a movie in the making.

Admission Description: Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is an admissions officer at Princeton University. Evaluating thousands of hopeful college students, the exceedingly bright and driven woman lives her life by the book, both at work and in her relationship with a faculty colleague, Mark (Michael Sheen). Visiting an experimental New Hampshire high school submitting applicants, Portia is caught off guard when its co-founder John Halsey (Paul Rudd) turns out to have attended college with her. She is then floored when reminded of the life-altering decision that she made while still a student herself; she had a son, who she gave up for adoption, and who she now realizes may be one of John's students, the precocious misfit Jeremiah. As Portia's emotions surge forth, she finds her life turning upside down in embarrassing ways and begins to bend the admissions rules, in the hopes of getting Jeremiah on the best path while perhaps righting her own as well.
Director: Paul Weitz
Starring: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Michael Sheen, Gloria Reuben, Wallace Shawn, Lily Tomlin
Trailer: Trailer "Admission"

The Heat Description: Uptight and straight-laced, FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is a methodical investigator with a reputation for excellence-and hyper-arrogance. Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), one of Boston P.D.'s "finest," is foul-mouthed and has a very short fuse, and uses her gut instinct and street smarts to catch the most elusive criminals. Neither has ever had a partner, or a friend for that matter. When these two wildly incompatible law officers join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected: buddies.
Director: Paul Feig
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport
Trailer: Trailer "The Heat"
Comment: Fun combo.

Now You See Me Description: We follow a crack FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against a super-team of the world's greatest illusionists, who pull off a series of daring bank heists during their performances, showering the profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.
Director: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Melanie Laurent, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman Michael Caine, Dave Franco
Trailer: Trailer "Now You See Me"
Comment: Of all the great trailers this week, this ones my favorite. Looks so awesome, it really surprised me.

50 Books Challenge 2012 - # 21: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments # 2)

Title: City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments # 2)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Story: Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father. To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?
Start: may 14st 2012
End: may 21st 2012
Comment: I started this series last year and I was so excited to find the second book in our bookstore. Like the first book, it's very fast paced and action packed. Those action sequences in the book were again my favorite parts. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I also liked the parts with all the different sort of demons. It was very exciting. "City of Ashes" is equally as good as the first book in the series and just as well written by Cassandra Clare. I liked Clary more then in the first book. She grew stronger and is beginning to grasp her role as a Shadowhunter. Jace is a strong male lead, still very witty and cinical. He's slightly more bitter after the revelations he received in "City of Bones". Valentine didn't feel like much of a villian to me. He stepped it up in this book, but I'm hoping that in "City of Glass", he will truly encompass evil. I'm kind of missing that. "City of Ashes" is a good sequel and I hope this series will continue on this foot because I like it a lot.
Rating: 4/ 5

50 Books Challenge 2011 - # 53: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments # 1)

Title: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments # 1)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Story: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....
Start: october 13th 2011
End: october 26th 2011
Comment: It was a birthday present and I really wanted to read this book because I heard so many good things about this series. And I'm really into the supernatural stories lately. I didn't know what to expect. We first meet Clary, an ordinary girl who doesn't know she's actually meant for something bigger. Sounds a bit like Harry Potter and for some reason she also reminded me of Katniss Everdeen. I didn't have the connection with Clary the way I did with both Harry and Katniss. Eventually I did, it took a while for me to really sympathize with her. Overall this book is very original, with the Shadowhunters and the entire world that is created by Clare. My favorite parts were the action sequenses. They were very fast paced and you just had to keep reading, especially the parts with the werewolves. I liked reading about all the supernatural creatures, which made me think of the TV show "Supernatural". Although this story takes place in a fictional world, the characters also deal with real-life problems. A missing mom, love triangles, friendship, betrayal. That made this book more realistic and not over-the-top. I will definitely continue the series, because I really enjoyed the first book.
Rating: 4/ 5