New Mortal Instruments Trailer

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!

I NEED TO WATCH THIS NOW!

HODGE AND SIMON ARE PERFECT!

I watched this the moment it came out, but seeing as how I had to get back to studying because of the monumental amount of tests I had the next day, I couldn't post my response. But alas, here it is in the form of gifs and valley girl words!

At first I was all OMG THIS IS GOING TO BE AMAZING.

Then it started playing and Jace appeared and I was all like

But then Jace SPOKE and Clary put out her hand.

 

And I was all like WHAT? MUDAAAANNNNEEE? 

I knew they were going to have British accents, but SERIOUSLY?! Jace just sounds weird.

 I know once I see that he's still the Jace I love, cocky jerk and all, then I'll be happy.

But for now all I have left is watching and rewatching the trailer as my friends console me.

So yeah. WATCH THE TRAILER AND BE AMAZED.

Sneak Peak Sunday (25)

Undeadly (The Reaper Diaries #1)
by Michele Vail
Paperback, 272 pages
Expected publication: November 20th 2012 by Harlequin Teen

The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird...
Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper-and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she’s shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath. Who seems to hate her guts.
Rath will be watching closely to be sure she completes her first assignment-reaping Rick, the boy who should have died. The boy she still wants to be with. To make matters worse, students at the academy start turning up catatonic, and accusations fly-against Molly. The only way out of this mess? To go through hell. Literally.

It sounds interesting, reminds me a little of Fallen, but we'll see how that goes! :)

Review: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1)
by Darynda Jones
Hardcover, 310 pages
Published February 1st 2011 by St. Martin's Press 

Glasses: 4.0 

A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper
Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.

My Thoughts:
I've been waiting for this book to be returned to the library for forever. Like literally, I don't know what was up with this lady, but I'm willing to bet her late fines are going to be huge. Anyway, I finally read it and I'm glad to say that the long wait was well worth it.

Charley Davidson can see ghosts. Charley Davidson is a private detective. Charley Davidson is awesome. She has by far been one of the most confident and likable characters I've read about in a really long time. She's tough, fights for what she wants, and doesn't seem afraid of anything. Throughout the book she tries to unravel the mystery of three lawyer's deaths all the while trying to figure out who the strange man in her dreams is.

Overall, I really liked the book. The mystery was intriguing and clever, the romance was there, and the action was abundant. However, I wouldn't go as far and say that this was either a mystery of a detective novel. If anything, it was both. The one critique I do have, is that although it wasn't a very full on mystery, I don't think there was enough romance to fully make up for it. It wasn't "steamy" as one of the reviews had said, nor do I think that there was enough of anything to make it romantic. If anything when it was romantic, it was slightly on the psychopathic end of the spectrum (not that it was terribly bad mind you, it was that good kind of psychopathic thing going on). Oh, and everything that happens to her? Very unrealistic, but I'm not upset about that, because this is about a women who uses ghosts to solve crimes. I don't judge.

And another thing, what was up with the cover? I mean, where did the rest of her leg go?!?
Other than that, it was a fun read and I'm really hoping that the second one is at the library tomorrow.

Review: Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Hardcover, 355 pages

Published February 15th 2011 by HarperTeen

Rating: 4.1 Glasses

Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered—and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life. 

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger.

I remember reading the first book last year during english class. We were playing bingo and I won some skittles as well as the honor of being the first person to win that semester, needless to say, Body Finders was amazing. So when I picked up Desires of the Dead I was expecting some awesome stuff, and awesome stuff I did find.

Before I begin, let me say that I love Jay. I could tell there was some potential with Rafe going on, but I love Jay to much to even consider it. When I first started reading it, I thought it was going to turn out like Blue Moon, by Alyson Noel, a book that I hated to the core. Some guys becomes friends with her boyfriends and messes up her life, blah, blah, blah... thankfully, it was nothing like that, well, it sorta was, but it wasn't bad.

The book is filled with just the right amount of romance and mystery to keep you on the edge of your seat. I seriously had a hard time putting the book down when I got into the thick of it. However, there were some major parts of the book that I didn't like. Even though I feel like I know Violet really well, and Jay and Chelsea almost just as well, there's very little space in this novel to expand on other characters. Sure there's Mike and Megan, and their dad and everyone else in their group, but I felt like they were just there, their characters weren't as strong as I would have liked them to be. Also, I had a hard time believing her parents would be that chill. I mean, I know this is fiction, but really? I think out of all the new characters introduced in the book, Sara Priest is the most interesting and seems to have the most potential in the forth coming books.

Overall, even though I really liked the new mystery and romance between Jay and Violet, it didn't exceed my expectations nor it didn't disappoint them either. Despite its flaws, it's a great read and worthy sequel of The Body Finder.

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Hardcover, 316 pages

Published August 30th 2011 by Tor Teen

Rating: 4 Glasses

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story. . .
 Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
 So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
 When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
 And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

I wasn't actually going to the library that day to get books, but I couldn't help myself when my feet dragged me towards the "new book" section. I know that most of the books in this "new book" section are at least a year old, but "new book" section is easier to say than "slightly new book section". Anyway, this book looked pristine, no wrinkles on the pages, no scratches on the cover. It was in perfect condition. So, I guess I did judge the book by it's cover - which I really liked as well. Plus Cassandra Clare liked so... *shrugs*

So when I finally finished reading it, it left me with that overbearing sense of, "Well, I liked it, but god that was such a bitter sweet romance." And the weird thing was I thought I would get over that feeling, but I haven't.

It's told in first person by Theseus Cassio Lowood, or Cas for short, who kills ghosts for a living and can't help moving a lot. He's witting and is really entertaining. His mom and he travel all around the world looking for ghosts that he can slay with his sword after his father died. That is, until he meets Anna. At first I didn't get the whole concept of how he kills the ghosts, but I can assure that by the second chapter you might be thoroughly freaked out. He meets Thomas, a kid at his school who can read minds, and Carmel, the queen bee who joins his group of make-shift helpers. There are a couple other interesting characters that I wished Blake talked about more, but it's mostly the teenagers that hold this book up.

Even though the names are kind of funky in the book, if you look past it, it's pretty awesome. The story moves along in a very even pace and a lot of cool twist and turns happen along the way. It's definitely not like one of those Ghost/Human love stories either. This girl has been trapped in this house for years and kills anyone who enters. She brutal and scary. Cas kills dead people for a living. You can't get a weirder couple than that. It's not love at first sight and is probably as realistic as you can get with this type of romance. Although, if I were Anna, I think I'd fall for Cas a whole lot quicker than she did. He's polite but has that whole badass thing going on and it's just... *swoon*

I think that despite its sometimes weird death scenes and a bittersweet romance (take that as you will) Anna Dressed in Blood holds its own. The writing is wonderful, it's completely original and guaranteed to be interesting enough that you won't be able to put it down.