Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/ Steampunk

I’ve never read anything from the steampunk genre before and when I heard all the buzz surrounding Cassandra Clare’s book, I thought I’d give it a go. 

Clockwork Angel is the first installation in the Infernal Devices series, an extension from Clare’s popular Mortal Instrument series (which I’ve never read before). I read somewhere that it was okay to pick up Clockwork Angel even if you’ve never read any of her earlier series, so that’s just what I did. 

The book tells the story of Tessa who travels to England during the Victorian era to join her brother after the untimely death of her aunt. Upon reaching her destination, she is taken against her will by ‘the dark sisters’ who claimed that they have abducted Tessa’s brother as well. 

As a prisoner of ‘the dark sisters’, Tessa is exposed to a talent that she was never aware she had and another world where vampires, warlocks and demons existed. She is however rescued by the Shadowhunters who offer her safe refuge until her brother is found. 

Whilst under the protection of the Shadowhunters, Tessa finds herself attracted and torn (Surprise! Surprise!) between two friends, Jem and Will who have completely opposite characters. 

Clockwork Angel was quite an enjoyable read in terms of the adventure. It was filled with machines, warlocks and demons but the characters in the book failed to engage me. I thought Tessa’s character was not strong enough and thus I did not find her appealing. As for the romance bit, it was sort of predictable. The minute they introduced both Jem and Will, I knew she’d be attracted to both of them.   

What I really liked about the book though was the mix of magic and machines. I may pick up the second installment of this book but it would be more for the adventure rather than the romance. I did enjoy reading a book from the steampunk genre and hope to read more of it. So, if you have recommendations, do list them out for me. 

XOX,

Six months later...

Wow! Time flies. Can you believe it’s been six months since my last post? I’m really bad at making blogging a consistent habit. I guess the same can be said for my reading habit cause I’ve only managed to read ONE book for the year. That’s really sad!

Anyway since my last post, many things have happened and here’s a quick rundown of major events in my life for the past six months:

1.  I was diagnosed with molar pregnancy sometime late last year (I think).
2.  Started a new job with my old boss.
3. Sold my apartment.
4. Gave birth to a cute little baby boy who we have named Ariz (Alhamdulillah).
5. Went for emergency surgery one week after giving birth (via c-section) due to a blood clot or hematoma.
6. Had to go back into the hospital one week after THAT surgery due to the fact that my surgical wound had a leakage which required me to travel to the hospital EVERY DAY for one month  and then...
7. Moved into a new house with the hubster and our new baby and….
8. Was recently diagnosed with Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (GTD) of which I am currently undergoing chemo treatment at the hospital for ten days.

Phew…

Health-wise, it’s been frustrating for me. I’ve been busy going back and forth to the hospital for one reason or another. Anyway, I’m hoping to write more on my molar pregnancy experience as well as my GTD experience on a separate post.

Amidst all the chaos, baby Ariz has been our sole source of joy (thank God for miracles for hubs and me). Ariz is now three months old and hubs and I are so happy to have him in our life. Look at how big my baby has grown at only three months!

Do look out for my post which I hope to share my experience on my molar pregnancy and my treatment for GTD. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post it within the next few days.

Till then, cheerio!

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Author: Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal

Beautiful Darkness is the continuation of Beautiful Creatures which I read sometime back. In my review of the first book, I really loved the paranormal elements in Beautiful Creatures and in Beautiful Darkness the authors managed to make the paranormal aspect of the book as good, if not better than the first one.

In the sequel, the book picks up almost immediately where the first book ended. Lena is distraught and unable to cope with the death of her Uncle, Macon. Her character changes drastically becoming darker, unpredictable and unreachable even to Ethan. Lena deals with her grief by pushing Ethan away and as much as Ethan tries to help, he is unable to connect with her and fears that he is losing her to the dark side.

Like the first book, I'm still not really into the romantic relationship between Ethan and Lena. Ethan still seems too obsessed with Lena and I personally think his love and obsession for Lena can be a bit overwhelming to read. Other than his obsession with Lena, Ethan's character and his role in the caster world is actually quite interesting to follow and I felt like I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out where Ethan fits in the order of the caster world.

There are also other characters that I love in the book making the book interesting to read like Amma (I absolutely love her), Marian, Liv, Link, Macon and Ridley and their presence makes the overall story more interesting. As I mentioned earlier, I love the paranormal aspect in the book and I felt that the sequel was so much better than the first. I love the magic surrounding the caster world and can't wait for the next book to be out to read more of it. The bad news? I probably have to wait another year before the next book is released... bleargh...

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Young Adult Reading Challenge

Room by Emma Donoghue

Author: Emma Donoghue

Genre: General Fiction

When I heard about Room I couldn't help but wonder if the book was in any way inspired by true events that happened in Vienna sometime back. Whether or not inspired by true events, this book has been receiving many positive reviews and was longlisted for the Booker prize and recently won the Hughes Novel of the Year Award which it rightly deserves.

In this amazing novel, the world of 5 year old Jack is limited to a 11-by-11 foot room in which his mother is being held against her will. Jack provides an amazing story of his experience living in a small windowless room. Through his narration, Jack details how his young mother survives being captive for seven years and her efforts in making things as normal as possible for her son with the limited resources available.

Jack's voice gives the story warmth and provides a unique, innocent perspective of the horror his mother experiences as a captive. The storyline and the characters captured my attention and got me hooked from the first page. I could not put this book down till the end.

I have much respect for Jack's mother in this book. Her strength and her ingenuity in making things as normal as possible for her son in the prison they call Room is admirable. Room also highlights the strength and goodness that would come from a strong mother and son relationship in such harrowing circumstances.

Room is a definite MUST READ. 

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Author: Patrick Ness

Genre: Young Adult/ Science Fiction

Todd Hewitt knows nothing other than his life in Prentisstown. To his knowledge, Prentisstown is the only surviving settlement in the new world and that there are no female survivors after the natives called ‘Spackles’ releases a germ that kills all the women in the world. As a side effect of this tragedy all the men in Prentisstown are able to hear each others’ thoughts, a constant presence that Todd has come to know as ‘Noise’.

Nearing his 13th birthday, Todd discovers an area in the swamp where Noise is apparently absent. He informs his adoptive parents, Ben and Cillian of his findings and is suddenly asked to run from Prentisstown. In his journey to escape from the mad men of Prentisstown, he realises that things are not as they seem in his hometown and that there are other surviving settlement outside of Prentisstown.

This book is surprisingly.... GOOD. I was quite skeptical at first and maybe was turned off a bit by Todd’s Huckleberry Finn-like accent but by the third chapter I was hooked. The Knife of Never Letting Go had many action packed, near-death scenes that it kept me reading at the edge of my seat. The pacing of the story line and the tense action scenes reminded me somewhat of the Hunger Games.

My only grouse is the cliff hanger ending, which is just a way for the author to keep you reading (or buying) the next book in the series; The Ask and the Answer. Thank God I picked this up when all three books from the series are out on sale already or else I’d be one frustrated reader!

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Young Adult Reading Challenge

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Author: David Ebershoff

Genre: Historical Fiction

The 19th Wife is a story about polygamy in America. There are two stories told in this novel; one based on a historical figure named Ann Eliza Young and the other based on a modern day murder mystery set in Utah. Both these stories tell the tale of polygamy and how each character is brutally affected by this practice.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading The 19th Wife. Despite having two stories in one novel, which could have easily gone astray, the novel was engaging from beginning till the end. In that respect, I salute the author for keeping both the story interesting despite making the reader focus on two separate storyline.

The characters are definitely memorable and after ending the book, I found that I wanted to know more about Ann Eliza Young as well as current polygamous practices in the US. Though polygamy is not a new theme (especially for us in Malaysia cause Malaysian Muslim men are allowed to practise polygamy here), I found the topic interesting especially when it is practised in such a modern and westernized country.

The 19th Wife is definitely one of the best novels that I have read in 2010 and I would highly recommend you give it a read.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge