From the Library {Friday edition}

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption

Oblivion by Anthony Horowitz (The Gatekeepers #5)

Having escaped from Hong Kong, the five gatekeepers - Matt, Pedro, Scott, Jamie and Scarlett - are scattered in a hostile and dangerous world. As they struggle to re-group and plan their next move, the malevolent King of the Old Ones gathers his forces in Oblivion: a desolate landscape where the last survivors of humanity must fight the ultimate battle.

Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett (Confessions #1)

Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make…

1. I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?

2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.

3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry—get it?)

Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.

(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.)

(Sorry. That was rude.)

Poison by Bridget Zinn

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart . . . misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?

"Who Could That Be At This Hour" by Lemony Snicket (All the Wrong Questions #1) (audio), read by Liam Aiken

In a fading town, far from anyone he knew or trusted, a young Lemony Snicket began his apprenticeship in an organization nobody knows about. He started by asking questions that shouldn't have been on his mind. Now he has written an account that should not be published, in four volumes that shouldn't be read. This is the first volume.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (The School for Good and Evil #1)

“The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.”

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.

What I'm reading with my son

I thought I'd share the books that my 6 year old son is asking me to read. He is on his way to learning to read himself but of course still needs me to read him his bedtime stories. Not that I mind.

The illustrations are just beautiful in this one and  he loved the story because it is told from the perspective of a little boy who saves the babies. The protagonist reminds me a little of my son since my son refers to his little sister as Baby.

The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathmann 

What a lovely day at the fair. Children lining up for pony rides . . . moms and dads in a pie-eating contest . . . babies chasing butterflies . . . babies heading for the trees . . . I SAY! Where are those babies GOING? Only a small boy sees them leaving and follows as the babies chase butterflies in trees, frogs in a bog, even bats in a cave, ignoring pleas to come back. But not to worry, our hero saves the day, making sure that all the babies get home safely from their appealing adventures.

Caldecott Medal winner Peggy Rathmann has created a highly original story told in a lilting text and a bold new style with classic black silhouettes against stunning skies of many colors that change and glow as afternoon turns into evening.

He loves this book! I have the enhanced version on my Nook that reads it to him but so when he reads it he tries to do the same voice as the reader. It is pretty funny. 

Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

If you think Superman vs. Batman would be an exciting matchup, wait until you see Shark vs. Train. In this hilarious and wacky picture book, Shark and Train egg each other on for one competition after another, including burping, bowling, Ping Pong, piano playing, pie eating, and many more! Who do YOU think will win, Shark or Train?  

This is one of his favorites. We read it at least 3 times a week. He likes how Anansi tricks the other animals and he loves to yell out KABOOM and to look for Little Bush Deer in all the pictures.

Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Janet Stevens

Anansi the Spider tricks all the animals, until he's taught a lesson.

We are also trying out short chapter books. His aunt got him #19 in the Magic Tree House series and at first he didn't want to read it but then he got invested in it and wanted to know how it ended. So when it was over I bought him the next one. 

Dingoes at Dinnertime (Magic Tree House #20) by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Sal Murdocca

Jack and Annie are ready for their next fantasy adventure in the bestselling middle-grade series—the Magic Tree House!

Wildfire!

That's what Jack and Annie are up against when they are whisked away to the land of Australia. And they're not alone! Jack and Annie must help a baby kangaroo and a koala escape from a fire-filled forest. Will they be able to rescue the animals in time?

Son by Lois Lowry (Giver Quartet #4) (audio)

After something went wrong with the birth of her product, Claire is sent to work in the fish hatchery. But a slip-up of an official allows her to know that the baby was a boy assigned the number 36. Claire finds herself becoming attached to the baby. So when Jonas, a young boy in the village, takes the baby, Claire sets out to find her son.

This follow-up to The Giver and companion to Messenger and Gathering Blue follows Claire through her life in the Community and beyond on her quest to find Gabriel. It's interesting because you get to see more of life in the Community from an adult's point of view (relative term because Claire is only 15) and more about Gabriel and Jonas' father. It's been a while since I read The Giver so I don't remember all of the story, just the major plot points. But still I got along fine.

I liked Claire and how strong and determined she is. I enjoyed seeing her grow from a young girl to a woman. It was nice to see Jonas again and see how he has grown and matured and made a nice life for himself. And it was also nice to see the village that they live in growing and thriving after the events in Messenger. There is also a lot more of Gabriel and his perspective. I was frustrated a bit though that the first two thirds of the book were from Claire's POV and then it switches to Gabriel's for the last third. It's like we spend all this time with Claire and then she is left out. I know the reason and it probably couldn't have been written any of the way but it bothered me a little. Also the ending bothered me too. It felt so abrupt after a four book journey to get to this point. I wanted to see a little more.

Still it was a solid ending to this series. It is very well written and flows so well with the others in this series. I am sad to see it over but glad that there was a happy ending.

Bernadette Dunn is the narrator and she does a beautiful job with this book. I enjoyed listening to her and she carried the book very well.

8 hours, 11 minutes

Weekly Round-Up 5/28

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

Somehow I missed yesterday. Must have been the long weekend.

This week I'm reading Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski and listening to Son by Lois Lowry, read by Bernadette Dunn


No reviews posted last week. I'm slacking in the reading department right now.

Weekly Round-Up 5/20

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading  

I posted reviews of Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt, Because It is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin, and  Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, read by Katherine Kellgren.

Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski (e-book)

2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house - parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.
If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.
In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) (e-book)

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

Adaptation by Malindo Lo (Adaptation #1)

Reese can’t remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now.

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.

Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed.

Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction—and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.

Son by Lois Lowry (The Giver Quartet #4) (audio), read by Bernadette Dunn

When the young girl washed up on their shore, no one knew she had been a Vessel. That she had carried a Product. That it had been carved from her belly. Stolen.
Claire had had a son. She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. When he was taken from their community, she knew she had to follow. And so her journey began.
But here in this wind-battered village Claire is welcomed as one of their own. In the security of her new home, she is free and loved. She grows stronger. As tempted as she is by the warmth of more human kindness than she has ever known, she cannot stay. Her son is out there; a young boy by now. Claire will stop at nothing to find her child . . . even if it means trading her own life.
With Son, the two-time Newbery Medal–winning Lois Lowry has spun another mesmerizing tale in this thrilling and long-awaited conclusion to The Giver.

The Rising by Will Hill (Department Nineteen #2)

James Bond meets Dracula in this epic saga of one boy and a ton of weapons versus the world's oldest evil--vampires as you've never seen them before!

Sixteen-year-old Jamie Carpenter's life was violently upended when he was brought into Department 19, a classified government agency of vampire hunters that was formed to deal with a little problem . . . known as Dracula.

But being the new recruit at the Department isn't all weapons training and covert missions. Jamie's own mother has been turned into a vampire--and now Jamie will stop at nothing to wreak revenge on her captors. Even if that means facing down Dracula himself.

From Netgalley

Prep School Confidential by Kara Taylor
Publish date: July 30, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

In this breathtaking debut that reads like Gossip Girl crossed with Twin Peaks, a Queen Bee at a blue-blooded New England prep school stumbles into a murder mystery.

Anne Dowling practically runs her exclusive academy on New York’s Upper East Side—that is, until she accidentally burns part of it down and gets sent to a prestigious boarding school outside of Boston. Determined to make it back to New York, Anne could care less about making friends at the preppy Wheatley School. That is, until her roommate Isabella’s body is found in the woods behind the school.

When everyone else is oddly silent, Anne becomes determined to uncover the truth no matter how many rules she has to break to do it. With the help of Isabella’s twin brother Anthony, and a cute classmate named Brent, Anne discovers that Isabella wasn’t quite the innocent nerdy girl she pretended to be. But someone will do anything to stop Anne’s snooping in this fast-paced, unputdownable read—even if it means framing her for Isabella’s murder.

Awakening by Karen Sandler (Tankborn #2)
Publish date: April 9, 2013
Publisher: Tu Books

Once a GEN (genetically engineered nonhuman) girl terrified of her first Assignment, Kayla is now a member of the Kinship, a secret organization of GENs, lowborns, and trueborns. Kayla travels on Kinship business, collecting information to further the cause of GEN freedom.

Despite Kayla’s relative freedom, she is still a slave to the trueborn ruling class. She rarely sees trueborn Devak, and any relationship between them is still strictly forbidden.

Kayla longs to be truly free, but other priorities have gotten in the way. A paradoxically deadly new virus has swept through GEN sectors—a disease only GENs catch. And GEN warrens and warehouses are being bombed, with only a scrawled clue: F.H.E. Freedom, Humanity, Equality.

With the virus and the bombings decimating the GEN community, freedom and love are put on the back burner as Kayla and her friends find a way to stop the killing . . . before it’s too late.

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
Publish date: November 13, 2013
Publisher: Atria Books

I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend by Louise Rozett (Confessions #2)
Publish date: June 18, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin

Rose Zarelli has big plans for sophomore year—everything is going to be different. This year, she’s going to be the talented singer with the killer voice, the fabulous girl with the fashionista best friend, the brainiac who refuses to let Jamie Forta jerk her around...

...but if she’s not careful, she’s also going to be the sister who misses the signals, the daughter who can only think about her own pain, the “good girl” who finds herself in mid-scandal again (because no good deed goes unpunished) and possibly worst of all...the almost-girlfriend.

When all else fails, stop looking for love and go find yourself.

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis (Woodcutter Sisters #1) (audio)

Sunday is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter and it expected by her father to be extraordinary as a result. But the most extraordinary thing about Sunday is that things she writes down come true, but not always in a desirable way. So she sticks with writing down truths about her family. One day she meets a talking frog in the forest and the two of them kindle a friendship that deepens into love. When Sunday kisses him, he turns out to be the crowned prince and someone Sunday's family hates. Can Rumbold woo Sunday and make her love him as the man he is?

This was adorable! It is sort of a mish-mash of fairy tale elements combined into a totally unique yet recognizable story. I love fairy tales and I love fractured fairy tales the most.  I also love the use of the fortune-telling rhymes* as the names and futures of all of Sunday's sisters and for her mother's family**. This story included so many things like changelings and giant beanstalks and witches with apples but it was all fairly subtle so not to take too much from one story.

Sunday is a sweet and goodhearted girl. Rumbold gets less of a good treatment but mostly because he can't remember too much and so his characterization is a little less rounded. But he is still a good guy if a bit misguided in his attempts to woo Sunday. I do that that the first thing he does after becoming a man again is call for three royal balls to attract Sunday.

There is a lot of interesting backstory that is mentioned but not explored fully. Jack Jr., the oldest son, adds a mysterious element to the story and is the cause of the animosity that the Woodcutter family holds against the prince. Monday, the eldest sister, has the princess in the bed backstory but she is not a big feature and I wish there was more on her. At least Saturday is getting her own book soon and that should be exciting.

Katherine Kellgren is one of my favorite narrators of all time and she is the reason I picked out this book. I was looking for a new audio book and searched for something she narrated. I'm glad I did. This was an excellent book and a good choice. Kellgren is such great reader. She always does her books justice. I can't believe that once did not like her though that may have been more the book than her performance. I will admit that there were parts in this book that I found a bit grating particularly the bits about Rumbold. But I don't know if that is due to Kellgren's voice or the book itself. It sometimes can be hard to separate the two in an audio book.

*Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.


**One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told. 

Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin (Birthright #2)

Anya is released from Liberty and back at home. Only no school wants her with her criminal record, her ex-boyfriend's dad is still a threat and the turmoil in her father's company is having negative effects on the business. Anya doesn't know who to trust or where to turn.

I wonder when these books are suppose to be written relative to the time Anya is telling the story. It feels like these are her memoirs and she is much older when writing them. Because it is a certain detached feeling to the writing and Anya expresses her future feelings on occasion. It can't decide if this is distracting or not. I certainly enjoyed the book and I wish the third one was already out. Because Anya does something ground-breaking and something that will surely bring about repercussions at the end of this book and I'm curious to see what is going to happen.

I enjoy Win's character and I think he is a great match for Anya. Still I was glad to see Anya make the choice she does at the end. I think it was the right one for her. I was happy to see this book focus less on the romance like the first one did and more on Anya's mafia roots. I was doubly happy to get more back story on the illegalization of chocolate and caffeine. That was a sore point in the first book. The explanation makes some sense but still I don't know. Anyway. A willingness to suspend disbelief is sometimes the important part in reading a book. Anya gets to explore many aspects of chocolate and we get to see a little more of the world and how it works so that's a bonus.


Birthright
All These Things I've Done

Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt

Mia always looks for signs from the universe. But she never saw a sign that said cancer. Now that she has it, she is intent on keeping it a secret so she is not labeled "cancer girl." That is turning out to be more difficult than she thought.

First thing, back in 2009 Maureen Johnson did a project called Blog Everyday in August (BEDA). I participated and it was fun. Part of that was that we were assigned BEDA buddies so we would be guaranteed to have someone read our blog posts. Tiffany was one of my BEDA buddies so I've "known" her for a while now and I was really happy for her when her first book was published.

Second thing, I don't read "cancer books." Nor do I read books where the dog dies in the end. Sensing a pattern? It's not usually my thing. But having known Tiffany for a few years I thought I'd give it a try. It turns out that this is less of a cancer book and more of a book about a girl with cancer. I started this on Friday afternoon, picked it up again Saturday evening and finished it that night. I haven't read a book straight through in a long time. It is that good.

Mia is a frustrating girl trying to hide her cancer from her friends. I wouldn't think that was possible but with a lot of lying and a willingness to almost completely alienate your friends, it turns out to be achievable. A lot of the blame for that could be laid at the feet of Mia's mother but Mia is the one who carries it out. Speaking of Mia's mother, she is something else. I can't even think about how I would react to one of my children getting cancer but I would hope it would be with my grace and selflessness than Mia's mom lacks.

I wasn't a fan either of Mia's friends but I think Mia really does them a disservice. She underestimates them and it really takes her far too long to tell them. Part of the reason I finished it in one night was I needed to see what happened when she finally tells her friends. I liked Mia's best friend Gyver. He is a great guy and very clearly one of the love interests. The other guy Ryan is a good guy too. I hate when the other guy is turned into a villain to make way for the resolution, but this was avoided in a sweet way.

And so I learned that not every book about cancer can be painted with the Lurlene McDaniel brush. I also learned that I can't wait for Tiffany's next book.

Weekly Round-Up 5/13

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt and listening to Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, read by Katherine Kellgren.

I didn't post any reviews last week. I should have a couple up this week though.

Weekly Round-Up 5/6

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading Because It is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin and listening to Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, read by Katherine Kellgren.

I reviewed Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare, read by Ed Westwick and Heather Lind.

 
Enchanted (Woodcutter Sisters #1) by Alethea Kontis, read by Katherine Kellgren

It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (The Infernal Devices #2)

The search for the Magister is becoming more desperate as Bendick Lightwood seeks to take the Institute from Charlotte. The Branwells are given two weeks to find the Magister. Meanwhile, Will finds that he cannot get over his love for Tessa and Tessa finds her feelings for Jem are growing even as she can't help loving Will.

I couldn't remember the first book, Clockwork Angel, so when I looked at my review for it I wasn't surprised to find I hadn't been impressed. But still I didn't hate it, just felt neutral on it so I decided to go ahead and continue on with the series. I liked this one. It was really good and I think the narration helped with that. So maybe this is one of those series that works better for me on audio than reading it. It's happened before.

In this one we find out Will's secret, the reason he pushes Tessa Gray (and everyone one else) away. It's a valid reason but I must say the resolution of it was a bit of a disappointment and it came about really easily. I guess having a warlock for a "friend" comes in handy. A large portion of this book is devoted to the love triangle between Will, Tess, and Jem. I think Jem is pretty unaware that he is involved in a love triangle. It gets a little too angsty for my taste though it does have some pretty awesome kissing scenes.

The other plot is trying to find Mortmain and dealing with his minions. Less time is devoted to this. Consequently I don't feel like Mortmain is much of a threat. Probably because I already have assumed the ending. The love story is the real driving force in this series.

Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl) and Heather Lind narrated this story. Lind does the majority of the narration with Westwick always reading the quotations and the beginning of the chapters. I'm not sure where the division came in. I guess Lind read most of the Tess parts and, if the story focused more on Will, Westwick read that bit. It worked out. I enjoyed both their readings. Lind seems to have a better time with voices although Westwick's American voice is really good (it would have to be after all the time on Gossip Girl) he doesn't do girl voices quite right. So it was a nice mixture if a little odd.

15.5 hours

The Infernal Devices
Clockwork Angel