An intricatlly plotted and lush sequel to Finnikin of the Rock following the narrative of former thief Froi. It has been three years since Finnikin, Isaboe, Froi and the other exiled Lumaterans broke the curse and re-entered their kingdom. A captured spy has given the Lumaterans the opportunity to send Froi, now a seasoned warrior (although still struggling to control his baser instints), into Charyn to assassinate the evil king who helped install the horrific puppet king in Lumatere.

On this journey, Froi learns much about his past and also learns that he may have more in common with the Charynites then he may wish.

Totally delightful, romantic, and epic, the language alone simply makes your swoon, cry, and cheer.

**Review based on audiobook version, narrated by Will Wheaton"

80's pop culture, atari, Star Wars, NPGs, Easter Eggs, oh my!

Wade Watts is an 18 year old living in a rotting futuristic world where reality cannot live up to the possibilities available in the immersive Oasis, an online-alternate reality similar to World of Warcraft meets Second Life. The Oasis has infiltrated daily life so much that most kids, including Wade, even attend high school within this online 'game.'

Part of the mystique of the Oasis is its creator, James Halliday. Halliday grew up during the golden dawn of computers and video games, the late 1970s and early 80s. He was your stereotypical gamer geek but had the drive, ambition and brilliance to launch his obsessions into a multi-billionaire dollar empire, especially after he launched the Oasis. Upon his death, with no family or chosen heir, Halliday stunned the world by releasing a prerecorded video with the invitiation for all those in the Oasis to try and find his hidden "easter egg." The first to find the egg would win the fortune and the complete control of his empire, including the Oasis. In a world where most live in abject poverty, this is the quest of a lifetime.

Ready Player One follows the pursuit of Wade Watts for Halliday's egg, and throughout you are entertained by the various puzzles and pop culture references that challenge him along the way.

For anyone who has ever played an atari game, rolled a 20 sided die, or somehow lost time while immersed in an online quest, this is the book for you. Will Wheaton's narration was the cherry on top. Awesome.

An emotional roller coaster. Whew. What a beautiful and emotional way to end a fantastic trilogy. Clockwork Princess kept me guessing the whole time, who is Tessa? Why does the evil Magister want her and why does she think she will be the downfall of the Shadowhunters? Who will she choose, Will or Jem? Will she even get a choice?

Tessa Gray is a thoroughly enjoyable female lead, and a great role model for young women, in my humble opinion. She is strong, capable, and willing to sacrifice her own happiness to protect those she loves. Clare did an excellent job portraying Tessa's inability to fully commit her heart to one person, which I found much more realistic then most YA novels where this is only one true choice for the heroine. Pish posh. I also enjoyed Clare's tasteful yet totally erotic love scenes. Nothing I would be scared to give to a teenager, yet still had my jaded heart pounding. Who needs 50 Shades when you have torrid Victorian romance? Yow.

Its books like these that remind me I should really carry a notebook/pen to write down little passages that I just love. Clare has such a way with dialouge that puts you directly into the scene. I simply cannot wait to see her work transformed into film.

What an awesome world. I will never be able to look at teeth the same way again. Taylor puts an fresh spin on the age-old angel vs. demon battle by making everything grey. This is not a simple black vs white, good vs evil tale. The star crossed lovers made my heart ache.

As I have been noticing, this is definitely a Young Adult book for those 16+. Very graphic descriptions of violence, sensuality, and death. Love it when authors push it to the extreme. I can only wish I could see what got left on the editing room floor. Can't wait to for the second book!

In the sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Karou (leading lady, name means hope) finally understands who she is, and thinks she knows what she has to do. She is estranged from Akiva, a Seraphim she had a quite brief but passionate affair with in the previous tome, and is struggling to find her place in her new reality (don't want to give away any spoilers).

The style and tone of this sequel are consistent with the first novel, and showcase Taylor's superior world and mythology building. She really has a unique take on angel vs. demon trope which I am really loving right now. I also appreciate that her heroine is a kick ass young lady who has scars and battles, and is not simply falling for a pretty boy (or in this case angel), and not everything is a happy ending.

Can't wait till book three...publishing date unknown. Boo.

Another fast-paced (and scary) read from Miss Clare. I actually listened to the audiobook version of this for the majority of the chapters, which I also highly recommend. The female reader did a excellent job distinguishing between the voices of the different characters, both male and female, and kept me on the edge of my car seat.

When I mention scary, this book kind of freaked me out. Clare did a great job describing the different hordes of demons that challenged and often hurt the characters. Don't think I will be going swimming anytime soon!

I also thoroughly enjoyed the various romantic tangles, including the relationships between Clary and Simon, Clary and Jace, and even a relationship between two male characters. Pretty ballsy for a YA author. The book had enough romance without being inappropriate for teens but kept my adult interest too.

And what a cliff hanger! Ack. Hurry up and deliver my next book library!

First Read 07/2012.

**Review from second read 06/21/14 - 06/24/14

Matthew and Diana have time-walked back to Elizabethan England to try and find the enchanted Ashmole text and to attempt to find a teacher for Diana's burgeoning witchcraft. Fitting a modern American woman into 1590's society will not be easy, nor will fitting in with Matthew's old crowd of scholars, royals, and spies.

Enchanting, engaging, and full of vivid detail, this is a series I adore. I appreciated this book more the second go around as I wasn't frantic to find certain answers and I could really delve into the details of the time period.

I still found some little things that annoyed me about the time traveling aspects, but I don't care. The ride is what it is all about.

Review to come...

The story of Pudge and his fellow boarding school friends hit me like a punch in the gut. Sometimes a really horrible thing happens and Green did an excellent job of sussing out how sometimes you really are never going to understand why.