The Demon King - Cinda Williams Chima

Hey! So I got this book a few weeks ago on a whim. My mom and I were at Barnes and Noble and it's virtually impossible for me to leave there without a book. This book started out kind of slow but really picked up after a while.

Story:

Sixteen year old Hans Alister is known by many different names, it all depends on where he is at the time. At home, while being yelled at my his mom and stared at with wide, adoring eyes by his sister, Mari, he is Hanson. When he's in Marisa Pines Camp, hunting for deer with his friend Dancer and scouting the territory that he knows by heart, he's Hunts Alone. And when he leaves the relative safety of his home and enters Ragmarket or Southbride he's Cuffs, the dangerous, merciless streetlord of a gang called the Raggers. But no matter where he is or what name people are calling him at the time, it doesn't change the fact that he can barely make enough money to put food on the table for his mom and sister. When he and Dancer are hunting one day, run into a trio of amateur wizards and end up stealing a powerful amulet from them Hans life begins to turn upside down. Someone is murdering members of an enemy gang called the Southies and the Bluejacket's (the royal guard) main suspect is Han, after seeking shelter in the Southbridge Temple one of the guards finds him while escorting a strange and intriguing girl to visit with one of the temples Speakers.

Meanwhile - Princess heir Raisa ana'Marianna longs to escape the confines of the castle walls and live with her father in Clan territory, near Marisa Pines Camp. She will do anything to spite her mother, Queen Marianna ana'Rissa, including harboring a forbidden relationship with Micah Bayar, the son of the High Wizard. But when her best friend, Amon Byrne returns after three years of soldier training at Oden's Ford her feelings start to twist into intricate knots inside of her. The one thing that she can focus on, that she knows for sure, is that she isn't getting the whole story of what is happening in the towns of Southbridge and Ragmarket. Convincing Amon to smuggle her out of the castle she goes Southbridge Temple to talk to one of the Speakers there. That is where she meets a dangerous, fascinating boy who is her key to discovering what hides beneath her mothers pretty lies about the ongoings of street life.

"'I think you're a Ragger at Heart,' he'd said. It wasn't true.

He's been a free spirit, and Raisa was everybody's prisioner.

Was death the price of freedom?"

This book was great, at first it was a bit slow, but after I got past the first few scenes I was unable to put it down. It was like a fifth appendage and I have to say that I was very okay with that. The characters are intriguing to the point where I was lying awake at night wondering about them. I rank it a strong 4.5 out of 5 and recommend it to all of my fellow fantasy lovers!

Thanks for reading!

~zibz

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of this book for, oh, probably the last year. The countdown clocks have been saved and bookmarked on my computer and, yes, I frequent the fan pages. What can I say? I love The Mortal Instruments and this is the beginning of an amazing prequel trilogy! Have I mentioned it's awesome?

Story:

After having lost everything, Tessa Gray boards the Main and heads to England to live with her brother. She's picked up on the docks by a pair of strange women and their equally creepy coachman who produce a note from her brother assuring her that Mrs. Black and Mrs. Dark (a.k.a. the Dark Sisters) are his friends and can be trusted. Tessa doesn't feel right about them, but she trusts her brother and leaves with the sisters. She then spends the next six weeks kidnapped by the sisters and is forced to learn how to use a shape shifting power she never knew she possessed in order to keep them from killing her brother. On the night the Dark Sisters are going to introduce her to a man named the Magister who is supposed to become her new husband, Tessa is rescued. Shadowhunters attack the Dark House and save Tessa from the Sisters. Thus begins another journey where Tessa is introduced to the Shadow World and makes it her mission to destroy the Magister and save her brother from an horrible fate.

"So you're saying I am right. This is what is real, and the life I had before was the dream."

"That is correct...And now it is time to wake up"

I couldn't put this book down, I read it in about two or three days, stopping only for the occasional lunch break. The characters are so incredibly lovable that I now feel like I've lost some great friends by finishing the story. I highly HIGHLY recommend it to pretty much anyone who loves fantasy. This book ranks around 1000 out of 5... yes, folks, it's possible.

Thanks for reading,

zibz