March Wrap-Up

    Hello all!  I know, I'm not posting on a Tuesday or Thursday, but I felt that it was necessary to post my March wrap-up before we got too far into April.  I had meant to post last week, but wanted to finish one of my books, which didn't end up happening.  Although I didn't reach my goal, (again), I will keep trying for three (maybe shorter) books each month until I get it.  Determination!  I've been busy with finishing up my first semester of online library school as well as helping my little sister take care of my new nephew, so it's been hard to find time to read before 11pm.  I'm looking at taking less classes next semester and hopefully that will give me more time to read.  Everyone has to make time for themselves and I've been sucking at that lately, so I'm making a conscious effort to take breaks and breath from time to time.  So without further ado, let's get into the books I read last month.

(goodreads.com)

    As I mentioned in my last post, I had started Prudence by Gail Carriger at the end of February but didn't finish it to put it in the February wrap-up.  Although this book was short in comparison to other books I've read, it took me a lot longer to get through than I thought it would.  This book followed Prudence, who is the daughter of two of the main characters from Gail Carriger's original series Soulless.  Pru is tasked with a mission to India, traveling on a floating blimp, to retrieve a rare tea leaf for her adopted father.  I'm going to reiterate that I should have read this series before the sequel series because I felt lost sometimes with the world building and mentions of seemingly important people who were introduced before.  I also felt like Soulless would have given me some much needed background information on terminology and the older characters, although I don't think it would've added too much to the plot.  Overall I enjoyed this book and I can see why some people really like the humor involved.  For me, it was so close to the humor involved in The Infernal Devices, but not enough for me to laugh out loud.  The story line didn't grab me necessarily and, like I said, I didn't understand what was going on at times.  I thought I would like it more than I did, but I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars just the same.  I may try to read Soulless instead of continuing on with this series for now, just to see if it helps.

(goodreads.com)

    The second and last book I finished was my most anticipated book of the year, which was Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare.  THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD.  It was a little over 700 pages of drama and Shadowhunters and conflict left over from the events of City of Heavenly Fire.  I actually almost did a full spoilery review on just this book because I had SO MANY thoughts upon finishing it, but decided against it.  That being said, there will probably be minor SPOILERS in this review, so if you haven't read Lady Midnight yet, you've been warned.  This book takes place 5 years after the Dark War and the events of The Mortal Instruments series and follows Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn as parabatai at the Los Angeles Institute.  We get to learn more about the Blackthorns and how they've been getting on since their oldest brother Mark was taken from them and became a member of The Wild Hunt, a special group of fairies tasked with riding around the world in search of war and death.  I felt so many feelings towards Jules and Emma during this book.  Jules because he had to take responsibility for way more than he should have and Emma for living off of revenge for a good portion of her life.  Emma reminded me a little of the Herondale boys, Will and Jace, because she's an excellent fighter and only marginally witty.  Jules was DEFINITELY more like Jem in the sense that he had a more calculating mind and loved to lose himself in his art.  Also, the way he usually had to chase after Emma so she wouldn't hurt herself.  I loved seeing that dynamic again in this series because I miss Will and Jem SO MUCH.
    ALSO JEM.  Jem is officially back to being Jem again in this book and we don't see him as much as I wanted, but at the end of the book we get hints that there's more to this story line that includes Jem and Tessa, so I'm betting we'll get to see them both more in the next books.  The flashbacks to Emma and Jules parabatai ceremony KILLED ME, watching Jem retreat outside because he couldn't handle everyone talking about their parabatai bond.  I love seeing all the nods to TID, but it's still a fresh wound in my mind.  Speaking of Will, the fact that Kit seems to be a lost Herondale made me scream.  I knew he would be important, because we kept going back to him during this book, but I didn't expect that.  I feel bad for him too because he's been taught his whole life not to trust Shadowhunters, (much like Will was with his parents, who fled that life).  Plus Kit's poor father being torn in half right in front of him has to scar him for life, right?  Anyway, I'm looking forward to them exploring this plot throughout the other books.
    The tension in this book is OFF THE CHARTS.  Sexual tension, family tension, EVERYTHING IS TENSE and I loved it!  The drama totally added a new layer to the story and I found myself getting beyond frustrated with some of these characters as they attempted to maneuver around each other and their feelings.  I could also understand where everyone was coming from and why they were so guarded.  Cristina was a GREAT addition to this cast of characters and I loved that she also had an air of mystery about her.  She also appreciates Captain America and the Hulk, so she wins in my book.  There were plenty of cultural references in this book, which were accepted and understood by almost everyone, as opposed to TMI.  They explained that it was because of their location, Los Angeles, that they were exposed to things like pop culture, vehicles, etc.  I totally get that and it was a great way to explain their knowledge of driving and computers and things that the New York institute lacked.  Basically I found nothing really wrong with this book and I'm already dreading the wait for the second because Lady Midnight ENDED ON A CLIFF HANGER.  I didn't realize it was at first and had to re-read the last page and I STILL don't really get what's going on, so if anyone has any thoughts or opinions, please enlighten me.  The last thing I'll say, (because this review is super long, so I apologize), is that a lot of other people who read this say to read Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy before reading Lady Midnight because the novellas set up to the events in Lady Midnight and have important information, so I will be reading Shadowhunter Academy ASAP.  Easily this book earned it's 5 stars all around.

(goodreads.com)

    Lastly, I started A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab and I'm currently half way through.  I desperately wanted to finish this before the end of March but didn't anticipate it being as long as it is.  I got this book in the mail as a pre-order BEFORE Lady Midnight and chose to read Lady Midnight first, so I guess it's my own fault.  I'm thoroughly enjoying this book so far and I'm anticipating the second half to be much more intense than the first, so I'll give you guys all my thoughts come April.

(shadowhunterstv.com)

    I did want to mention Shadowhunters again just to talk about the season wrapping up this week.  MALEC was last week's episode and OHMYGOD!!  I think they broke the Internet because that episode was probably the best they've done so far.  I agree with some people who say that Malec hasn't had adequate relationship development, but the kiss was a long time coming, so it was much appreciated.  It would have been great if Alec and Magnus had been meeting in secret, like they did that first time Alec stayed behind at Magnus's flat to have drinks, but they've literally had no contact that wasn't met with hostility from Alec, so I wish they had explored Alec's real feelings more.  I really loved Ragnor Fell in this episode, so it's a bummer that he died so soon.  Despite the fact that he wasn't green, the actor did a really great job at portraying the Ragnor I could picture from the books.  He also had great chemistry with Magnus.  Clace has moved to the back-burner as of their sibling reveal, which readers know is only temporary.  I'm curious to see how they'll end the season because I honestly have no idea what will happen.  Jocelyn is partially to blame for Jace knowing his true parentage, so if they finally wake her up in the finally, they may reveal the hoax as well.  The poor actress who plays Jocelyn has had almost no screen time this season, so I doubt they'll keep her dormant for much longer.  On the other hand, I can totally see Jace leaving with Valentine at the end of this season, believing it's his true path, and the second season is spent trying to find him.  This would be a riff on Jace and Sebastian's escapades in the second half of TMI.  Either way, I don't think they will drag the brother-sister thing out too long because almost the entire viewing audience knows it's not real, so why bother?  If they brought it too far into next season, it would get frustrating.  I'm hoping they use the second season to take everyone's criticisms into account and improve, now that they know they have another shot.

    Ok, so those should be all my thoughts.  What do you think of Shadowhunters season 1?  What are your predictions for season 2?  They've stated that Sebastian wouldn't be happening until season 3, (if they got that far), so what does that mean?  What did you think of Lady Midnight?  Let's discuss in the comments.  Tune in later this week as I'll attempt to list a doable TBR for April.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.