Happy New Year!

I'll be back on Monday with the regular posts, but as I won't be talking to you guys before then, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year. I hope you all enjoy yourselves this New Years, and that you all have an excellent 2012. 

What are you guys doing to celebrate the new year? I was thinking about going to London, but I have caught a cold from my cousins so I'm staying at my uncle's house and drinking vodka and coke. Have a great night everyone!

Question and Answer Post

Hey all! I'm planning on doing a Q&A post at some point in the next few weeks. If any of you have any questions for me, book related or not, then you can ask me questions in the comments. I'm also including a form that you can use if you would like to remain anonymous, or if you can't be bothered to log in to Google. And I just like making forms.

You can ask me questions on anything, like I said. If there is anything you wish to know about blogging or vlogging or reviewing books, then I would be more than happy to answer your questions! I get a lot of questions about ARCs and review copies, so I might have to split the post into sections.





I look forward to hearing all your questions!

Mid-Winters Ever Giveaway Hop! CLOSED

This giveaway hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

I'm taking part in my first ever giveaway hop! I want to wish you all an early Merry Christmas, and I hope those of you who celebrate it will enjoy yourselves. I hope you all get everything you wish for - especially if you wish for a shelf load of books! 

You can fill in the form to win 

$10 to spend on Book Depository

Rules: 

- You must be over 13 years of age

- INTERNATIONAL 

(as long as BD delivers to your country)

- Giveaway ends on the 28th

- One entry per person

- Must be a follower

Check out the other awesome blogs on the linky below, and you might win some more prizes!

In My Mailbox - (43)

hosted by The Story Siren

For Review: 

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Simon and Schuster)

Wolfsong by Amanda Prantera (Quartet Books)

Night School by C J Daugherty (Atom)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Puffin)

Bought: 

A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin

RAK: 

Blood Red Road by Moira Young (A HUGE thank you to Katherine!)

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
The Infernal Devices #2
Release Date: December 6, 2011
Publisher: Walker Books
Source: Bought
Rating: Bland

The situation at the London Institute has never been more precarious. With Mortmain and his clockwork army still threatening, the Council wants to strip Charlotte of her power and hand the running of the Enclave over to the unscrupulous and power-hungry Benedict Lightwood.

In the hope of saving Charlotte and the Institute, Will, Jem, and Tessa set out to unravel the secrets of Mortmain’s past—and discover unsettling Shadowhunter connections that hold the key not only to the enemy’s motivations, but also to the secret of Tessa’s identity. Tessa, already caught between the affections of Will and Jem, finds herself with another choice to make when she learns how the Shadowhunters helped make her a “monster.” Will she turn from them to her brother, Nate, who has been begging her to join him at Mortmain’s side? Where will her loyalties—and love—lie? Tessa alone can choose to save the Shadowhunters of London…or end them forever. - Goodreads

Clockwork Prince picks up just after Clockwork Angel ends. Charlotte is now struggling to stay as the head of the London Institute, Mortmain is still on the loose and the Shadowhunters aren’t sure what to do.

I absolutely loved the first book in the Infernal Devices trilogy, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy Clockwork Prince. This book was very disappointing for me, as I am a fan of most of Clare’s other novels and I was expecting great things.

There is very little action in this novel which caused the plot to drag on. I was tempted many a time to skip pages just to see if it picked up, but of course I couldn’t do that because I hate spoilers! In addition to the lack of exciting scenes, the romance between Tessa, Will and Jem totally takes over this novel. There was far too much focus on the love triangle, and to be honest I thought that Clockwork Prince felt like a spin off or a fan fiction because of this.

Tessa, whom I absolutely adored in Clockwork Angel for her strong personality, made me want to tear my eyes out. I am so annoyed with her! I hate what she’s doing to Jem and Will, and she also comes across as a complete idiot at times. Tessa has turned into one of those weak, ignorant, indecisive female protagonists that I so despise.

We learnt a fair bit about Will and his backstory in this book, which I definitely enjoyed. I would have preferred it if it had played out differently, but of course I can’t go into detail on that due to spoilers!

Jem didn’t really have a huge storyline in Clockwork Prince other than to please Tessa. This was a huge let down, because I loved Jem’s character in the first book and I wanted him to do more than blend in with the wall.

In addition to Will’s development, we also see a lot of other characters in this book. We learn lots about various members of the Lightwood family, the Fairchild family, Mortmain and others. I enjoyed this, but in order for these side plots to be included the action was toned down. I would have preferred to have had more action over the miniature side plots.

Throughout the novel, the characters came out with references to- and quotations of what is now classic literature and poetry, which felt almost humorously out of place within the story or dialogue.

I’m sorry to say this, but I also thought that Clare’s writing style was very awkward to me. There were lots of awkward – I’m totally overusing this word, sorry! – sentences in terms of structure, with an excessive use of commas at times which was unnecessary and choppy. The dialogue in this book was also bland, and at many points in the story I wasn’t able to tell if a character was talking or if it was part of the paragraph.

Overall, I was extremely disappointed with Clockwork Prince. I think I am going to have to give up on Cassandra Clare’s books, as this is the second in a row that I haven’t enjoyed. I’m not sure if the fact that so many of her books being written and published in a short space of time is affecting the writing, but I don’t like this new style. As a result, I can’t recommend this novel, and I will not be reading Clockwork Princess.

I hope I managed to convey my thoughts and feelings on this book well enough, it was an extremely difficult review to write.