ALISTAIR GRIM'S ODDITORIUM REVIEW

Hi, guys. Let me just say that I apologize in advance for not being on here in over a month, but my grandma passed away February 16th and it's been really hard on me and my family, so I haven't been reading as much.

I received Alistair Grim's Odditorium from the author, Gregory Funaro, toward the end of January and I apologize again for taking so long to get to this review.

Odditorium is the story of Grubb, a young chimney sweeper at an inn. He manages to get away from his cruel life and hides in the coach of a man staying at the inn named Alistair Grim, and when he arrives at a new place he finds it to be the Odditorium, run by the mysterious man. Filled with magic, Alistair and his crew accept Grubb as one of their own and he becomes the man's apprentice, but he must save the Odditorium when a threat emerges.

I really enjoyed this book, even though it felt like it was more for younger kids, I still liked all the fantasy and the magic surrounding it. Alistair Grim is a pretty cool dude, I have to admit. I would totally work for him. And Grubb was an adorable character. I read a lot of books where the underdog has to fight for himself and everyone around him, and that's basically what this was, but I felt like Grubb's character was different and more well-built than most.

The world-building was something I also really enjoyed, I'm a fan of fantasy and this may have been a middle-grade fantasy book, but it was so good. I give Odditoriuma 4/5 stars and would definitely recommend it, more to younger kids but it's great for teens as well. I'll hopefully get a chance to pick up the sequel! Thanks to Mr. Funaro for the book!

My Favorite Childhood Books

Hey, everyone! Today's post will be an interesting one to share with you. Because of my grandma's recent passing, I've been going back to all my childhood memories and going through all of her pictures and books that she's accumulated over the years, so I thought I would share my favorite books from my childhood.

1. Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park

Now, I know every kid has read this series at some point in their lifetime. Some teens and adults have probably read these books too. I swear this was probably my favorite series growing up. It's about the adventures of Junie B. Jones as she goes through kindergarten and first grade, and they were so hilarious for me to read as a kid. I remember my teachers reading these to us sometimes and I would literally laugh out loud (even when the other kids didn't really think a part was that funny). But anyway, if you're a parent, teen, or kid reading this and you have never read a Junie B. book, what's wrong with you? Go pick one up!

2. Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo! series by Nancy Krulik

I initially didn't even know what this series was until I was in maybe first or second grade. Once I read a book or two from this series, I became obsessed and had gathered up quite a bit of these. A lot of you might know these books, a lot of you might not. It's about a girl who, in certain situations, can switch into another person. In these events, something's usually wrong with the person and she unexpectedly switches into them and solves whatever their problem is. These were pretty funny to read as a kid and if I read one today, I'd probably still like it. I recommend those to kids of all ages.

3. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

I'm fairly sure everyone knows this series, or at least most of you do. I remember when I was about 4 or 5 years old, the movie came out. I bought it on DVD when it was released because of Jim Carrey. He's always been a favorite actor of mine, even as a kid. I used to watch the movie over and over. I didn't find out it was a book series until 4th grade when my teacher would usually read us a book to get us engaged in reading, and she read the first 2 books to us. I loved them both a lot and bought most of the other books. I recently was in a thrift store and found a limited edition of A Bad Beginning that was about $2.00 and I bought it, feeling like a little kid again excited for this series. For those of you who don't know what A Series of Unfortunate Events is about, it follows three siblings: Claus, Violet, and Sunny Baudelaire. When their parents are killed in a house fire that leaves them orphaned, they have to live with a creepy relative known as Count Olaf (played by Jim Carrey in the film). He is always trying to find a way to somehow inherit their family fortune by doing whatever it takes to get rid of them. That probably sounds a little iffy for some of you if you're parents and trying to figure out what you want your kids to read. So, if you need an age recommendation for this series, I'd say probably 8+. Also, if you're a teen or an adult who wants to try this series, it's definitely worth it no matter how old you are, which is why I put the +.

4. Warriors/Survivors/Seekers by Erin Hunter

I never read a ton of books in these series, but I always loved the Warriors books that I read. I never read a Survivors or Seekers book, even though they were basically in the same world as Warriors and were just spin-offs. Warriors involves the lives of cats, Survivors is about dogs, and Seekers are just your general wild animals such as bears. I don't know much about the last 2 since I never read any of those, but Warriors was a fantasy series about cats, like if you've seen or read any kind of fantasy stuff, it's basically that but with cats in place of humans. I think anyone can read those, I started reading them when I was about 6 or 7. For them, I don't really think it matters how old you are either if you like them enough. They were really good series, but teens and adults might find them a bit childish because of talking cats that fight wars with each other.

5. Roald Dahl books

If you've never read a single book by Roald Dahl, you have really been missing out your whole life. He wrote books like James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The BFG. You've probably heard of at least one of those or seen the films based off of some of them. The BFG also happens to be a Disney movie coming out this year, so if you haven't read a book by him, now would be a perfect time to read The BFG. I recommend all of his books to anyone. Anyone at all. He's just great.

6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid/Dork Diaries by Jeff Kinney/Rachel Reneé Russell

Why did I put these two together, you ask? Basically, they're each other's counterparts. They have absolutely nothing to do with each other yet they're written almost exactly the same way and are equally funny. Diary of a Wimpy Kid follows a kid named Greg Heffley through his middle school life. I never read past book 6 because I grew out of them, but he must have gone to high school by now. Those were pretty funny books and most of the kids these days has read them. Dork Diaries is pretty much the same, except it's about a girl. I actually forgot her name and that makes me feel pretty bad... But anyway, Dork Diaries basically made me stop reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid because I found it to be funnier and I could relate more since it was a girl. A lot of kids also read them. I have no age recommendation really, although I'd say maybe 7+.

7. A Dog's Life by Ann M. Martin

This isn't a series but it's definitely a need for this list. Most people love dogs, right? Well, I was about 8 years old when I discovered this book. I think I got it at my elementary school's book fair and it was about a dog so I figured, why not? I read it and it was one of the greatest things from my childhood. It's such a cute story told from the perspective of a dog as it goes through life. It wrecked my soul.

8. The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley

Don't even ask. Just don't. I went through a phase where I was obsessed with everything that had anything to do with the Olsen twins. I watched all their movies and tv shows and read all their books and have probably seen every episode of Full House twice. The books were always super fun for me to read and I would fly through them in a day or two. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be The Haunted Maze or Haunted Camp book. Honestly, I can't pick a favorite, they were all pretty great.

Well, that's it guys! Thanks for checking out my post. If there were any books or series you felt like I should have put on here that I might have forgotten about or if you'd like to share your favorite childhood books, please share in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!

P.S. I realize I didn't have Percy Jackson or Harry Potter on my list. This is because I didn't read Percy Jackson until last year so I wouldn't exactly count it as a favorite childhood series since I didn't read it as a kid, and I actually haven't read Harry Potter yet, although I plan to over the summer. Go ahead and throw rotten food at me.

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY BOOK REVIEW

Hey guys!

Yes, it's that time again. The time when I do a review, and for once it's not just a review copy. Today, I'm reviewing Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. 

I borrowed this from a friend after hearing Salt to the Sea was out, and I'll be honest with you guys... Before reading this, I hated historical fiction with a passion. I didn't even want to pick this up when I realized it was historical. I thought that stuff was so boring and just had no interest in reading it. But when I heard Salt to the Sea was out, I had a real interest in reading it because while I don't enjoy historical books, I do enjoy books about ships sinking because Titanic, guys. I mean come on, you can't say you didn't love that movie and are interested whenever you see documentaries about it on TV. Anyway, I thought that was what Salt to the Sea was about, until I read the full description and realized it wasn't Titanic, but a different ship with even more fatalities. (I feel like I'm going off topic from Between Shades of Gray.) So, long story short, my friend was like, "I have her other book if you wanna borrow it," and I said sure because I'd never read anything by this woman. Dear God, why didn't I ever read her books before?

Between Shades of Gray follows a teenage girl named Lina Vilkas and her family during WWII when they are taken by the NKVD and deported as criminals. They face horrible conditions as they are forced to work for the NKVD in order to survive. Lina faces terrible grief and finds love in this awful time while working under harsh rule.

This book was so good. So, so good. When I finished it, I just really wanted to go back and read it again. It made me rethink everything I knew about WWII, and I absolutely love it when books make me rethink things. This gave me a lot of insight to a different side of a part of history that I didn't know about. I had never really thought about what other countries went through in WWII, I always focused on the Germans and the Jews because that's really all I knew of. Thank you Ruta Sepetys for writing such a beautiful and heartbreaking novel. I now love historical fiction, thanks to this book. I've just started reading Salt to the Sea so I'll most likely have a review up for it very soon. Also, be sure to check out my other reviews and my interview with the authors of Falling For Alice! I'll be doing a cover reveal for Princess of Tyrone by Katie Hamstead tomorrow so stay tuned!

Broken Dolls review

Hey guys, today's a snow day for a lot of schools so I figured it'd be a perfect time to do a book review. Today I'm reviewing Broken Dolls by Tyrolin Puxty, an ebook I received from Curiosity Quills. I've been behind on my books lately out of not having much reading interest, but I finally got to this one.

The book is about a man who turns people into dolls. Yes, dolls. The story follows a girl named Ella who's been turned into a doll and has lived as one for many years and watches when the man makes new ones. When he decides he wants to make his granddaughter into a doll, however, Ella must find a way to stop him, as she's grown fond of his granddaughter.

This book was kinda spooky, and truly a unique read. The premise really intrigued me, so when I got the chance to read it, I jumped. I'm SO glad I read this. I think everyone should. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes creepy and overall just really great books. The cover is pretty gorgeous too! 5/5 stars, for sure. Thanks Curiosity Quills! Sorry this was such a short review, guys!

I'll put a picture of the book below so you can check out the gorgeous cover.

Top 10 Books I Read This Year!

Hey everyone, I hope you all are enjoying your holidays! As the year comes to a close, I thought I'd share with you guys my top 10 list for the best books I've read this year.

1. The Infernal Devices trilogy - Cassandra Clare

I almost wanted to put the Legend trilogy at #1 because I loved that series soooo much, but then there's the Infernal Devices. I just couldn't let Cassandra Clare down. (Sorry, Marie Lu.) The Infernal Devices is a prequel to the Mortal Instruments series, which I'll talk about in a sec, and it's set in the 1870's in London. It revolves around a young shape-shifter, Tessa Gray, and a love triangle involving Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs. I promise, this is not chick-lit. It's an amazing paranormal fantasy trilogy that had me hooked from the first sentence. If you haven't read it, I don't know why you're still reading this. You need to go read it now.

2. The Mortal Instruments - Cassandra Clare

Another Cassandra Clare series that I loved very much. I read the first 3 about 2 years ago and I heard the TV show was starting in January so I read all through the Infernal Devices and then read the last 3 Mortal Instruments books in about 3 or 4 months (I read a couple books in between to get a break). It doesn't matter what order you read the books in, but I recommend the Infernal Devices and then the Mortal Instruments. You'll be spoiled for Clockwork Princess in City of Heavenly Fire if you don't read the Infernal Devices first.

3. Legend trilogy - Marie Lu

See, I had to get this series in at least at #2 or #3, so this is good. This series was FANTASTIC. I get so confused when people say they don't like this series, or that the last book wasn't good. The last book was phenomenal, honestly, so to the people who say it's bad: you confuse me. But I guess everyone has their own book tastes... Anyway, it's about a 15-year-old criminal named Day who gets framed for killing a young military prodigy's brother. She goes after Day in hopes of executing him for killing her brother, but falls in love with him along the way without realizing he's the guy she's after. Because really, what's a series without a little romance?

4. Percy Jackson & the Olympians - Rick Riordan

I don't know if I even need to go into plot details for this, everyone's read it. I was a little late on the Percy Jackson train. I had really been wanting to start this series for a long time after watching the movies and loving them. (I know, I know. Terrible, right? Don't worry, I hated them after reading the books.) Once I started The Lightning Thief, I couldn't put it down for the life of me. I was so invested in this series, I was done in about 2 weeks. It took me a while to finish the last book because I got interested in something else so it was just eh. But when I finally finished it, I was crying for days. It was so great. Now I just need to start the Heroes of Olympus. By the way, since I was late on this train, I might as well tell you. I've never read Harry Potter. *opens arms so you can throw tomatoes and boo me*

5. Unwind - Neal Shusterman

I read this after a friend recommended it to me and let me borrow it, and I only read the first book. I own the second one but not the others, and I'm one of those people that likes to have them all so I can marathon them. But anyway, I flew through this book. I knew I was gonna like it, I just didn't realize how much I'd like it. It's a dystopian about how after a war, the pro-life and the pro-choice have come to an agreement that from conception until the age of 13, a person is not to be harmed. Yes, that means no abortions either. From 13 to 18, however, a person's parents can sign a form to have them "unwound". This means that they basically cut off all your major limbs and take out your organs and then it's donated to those who need new body parts. It was really gruesome in a way, when they actually described in detail how it worked. But it was such an interesting read. I highly recommend it if you're into weird stuff like that.

6. I Hunt Killers - Barry Lyga

This was also very good. A teen named Jasper Dent is the son of the nation's most infamous serial killer. When another serial killer comes to town and mimicking his father's killings, he tries to help solve the crime to prove to people and himself that he won't become a serial killer like Dear Old Dad. I flew through this one as well, very interesting and occasionally a little graphic. Either way, it's a great book. Hopefully gonna get to the other 2 in the series soon.

7. Legacy of Kings - Eleanor Herman

I got this as an ARC from the author because I had heard many people talking about how they had gotten copies at BEA this year and I thought, "Well, it must be good then if everyone's picking it up." Seriously, though, it was great. It's a historical fiction-fantasy novel about Alexander the Great and his friends as he is getting close to becoming king. I don't normally like historical fiction but this was really good, since it was back in ancient times. Highly recommend! I also have a review for this from July, I believe. Just go to the main menu on my blog and search for it!

8. Eleanor and Park - Rainbow Rowell

This was definitely a favorite that I would put higher on the list if it hadn't been for those other great books. Yes, it's chick-lit, but it was so-freaking-good-I-wanna-read-it-again-now chick-lit. It's about an Asian who falls in love with the chubby red-headed new girl who lives with her mom, siblings, and abusive stepdad. Can you imagine how cute this was? It broke my heart into a million pieces. I just need to read it again.

9. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

This probably doesn't come as a shock to anyone, since almost every book blogger has read this. I picked it up solely because all the other bloggers were recommending it so much and I also have a thing for video games, especially the old ones. So when I read this, I was so surprised at how much I loved it and it made me wanna go to an arcade afterwards. Luckily, I have a friend with an arcade in her basement. If you're a blogger or not and you haven't read this, you definitely should. Right now.

10. Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard

I read this for my school's book club and I didn't really like it that much at first, it was a little boring. But then it started getting amazing and I couldn't put it down, it had me hooked. Now I need Glass Swords. I don't wanna tell the plot because every synopsis I've read has spoiled basically everything and I don't wanna ruin the book for you guys... but just know that it's amazing. SO GOOD.

Well, there you have it, guys! There's my top 10 favorite books of the year! I might do my top 3 worst books tomorrow or Saturday for you all. Have a merry Christmas!

*This article was submitted to a book giveaway contest hosted by www.urbanepics.com*

Curse of the Sphinx review

I received this book a few weeks ago from the author, Raye Wagner, for review. I gotta say, this is definitely a review I'm proud to write. (I'm proud to write all of my reviews but you know what I mean.) I just finished it and I was SO not disappointed. I went into this book expecting it to be basically a Percy Jackson wannabe, but I requested it for review after seeing Jessethereader's review for this book on his Youtube channel. (https://youtu.be/RaW9MGANV1Q)

I like reading books about mythology so I didn't really care if it seemed like Percy Jackson or not. Once I started it, it did remind me of it a little, but it turned out to be such a completely different story.

In Curse of the Sphinx, Hope Nicholas is a sphinx, a lion-bird-human creature. It's a curse that's been following her family for thousands of years. She and her mom move around a lot to keep themselves safe from Skia (Hades's minions) and Apollo. When Hope's mom is killed, she has to move again and learn what it's like to live on her own, have friends, and fall in love, all the while trying to keep her secret from everyone she cares about and fight off Skia that are hunting her.

This book seriously kept me on edge with every single page. I honestly didn't like Athan's character sometimes, he was pretty adorable when he was being all romantic and stuff but he could be pretty arrogant sometimes. Reminded me of Harry Style's character in After. Always so full of himself and rude if you don't tell him everything you do. (If you haven't read After, DON'T. Just don't. Went into it thinking it would be a cute fanfiction about Harry Styles, but no. Noooo.) anyway, I loved the use of Greek mythology in this. But isn't a sphinx Egyptian mythology? If so, great mix of mythology. All in all, 4/5 stars. I loved this book! I'm probably gonna get the prequel novella, Origin of the Sphinx (and you should too.) Thanks to Raye Wagner for the book! Can't wait for the sequel! :)

November wrap-up

I read a few books this month, it was a pretty good reading month! I finally finished The Mortal Instruments series *cries* and it will definitely be my favorite of all time. No, scratch that, second favorite right behind The Infernal Devices.

1. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

This is the fifth book in the Mortal Instruments series. In this book, Sebastian is back but also gone again and has taken Jace with him. Clary tries her best to search for both of them so she can get her boyfriend away from her evil brother and hopefully defeat him. This book wasn't as good as I'd hoped, I'd give it roughly 4/5 stars. I really enjoyed it since I love this world and these characters so much, but I would've liked more out of it.

2. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

The final book in the Mortal Instruments series, Sebastian now has an army of evil Shadowhunters known as Endarkened and he plans to war with Shadowhunters, and it turns out to be their biggest battle yet. (Spoiler alert: the good Shadowhunters win. Duh.) If I could give this book 10/5 stars, I would. I loved it so much. It was the perfect end to this series, it was just amazing.

3. Rule of Three by Lore Graham

*I received this as an eBook from Less Than Three Press* This was a pretty short book about a guy named Ian who's rival constantly antagonizes him, so he tries to prove he can do real dark magic and summons an incubus named Alistair. He has to go through the consequences of summoning the incubus, who explains that his rival might be irritating because he wants more than just to be his rival. It may have been a short book but it was funny, sexy, and I absolutely loved Alistair. He was so witty and cunning. 4/5 stars, I wish it would've been longer.

4. Alice Takes Back Wonderland by David D. Hammons

*I received this as an eBook from Curiosity Quills*

Alright, I'm gonna be serious and just say that I have a big obsession with Alice in Wonderland. I love the story so much. So when I saw this, I knew I really wanted the opportunity to read it and talk about it here. I was sooo not disappointed with this one. I loved this retelling! In this story, Alice stops believing in Wonderland after years of people telling her she's crazy for believing in such a place. When the White Rabbit shows up again and brings her back to Wonderland, she believes again and realizes her childhood fantasy couldn't be more real. The Ace of Spades has taken over and Alice has to find some way to defeat him. I loved the idea of a new villain called the Ace of Spades, that was great. Alice is also pretty great in this, as she always is. 5/5!

5. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

*Read for book club* A girl who's allergic to literally everything, Madeline hasn't been outside in 17 years. Then a new boy moves in next door. She falls in love instantly, but she doesn't know how they can be together if she can't even go outside to see him. This book was just so cute and I loved it. I give it 4/5 stars, because I felt like towards the end it started getting a little rushed. I would've liked Maddy's relationship with her mom to be explored a little more, and to see what exactly was up with her mom after the *non-spoiler* big plot twist.

6. Inhuman by Kat Falls

*Read for book club* 18 years ago, a massive plague called Ferae wiped out most of the nation to the east. Therefore, a wall was built to keep people from going over there. Years later, Lane McEvoy gets a mission from a Biohaz director to go find her own father in the Feral Zone and have him do a fetch for her. If she can't complete the task, he will be executed. I honestly thought this book was really great. I know a lot of people don't like it and that's their own opinion, but it was actually really good. I liked the manimals and the Ferals, that was a really interesting concept. And now I've found out there's gonna be a book 2 in April! *excitement* 5/5 stars!

That's it for my wrap-up this month, thanks for reading! If you'd like to check out my other wrap-ups, you can go to my blog's homepage and look for wrap-ups.

The Copper Gauntlet review!

Hey guys, here's another review for you! Today I'm reviewing The Copper Gauntlet by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black, book two in the Magisterium series. I received this book for review from Scholastic and I was surprised yet again with this book! This series just keeps getting better and better.

I don't wanna go too much into the plot so I don't reveal any spoilers for those who haven't yet started this series yet, so I'll just give a brief summary (spoiler-free, I promise!) Basically, Callum Hunt is on summer break from the magic school Magisterium, and his dad believes he is secretly evil (you learn in the first book that his dad pretty much thought the Magisterium was evil so it only makes sense to think his own son is evil after going there.) He ends up back at the Magisterium after finding out some of his dad's secrets in his basement, only to find that a copper gauntlet (hence the title), that has the power to take away magic from magicians, has been stolen. Callum and his friends go on a quest to discover who took the gauntlet and it's pretty epic.

I did a review for the first book, The Iron Trial, on my blog as well if you'd like to check that out. (http://themortaljessica.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-iron-trial-book-review.html?m=1)

I loved this book so much, it was super awesome! This series just keeps getting better and better with each book, even though this is only book #2, but I believe the third book will also be even better. The series is filled with exciting twists and turns and I love the characters. Callum is an awesome character and I find him easy to relate to in some ways. Overall 4.5 stars. Keep up the good work, Cassie and Holly! I love this series :)

HUGE October book haul + wrap-up!

Hey people of book Earth! So sorry this is a few days late, I've been a little busy lately. Today I have a book haul and my wrap-up for October! I didn't read that many books in October so I'm including my wrap-up with my book haul. I have a ton of books to haul so let's get started! (I'm going in the order of when & where I bought them)

1. Local bookstore: Thirsty by M.T. Anderson and Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

I bought these at my local bookstore toward the beginning of October. Thirsty is about a guy who gets bitten and is turned into a vampire, so he must figure out how to live his life this way. I haven't read it yet. I also haven't read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone books yet, so I can't really tell you anything about Dreams of Gods and Monsters without potentially spoiling it for the people who also haven't read it yet.

2. BookOutlet (beginning of October): The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Winger by Andrew Smith, Foretold by various authors, The Dead-Tossed Waves and The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

I really don't know much about any of these books, so I won't be able to tell you much.

The Bane Chronicles: a bunch of short stories about an amazing (and possibly my favorite) character from The Mortal Instruments series, Magnus Bane. It includes stories like The Midnight Thief and What Really Happened in Peru.

Winger: a book about a 14-year-old junior named Ryan Dean West who is on the rugby team at his school and has to deal with his day-to-day life of being picked on as "Winger".

Foretold: a bunch of short stories by different authors about prophecy and magic that was edited by Carrie Ryan and includes stories by Kami Garcia, Meg Cabot, Carrie Ryan herself, and more.

The Dead-Tossed Waves and The Dark and Hollow Places: the last 2 books in the Forest of Hands and Teeth series.

3. Amazon: Stand-Off by Andrew Smith, Game and Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga

Stand-Off: the sequel to Winger!

Game and Blood of My Blood: the second and third books in the Jasper Dent trilogy, about a boy named Jazz who is the son of the nation's most notorious serial killer. In this series, he hunts other killers like his dad to prove to himself and others that he won't become a killer like his dad.

4. BookOutlet (end of October): The Search for WondLa by Tony DiterLizzi, The Shadowhunter's Codex by Cassandra Clare, Between the Lines by Samantha van Leer and Jodi Picoult, Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

The Search for WondLa: I have no idea what this is about, but I watched a video by Regan from PeruseProject on youtube where she recommended this book so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'll link her video below.

http://youtu.be/GDGU-pM9ijY

The Shadowhunter's Codex: for those of you who've read The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, you probably know what this is. This is basically a book giving the basics to Shadowhunter life; the Accords, demons, Downworlders, what to do when you meet a Downworlder, weapons, that kinda thing. I was so excited to get this so I can learn the ways of the Shadowhunters and get to know their lives better.

Between the Lines: this is about a girl who re-reads a fairy tale that she's loved for years, and then one day she realizes that the "prince charming" in the book can see her and talk to her. He falls in love with her and she with him. It sounds so strange, but it's also every book fangirl's dream pretty much. I am so excited to read this soon, I wanna know how this works out!

Bruiser: I love Neal Shusterman and I haven't heard that many people talking about this book, but I saw it on BookOutlet so of course I had to pick it up. It's about a girl who starts dating the weird kid Brewster "Bruiser", and realizes he's not as strange as people think; he's stranger. It's got some supernatural stuff in it so I think this will be a regular old Neal Shusterman book for me!

5. Local bookstore: Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier, The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan, Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer, This Book Loves you by Pewdiepie, and Atlantia by Ally Condie

Zombies vs. Unicorns: an anthology of short stories written by various authors about zombies and unicorns, but each author is on a different side. Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (Scott Westerfeld's wife) edited this book, Holly editing team unicorn and Justine editing team zombie. It sounds like so much fun! What side are you on?

The Sword of Summer: the first book in a new series by Rick Riordan, set in the same universe as Percy Jackson. It deals with Norse mythology and is about Annabeth's cousin, I believe, whose name is Magnus Chase. I've heard that Annabeth makes an appearance and I'm super stoked for this series!

Life and Death: this is the 10th anniversary edition of Twilight. Half the book is the original Twilight, but once it ends, it stops in the middle and you have to flip it over to read Life and Death, which is a reimagining of Twilight with swapped genders. Weird, right?

This Book Loves You: I bought this solely because it was written by Pewdiepie. Seriously, who doesn't love Pewdiepie? This book is filled with stupid, hilarious quotes made by Pewdiepie, like, "The only reason your dog likes you is because you give it food." I love it!

Atlantia: a book about mermaids, basically.

Wrap-Up time!

1. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare: the last book in The Infernal Devices trilogy. Not giving a summary because spoilers! 5/5 stars, this book was so fantastic! The fighting was epic and so was the ending. I cried reading the epilogue. I couldn't handle that kind of pain. Definitely recommend this series!

2. Edgewood by Karen McQuestion: I got this one sent to me by the author and have a review for it posted on my blog so go check it out. 4/5 stars.

3. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare: I suggest you read the first 3 books in The Mortal Instruments before reading this review. Basically, Clary and Jace are finally able to call themselves an actual couple! But someone's murdering Shadowhunters and with Simon bearing the worst curse he could ever want to bear, many are after him as well. I really enjoyed this book and being able to continue the story of Clary, Jace, and the other Shadowhunters made me so happy. 4/5 stars. :)

Well guys, thanks for hanging in there for this super long blog post!

Falling For Alice book review!

About a month ago, I received this book from one of the authors, Kitty Keswick, in exchange for my honest review. This book was sooo fabulous and different. It's an anthology of 5 short stories about Alice, the girl from wonderland, in honor of the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", one of my favorite fairy tales of all time. Each story depicts something completely different, kinda like American Horror Story.

1. Drunk - Dawn Dalton

Alice is a teenage girl who, every time someone touches her, she feeds off of their emotions and drains the person touching her, causing her to get "drunk". After one of her more difficult experiences, she finds herself in an alley by a restaurant where she meets a guy that works there and her hunger to drain seems to subside when she's with him. This story is probably the darkest out of the bunch, but it was really intriguing. I loved how the emphasis on how she felt "drunk" was shown with all-caps words. "Her stomach clenches as familiar GUILT tiptoes across her chest.

2. Alice at Woodstock - Shari Green

In this story, Alice is in a band and longs to be a great musician. Once she gets kicked out of her own band, her dreams are crushed and she no longer wants anything to do with being a musician. That is, until she's transported back in time to Woodstock. "Let no one steal your song."

3. White Rabbit Rx - Denise Jaden

Alice is a plus-sized, self-concious girl who wants nothing more than to be like the girls who are thin and look like twigs. She goes to the Hatter High dealer and gets a concoction called white rabbit, which after drinking it, causes her to get the slim figure she's dreamed of. Eventually, she realizes this is not who she is and she finds out who she's really meant to be.

4. Wormhole to Wonderland- Kitty Keswick

Alice is on the spaceship Jabberwocky. 12 males and 12 females (including Alice) go to another world and each are programmed to serve a certain function. Alice has the function of learning about and creating literature, but Alice has her own creative ideas, which leads her to trouble with the Originators, who are pretty much the big wigs of the ship. A man named Hacker tries to help her escape so she can be who she truly is.

5. Wonder in the Stars - Cady Vance

Lastly, this story is also a sci-fi short. It follows Alice who applies to NASA's teen mission aboard the spaceship Wonder. Her father died during a space mission. Once her boyfriend is convinced he doesn't need her anymore, she's forced to go through the mission alone, where she realizes she also loves space as much as her father did, and becomes the "girl who saved Wonder."

"I think it's the other way around, actually. Wonder saved me."

I give this anthology 5/5 stars. It was incredibly different and so much fun to read. I devoured it in one sitting. It was completely and utterly unique. I highly recommend this book!

Edgewood book review!

About a month ago, I received Edgewood by Karen McQuestion, and it was sent to me as a gift from her from Amazon. I want to apologize in advance of this review for taking so long to read it, but with school and other books to review, I was trying to get all of them finished at once. Again, sorry Karen!

Anyway, let's get started.

So Edgewood is about a 15-year-old guy named Russ Becker who has had sleeping problems for a while and takes walks at night to make him tired so he'll go to sleep. During one of his late-night walks, he walks around the abandoned train station in his neighborhood and witnesses lights falling from the sky. A day or 2 later, a girl named Mallory asks him to join her group of kids that have also seen this astronomical event. The group consists of Russ, Mallory, Jameson, and Nadia. He finds out once joining the group that everyone who's seen the lights have developed different abilities, like mind control and telekenisis. He also finds out that there are people hunting kids like them, known as the Associates, and they will stop at nothing until they've recruited these supernatural kids to join them.

Reading this book, I actually thought it was pretty good. At first, I didn't really like it. The writing style wasn't good, it was just sloppy like a teen writing a book for the most part. But after I actually got into it a bit more, I found it to be really cool and wanted to read more. Edgewood is a wild ride, not gonna lie. I don't even read science fiction that much, but I think this book has changed that for me. Overall 4/5 stars. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy and other books by Karen McQuestion!

Infernal Devices feels

So I just finished the last book in the Infernal Devices trilogy, Clockwork Princess, last night. I stayed up until 1 a.m. very determined to finish it. I've decided to talk about my feelings on this series. 

First things first. Will Herondale. Hmm, Jessica Herondale... That has an interesting ring to it, don't you think? Will was such an adorable character, okay. I know he's like everyone's favorite character but really, it's so hard not to like him. I'll admit, he pissed me off a lot in the first two books. Remember what he told Tessa on the roof toward the end of Clockwork Angel? I wanted to punch him everywhere for what he said. It was awful. So throughout the first two books, I knew he loved Tessa, but at the same time you didn't exactly know his problem or why he was constantly so rude so I just assumed it was in his nature. But he managed to make me sooo mad all the time. After we find out what his real problem is, you start to feel for him and understand why he acts that way so you hate him a little less, even though he still pisses you off sometimes. After he found out the curse wasn't real, he becomes a better person and his rudeness and basically all the things you don't like about him fade away, and the wall he's built up over the years is finally crumbling down. I just love Will so much. His sarcasm was pretty funny and he's such a lovable character. 

And then there's Jem. He's also very adorable, and where Will has an air of ignorance, Jem is always so kind and is never rude to anyone whatsoever. He does have sarcasm, but he's a lot nicer with it, and even then it's still hilarious. I loved seeing the relationship he had with Will and learning what it meant to be someone's parabatai. It was interesting to learn about their childhood together and you always feel for Jem because of his drug addiction. He has to take more and more of it or else he will die, and I almost cried when they were saying he'd died in Clockwork Princess. I felt better knowing that he had become a Silent Brother, so that he could live and still be there for everyone, though not all the time. When I found out he was Brother Zachariah, I kinda squealed, because I remembered him from the Mortal Instruments and how he was one of the Silent Brothers that helped the characters throughout the books.

That epilogue, though... I was bawling my eyes out when I was reading it. Cassandra Clare wrote Tessa's thoughts on Will's death, how he died and what had gone on over the years since then so well. It was such a beautiful ending, but thinking about Will's death and the fact that Tessa couldn't grow old with him because of her immortality was so sad. I wouldn't want that to happen to anyone. I mean, who wouldn't cry over Will's death? It was one of the saddest things. But the ending where she finally gets back with Jem again was so cute and beautiful. I was happy that the story ended that way, even though I wished that Will could've lived longer and stayed with her forever. They were like the perfect couple.

Also, Magnus Bane. There's no words to describe how much I love his character in the Infernal Devices and in the Mortal Instruments. He's so much fun to read about.

Anyway, that's all I wanted to talk about. I definitely have a lot more feels to discuss but I don't want to make this a super long blog post. Feel free to leave a  comment about your feelings and we can have a discussion about how you felt about this trilogy, or just the shadowhunter world in general!

September Wrap-up!

This month was a pretty exciting month for books. I read 6 this month, and they were all sooo amazing. Let's get started!

1. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

This book was definitely one of the best books I read this month. It's about a 17-year-old named Jasper Dent who is the son of Billy Dent, the nation's most infamous serial killer. When another serial killer known as The Impressionist, who tries to be just like Billy and mimick his killings almost exactly, shows up to town, Jazz wants to prove to not only himself but the people around him that he won't become his dad by trying to solve the case. The suspense in this book kept me going and it was so fast-paced, I flew through it. I give this 6/5 stars because I can. It was that great.

2. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

I read the first book in the Infernal Devices trilogy last month and it was amaaaazing. I can't tell you about the plot of this book without spoiling anything, so go look at my August wrap-up for the plot of the series. I give this book 4/5 stars mostly because even though it was perfect in every way, the beginning was kinda slow compared to the first book, but overall it was still great.

3. The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

This book was sooo interesting. It's about a girl named Carly Johnson who is in an asylum, and is getting ready for her next year at school. She has split-personality disorder with her "other side" being Kaitlyn. When Kaitlyn comes out, she does a lot of bad things to cause trouble and even harm to people. I feel like I'm making the plot sound kinda childish but I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. Just read it, it was awesome. You won't be disappointed. (Unless you're not into creepy books.) 5/5 stars.

4. The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

Okay, here's the thing. I recieved this as a digital ARC from the publisher and sadly, I didn't finish it. (Sorry!) I ended up having to read a book for my book club so I didn't have time to finish it. What I read though was a really good start!

5. Dark Rising (I forgot the author's name, sorry) *received as an ARC from NetGalley*

I had some problems with this book. It was good, but it's actually a sequel which I didn't originally know, so I haven't read the first book. I can't tell the plot without giving away spoilers. So anyway, I actually thought this book was really good, but it was confusing and hard to get through without having read the first book, sadly. 3/5 stars, I'd probably give it more if I'd read the first book.

6. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Whew! This one was definitely a wild ride. Red Queen is about a girl named Mare Barrow who lives in a world divided by blood, the Reds with red blood and the Silvers with silver blood. Silvers are the elite and have special abilities, while Reds are poor and serve the Silvers. Mare is a Red and is about to be conscripted, but she meets Cal, and gets a job working as a servant at the king's palace. There, she realizes she's different, that she's a Red with abilities, and the king and queen turn her into a Silver princess to hide the fact that she's actually a Red from other Silvers and Reds. This book was a teensy bit slow at the beginning, but then stuff started going down and it was so exciting and fun to read. I loved the world-building and the action sequences, although I sorta feel like some characters might be a little underdeveloped. Other than that, it was super-duper awesome. I can't wait for Glass Swords. 4/5 stars. Brb while I go read the prequel novellas.

August wrap-up!

I didn't exactly read as many books this month as I'd hoped to, but I read a few. Let's get started so I don't waste time.

1. Eleanor and Park

This book... I can't even describe how much I loved it. It was so amazing. The story's set in the '80's and follows an Asian kid named Park who listens to punk rock and reads comics, and a chubby redhead named Eleanor who wears boyish, geekish clothes every day and lives in a bad household. She's the new girl, and when she shows up on the bus, everyone automatically makes fun of her. Park is the only one who lets her sit down somewhere, and this is the beginning of how they spark a relationship. This book was so adorable and sad and perfect and everything in between, except bad. It was nowhere near bad. 10/5 stars, I loved it so much.

2. Clockwork Angel

Yeah, I guess I'm a little late on the Infernal Devices train. I read the Mortal Instruments a couple years ago and absolutely loved that series, and for some reason I just kinda strayed from the Infernal Devices, mostly because it got quite a bit more hype than the Mortal Instruments. But I noticed everyone seemed to love it more, so I picked it up. The book is about a girl named Tessa who finds out that she has a certain power: shape-shifting. But when she changes, she can access the person's emotions. She ends up in the Institute, which is basically a shelter for Shadowhunters, Nephilim who make it their mission to rid the world of demons and other evil things. I really enjoyed this book, it was fast-paced and gave you a lot of insight to London and it was just awesome. 5/5 stars.

3. Nightfall

*I received this as an electronic ARC from the publisher on First to Read* This was an interesting story. I liked it a lot! It's about a girl named Marin and her brother Kana who live on an island that changes. Every 28 years, light comes, but it causes the ocean's tide to roll in so they have to leave before it happens. But Kana and Marin's friend goes missing so they have to do everything they can to find her before the island changes. I give this book 4/5 stars.

4. City of Boneheads

*I received this as an e-ARC from the author Steve Lookner* This book is a parody of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, which is the first book in the Mortal Instruments series. I'm not really gonna bother with the summary considering that I'n pretty sure most of you readers have already read the Mortal Instruments series, so if you enjoyed it or even if you didn't, definitely go pick this up! It was hilarious and I promise you will enjoy basically any Steve Lookner parody. Always great! 5/5 stars.

The Lightning Fart book review

*I received a kindle copy of this book from the author*

This is literally the first time I've read a parody of a book. The Lightning Fart by Steve Lookner was written as a parody of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, one of my favorite series, so when I saw this on Amazon, I freaked. I was like, "Oh my god. There's a parody of this? Yes, please!" I was so excited to check this out, I actually downloaded the sample first just in case I didn't like it, but what I read from the sample was hilarious. Thanks to Steve Lookner for sending me a copy, the book was absolutely amazing.

Percy Stinkson is a kid from Yancy Academy who gets made fun of a lot because, well, his last name is Stinkson, his best friend is a goat, and his favorite teacher is old and in one of those motorized wheelchair things. He and his class go on a field trip to a museum and a teacher, Mrs. Dodds, turns into a monster, and he gets nervous and farts, causing her to disappear. He learns many things about himself after this incident that he didn't know before, like him being a Half-Wit. 

If you haven't read The Lightning Thief or The Lightning Fart, you'll have no idea what I'm talking about, therefore I encourage you to read either of them, or both. Both is good.

I definitely recommend The Lightning Fart to anyone, unless you're one of those people that find farting disgusting and inappropriate instead of funny. Whether you've read The Lightning Thief or not, I think you'll enjoy this book. Go check it out. :)

-Jessica xoxo

The Iron Trial Book Review

*I received this book from Scholastic in exchange for a review on my blog. I will also be posting this on Amazon.*

In a way I guess I sorta already reviewed this a few weeks ago in my "Jessica Recommends: Middle-Grade Series" post, but now I've actually finished the book. I'll leave a link to that below, but just in case it doesn't work, I'll give a short plot summary.

http://themortaljessica.blogspot.com/2015/07/jessica-recommends-middle-grade-series.html?m=1

There is a school for special kids called the Magisterium, the school for magic. (Almost like Hogwarts!) Each year, the school holds a test called The Iron Trial, and only certain kids are selected to take it: the kids who supposedly have magic. Callum Hunt is a 12-year-old boy who has been told by his father his whole life to stay away from magic, and that the Magisterium isn't safe and is the reason his mother died. He gets selected to take The Iron Trial and his father teaches him every way possible so he can fail the trial and not get into the Magisterium, because if you are selected, attendance isn't optional. When Callum goes to take the test, he screws up everything and gets the lowest score out of everyone, something he and his father are proud of. He's sure he won't get picked, but he does. Through learning to control his magic and anger and making new friends Aaron and Tamara, he realizes that nothing is what it seems at the Magisterium.

I don't have a lot to say about this book, mostly because it was just so great. I loved the idea of friends Holly Black and Cassandra Clare coming together to write this book, considering Cassandra Clare is one of my favorite authors. For those who don't know, Cassandra Clare wrote The Mortal Instruments series and The Infernal Devices trilogy, along with her upcoming Dark Artifices trilogy. Holly Black writes young adult books such as The Curseworkers trilogy, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, and children's books like The Spiderwick Chronicles and Doll Bones. Anyway, I expected a lot from this book. I was not disappointed. It was sooo good. I loved it, I give it 4/5 stars. Sometimes I couldn't really relate to the kids, considering this was middle-grade, but I am super excited for The Copper Gauntlet. I will definitely be reading the next one, and the rest after that!