Trailer Park Tuesday (10): CITY OF LOST SOULS

Blood, Sweat and Books hosts the Trailer Tuesday meme and you can check out their awesomeness as well. Since I live in Middle Tennessee, I decided to country-fy my meme and go the trailer park route. *snortle* In my home away from home, I will spotlight some of the awesome book trailers out there in the world.


Now I know this is an oldie, but boy oh boy is it a goodie! Who doesn't love Cassandra Clare? With all the buzz about The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie coming next summer [squeeeeeee!!!!], I thought I'd take a look at some of the book trailers from this beyond awesome series. I think the series gets better with every book. Darker too. A lot of people didn't jive with the Sebastian (aka Jonathan) in COLS, but I dug him. He's twisted, dark, and so so creepy. This trailer....perfect. It highlights the creepy in Sebastian and that gets me all sorts of fangirlie.

What are your thoughts? Sebastian awesomely creepy or just plain ICK?

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publication Date: 5/8/12

Goodreads Connection

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

CITY OF LOST SOULS Just...wow

If you read YA chances are you read, or have read, Cassandra Clare. If you have not... Well, I have nothing to say other than... WTH!! You need to!

I know there will be a million and one reviews of City of Lost Souls out there, so I decided to do something different here. The last thing you need is yet another review of a book from a series that is not only a best seller, from a fab author who rocks our socks, but is also in the makings of a movie! The Mortal Instruments is one of my all time favorites series and I am here to tell you why. Why I rave about these books to anyone who will listen, and others who just tolerate my ramblings with near patience.

In short, these books have everything!

Raising an eyebrow? Questioning my sanity? Allow me to explain.

Now I'm no literary expert, but I know what I like. When my friend Rachel first introduced me to TMI, her words were something like "not too much on the romance, but they were pretty good." But Rachel is a BIG romance fan. She said it had lots of demons, vampires, fae, and other stuff. This alone made me take City of Bones home. Oh, and she said the main guy, Jace, was pretty hot. That helped too. *wink*

As far as I'm concerned, Cassandra Clare is a master crafts...uh...woman for story telling. She wraps you around her little finger and takes you for a wild, crazy, heartbreaking ride. And you enjoy every minute of it. There is action, adventure, love, lust, friendships, enemies, characters you love, characters you hate, characters you LOVE to HATE, plot twists that leave you breathless, worlds so believable you look over your own shoulder...the whole tamale people!

My gateway drug to Fantasy Fiction was The Lord of the Rings. A tough read for a beginner I s'pose, but I was HOOKED. After that I got completely immersed in The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (may he rest in peace). Another fantasy fave was the Forgotten Realms books from R.A. Salvatore.

Miss Cassie, for me, is on the lines of these books. Her worlds are so thought out it's spooky. Every time I read one of her books I'm amazed at the detail she incorporates. The politics of Shadowhunter lives, the relations between Shadowhunter and Downworlder, and the history of the Nephilim race fascinates me.

But she doesn't stop there. The plotting involved in Cassie's books leaves my head spinning. It makes the writer in me BEG (and I mean beg to the point of delirium) to be a fly in the room as she plots a book. The characters' lives twist in and out of each other so much I'm left in awe.

This is particularly noticeable with City of Lost Souls.

I'm sure there were references to previous Shadowhunters in the first four TMI books, but I don't recall them offhand. While reading COLS, however, Cassie makes several references to her prequel series, The Infernal Devices (Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince). Having read these books recently, they stuck out like a hobo clown at an Amish wedding. I can't help but wonder if Cassie plans her books this way or if they just happen naturally, like magic, like slow churned vanilla ice cream and hot brownies, like peanut butter and chocolate...

I got so freakin' giddy reading COLS it was really kind of pathetic. My writer side totally geeked out with how intertwined the plots are between the books. You don't have to read one series to understand the other, since they both give the necessary background, but why would you not WANT to read both? And the connections are subtle too, which is awesome, so those readers who have read both series don't feel like they're being pulled out of one story and into another. From a passing glance that catches an odd angel pendant with gears and such for wings, a mysterious Silent Brother, Zachariah, and quick references to a lost love with dark hair and blue eyes... I just cannot help the fangirl in me!!!!

It really is books like The Mortal Instrument series, and the Infernal Devices, that inspire me to write. The deep seeded worlds of Shadowhunter life, or Middle Earth, or Menzobarrenzan make me want to create such rich worlds of my own. Horribly conflicted characters like Jace Lightwood, Will Herondale, Boromir, Frodo Baggins, and Drizzt Do'Urden inspire me to reach the ultimate conflicts with my own characters. To push them to their limits. To find what makes them break. And what will bring them back together again.

This is not to say other books don't inspire me to write, and write well. There are just books you enjoy, and then there are books that take you to that place. That place, that space, between a totally happy voracious reader, and the other realm that gives you the drive to BE a part of that world. To create that feeling in the pit of the belly for others that you feel reading your favorite books. To make your readers want to WOOT out loud, to cry openly, to get so mad at a character you consider for a nanosecond throwing the book across the room, to fall in love, and to get so lost in a world it FEELS real...

That is what Cassandra Clare does for me. That is why I love her books. She is the whole package. I love her books, I love her worlds, I love her characters, but I also love the way she inspires the writer in me.

What about you? Who inspires YOU to write your pants off?

Clockwork Prince...I have no words. Wow.

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Wow, I mean wow. I am not even sure where to begin this review. I finished Clockwork Prince a couple days ago and am just now getting to the review stage. There was just a desperate need to pull my shattered heart together before I could put this into words. For those of you that already read this wonderful book, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you have not, then please keep reading to find out why you should...

Cassandra Clare opens Clockwork Prince with a heart cinching prologue with Will Herondale making one of his shady purchases of the powder his best friend, and parabatai, Jem needs to stay alive. He is also in the market for another 'concoction' for indifference...for him. Only a fool would not know who he is needing indifference from and my heart broke in these beginning pages. 

It only went downhill from there. 

The Council is in an uproar after the failures of the London Institute in capturing Mortmain, or The Magister, and the questionable killing of deQuincey. The members, and more specifically, Benedict Lightwood, think our girl Charlotte is unfit to run the Institute. She is tasked with finding some concrete evidence, or get Mortmain himself, and bring him to trial basically. An impossible task, but Charlotte was giving it a go. 

Our team of Shadowhunters are all backing her and they set out to get the required information. The team meets obstacle after obstacle and we feel this is all going to end disastrously. We, the reader, are not far from the mark. In true Cassie Clare fashion the odds are piled up against our heroes Tessa, Jem, and Will. There are spies once again in the Institute, Jem's health seems to be in a more precarious balance than ever before, Will is fighting his feelings (and beginning to lose) and we are not entirely sure why, Tessa is left with more and more questions about her origins, and to top things off, Mortmain is one step ahead of them as always. Will's walls are cracking as he is faced with his family, Jem and Tessa become closer as Tessa continues to fight the feeligns that burn for Will, The Institute is betrayed by one of their own, The Lightwood boys may just have redeeming qualities after all, and sweet little Sophie is quite an unexpected joy. 

When we finally learn why Will is the way he is....wow. My heart broke. But it broke again as we see the truths behind what Will believed. Our poor, broken Will.... Will my heart ever stop aching for him? Probably not.

As always, Cassie's characters are wonderfully written. Fierce and caustic Will breaks your heart, gentle Jem warms your soul, and the quiet brevity of Tessa rings like a crystalline bell. Nate's reappearance is a double edged sword. His treachery is both sickening and pitiful. Charlotte and Henry "find" each other and bring new joy and Jessamine's narrow-mindedness makes you pity her. 

For being longer books, Cassie's world of Shadowhunters in Clockwork Prince is a fast paced read. The action does not seem to stop. As we have come to expect from her books, the plot twists are highly enjoyable and the love triangles rip your heart to shreds. Her beautiful world of Victorian London spills from the pages and paints your mind's eye with wonderful clarity. The subtlety of the steampunkish clockwork figures is magnificent and does not overpower the deeper parts of the story-line. 

All in all I am so addicted to Cassie's Shadowhunters and her world of Infernal Devices and Mortal Instruments. I can only wish I had found them sooner and they could go on forever. It is sad, almost, that the next installment will be the final book in the series. There are so many things we desperately need to find conclusion for and I hope that Clockwork Princess will be the icing on the figurative cake. If I know Miss Cassie at all, I would say it will be a delightfully scrumptious icing.

Did Clockwork Prince rock my world? Indubitably Richter scale says 10!

Steampunk-a-rific..Let the ID journey begin!

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.
Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own. 

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's 
length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Okay, first I have to admit that I am so very late in the Cassandra Clare world. A friend gave me TMI (The Mortal Instruments for those as clueless as I once was) to read saying that she enjoyed the books. They were not the super hot romance stuff she is really into, but had some good love dodecahedron stuff going on. That’s right, not your typical love triangle jazz. I was intrigued. Since then I am a HUGE fan of Miss Cassie!

Clockwork Angel is the first of the ID (Infernal Devices) prequel series to TMI. Miss Cassie transports us back to Victorian England (to say I am a huge fan of Victorian England would be too mild so needless to say I totally geeked out on this alone). We follow Tessa as she makes the big move to London in search of her wayward older brother Nate. Tess is then set on an impossible journey of finding the truth about herself, her family, and this craziness that is Downworld. A lot to take in for your typical 19^th century teen. 

Once again we learn about the Shadowhunters and Downworlders, but this time through new eyes, which was really great. The Victorian world is so vastly different than current day NYC so it was nice to begin the journey through Tessa. She is a great character, Tessa. She is all that a 19^th century lady should be, but she has an inner strength that slips out from time to time. In a word…awesome. Nineteenth century ladies were not meant to be bold, so when Tessa is it makes that much more of an impact. 

Tessa meets the Shadowhunters and takes refuge at the London Institute. There she meets Jessamine, with her moody denial of what she is. This girl has issues and a half! She desperately wants a ‘normal’ life as a lady. Jem, the epitome of an English gentleman, will truly melt your heart. Charlotte, the head honcho of the Institute, reminds me of an older Clary with her spunk and deeeeeeep desire to prove herself. There is quirky Henry and then the staff, Sophie, Agatha, and Thomas, that you truly want to befriend. 

You may be thinking….what about Will? Well, I saved him for last (bwaaa haaa haaa). What to say about William Herondale… if you were a fan of Jace from the TMI series, you will fall HARD for Will. Where Jace was the broken bad-boy who was repeatedly beat down by situation after situation that tore at his very soul… *sigh* I have to say Jace falling victim got redundant after a while and I really wanted him to just fight back. Will, on the other hand, I do believe is broken beyond repair. There is so much darkness in him and is much more caustic than Jace. He is downright mean sometimes. His wit will make you laugh, his smile and eyes will make you swoon, but in the end you will not know whether to hate him or feel really sorry for him.

As for the world of 19^th Century England that Miss Cassie created, it was wonderful. You really felt you were there. Between the narrative that kept in character and the dialogue, it was all a complete package. This was also the first time I have read anything Steampunk and I was pleased with Clockwork Angel's take on this genre. True to Miss Cassie’s form there are plot twists that will keep you guessing even after you reach the final typed page. You will be itching for more; a deep need to find out what happens will fill you and will immediately go out and buy the next installment….much like me. =^)

If you are not privy to the Shawdowhunter world of Miss Cassandra Clare then you are quite literally living under a rock. Get out and get yourself a copy. Don’t think about it, just do it.

Did Clockwork Angel rock my world? Fo-SHO people…9 on the Richter scale!