City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

TITLE:  City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instruments #5)
AUTHOR:  Clare, Cassandra
GENRE:  Fiction/Supernatural
DATES READ:  5/15/2012 - 5/27/2012
MY RATING:  4.5/5

This book was everything I love about the Mortal Instruments series and more!  I adore these books.  I just can't believe that the next installment isn't supposed to come out until March 2014.  I'm going to be out of graduate school by then (and I haven't even started yet!!!).

I finished City of Lost Souls while camping with my family.  It was the perfect mixture of action, romance, and suspense.  Cassandra Clare constantly keeps you guessing about her characters and this series has a little something for everyone!

I can't recommend it enough for anyone.  I am now in the process of passing them along to my family and friends.  I hope that they'll enjoy them just as much as I do.  The only thing that could be improved is the release date of the next book.  But if you can't already tell, I'm a little biased.  :-)

***Photo by B. Bumble***

Shipbreaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

TITLE:  Ship Breaker
AUTHOR:  Bacigalupi, Paolo
GENRE:  Science Fiction
DATES READ:  4/29/2012 - 5/15/2012
MY RATING:  3/5

I purchased this book on the way out of B&N with my boyfriend because the metallic cover caught my attention.   They were alongside books with a sign that stated "If you like The Mortal Instruments series..."  which I love!!!  So I decided to pick it up...

...I enjoyed this book immensely, but I must admit that I actually like the cover more than I like the book.  I think that's the first time that's ever happened to me.  The author has a wonderful style and I can understand why this book was such an award winner.  I guess it just didn't stand out for me.

Toward the end of this story I got a little restless.  However, I have to give the author credit for being able to take such a futuristic world and make it believable.  While it was easy to read and easy to enjoy, something was missing for me (maybe the pace threw me off?).  I just wasn't my proverbial cup of tea.

I feel that this is a good young adult intro into science fiction, and would definitely recommend it for teens.  Not really enough substance for an older audience.

Book Cover Source