By Amanda Sun, published by Mira Ink.

Goodreads synopsis: On the heels of a family tragedy, Katie Greene must move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.
When Katie meets aloof but gorgeous Tomohiro, the star of the school’s kendo team, she is intrigued by him…and a little scared. His tough attitude seems meant to keep her at a distance, and when they’re near each other, strange things happen. Pens explode. Ink drips from nowhere. And unless Katie is seeing things, drawings come to life.
Somehow Tomo is connected to the Kami, powerful ancient beings who once ruled Japan-and as feelings develop between Katie and Tomo, things begin to spiral out of control. The wrong people are starting to ask questions, and if they discover the truth, no one will be safe.

My Review: I’d been so looking forward to this book, and had pretty high expectations. I was so happy to receive and read this, and the book was absolutely brilliant! The plot had a really original idea, and I liked the tie-in with Japanese culture. Amanda Sun has invented this believable type of Japanese Heavenly descendant, called a Kami, whose drawings can come to life. I really loved reading about it- the idea was really interesting. Right from the start I was totally sucked into this imaginative, fast-paced and fantastical world.

I also really enjoyed reading about Katie, an American girl, and her experiences living in Japan- a country totally out of her comfort zone with way different cultures and activities and rules. It was funny to see her accidentally forgetting to take of her shoes, etc., but was also great to see her settle in to this new country and lifestyle.

Katie was a really great protagonist because of the above sentence. I loved reading her journey. I felt a lot of empathy for her about her family situation, and was rooting for her throughout as she went through many complicated events. Her relationship with Tomohiro was predictable from the start, but really fun to see develop. Whilst Katie Greene was a pretty straight-forward, easy to understand character through the narrative, Tomohiro was much more complex and it was intriguing to figure him out. He was quite a mystery-man from the start, and even though Katie discovered his ancestry involving the Kami God, he was still a little secretive- but I liked that element of suspicion very much. He was described really well, and I loved his growing relationship with Katie and how he would give up anything for her towards the ending.

Overall, I enjoyed Ink  so much, and couldn’t believe it was a debut novel, really. The snippets of the Japanese language thrown in were a tiny bit hard to grip at first, but I got the hang of it and really enjoyed the informative side of the Japanese culture, too. I could tell that the author has packed in her own experiences (as in the lifestyle and culture, not the drawings coming to life- obviously!), and I think that gave this book a really realistic touch. I also liked the gang references too, as they carried some very strong messages about getting involved with the wrong people. The writing was beautiful, and I also really loved the accompanying illustrations. Highly recommended for Urban Fantasy fans, and I can’t wait for a sequel!

I received Ink via the publisher on Netgalley, in  exchange for a review.

By Cassandra Clare, published by Walker.

**Synopsis below contains spoilers for those of you who haven’t read City of Glass!**

After the Mortal war and the death of Valentine, Clary’s evil father, Clary is back at home in New York city and training to be a shadowhunter. She’s also able to finally call Jace her boyfriend. Her mum, Jocelyn, and Luke the werewolf are preparing for their marriage. Life couldn’t get better.

Then bodies of shadowhunters start turning up- murdered in horrid ways. Somebody who was in the old Clave circle is doing it- so tension is rising and so is the possibility of another war… this time between Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Simultaneously, Jace is beginning to pull away from Clary and she can’t work out why- and she can’t go to Simon because he’s got enough problems. He’s dating a Werewolf and Isabelle the Shadowhunter, and neither of them know about the other. With everything falling apart at the seams, what will Clary do?

I loved this so much! The plot was action-packed and unpredictable, with lots of great twists. It was structured brilliantly; the events played out perfectly. I enjoyed Cassandra’s writing so much- her descriptions are brilliant, and a lot of the dialog witty. I enjoyed reading about the new antagonists to the story- Camille the Vampire and Lilith, the oldest demon. They were absolutely terrifying, as was Lilith’s plot to bring the evil, demonic Sebastian; Clary’s heartless brother. I don’t think any other author could pull off having two evil-power-hungry-antagonists, both with different intentions, in one book!

Clary, in my opinion, did not develop much at all in this fourth installment. Of course, I still loved her as the main protagonist, but i fell that she could’ve chipped in a bit more with the fighting. This book was more about regaining her love for Jace after the difficulties they’d faced in City of Ashes and City of Glass, and as much as I enjoyed that, i think she could have fought a bit more (Yes, she was restrained by an evil demon dog in the final battle, but I would’ve liked her to fight it a bit more!). I think Jace’s personality was a bit more in-depth in this book than in a couple of the previous ones. The whole possession issue with him made his emotions for Clary shine through much clearer. And finally, Simon seemed to have a much bigger part in this book than I thought he would’ve. In fact, there was nearly as much of his story than there was of Clary’s. I liked having him become a more major character than before, though. He really developed in this book into a more confident character. I noticed a love triangle between Maia (a werewolf), Simon, and Isabelle (Jace’s sister) at the end of City of Glass. It was really interesting to see that become bigger and create multiple issues in City of Fallen Angels!

In total, City of Fallen Angels was a brilliant read. It was thrilling and captivating… I couldn’t stop reading. I found it really clever how Clary found herself in Simon’s life-or-death situation towards the ending. I love Cassandra’s writing so much, and really wan’t to read about what happens to Camille- so I can’t wait to read the next: City of Lost Souls!

By Cassandra Clare, published by Walker.

Clary is determined to get to the city of glass- Idris- to get the antidote for her mother so she can wake from her coma. However, Jace has other ideas, and doesn’t want her to leave for the island of Shadowhunters. Jace, the Lightwoods and Simon leave for Idris, but Clary catches up. When there, she realises that a war is soon to begin between the Shadowhunters and her evil father, Valentine, over the third mortal instrument- the Mirror, disguised as Lake Lyn of Idris. Can Clary use her unique power to create new Shadowhunter runes in order to win the war, whilst pursuing her love for Jace, despite it being forbidden?

**REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

This was absolutely brilliant! I couldn’t wait to start City of Glass after reading City of Ashes, and my expectations were pretty high. Thankfully, this book meet all of them! Casandra Clare’s writing had been amazing in her last two books, but in this one, I loved it even more. The descriptions were beautiful, as was the imaginative setting of Idris. It was really great that the whole book was set in Idris, as it had been mentioned in the books before, and I had been itching to read more about it. The plot was solid and so much different from City of Ashes and City of Bones, and well structured, too, with some great plot twists. I especially was shocked by the re-entrance of Hodge about halfway through. However, he seemed to be forgotten about after the protagonists found him, and that kind of annoyed me because I wanted to see into his character more and find out why he betrayed them in the first in the series. Apart from that tiny little thing, I totally loved the story!

Clary seemed to become a lot more confident in City of Glass. Her rune-creating powers played quite a big part in this and really changed the course of the battle. However, she didn’t actually fight in the war. Although Clary was told not to fight, I still would’ve thought she’d want to get back at Valentine and his evil demon army. However, she really developed right at the end, as her love for Jace saved his life and put an end to Valentine for good. Also, the new character of Sebastian really shook the plot up. I was so not expecting that he was Clary’s brother instead of Jace! That added a real element of action to the story, as he was evil and violent, after being implanted with demon blood by his father (Clary was given angel blood- making her the opposite of him). He was a totally ruthless, and utterly terrifying, new antagonist for the story.

City of Glass, overall, was a seriously enjoyable read. I loved the plot twists, and also love seeing the characters of Jace and Clary grow back together again after being apart in the book before. Although the battle with Valentine is over so I have no idea what’s in store in the fourth book (City of Fallen Angels) I can’t wait to read it!

By Josephine Angelini, published by Macmillan.

Their love could last forever… if it doesn’t destroy them first.

After the events of Starcrossed, (Review HERE), Helen has been tasked with venturing into the underworld every night instead of sleeping in order to stop the furies- the terrifying, angry girls who are making the Delos family want to hurt their outcast, Hector. Helen knows that she can never be with Lucas Delos again, and one night as she’s in the underworld, she meets a new scion- Orion. He’s strikingly attractive, and Helen seems drawn to him as they team up to try and get through the hellish underworld together. 

Suddenly, Helen’s small home-town island of Nantucket is thrown into chaos as the more evil side of Greek Mythology appear. What will be harder for Helen, saving everyone she loves, or controlling her heart which is torn between Lucas and Orion?

After reading Starcrossed and being totally blown away by it, I couldn’t wait to read Dreamless to see what happened next. I loved this sequel so much! The plot was epic, complex and I couldn’t stop reading. It was really interesting to see that some of the minor, normal school students from the first book, had developed into playing major roles. It really shocked me how Zach, and old friend of Helen’s, had gotten onto the evil side and was now secretly serving her enemy! That, and many other twists such as the mysterious, adorable character of Orion, was totally genius. The ending was really unexpected, and the last fifty pages or so were downright terrifying. 

Helen was a great protagonist, as she was in Starcrossed. Only I thought she came out of her shell a bit more, and developed into an even stronger, even more determined main character- and it was the same with Lucas. Josephine Angelini has captured their doomed love story perfectly! Orion was a great love interest, and was brilliant. I fell in love with his three-dimensional personality right away, and I think the love triangle formed between Orion, Helen, and Lucas was a really great one. I could really sense the unspoken rivalry between the two boys, and felt a lot of sympathy towards Helen because she was so torn between these two heartthrobs. 

Dreamless was a really enjoyable sequel, packed with lots of action and suspense. I fell in love all over again with the major character, and the new ones too. Highly recommended, and I really can’t wait for the third; out in June *runs around screaming impatiently*!

By Cassandra Clare, published by Walker Books.

**SPOILER ALERT FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVEN’T READ CITY OF BONES! (And spoilers about City of Ashes, in the review)**
After the events that took place in the first novel in The Mortal Instruments, City of Bones, Clary just wishes that her life would go ack to normal, and that her mother would wake up from her life-threatening coma. But she can’t keep Jace out of her head… even though she discovered that he is her long lost brother. Can Clary try and forget about her old love for him as she builds a new relationship with Simon? And what will happen to Clary and Simon’s relationship when Simon becomes a monster?

I enjoyed this so much- just as much as the first book in the TMI series! Cassandra Clare’s writing has blown me away… again. I think that the style this book is written in was complex and clever- I loved how, within chapters, the scenes switched every few paragraphs to another major character. That was really well executed, and gave me a three-sixty degree view on what was happening. The plot was great, with some clever and unexpected twists. I really wasn’t expecting Simon to turn into a Vampire! That was very unexpected and I loved how that developed from the minor event of Simon biting a vampire in defense, in the first book. The only thing that confused me was that at the end of City of Bones, Clary and Jace rode off into the New York sunset on the back of a flying motorbike, in love, and at the beginning of City of Ashes, they were totally avoiding her. I would’ve like to have known what happened to make them grow apart so quickly!

Clary was a strong, fun protagonist, and was just as great as she was in the first book. Also, I feel that in City Of Ashes I got a much better insight into her feelings Simon. Her emotions about being torn between two boys were conveyed really well in the book. I think I got to know Simon a lot better as well; because he turned into quite a major character in this sequel, and he was really cool.

In all, City of Ashes was a brilliant sequel and definitely worth reading. I can’t wait to read the third!

By Josephine Angelini, published by Macmillan.

When sixteen year old Helen sees the new boy, Lucas Delos, for the first time, the first thing she feels is that she wants to kill him with her bare hands. The second thing; is that she is in love with him. Helen discovers that an ancient Greek curse set by the Greek Gods is forcing her to hate him, but as she finds out that he is descended from the fabled Greek Gods as well as herself, they find themselves drawn to each other.  But they were never meant to be able to love one another, because of the war between the Gods thousands of years ago, which split the supernatural scions into four separate houses. As Helen begins an exciting adventure to find out what house she descended from, can she escape the clutches of the scions that want her dead? And can Helen control her feelings for Lucas, who the Gods have decided cannot be hers?

I received this book ages ago, and had already gotten halfway through, before I got distracted by some other reads. I rediscovered this the other day, and began from the beginning again. I was so annoyed I had left it- it was so brilliant! Josephine’s writing was great, and I couldn’t stop reading. The plot was epic and with lots of great shocks. I enjoyed how there was a small mention of a mother who had left home that Helen couldn’t remember, and then how the mother made an entry towards the ending and played a big part in the way the concluding events played out. The novel, as a whole, was terrifically structured with some great cliff-hangers at the end of the chapters. The ending was satisfying, but I would have preferred it to end on a climatic cliff-hanger, which would be resolved in the next book (‘Dreamless’ is the sequel, and yep, I’ll be reading that soon as I have a copy)!

Helen was a really effective protagonist. She was three dimensional, with some realistic emotions and a determined, adventurous personality. As I found out which Greek Gods she descended from, I looked back in the book and realised that the God’s traits (Aphrodite’s traits, among others) really reflected in Helens actions- which I thought was very clever. Helen had some great visible relationships with the other characters, too, especially her best friend Claire and Lucas (the love interest). Claire herself was a funny supporting character, and really made me laugh at points. It was fun to see how she played a big part in the ending, just like Helen’s mother.  Lucas, on the other hand, was serious, strong, and an overall very likeable character. He made a great crush for Helen, and his ancestors reflected well in him too.

In all, Starcrossed is an absolutely amazing book that I couldn’t put down. I really loved it, as the plot was complex and kept me guessing at the ending. I can’t wait to read Dreamless, now, to see how Helen and Lucas’s story plays out!