Showing posts with label Urban Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Urban Fantasy. Show all posts

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Tithe, Valiant & Ironside by Holly Black

I just finished reading Book 3 of the Mortal Instruments: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare this afternoon and it is soooooooo goooood!! The way the book was written, the plot and the characters are all very addicting. I'm sorry Twilight Saga fans, that is nothing compared to this series.

Anyways, I just want to share to you what my next reads are; it is a 3-part series as well written by Holly Black entitled TITHE, VALIANT & IRONSIDE. It is a modern faerie tale story. I know we all got tired of the usual vampire stuff, I do! So this time its about faeries and the Seelie Court.

TITHE

Sixteen-year-old Kaye Fierch is not human, but she doesn't know it. Sure, she knows she's interacted with faeries since she was little--but she never imagined she was one of them, her blond Asian human appearance only a magically crafted cover-up for her true, green-skinned pixie self. First-time author Holly Black explores Kaye's self-discovery and dual worlds in her riveting, suspenseful novel Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. The book has its faults: it slips into shock-value mode; the descriptions are often overwritten (sunset on the water looks like the sun slit his wrists in a bathtub); the language is overly, unnecessarily explicit; and the writing often unpolished. Still, the story's pull is undeniable, and readers under its spell will be hard-pressed to put the book down.
The novel begins in a bar in Philly, where Kaye's alcoholic rock-singer mother's boyfriend tries to kill her. For their own safety, mother and daughter quickly move back to grandma's on the New Jersey shore where Kaye grew up. This ugly turn of events was all rigged by the Faerie world, as it turns out, a world Black describes in deliciously vivid, if rather overblown, detail. Kaye, a drinking, smoking, foul-mouthed high school dropout in the land of mortals, soon finds herself embroiled--as a human sacrifice, no less--in a battle between Faerieland's Seelie and more malevolent Unseelie courts. The beautiful, mysterious knight Roiben, torn between worlds himself, falls in love with Kaye--the brave, clever changeling--against his better judgment. Throughout the electrifying journey to the horrific underworld of this modern faerie fantasy, teen readers will relate to a hard-luck tough girl who feels alienated, discovers her best qualities in the worst of circumstances, and finally finds a place between worlds where she can feel at home. (Ages 13 and older) --Karin Snelson

VALIANT

Grade 9 Up–The author of Tithe(S & S, 2002) returns to her dark, dangerous, and amazing world of Faerie. When 17-year-old Valerie catches her boyfriend and her mother fooling around, she runs away to New York City. There she falls in with a small group of teens who live in the subway tunnels. But there is something more to their stories than that of normal street kids. When Valerie begins to notice odd things about the deliveries they make, and when she meets Ravus, a troll, she understands that there is an entire world that she has never known existed–the world of Faerie. Valerie and her friends begin to steal from Ravus's deliveries, using the Never that he provides to the faeries as a drug. But those who receive the deliveries are being found dead. Is Ravus the poisoner or could it be another of the fantastic creatures they have met? This dark fantasy includes drug use and strong language, but beneath its darkness readers find well-rendered characters, a gripping plot, and pure magic.–Tasha Saecker, Caestecker Public Library, Green Lake, WI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

IRONSIDE

In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing -- her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can't see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn't exist: a faerie who can tell a lie.
Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth -- that she is a changeling left in place of the human daughter stolen long ago. Her mother's shock and horror sends Kaye back to the world of Faerie to find her human counterpart and return her to Ironside. But once back in the faerie courts, Kaye finds herself a pawn in the games of Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she will use Kaye, and any means necessary, to get it. In this game of wits and weapons, can a pixie outplay a queen?
Holly Black spins a seductive tale at once achingly real and chillingly enchanted, set in a dangerous world where pleasure mingles with pain and nothing is exactly as it appears.

***All write-ups and book cover pictures came from http://www.amazon.com/

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Mortal Instruments Series : Cassandra Clare

I remembered I wrote an article practically for the Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare last April 05, 2009, a month ago from now (http://jonas321.blogspot.com/2009/04/mortal-instruments-series-my-next-read.html) My article includes a brief introduction and synopsis of the three book part series of the Mortal Instruments specifically, City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass. It is an urban teen fantasy, the genre that I am currently hooked. Currently, I am on the last few chapters of City of Ashes, book 2 of the said series. I must say I am giving this a two-thumbs up. If I am going to compare this to the Twilight Saga which created a huge impact all over the world, I must say, if you like the saga, then you will surely like this trilogy better. In my own opinion, The Mortal Instruments series is 100 times, if not more, better than the Twilight Saga of Stephenie Meyer. This series has depth, has literary style and the story line is distinct. I can't wait to put my hands on the 3rd book, City of Glass. This is a must-read, a true page-turner.


The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare is available in Fully Booked branches. If you aren't lucky enough to find yourself a copy, go to the customer service and make a reservation. Believe me, that is what I did. It saves a lot of hassle and trouble. This is one book that each fantasy readers should not miss. I recommend this HIGHLY! =)
Sneak peak on my next reads:

A modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black (this is one is kinda eerie....)
1.) Tithe
2.) Valiant
3.) Ironside

An urban fantasy of Faeries by Melissa Marr (this one has romance...)
1.) Wicked Lovely
2.) Ink Exchange
3.) Fragile Eternity

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Mortal Instruments Series: My Next Read

It was a relaxing Friday night, I visited Fully Booked in Promenade Greenhills with Aileen and to my surprise, there is was featured in its own shipper, The Mortal Instruments Series (City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass) by Cassandra Clare. I first saw this in Amazon.com researching and surfing for my next read after I finish Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer and this series quickly caught my attention. Reading its synopsis made me intrigued and interested. I quickly bought the two books without having 2nd thoughts and left City of Glass since it is still on hardbound. I will wait for its paperback version soon! After reading Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. I got hooked and is very fond of reading young adult urban fantasy series. Urban Fantasy as explained means it is a fantasy set in the modern and real world and not in a fictional or fantasy land. For example, faeries riding roller coasters in theme parks, witches and warlocks researching for new spells in the New York library or elves queueing to get in the hottest clubs in town. For more information about the Mortal Instruments Series, please visit http://www.mortalinstruments.com/

SYNOPSIS

1.) City of Bones (Book 1):

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.

Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

2.) City of Ashes (Book 2):

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go -- especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil -- and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings -- and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

3.) City of Glass (Book 3):

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that enter-ing the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.