Can't Wait Wednesday: 10th Anniversary Editions

I'm switching over from Waiting on Wednesday's to Can't Wait Wednesday, a meme hosted by Wishful Endings. The idea is basically the same, but it looks like the official hosts of Breaking the Spine have shut down the meme so it's time to move on. Description and cover image taken from Goodreads.

This week's CWW is a little different since I'm combining two books into one. Both are books I've already read but are getting Tenth Anniversary Editions this year (and of course I have to collect those because they're gorgeous).

This deluxe, illustrated edition celebrates the New York Times-bestselling series, The Kingkiller Chronicle, a masterful epic fantasy saga that has inspired readers worldwide.
This anniversary hardcover includes more than 50 pages of extra content!
• Beautiful, iconic cover by artist Sam Weber and designer Paul Buckley
• Gorgeous, never-before-seen illustrations by artist Dan Dos Santos
• Detailed and updated world map by artist Nate Taylor
• Brand-new author’s note
• Appendix detailing calendar system and currencies
• Pronunciation guide of names and places

The Name of the Wind Anniversary Edition releases October 3, 2017

Celebrate the tenth anniversary of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones with this gorgeous new edition, complete with special content and exclusive color illustrations.
The tenth anniversary of Cassandra Clare’s phenomenal City of Bones demands a luxe new edition. The pride of any fan’s collection, City of Bones now has new cover art, gilded edges, over thirty interior illustrations, and six new full-page color portraits of everyone’s favorite characters! This beautifully crafted collector’s item also includes four bonus stories that have previously only appeared in limited distribution, and—best of all—a new piece written by Cassandra Clare. A perfect gift for the Shadowhunter fan in your life.
This is the book where Clary Fray first discovered the Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of warriors dedicated to driving demons out of our world and back to their own. The book where she first met Jace Wayland, the best Shadowhunter of his generation. The book that started it all.

City of Bones Anniversary Edition releases November 7, 2017

Mini Book Review: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy

SHADOWHUNTERS #11
AUTHOR: CASSANDRA CLARE
SARAH REES BRENNAN
MAUREEN JOHNSON
ROBIN WASSERMAN
RATING: 4 STARS
THE BANE CHRONICLES

This was, by far, the most nostalgic Shadowhunter book to date. Not only does it call back to TMI, which is a series I haven't revisited since the last book came out, but also TID, and some of the character from TDA (whose fates I know now having just finished Lord of Shadows). It was almost liking going home, reading this book, and that was the perfect experience for the place I was in at the time of reading it.

Just like with The Bane Chronicles, it was James Herondale who took the cake with this one. I adored his story, I adored everything about him- his relationship with his parents, his relationship with his friends (particularly Matthew!), and his character in general. I already know he's going to be one of my favorite characters in all of the series and I really, really can't wait for TLH to come out.

I also liked how level headed Simon was, and how he was the voice of reason among the heightened political tension within the Shadowhunter Academy. Pairing this with everything in Lord of Shadows, this is definitely tamer, but it's also important. I'd recommend reading this first because it really sets up the relationships each group has with the other.

My one complaint was that, even after everything that I loved in this book, I walked away feeling a little empty, as if there was something missing at the end. I think that has to do with the fact that it's not a novel, it's an anthology, but I still felt like something key was missing. However, I don't think that should stop anyone from reading this collection, because it really is, overall, wonderful.

Spoiler Discussion: Lord of Shadows

SHADOWHUNTERS #13
THE DARK ARTIFICES #2
AUTHOR: CASSANDRA CLARE
RATING: 5 STARS
LADY MIDNIGHT (SPOILERS)
LORD OF SHADOWS

This is going to be full of spoilers so heads up. Don't read if you don't want to know how this book ends (trust me you don't want to be spoiled on this). If you want to see my non-spoiler review you can find it here. You've been warned.

5 Star Book Review: Lord of Shadows

SHADOWHUNTERS #13
THE DARK ARTIFICES #2
AUTHOR: CASSANDRA CLARE
RATING: 5 STARS
LADY MIDNIGHT (SPOILERS)

There are so many feelings I have for this book! I'd definitely say it's one of my favorite Shadowhunter books to date because of the complex relationships, both romantic and platonic, and the fact that it seriously parallels a lot of what's going on, socially, in our world today.

This review won't have any spoilers (there will be a spoiler discussion later on this week, so keep a look out for that if you want to hear what I thought about THAT ending) but it's best you don't read this if you haven't read book one.

While I liked the ships in Lady Midnight I wasn't as madly in love with them as I was with this one. First of all, while I liked Julian and Emma before I hadn't really seen the attraction between them, but this one it absolutely came across and my heart was completely torn for them. They're so great together, and while they're still not my favorite couple, I do get it now. However, it was the other ships (okay, this is a spoiler so I'll talk more about it in the other review) were really what made me want to keeping turning the pages. The other two I was majorly invested in were really well set up and the strings tying them all together had me aching. Also, Diana's relationship with a certain someone was both hilarious and adorable.

The nostalgia! There was so much of it and I loved it. Old characters making reappearances (sometimes big ones!) or just small easter eggs (Will H. :) ) left me feeling extremely happy and jittery inside and also made me want to go back and reread every single Shadowhunter book (but goodness that would take a long long time). It's also made me even more excited to read TLH (if that were possible). What struck me the most was seeing such well-loved and well-worn characters like Clary and Magnus from other perspectives. It was like revealing another facet of these characters that I know intimately from the page in a way that Emma or Julian or Mark don't. It was incredibly interesting and really showed the talent of Clare that she was able to maintain the integrity of her characters while still continuing to round them out as they age and grow.

I won't say much about the Cohort (because spoilers) but they made me so angry and I was glad about it. Their "evil" is such a real evil that has to be faced today and I feel the same way about IRL evil like this as I did with the Cohort. It was like ants under my skin- I wanted to beat them up, teach them what's right, but knew that wouldn't do anything (beyond them being fictional, duh) and that even trying to reason with them probably wouldn't work. I read to escape, but at the same time, I loved seeing echoes of real life in this fantasy.

After Lady Midnight ended I wasn't quite sure where the story was going to go because it felt like such a solid ending. It went in a direction I could never have guessed but I was absolutely along for the ride (especially the parts in Faerie!) and can't wait for the next book (two years away *sigh*). After my reread of Lady Midnight didn't go so stellar I was worried that this series had lost its magic for me, but no worries because everything holds strong and I adore every second of these books.

Waiting on Wednesday: Lord of Shadows

Waiting on Wednesday was created by Breaking the Spine

Sunny Los Angeles can be a dark place indeed in Cassandra Clare’s Lord of Shadows, the sequel to the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Lady Midnight.
Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she’d be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again?
And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace, and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters’ demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear—before it’s too late.

Why I'm Waiting

Need I explain? Honestly? Lady Midnight was one of my favorite books of the year. This one is a Must Read.

Lord of Shadows releases May 23rd, 2017 and you can preorder it here.

5 Star Review: The Bane Chronicles

Authors: Cassandra Clare

Website, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram

Sarah Rees Brennan

Website, Tumblr, Twitter

Maureen Johnson

Website, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram

Edition: Hardcover

Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Goodreads

Rating: 5 Stars

I've put this off for so long and I have no good reason to have done so.  I got it pretty much when it was released, and while I love Magnus, I just didn't see a rush in reading this one.  But I finished Lady Midnight last month, and I've decided that I'm going to read (or reread) something Shadowhunter every month.  Bane Chronicles seemed like the natural place to start with this, and I'm really glad I finally got to it.  I also think it helped kick me out of my book slump, or, at least, I'm hoping it did.

What Really Happened in Peru

Not my favorite from the collection, but a decent start.  It served as a good introduction to the characters, particularly Ragnar and Catarina.  Magnus is a bit too childish in this story for my tastes, but I suppose he is a much younger Warlock at this time in his life.

The Runaway Queen

My least favorite story in this whole piece.  I was not a fan at all.  Like, cute idea, I guess, but just not what I signed up for when I sat down to read it.  I also think this one had the weakest writing throughout the whole book.

Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale

The Herondale's break my heart whenever they're on the page!  This is about Will's dad, and that was really great, getting to see him.  It was about, though, the way Downworlders and Shadowhunters used to interact.  In the books, up until this point, while we do see some prejudice, we always see it from the Shadowhunters' points of view.  Seeing it from Magnus, who was front-row and dealing with this prejudice every day, really changed my mind about some things.  It certainly made it more serious and helped set the tone for the whole collection.  Also, this is where Magnus meets Camille, which is very important.

The Midnight Heir

One of my favorite stories in here!  Can I just say I'm more than ready for James Herondale?  My heart hurt for him so much in these few pages.  And also, turning into a shadow?  Last Hours is going to be one hell of a series.

The Rise of the Hotel Dumont, Saving Raphael Santiago, and The Fall of the Hotel Dumort

I consider this, more or less, the vampire trilogy.  I liked all three of the stories a lot, but the one about Raphael just broke my heart.  I never really appreciated him as a character, but when I go to reread the books I won't make that mistake again.  He's a darling and very important character that I will never take for granted again.

What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (and You're Not Officially Dating Anyway)

This is absolutely adorable!  It had me squeeing the entire time.  Malec is the best ship in the Mortal Instruments (if you ask me) and of course anything where these two are on the pages together, or merely referencing each other, will more than please me.

The Last Stand of the New York Institute

This was a surprising story.  I wasn't expecting it to be in here, and it shocked me.  Seeing the Circle when they were younger, and seeing what they were actually capable of, and what they ended up doing to the Whitelaws was... wow.  It was just wow.  I can't describe this one so much.  It was a great read, but it was probably the darkest in the whole collection.

The Course of True Love (And First Dates)

This was the most adorable story in the whole piece, and probably my second favorite one.  It's Malec's first date and it's beautiful.  If you were to buy the book for one story, this would be it.  I think I was smiling the whole time.

The Voicemail of Magnus Bane

This was rather sad, but an important view of Magnus' character, particularly during a hard time (that I won't spoil because, you know, it takes place further in the series than any others do).  However, it was probably on the lower end of stories for me.

Overall: It was a wonderful collection and I can't wait until Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy releases in hardback!

5 Star Spoiler Review & Discussion: Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Website, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram

Edition: Hardcover (First Edition)

Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Goodreads

Rating: 5 Stars

I recently published my non-spoiler review for Lady Midnight, so if you have not read the book, go read that review instead!  There will be A LOT OF SPOILERS BELOW (like it will ACTUALLY RUIN THE BOOK FOR YOU IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT YET) since this is part review, part discussion on the book.  If you've read the book, please feel free to read my earlier review, which talks about the book in more general terms, but also feel free to comment with your own thoughts and theories on it in this post.  Thanks!

Lady Midnight takes place several years after the events in the Mortal Instrument's series.  It follows Emma Carstairs, her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, his family, and her new friend Cristina Rosales, as they illegally investigate some faerie murders that are taking place.

5 Star Review: Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Website, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram

Edition: Hardcover (First Edition)

Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Goodreads

Rating: 5 Stars

Anything and everything Shadowhunters- that's the policy I live by.  It's one of my go-to series of books for a number of reasons, mostly because I grew up reading them (City of Bones was one of the first YA books I ever picked up) and they have managed to continuously entertain me, no matter how many times I reread them.  The older I get, the harder it is to enjoy some books I read years ago.  Shadowhunter books, too, are beautifully written and always make me and my heart cry, so, even though that may not sound like it, it's always a pleasure to pick one up.

Lady Midnight takes place several years after the events in the Mortal Instrument's series.  It follows Emma Carstairs, her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, his family, and her new friend Cristina Rosales, as they illegally investigate some faerie murders that are taking place.

I was worried about picking this one up.  I had such high hopes, but it's been two years since a new Shadowhunter book, so I had no idea whether it would be any good, if the story would still hold up, if I could still connect to the characters in such a manner as I had before.  If the story would be good at all, or if the amount of characters would end up hurting it more than helping.  Well, I shouldn't have been worried- it was amazing.  And I'm not just saying that because I'm a super fan, I'm saying that because, were this the only book by her that I had read, I would have loved it as much as I do now.

For one, the characters.  Like I said, I was worried the sheer number might throw the book off course.  No problem here.  Clare managed to balance them all out nicely, made each unique and important to the story, and also got me to care about every single one of them.  Once in a while there would be blink-and-you-miss-it scenes where a character would be dismissed and I would lose track of them and have to turn back a page and see what happened, but even while I lost track on these rare occasions, Clare didn't, and she managed to juggle them all nicely.  My favorite character had to be Mark (for many reasons, many of them spoilery).  He's a great character, and one we haven't really seen before, at least in her writing.  Closely following him in list of favorites is Emma, our heroine, and a capable one at that.  She's very different from Clary and Tessa, and I love her for it.  It's hard to pin her down with just a few word description, but she falls on the list of characters who are kick-ass first, take names later.  Were I to mention and describe every character here that would be a long review- but leave it at, I loved them all.  There wasn't any character that I found myself disliking for any reason (unless they're, you know, the villain, in which case I'm not supposed to like them).

The story itself was very good and rather interesting, though I found the ending to be not what I expected.  I mean, yes, there are some wicked (and awesome) twists that caught me off guard and had me half-grinning, half-completely in shock, but the way the novel is concluded was not what I would expect.  I can't say much more here because Spoilers and what-not, but don't let me make you think it was a bad ending.  Just a surprising way to wrap things up as they were.  I liked it a lot more upon reflection, though at the time it felt out of the ordinary and strange.  

One little theory I have before I close this review, and it's not a spoilery theory, I promise: I have guesses for who might be on the next two covers.  I think, and I'm not sure the order, that it will be Mark and Julian.  They're both major characters and seem the most likely, due to the plot of the series (so far).

So, yes, I strongly recommend picking this one up.  You can read it without reading the other Shadowhunter books- it won't be confusing, you just won't get certain things out of it.  And if you're a fan of Shadowhunters in general, then, yes, this is a must-read for you.  You won't be let down.  It's completely unnerving to see the names Jem, Tessa, Clary, and Jace all appear on one page, but it's worth it.

PS. If you comment, please don't leave any spoilers in the comments.  This is my non-spoiler review and I don't want to ruin the book for anyone.  I'll be posting a spoiler-filled review shortly, and feel free to post anything you want there.  Thank you!

Friday 56: Clockwork Angel

Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.  Click here to join in on the fun.

Rules: Grab a book, any book.

Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader.

Find a sentence, or a few, and post it.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  Click here to join in on the fun!

This was another really fun, but really hard theme to do.  There are lots of authors I wish I could say were auto-buy authors, but I just sort of lost track of some of them and are so behind on their books and series I can't buy anymore just to own them.  So here's a list of authors that I will follow to the ends of the earth, no matter what they write.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Authors I've Read the Most Books From

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.  Click here to join in on the fun.

This was a really fun one to do, because I was able to actually figure out who I've read the most from.  I was sorta surprised by what I discovered.

Book Review: The Shadowhunters Codex

Author| Cassandra Clare (Twitter/Tumblr), Joshua Lewis  Edition| Hardcover  Rating| --

Buy Links| Amazon*/Barnes and Noble/Book Depository

I'm a super fan of The Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices so it's no surprise that I got this book the second it came out.  But it took me a while to read, just because it wasn't a priority.  It's not another story, but rather a companion book that helps show the depth of the world.