The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare Booktalk & battle between TID and TMI

Synopsis: The Clockwork Price is Cassandra Clare's final installment in her The Infernal Devices trilogy. It follows Tessa's journey towards marriage and the troubling illness which seems to be catching up to her fiancée with haste. After a few shocking discoveries about Mortmain's whereabouts and his intentions, and after a sudden kidnapping of a much loved Downworlder, the race begins to save Tessa's life whilst Jem's progressively nears the end. The members of the London Institute face a big decision to make, betray the Clave or betray each other?

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So I just finished reading Clockwork Princess and was left literally shattered. The book throws so many different emotions at you that it's seriously too much to deal with. When Jem died, or when we at least thought he had, I cried for about 3 hours straight. The way Cassandra described Will's pain and then Tessa's grief made me feel like I myself had lost someone and without him in the story it kind of felt like I had! Admittedly, I think Cassandra should have left Jem dead. He had said his goodbyes and made peace without everyone (except maybe Tessa) and I had just about managed to stop crying when WHOOPS JEM POPS UP AGAIN. I was so confused at first and felt kind of angry to be honest because I didn't want some miraculous cure to have popped up last minute which would have been completely cliché and predictable. I didn't expect him to become a silent brother, he never really mentioned even considering it before and I'm sure he told Tessa he would never wish that life for himself? What changed? We never really found out...

I don't mean to rant because I genuinely did love this book but I did not like the epilogue. I thought the ending was perfect; Tessa was going to marry Will which was what I had been rooting for since the very first chapters of Clockwork Angel, basically everything ended happily. The epilogue was sad, the description of Will's death was heartbreaking but it was expected. I half expected Tessa to make some big gesture of suicide so she would not have to see all her loved ones die but it because obvious pretty quickly that that wouldn't happen. The description of modern day London was strange, I was so absorbed in the 1800s that i'm not entirely sure I liked the transition to 2008. When Jem turned up as his old self, I knew I would be irritated by what came next. How could Tessa simply swap the love of her life like that? I felt it was a kind of betrayal of Will's memory but I do understand that she loved both of them.

Overall however, this was an amazing end to the trilogy. The way Mortmain was defeated was suprising and a realllllly bizarre plot twist which I loved! I'm glad that everyone was together with someone in the end, Sophie had Gideon and Cecily had Gabriel. I really liked the character development of the Lightwood brothers in this book, I felt it was convincing and a nice addition to the Institute family. Cecily was also a really likeable character, she reminded me of Will and I simply love him and she was just really straightforward and likeable.

Now to the second part of this blog post, which was better, The Infernal Devices or The Mortal Instruments?

I loved the The Infernal Devices probably because it was set in London, it was set in one of my favourite periods of history and the characters were really well developed because there were less of them.

The two books obviously shared the same characters but the storyline in The Mortal Instruments was much more detailed and in depth simply because it is spread out over more books. I found myself surprised more in The Mortal Instruments, there were more shocking twists and more subplots within the overarching plot.

The Mortal Instruments however was not perfect, some books in the series were better than others, City of Glass being the best and City of Ashes being the worst in my opinion but I feel The Infernal Devices generally sustained the same level of quality.

The Infernal Devices was definitely written better, I feel Cassandra gets better at writing with every book she publishes and this trilogy was well thought out, the storyline of all three books was clearly carefully planned and it was generally a very easy read without too many unanswered questions.

Overall, I feel The Infernal Devices was better because the characters were more convincing and a story is nothing without its characters. The research for this book was extensive; Cassandra must be well travelled and well read to be able to write about places in London which I myself have not even heard of despite living there for 18 years. With the release of City of Heavenly Fire being released in a matter of months, my opinion may change depending on how the series in rounded up and how heartbroken Cassandra's ruthless and inevitable slaughter of main characters will leave me.

Please let me know which you think is better, TID or TMI?

What to watch out for in 2014

So I recently started writing for my campus newspaper and so thought I would share whatever I write for them, with you also who probably won't have a chance to read it otherwise!

What to watch out for in 2014...

There are not many things that can bring a grown man to tears, but I have witnessed John Green's book, The Fault in our Stars do just that. This year, the New York bestselling novel will hit the screens on June the 6^th and it promises to be HUGE.

Long awaited by fans, the film's production was actually largely in the control of the author himself. John Green had a hands on approach will most aspects of filming and promises that the film does the story and the characters justice. He even gave us a cheeky hint that most, if not every single line of dialogue spoken in the book has a place in the script somewhere meaning the film will likely be a hit amongst its fan base; and what a fan base that is! The book remained at the top of the bestseller list for 7 consecutive weeks and as of January 2013 had sold over 1 million copies; I predict the film will see similar success.

Granted, this book does contain heart melting dialogue and exceptional character development, which, if you have not read it, be warned will likely send you into emotional turmoil for a few weeks afterwards, however, this will not be the only reason that people find themselves queuing up for tickets or buying in advance, I expect that people will also want to see the likes of leading characters Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort work some on screen magic.

Shailene Woodley has been one of the rising stars of the past few years, having started out on the big screen starring in Oscar winning 'The Descendants' alongside George Clooney, she has simply progressed upwards. She is slowly becoming a Young Adult idol, also starring in another New York bestseller adaptation, Divergent, as the female lead alongside her co-star Ansel Elgort who is equally as upcoming and very easy on the eye. If there is one thing I find strange about this pair it's that they are going from playing siblings in one film and lovers in the next, bear in mind that the films are released within a mere matter of months from each other and have exactly the same fan base...

Regardless, Divergent is another one to watch out for, likely to see as much success as the Hunger Games franchise, I believe Young Adult dystopian movies will be one of the defining aspects of this movie generation. 

The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel/Prince Booktalk

Synopsis:

Clockwork Angel: 16-year-old Tessa Grey finds herself far from home in a world she never imagined existed, while she learns more about the circumstances which brought her to a Shadowhunter's Institute in London, England, she also learns to love the people who have adopted her into their family, some more than others. While in pursuit of the mysterious villain who seems determined to get his hands on her, she finds herself surprised at how strong she is as a person and how she can utilise her new-found powers.

Clockwork Prince: After her brother's betrayal of her, Tessa sets her sights on protecting her new family and her new home in the Institute. The search for Mortmain continues and reaches new levels as it is slowly revealed how deep his poison has spread. Tessa finds herself drawn to two best friends, Will and Jem. Whilst Jem offers security, Will exposes passion and electricity in Tessa she cannot help. Will proves just how far he will go to make Tessa love him whilst coming to terms with his own inner torment which is heightened after a surprise encounter with a few old flames...

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So I have recently extended my love for The Mortal Instruments series and bought the first two books in the Infernal Devices Trilogy and I definitely do not regret it!

Dare I say I find this trilogy better than its sequel? (There will be a separate Booktalk on this once I have read the final book!)

I seriously love this trilogy so far, my only disposition being that it is a love triangle and I just find these slightly predictable, but in this case, the two boys are parabatai which means they love each other possibly more than either of them loves Tessa.

Clockwork Angel started out pretty abruptly, I was confused for like the first 2 chapters but I think this was the intended effect... we found out what was going on slowly, to mirror Tessa's understanding? Or maybe just to get the reader engaged in the book just so they could find out what all the madness was about!

Okay so Tessa has some sort of shape changing ability? To be honest, when reading about this book in reviews and such forth, I was given no inclination to this so was completely surprised! Quite frankly I find it interesting, it's a power no one possessed in the sequel and it means Tessa can take part in all sorts of secret missions, which she does!

The heroine, Will Herondale, who of course, I imagine to be beautiful, is introduced briskly as well, saving Tessa from the Dark Sister's home. At first I thought I would hate him because of his arrogant demeanour but then I kind of learned to love him, just as Tessa did I suppose.

Jem never really appealed to me in this book, fair enough he was lovely and kind and whatnot but he was the safe option, there's got to be a 'safe option' and a 'risk option' wherever a love triangle is concerned and usually the female will choose the riskier one because otherwise there would not be an as compelling story to build upon.

The storyline in this prequel is much simpler. We have a villain who is actually a mundane, with no real aspirations other than to rid the world of all Shadowhunters but that's what I quite like, how the storyline is simple and easy to follow. It means that we get to know each of the characters in much greater depth because there isn't as much going on as in the Mortal Instruments.

I loved how all the families remain the same, I recognise all the surnames and scandals which are mentioned in the sequel and so I feel prequels like these, such as The Hobbit, are valuable in furthering the creation of a magical world.

The Clockwork Prince was much better I feel, much more happened and I found myself shocked and surprised and generally just glued to this book.

When Jessamine betrayed the Institute I literally could not believe it, I thought she was sneaking out at night to undergo secret Shadowhunter training or something I had no idea she was still in touch with Nate!

I like how we haven't heard anything from Mortmain this book; it increases the mystery behind his character and the suspense for what he is planning in the background while his lessers do his dirty work.

Will is by far one of my favourite literary characters ever (next to Simon Lewis), the whole business with his curse and not being able to love anyone was such a unique plot twist and added more depth to his character than going down the road of a 'tormented soul' or 'low self esteem' would have achieved. I was literally heartbroken on his behalf when Tessa said she was engaged to Jem, a part of me hoped they would still have some sort of a steamy moment to show her she feels more passion for Will. Personally, I don't think she will end up marrying Jem. As harsh as it sounds, either he will die first in the next book or she will come to her senses.

I love the storyline between Sophie and Gideon and I reckon Sophie will try to become a Shadowhunters in the next book, which will be an interesting sub-plot for her!

Not going to lie, these automatons freak the hell out of me and recently I've been watching loads of films about robots and robots on YouTube and argh it's all just a bit close to home because we probably will see robots on the future so it's a scary scenario which could actually come true!

Most of all, I love that this book is set in the 1800s. It is far more interesting reading about a time so different to ours in the present day and gives the illusion of being a different world when in reality this is not the case! It is also set in London, where I live, so all the places Cassie describes ring a bell in my mind and I've more than likely been to most of them. This series makes me want to be a Shadowhunter so much!

A few things die annoy me about these two books. Firstly, how Tessa can be so naive about understanding Will's feelings towards her after he kisses her and embraces her bewilders me. Also, the fact that she doesn't use her powers more to access other people's thoughts confuse me! Surely she could access the thoughts of Will and understand why he is the way he is? Or access Jessamine's thoughts sooner to know why she was sneaking out? (At this point Tessa was unaware that Jessie had a block on her mind). Overall however, this series is DEFINITELY worth a read, even more so if you're already a fan of the Shadowhunter world. If you've never read any of Cassie's books before however, it may be fun to start by reading this trilogy, then move on to the sequel? Just an idea.

If you've got this far, thanks for reading!

Allegiant Booktalk

Synopsis: The third instalment in Veronica Roth's 'Divergent' trilogy. Told in dual perspective from the two protagonists, it follows the journey of our much loved characters to a place outside of the City they didn't know existed until the shocking conclusion of the last book. After learning that their beloved City was not all they thought it was and after finding that everywhere they go seems to be ruled by corruption, Tris decides that steps have to be taken to save her City and her relationship. A truly brilliant conclusion, if you haven't read the first two books, STOP READING THIS AND GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT. 

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This book has broken me. Like seriously, I stopped reading it last night and was too much of an emotional mess to formulate a sentence let alone write the booktalk straight away like I usually do. 

I haven't read anything for a while because I've been at uni and have had A LOT of work so I found it hard to fit in time to read anything but when Allegiant came out I knew that everything else would have to be put aside for a few days. It may be because my mind was preoccupied or because I could only sit down for an hour at a time before I had something else to do, but I didn't find it as easy to get into this book as I did for the other two. When it got to 2/3rds in, I couldn't put it down, but up to this point I feel nothing really happened. Tobias' involvement in the mini-rebellion was the only bit of action that got the pages turning however this scene was over way too quickly. The other parts of the book up to this point were mainly explanatory, describing what the world outside the City was really about which took a lot of explaining. It was just a bit less exciting than the first book which had a cliffhanger at the end of EVERY BLOODY CHAPTER.

The concept was really confusing, I got really confused about who was Divergent and who wasn't and what the difference was between GD and GP and the Allegiant and WAHH MINDFUCK. 

This was the first book that we saw a dual perspective between Tris and Tobias. I loved this because Tobias is one of my favourite characters but in a way I feel it was unnecessary to a certain extent, Tobias' perspective didn't really tell us anything that Tris' perspective couldn't have and Tris' chapters were always more exciting. After reading the end though I know that Tobias' perspective was needed :'(

There was a lot of death in this book, I didn't really care about Edward but I don't think Tori needed to die, and her death was so quick and sudden, it was almost like everything she had done for Tris in the previous books didn't matter because Tris seemed so unfased by her death. THEN THERE WAS URIAH's DEATH:'( He was by far my favourite character so as soon as the explosion went off, I knew this book would send me into emotional turmoil. His death was really prolonged for some reason, I know it was probably to build suspense but what with everything else going on, I kind of just assumed he was already dead. 

And then,

There was Tris' death.

OMG. Why the actual fuck would she let Caleb live after what he did. I understand that it was a selfless act that she had been preparing herself for in all three of the books, as in she had never really understood what proper sacrifice meant but why did she have to die :( When she survived the death serum I was like 'YESSS SHE HAS SURVIVED' but the sacrifice still held the same weight because Caleb surely would have died. BUT THEN DAVID HAD TO COME AND FUCK SHIT UP. I was literally in bits when her Mum came to take her away, like I couldn't even see the page through my tears anymore and I just had to take like half an hour to compose myself. Then Tobias found out and it set me off again, I always saw Tris and Tobias as a pair, like they couldn't survive without each other so in a way I could see how devastated Tobias must have been. 

I genuinely thought that the scene where Tobias spread Tris' ashes was the most beautiful scene in this whole trilogy, possibly in any dystopian book I have ever read. It was perfect and I feel that is exactly what Tris would have wanted. I was glad as well that there was the 'two-and-a-half-years-later' epilogue because I would have been so sad ending the book knowing Tobias was still devastated, it was nice to see that he had found at least some peace with her death but that her memory was still not forgotton. 

I am actually talking about them like they're real people LOL.

What I liked about this book is that we were able to see outside the City, outside the story we were already familiar with. I feel like there's still so more than could be explored, another 10 books could be made out of this concept easily but now we only have the films to look forward to :'(

If you want me to review anything or have anything to say about this post that you agree or disagee with, comment below or send me a message on my Tumblr account http://www.tumblr.com/blog/readwithsophie

I'll try to review more regularly, and I will DEFINITELY write a review of Catching Fire as I am seeing it THE DAY BEFORE THE RELEASE DATE BITCHESSSSS. NOT LONG NOW!

Uni

So in a matter of hours I leave to embark on one of the hardest journeys I've ever faced. I'm off to uni! 

I'm probably finding the prospect so daunting because I have very little confidence and I'm worried about making friends... I know that people say there is a friendship group for everyone at every uni but I'm still petrified! 

Also, the thought of leaving my family has me bawling, I'll miss my mum so much she is literally my best friend ever. Leaving my dog will actually be heartbreakingly and waking up without him there will feel so lonely. 

Now the reason I'm telling you this is partly because it's the reason I may not be posting as much but mostly because I hope I'll read this back in a few months or weeks even and laugh at how silly I was to be worried, I'm hoping I'll be sat there with a whole new load of people who maybe shared the same worries. Regardless as to whether or not this happens, I'll upload another post in a few months and let you know how it's going...

I can truly say I'll miss London so much but I am looking forward to seeing what life is like in the country! I hope to become a more confident person and live life as a teenager where I can stroll home whenever I want and eat junk food all day! Saying this, I really want to do well at uni, I've worked so hard to get here and I don't want to throw all that away so I'll learn to balance a social life (let's hope I have one) and work aswel as my part time job! 

If anyone reading this is younger than me and still considering uni, don't let this post put you off. Yeah I'm scared but who isn't? Everyone is in the same boat which is the only thing reassuring me about this whole experience! 

But anyway back to the important stuff, I'll still be reading and I'll still be posting but it may not be regularly. It's likely I'll give myself some time to settle in and then throw myself into a book without a load of anxiety clouding my mind. I'm looking to read The Infernal Devices series next because I loved Cassie's Mortal Instruments series so much but I'll probably read some new releases aswel. I'm definitely going to read The One and Champion which are both third instalments in much loved trilogies and of course ALLEGIANT COMES OUT VERY VERY SOON SO BRACE YOURSELVES GUYS FOR ONE EMOTION PACKED BLOG POST WHICH PROBABLY WON'T MAKE MUCH SENSE AND WILL JUST CONTAIN A LOAD OF RANDOM LETTERS! 

Oh and also I had such an amazing time attending the Hunger Games premiere last year that I will 100% be coming back to London for the Catching Fire premiere in November so let me know if any of you guys will be there and I'll maybe bump into you and I'll definitely upload a blog post about that night/day/night! Also, let me know if you want me to post about last years HG premiere because I would love to write about it and show you all my amazing pictures and autographs from the WHOLE CAST! It just shows that waking up at 2:00am is sooooo worth it:) 

Thanks for listening to my rambling if you're still reading! 

Switched by Amanda Hocking - Booktalk

Synopsis: The story is told from the perspective of a 17 year old girl called Wendy who suffered a brutal childhood after her mother tried to kill her as she believed her daughter had been switched at birth. After the mysterious Finn turns up at her window and tells her she belongs to a Troll community called Forening, she discovers stolen truths about her childhood as well as duties she couldn't possibly be ready for. All this is sprinkled with a little bit of mind control and a serious case of mixed signals.

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Okay so I'd probably give this book like 3 and a half stars. 

It started out pretty abruptly with the details of Wendy's mothers murder attempt and to be honest I did think to myself 'what have I got myself in for starting this' but I'd paid for the book so I WAS going to finish it.

I didn't actually think the book was all that well written, it was a pretty basic narrative and I just didn't relate to the protagonist, Wendy all that much BUT I did really like the storyline. I thought it was really clever how this small 'Tyrlle' community existed within modern day America undetected from humans, maybe there's a little troll community down by the River Thames which a hot brunette will take me to one day;)

The story was very very similar to The Selection series in my opinion in how Wendy has to learn to be like a Princess and stuff but she doesn't actually want royalty and she thinks she's not cut out for it and blah blah it just rang a few bells in my head! 

Finn wasn't the most desirable love interest I have ever read about to be honest, I still don't really understand why he had to be so mean to Wendy at the school dance, if he wanted to push her away there are other ways to do it! Also he didn't really have very interesting dialogue, his whole 'it's my job' refrain got kinda boring and he just seemed really overly professional all the time never really showing a fun or interesting side... obviously Wendy was only interested because of those eyes she kept going on about.

TEAM RHYS even though that's slightly though not biologically incestuous. He was one of the few characters who seemed to have a personality and actually showed his feelings towards Wendy openly.

I did feel really sorry for Wendy when he real mother, Elora, turned out to be such a b**** I mean she can't really catch a break can she! I was hoping Elora would loosen up but she was still nagging Wendy about everything even when we find out how much the regime relies on Wendy to succeed, just being nice might have made her daughter want to try harder!

My favourite scene was probably the christening-vittra-invasion-dance bit because I was waiting in eager anticipation for Elora's painting to come true and I knew from mid way through the book that it would happen on this night.

The ending was a little disappointing... basically the story just went in a full circle and Wendy ended up exactly where she started just with an extra guest... It's obvious she'll get kidnapped by the Vittra now that she isn't protected so she's basically ensuring her own death sentence PLUS wasn't the reason she left in the first place to protect Matt from the Vittra but now that she's in even more demand she thinks it would be a good idea to put her family in the limelight? Good going Wendy. Oh and also, so Finn basically sacrificed his job, his home and his friends all for nothing then because the only reason he left is so Wendy could become Princess. It was a weird and stupid ending not going to lie but up until the last few pages it was actually really good!

Admittedly I probably won't read the other two books because I read the blurb and know that there's an emerging love triangle in the next couple of books and I hate how some authors assume that all Young Adult's want to read about is bleeding love triangles. I can pretty much predict the ending of this trilogy and so it doesn't overly appeal to me but they are cheap to buy on the Kindle so I'll wait and see!

Sorry if this booktalk has been slightly short and critical, I did actually enjoy this book as a whole so it's worth a read if you're looking for something light to read :)

Fifty Shades of Grey casting...

Okay so some of you may not know that yes, E. L. James' erotic first edition to her Fifty Shades trilogy is being turned into a movie. If you've been living under a rock for the past year then last summer mad craze over this trilogy may have slipped past you but I can assure you it was BIG. People went crazy for these books, I think mainly because people love to jump on the bandwagon of the 'next big thing' but regardless, it was no suprise when the film rights were bought for the first book 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and the hunt for the perfect people to play the protagonist Anastasia Steele and her kinky new boyfriend Christian Grey began.

Quickly to sum up the first book (spoilers), Anastasia or 'Ana' meets the rich entrepreneur Christian Grey when she is asked to interview him. After a few not-so-coincidental encounters she realises she has feelings for this man and they take their relationship one step further. Ana soon learns however of her lover's inner demons which drive his need for ultimate control, he asks her to agree to a sadomasochistic relalationship whereby he would inflict various acts of pain on her, using her body as an instrument of his pleasure. While considering this proposition and the its repurcussions on herself she digs deeper into Christian's past to discover where his need for dominance originates and finds she wants more from this man than a contract and a whip, she wants a romance.

Now admittedly I didn't just buy and read the first book but I finished all three. To be honest, I actually really enjoyed the books regardless of how kinky they are. I agree with a lot of the criticism that there is more sex than storyline and that the writing style isn't exactly brilliant but you do end up falling in love with the characters somehow. 

A few names have been in the mix for the casting of the characters, most mere fan choices such as Emma Watson or Kristen Stewart for the role of Anastasia and Matt Bomer or Ian Somerhalder for the role of Christian Grey. It's no suprise that Emma Watson corrected these rumours stating she'd be degrading herself by taking on the role, after all its a controversial genre and could be career damaging in the long term.

Eventually these two actors have been cast, Dakota Johnson as Anastasia and Charlie Hunnam for Christian Grey. 

I've heard 90% criticism, 10% praise for this casting and I must admit im with the 10%. I actually really like Dakota Johnson, in The Social Network her small role was performed with modesty and I think she'll be really good at portraying Ana's timid tendencies and her sometimes shy personality. She's brunette in the book yes but we still don't know that they won't just pop down to the supermarket and buy some brown hair dye!

Charlie Hunnam isn't who I pictured I must admit but if he shaves and neatens his look up a bit I have no doubt he'll be a great Christian! I haven't made my mind up about him completely because I haven't seen him act in anything yet but I don't think the casting directors would have chosen him unless they had faith he could do it. A lot of people are forgetting that their ideal actor choices may not have wanted to do the film so they shouldn't take it out on the producers of the film...

I'm intrigued to see how they'll portray the sex scenes because they can't take up the whole film like how they took up the majority of the books because we'd basically be watching a porno lets be honest. Hopefully we'll get more of a glimpse into the actual storyline. 

The release date is confirmed as August 1st, 2014.

P.S. Fun fact of the day, I know E.L. James distantly haha! She's a friend of a friend's mum, I don't care if I've never actually met her this is my claim to fame!