HAPPY ONE-YEAR BLOGAVERSARY NAP SNACK READ!!!

I can’t even believe it right now. I just cannot believe its been a whole year! I'm at the moment not at my house, and I'm not going to be there all night so I'm going to have to write something down quick. I am so proud of what has become of my blog this year, and I'm so glad my dad convinced me to do it. Around this time last year my dad was convincing me of writing down my opinions on my beloved books where everyone can see them. My sister, Victoria, gave me a name idea that would stick perfectly for me, and that is how Nap Snack Read came to be! Doesn't seem like much of a story does it? But it was. This blog is one of those things that I will work on for a long time, and even if one day I discontinue it I can never forget everything that's happened to me because of it. I know we still have a long way to go, but I’m happy with what has come out of it this year. I can't wait to see how this little blog of mine will grow in the future. To my 25 followers that I currently have right now I would just like to say thanks and I love you guys <3 and I can’t wait to see how many more will follow me in the years to come. Let's try to double it this year!

Updating . . .

Ok so there has been a new feature added to my site, but it's going to take some work to get people to participate. And by people I mean you. So I really hope you all help me out here. The new feature is a type of chat room feature that I'm testing out. In each chat room the topic will all be different, mostly about certain books. Consider it like a virtual book club! If anyone has any book requests they'd like to talk about just leave a comment or email me (napsnackread@yahoo.com)

Seriously people, contact me, it'll make my day

And while you're at it, try following me too, now that would also make me happy (;

The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare

This review is going to be a little different then the usual. So I’ve thought of how I would do this and decided to review these series as a whole rather than picking it apart one book at a time. That’s because The Mortal Instruments Series isn’t a series where it breaks off or starts new on the next book. It’s all one big mystery where the plot literally extends all the way through books 1-3. Now book 4 is a sort of extension to how the plot ends in the first part and this would be the beginning of part 2. I think that makes sense right? There are two more books to this series that are to come out in the future (and honestly I am dying for them to come out. So I am going to write my review first this time and bellow that will be the summaries for each of the books out to far.

**I would recommend NOT reading the summaries of book 2, 3, or 4 if you haven’t read the previous one because, lets face it, there are tons of spoilers in the summaries themselves**

REVIEW

FirstoffIhavetosaythatthisisSUCHanamazingseries!!! LOL ok now that I got that out of my system I’ll try to write something coherent without letting my excitement get the best of me. So where to start . . . hmmm . . . okidoki well I’ll start with the facts about this book.

FACT: these are big books

FACT: you will fall in love with these characters... just a heads up

FACT: chills will roll up and down your arms through the entire adventure, yes it’s that intense

FACT: funniest damn book series ever, I can’t even count the amount of times my family caught me clutching one of these books while I cracked up without a thought to the fact that people were staring at me.

And FACT: to be honest this series is pretty graphic; I think you need to know this before. There is lots of gore and demons etc

I first read the first couple of books about a year ago if I do recall correctly. That being said, I had to reread the entire series again when I bought the newest installment, City of Fallen Angels. In my excitement to read the fourth book I attacked the first three again with a vengeance. So I have all the books fresh in my mind. The whole first three books I would call “PART 1” of the series and book four and on “PART 2”. Simple enough, right? So PART 1 is all about this up coming war that the insanely evil rogue Shadowhunter Valentine is making to forever destroy all Downworlders (vamps, werewolves, faeires, warlocks) and will kill anyone who stands in his way, even if he has to recreate the Shadowhunters from scratch. The only people remotely close enough to stop him are Clary, Jace, Simon, and the rest of their friends. Having a hard time putting the books down is an understatement. It’s not just that it was an adventure worth holding on to. It’s not just the characters worth learning more about. It’s all of it combined, I think. My favorite part of the entire series had to be to wit and sarcasm the poured out of this book like a waterfall. It was incredible. The fact that no matter how bad the situation got, or how depressed everything was there was ALWAYS some funny remark by Simon or snarky comeback from Jace to lighten the mood. These people would talk like regular people. That sounds weird because they are people, but if you read these books and new them as well as I do, you would see that there is nothing regular about them. The characters had to be my favorite aspect of The Mortal Instruments.

I think the only thing that I can think of to say that I didn’t like about the stories had to be that sometime there were looooong, long moments where demons would come and it seemed kind of gory at times. Lots of blood scenes and gruesome parts. And because of the authors amazing way of putting you in the story, it did seem like I was on the battlefield with them.

Part 2 of The Mortal Instruments series is the aftermath of the Mortal War ending in the first part. That’s what you have to understand about Part 2. It continues, but now with a whole new problem and situation.

This is one of my favorite series, and because I am review this on the entire series I will give a rating as a whole. So, that said as a whole from 1-10? I am happy to give The Mortal Instrument a 9!!!

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Summaries

BOOK ONE: City of Bones

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. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary’s first meeting with Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a 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 . . .

Number of pages: 485

Book Two: City of Ashes

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 Shadownhunters 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?

Number of pages: 453

Book Three: City of Glass

To save her mother’s life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of Shadowhunters—never mind that entering 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 Shadowhuntersmwho 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 Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters 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?

Number of pages: 541

Book Four: City of Fallen Angels

The Mortal War is over, and Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most important of all—Clary can finally call Jace her boyfriend. But nothing comes without a price. Someone is murdering the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her. His mother just found out that he’s a vampire and now he’s homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse that’s wrecking his life. And theyre willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he’s dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other. When Jace begins to pull away from clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Number of pages: 424

Angel Burn by L. A. Weatherly

Summary

THEY’RE OUT FOR YOUR SOUL.

AND THEY DON’T HAVE HEAVEN IN MIND . . .

Willow knows she’s different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people’s dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself does. He knows that her powers link to dark and dangerous forces and that he’s one of the few humans left who can fight them. When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil.

• Number of pages: 449

Review

W. O. W.

I don’t know how else to get this through to all of you clearly except . . . THIS BOOK WAS SOOOOO GOOOD!! I was completely captured even from the moment that I read the PROLOUGE and that is saying something. If you get the chance to read this book then I seriously wouldn’t hesitate to get a hold of a copy. I don’t even know what exactly it was from the story that really had me mesmerized for the entire time that I read this book . . . which was in a day (a new personal best if I do say so myself). I haven’t been this captivated in a book in quite some time. I can’t say I’m not excited to review this book, but I really don’t want to give anything away.

I think I have to start with the fact that the plot itself went beyond the norms of today’s usual books. Lately, a lot of novels have been meshing together with the way the plots all seem in at least one way similar. I mean it’s not always bad because each author has their own way of styling their stories, but I think Angel Burn was a whole new take, a new-ish kind of story. There were some of the typical stuff that we teens read about mostly, like the star-crossed love story of the book or the super natural stuff that gets us so addicted. So what this book is about is that after learning about angels Willow becomes the target of some pretty dangerous beings, and Alex is sent to kill her. Of course Alex—being Alex—has enough common sense to know that something isn’t right. Once they discover what is going on they are force to stick together in what seems the most dangerous, and exciting road trip ever. Along the way of course, the attraction between them builds until it is practically palpable through the pages. I think it had to be one of the top 10 romances ever.

The angel aspect of Angel Burn was really interesting. These aren’t the type of angels I would pray to, if you know what I mean. I kind of found it interesting how the angels were evil and created their own religion of sorts; more like a cult. And how every now and then people would be like, “oh Jesus that was intense”. Or something like that. Probably isn’t relevant to anything, but it was something I picked up and thought kind of interesting, the worship of this strange religion with expressions of another. The adventure also was really cool, too. They travel practically cross-country, and there was much to do on those little trips. Honestly I really did enjoy this book, and maybe you will too. It’s worth a shot picking it up, don’t you think? So from 1-10? Angel Burn definitely gets a 9!!

Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Summary

Until three months ago, sixteen-year-old Camelia’s life had been fairly ordinary. Then a mysterious boy names Ben started junior year at her school and changed everything.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend’s accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. Despite the rumors, she’s inexplicably drawn to him . . . and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes, Ben insists she’s in danger, and that he wants to help—but can he be trusted? She knows he’s hiding something . . . but he’s not the only one with a secret.

• Number of pages: 252

Review

Deadly Little Secret was such a hauntingly good novel. I was surprised by the intensity of the mystery, and it was such an entertaining book aside from the mystery as well. One of my best friends, Amanda, gave me her copy to read and see if it was good. She’s not much of a reader, but I am determined to convert her! Okay, back to the book. Camelia and her two best friends go to this school where a new, secretive guy comes and stirs up their little town with drama. Camelia knows he is the one who saved her from being run over by a car, and is determined to get to know him a little more. What she doesn’t know is that she is the one who is going to need saving again. There is someone following her. She starts getting these phone calls and pictures in the mail. Pretty creepy stuff, for sure. I think the creepiest part had to be the small chapters where the stalker would write about his feelings on Camelia. They were so realistic it was mind-blowing. There were quite a lot of parts that gave me goose bumps. As you can imagine, I read this book mostly at night before bed, and it was the perfect time to read a book like this. Unless of course stuff like this really does scare you, then I recommend reading it during the daytime. Just saying. But aside from the mystery of the stalker and the mystery behind the new guy, Ben, this book had a slight comical aspect to it. The best friends had to be the funniest people in the book. They were with Camelia most of the time and lightened up the mood immensely. They were sarcastic and humorous that left me cracking up. From 1-10? I give it a 6.5

Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein

Summary

An orphan, young Lady Catherine rises to become one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite maids of honor—until her romance with the dashing adventurer Walter Ralegh is discovered. In a fit of jealousy, the queen banishes Cate to the fledgling colony on Roanoke Island.

Sustained by the hope that Sir Walter will soon join her, Cate learns to face the unexpected hardships and dangers of the New World. Torn by conflict and mistrust, and with their numbers dwindling, the colonists are forced to rely on Manteo, a mysterious Croatoan Indian, for their survival. Manteo, who calls Cate his Moon Maiden . . .

But is Manteo truly a friend, or will he betray the English to their enemies? And Sir Walter in England—has he forgotten his beloved, or will he come to claim her? As the months pass without rescue, Cate turns her gaze from the past and considers the possibility of a new love. Then one day a ship arrives—and Cate must make an agonizing choice . . .

• Number of pages: 321

Review

Lisa Klein weaved an absolutely sensational historical fiction out of an event that I didn’t even know about until I read this book! Cate of the Lost Colony was adventurous, mysterious, and the history part of this story was completely amazing.

Cate is in the beginning “Lady Catherine” which is in turn changed to “Lady Cat” or “Cat” as is referred to by the Queen herself. That is when in the beginning Lady Cat is one of the many maids to Queen Elizabeth. It’s her duty to help the Queen dress (a difficult task, no less) and help her with anything that may need helping. To her this is a great honor to serve her queen. Here in America with no kings or queens to look to in that way I can’t imagine why she would have such devotion and such love to a woman who at times treated her a little bad. It’s evident in the beginning part of the book how much devotion she puts into her work for the queen only being rewarded with a nickname that would soon get her into jealous trouble with the other lady maids. I guess that is just how it was. I remember thinking through those pages that I guess our heroine was just going to be a meek girl with not much will to call her own. But wow was I wrong. She turns a complete 180 after her romance with Sir Walter is discovered and is forced to travel to the New World, a place where savages rule and the conditions are harsh. Thus becoming the Cate that I know everyone loves her to be. She relishes the opportunity to travel to the new world, but after a while of seeing the type of condition she is to live in you see a spark in her ignite to take some charge and speak out, even as a woman in a time where men rule, to help her fellow colonist survive while deciding whether to keep hope in the thought of rescue from Sir Walter, or accepting the future and the possible love that comes with it.

At first I thought the story of Cate was hard to follow because at what seemed at random times the voice of Cate would be replaced by what I would call Sir William’s “diary” or “journal” to the point of view of Manteo in some instances, but (and I’m still not sure how Klein did it) it all seemed to make sense after a little bit of concentration. You would think that a book in the time of Queen Elizabeth would be a hard read, what with all the old time slang that must be in this book, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I actually liked the challenge of it! Especially when poetry by Sir Walter would be mixed in, it gave it an old time feel to it that made it special. I was in fact quite charmed by this book as my review probably already told you. So from 1-10? I am happy to give Cate of the Lost Colony an 8!!!

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Summary

WE

May be walking past you right now.

WE

Are watching as you read this.

WE

May be in your city, your town.

WE

Are living anonymously.

WE

Are waiting for the day when

WE

Will find each other.

WE

Will make our last stand together—if

WE

Win,

WE

Are saved, and

YOU

Are saved as well.

IF WE LOSE, ALL IS LOST.

• Number of pages:440

Review

I broke a big cardinal rule of reading . . . never watch the movie before you read the book. And that’s exactly what I did. I can’t believe it either! I didn’t even think the movie was going to be so good, I was mostly just going to watch it because of Alex Pettyfer (<3). The movie was soooo incredible! So I went into the book with high hopes and a little bit prejudiced, I’m not gonna lie.

There were a lot of aspects to this book that made it so life-like that I found so amazing of the author to even think about. The planet Lorien seems like such a possibility when I was reading the book. It’s actually kind of funny how Pittacus Lore basically created a whole new civilization on this completely new planet based around him. Lore made Lorien as a planet with him as the ruler, and although I was kind of confused when he put himself in the actual story I thought it was quite genius. I mean, why shouldn’t he be ruler? He created the whole thing anyway so why not, right?

I actually really enjoyed this book, mostly in the beginning and middle. I blame myself for watching the movie first and maybe diminishing the experience a little bit. Since I kind of knew what was going to happen it didn’t actually have all my attention. (It took me about 2 weeks to finish this one! Not good.) This is a kind of sci-fi novel but for me I categorized it more on the romance side. It was a sweet kind of romance with the fun of having the ex-boyfriend to deal with. It was funny seeing the ex trying to bully John (Number Four) when you obviously knew that he could totally kick his… butt.

The only down side in this book that I actually found was that it was a bit flowery for me. Like in the big epic battle near the end, it was way over done. I mean it took up at least 5 chapters. It was very interesting with the fighting scenes at times, but then it just got a bit tedious, I wanted to see how they would end up! But maybe that was just my impatience at fault. Whatever it was that was how I felt near the end.

It did all tie up at the end setting it up perfectly for the next book. I do want to read the next and any after . . . I just got to make sure not to watch the next movie before I do.

From 1-10? I give I Am Number Four a 6.5

Oh for the book cover I decided to post up a picture of the original cover even though I own the movie version . . . mine has Alex Pettyfer on it!! <3 <3 <3