Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

*spoiler alert - just go read Clockwork Angel right now.*

Can I say I AM OBSESSED?

Although Tessa was totally clueless, which annoyed me, she was a likable enough character, sensitive and bookish. She kind of reminded me of me (although I read the first paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities and it puzzled me so much that I put it down). She had depth enough, I suppose.

But now on to WILL AND JEM AND MY FEEEEELINGS ABOUT THOSE TWO. I'm ENTIRELY PRO-WILL, OF COURSE. WILL IS THE BEST. HE WILL ALWAYS BE THE BEST *SWOONS* HE IS AWESOME. MORE THAN AWESOME. HEAVENLY. BEYOND HEAVENLY. *SWOONS AGAIN* 

HOWEVER, I FIND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO HATE JEM, AS MUCH AS I WANT TO FOR STEALING TESSA AWAY FROM WILL AND BREAKING HIS HEART LIKE THAT.

Did I mention I could kill Tessa for hurting Will like she did? I mean, he's WILL! MAKE HIM HAPPY! EVERYONE WANTS TO SEE HIM HAPPY!

The plot is good. Supporting characters are good.

THE MAIN THING IS, TESSA NEEDS TO END UP WITH WILL.

AWESOMENESS.

BYE.

I AM REQUIRING YOU TO READ THIS SERIES.

3 DAYS UNTIL CLOCKWORK PRINCESS! *SQUEAL* TESSA AND WILL, WILL AND TESSA...

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My SECOND photomanipulation - OMG.
Here are all the image credits. GAH.
http://browse.deviantart.com/art/Fish-png-177597268
http://absurdwordpreferred.deviantart.com/art/Butterflies-png-177594528http://panna-acida.deviantart.com/art/Texture-01-80537216http://mossi889.deviantart.com/art/fish-292036485http://evelivesey.deviantart.com/art/Flying-Parrot-178998378http://netzephyr.deviantart.com/art/STOCK-Raven-Flying-with-Alpha-Layer-188264521http://michelle-long.deviantart.com/art/fly-205105347
http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/42900/42988/golden8_42988.htm

Basically, I created this for a school project on the golden ratio using a golden spiral as a layer. It turned out actually okay, so I decided to post it here. This is pretty close to what I originally had in mind, a multitude of creatures all flying in a golden spiral towards a certain special something. I made it on PicMonkey, so I decided at the last minute that the "something" should be love and stuck a cute heart in it.

Hope it's good, for my second photomanip! Thanks!

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On March 7, 2013, a fellow NaNoer, Ash, lost her fight with leukemia.

I never met her. I wanted to contribute something to her memory, though. And this is what I came up with.

Rest in peace, Ash.

...................................................................................................................................................................

**NOTICE**: Considering how this story turned out, I've taken it off this blog for the time being and have submitted it to a magazine for consideration. Thanks for all your wonderful feedback!

UPDATE: I made a cover for this - I'll post it on Figment once I get around to joining.

Cover design by Starflower Hunting. Stock texture courtesy of ~Inthename-Stock on deviantART (http://inthename-stock.deviantart.com/).

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Elysia is created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen-year-old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of a teenage clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to exist. 

Elysia's purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bioengineered for perfection. Even the air induces a strange, euphoric high, which only the island's workers--soulless clones like Elysia--are immune to.

 
At first, Elysia's life is idyllic and pampered. But she soon sees that Demesne's human residents, who should want for nothing, yearn. But for what, exactly? She also comes to realize that beneath the island's flawless exterior, there is an under-current of discontent among Demesne's worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care--so why are overpowering sensations clouding Elysia's mind? 

If anyone discovers that Elysia isn't the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When her one chance at happi-ness is ripped away with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she's always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive.

I was kind of stunned by this. Part of me wanted to say "wow" and the other part was disappointed with it.

So I'd heard of the book before and was mildly wanting to read it, so I saw it at the library and brought it home.

THE ROMANCE IS PITIFUL.

THE HEROINE IS PRETTY COOL.

THE PREMISE IS EPIC.

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY LOOSE ENDS?

Aaaaannnddd.... that's pretty much it. I know I've been writing some pretty flighty reviews today, but I am mulling Finn over in my head (more on him later) and I am jittery.

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*spoiler warning* GO READ DIVERGENT. NOW. I ORDER YOU TO.

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Should I even talk about this?

I... am... obsessed, pretty much. So there's Tris. And I love that she's short. Just had to say that. She is definitely one of the most complex, strong female protagonists I've ever read. Everyone, of course, immediately thinks of Katniss Everdeen, and I really liked her before she got all hyped up. I read The Hunger Games three or four years ago, and back then I was wild for it. But now... meh.

Back to Tris. And Tobias (I really dislike that name, but *sigh* oh well). They just had such a perfect and yet confusing dynamic and I was like WHY ARE YOU ARGUING?!

I read this a while ago, yes, because I'm behind on reviews (I'm currently reading Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - gah - WILL) and so I can only provide you with a grievously inadequate analysis, but the characters and emotional depth and everything.... GAH.

If you've read Divergent, read this. DUH.

If you haven't read Divergent, I can only shake my head and say... "HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK?!"

So bye then. (Divergent #3, which does not yet have a title: 10.22.13 - I will read it.)

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Lord of the Flies, William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island, is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted: "He forgot his words, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet." Golding's gripping novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition. --Jennifer Hubert, summary from goodreads.com

Another book I read for school.

Into Thin Air and Lord of the Flies made quite a jarring pair for me. They are both about humans in hostile environments turning towards their chaotic natures. 

There were so many eerily accurate things about this book that I just can't convey...

But my review wouldn't do justice to either of them, really. There are most likely others who would do it much better.

That will be all.

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When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds...

In this definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest, Jon Krakauer takes the reader step-by-step from Kathmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, unfolding a breathtaking story that will by turns thrill and terrify.

This is a true story.

I had to read this for school and wasn't expecting much. The general attitude of most adolescents is that nonfiction isn't supposed to be cool, right? But this was beyond... anything I've ever read. It's a captivating and achingly descriptive account of a jarring tragedy.

The impartial, journalistic tone used throughout the book was superb, and really assured me that I was reading the truth and nothing but.

It's a very moving, powerful book filled with symbolism and shattering truths.

Just read it.

I know this is a brusque review, but EEK I'm behind and I need to get moving. I'm requiring you to read this one. Seriously.

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Artwork! My first real photomanipulation! Yay! Made using these three images:
http://pixabay.com/en/eagle-nebula-ic-4703-fog-11174/
http://pixabay.com/en/necklace-fence-clock-time-garden-19133/
http://funnybunny-stock.deviantart.com/art/Cliff-stock-112478017
along with PicMonkey and Pixlr Editor.

I think this kind of captures the essence of my novel The Universe Quilt (look at the "Long Term Projects" page.) Is it good?

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pic from the Barnes and Noble page

WARNING: If you haven't read The Girl of Fire and Thorns, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW. There are spoilers.

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her - except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.

Wow. Oh my gosh. Oh my GOSH. Okay so you may remember a few months ago I did a review for The Girl of Fire and Thorns. (That's here: http://lifeisinexpressible.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-review-girl-of-fire-and-thorns-by-rae-carson.html). You may also recall that I said I would hunt down this, the next book. Well, I did. And OH MY GOODNESS it was just as amazing, if not better.

So Elisa is back and as kick-butt-AWESOME as ever. She's more confident, which is refreshing, and she is a great politician, it turns out :D But anyway, she's just the kind of girl you want to HUG sometimes, you know? I swear she is SUCH a good protagonist. OMG OMG OMG.

Um so I know that we're all still teary about Humberto's death. Yes. BUT... dun dun dun... he has a replacement! An amazing REPLACEMENT! Okay, so I thought it was kind of weird that Elisa was able to replace Humberto so quickly, but it wasn't a very progressed relationship, I guess. SO BEFORE YOU READ ON MAKE SURE YOU'RE OKAY WITH A TEEEEENNY SPOILER.

Or not so teeny.

The replacement is - Hector! I know, right?! And like the whole time I was like, "But how old is he?" Then it turns out he's only a little older than Elisa. Then through the whole book I was like, "KISS HER ALREADY!" You know that feeling? But anyway, he had so much more of a backstory and feelings and GOOOOSSSSSHHHHNESSSSS and when I finished, I decided that I like Hector better than Humberto. Just saying. (Does anyone else dislike the name Humberto?)

Now I have to gush about the setting of the whole series again. I mean, it's like, Spanish! And so richly cultural and *a moment of fangirling*.

The one thing that got me a little about this is that she kind of is losing her focus. What is her main goal? I thought it might be defeating the Inviernos and stuff but it's also about fulfilling her destiny so... but you know what? I'll just shut up.

I know this is a completely random, all-over-the-place review, but just read it, you know? Then you will get me. COMPLETELY.

One last thing: The next book is called The Bitter Kingdom. It's expected to come out on August 27, 2013. And just LOOK AT IT (not sure whether this is the final cover though):

pic from Goodreads

I just looove the covers for this whole series! Isn't it pertty? Anyhow, that's Starry signing off on this review. :)

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Why don't I make a list? These are my holds at the library, basically, because I want them. Now. With summaries, too, so that you can see what they're all about. :)

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

This is a sequel, to Cinder. I read Cinder a while back and posted a review on this blog. You can read that here: http://lifeisinexpressible.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-review-cinder-by-marissa-meyer.html.

So basically I loved Cinder and am coming back for more, I suppose. As you can tell, this one's based on Red Riding Hood. YAY.

June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—-June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

Another sequel. The first book is called Legend. I wrote a review for that as well: http://lifeisinexpressible.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-review-legend-by-marie-lu.html. As you'll read in the review, it's based on Les Miserables. I watched the movie and I caught the bug baaaadddd. So yeah, which makes me appreciate this even more.

Still loving all these sequel covers. LAAAA. LA LA LA.

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Now, this is obviously the sequel to Divergent. And really, do I need to talk much about that at all?

It's just. So. Amazing. GAAAHHH.

So that's Starry, signing off for now.

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THE MYTH: Alice Liddell was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook.

THE TRUTH: Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss's parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring young author, to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

Pretty good overall, considering that there aren't many re-imaginings of  Alice in Wonderland around, really. This book really takes liberties with some of the concepts in the classics, like the Millinery (an elite force of bodyguards, of which Hatter Madigan is a member) and the ranking families (there are four suit families: the Clubs, the Diamonds, the Hearts, and the Spades).

Throughout the book, I could kind of feel the effects of its moderate pacing. There was a little too much backstory, although as I read it seemed necessary enough. Even the fight scenes felt somewhat sluggish, which takes skill. I mean, who can write sluggish fight scenes?

Still, the premise was fascinating, and well-done for its genre. The characters varied - some were amazing, some were too stereotypical. Alyss, for example. She wasn't flawed enough to be likable, to me. She was too inherently good, and her full power was a little - no, okay, a lot - unfair. She could do anything that she imagined. What kind of advantage is that? Okay, so Redd can do the same, but it's obvious that Alyss is the more powerful one.

Dodge, on the other hand, was a very interesting guy. I needed to know how such a cheerful young boy had grown up into such a reserved, hateful man. And yet he still harbored that love for Alyss... I wanted to know what made him tick.

All in all, Wonderland has been transformed, and not too badly. The Looking Glass Wars turned it into a realistic world with realistic problems, which also brings to mind the transformation of Oz in Wicked (great book; you should read it). If you're looking for a fresh series - yes, the next book is called Seeing Redd - then by all means pick it up. I'm worried that my review sounded too disparaging... it's really not that bad. Just read the first few pages, I guess :D

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pic from goodreads.com

Plum Coyle is on the edge of adolescence. Her fourteenth birthday is approaching, when her old life and her old body will fall away, and she will become graceful, powerful, and at ease. The strength of the objects she stores in a briefcase under her bed —a crystal lamb, a yoyo, an antique watch, a coin —will make sure of it. Over the next couple of weeks, Plum’s life will change. Her beautiful neighbor Maureen will begin to show Plum how she might fly. The older brothers she adores will court catastrophe in worlds that she barely knows exist. And her friends, her worst enemies, will tease and test, smelling weakness. They will try to lead her on and take her down. BUTTERFLY is a gripping, disquieting, beautifully observed coming-of-age novel by an acclaimed author at the top of her form.

Amazing book. This is an Australian novel (which is sooooo cool OMG), which lent it a really awesome feel.

The descriptions were creative and spot-on, and the third-person present-tense narration made it seem detached and just so... perfect.

Look, this is really short, and I'm sorry, but you should seriously read this. Now.

Seriously.

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