Catching Fire

Title: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) 

Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Young-Adult, Adventure, Fantasy
Publication Date: September 1, 2009

Summary by Goodreads:  

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster children for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol...

Oh there’s a lot that happened this week. I was busy doing some stuff that it took me a week to finish the book that I’m going to review today. Well, first of all, I would like to thank a friend (Kerby Rosanes) for inviting me to be a guest blogger on his blog yesterday called Sketchy Stories. I really had a good time writing that post. I just felt elated that I was able to share a piece of me with that article and his artwork. J

Ok, so going back… I’m going to review Suzanne Collins’ Catching Fire – the second installment of the Hunger Games series. Indeed, Collins set up the bar so high in her first book so I was kind of worried of how this second book will surpass or at least match the level of intensity of the first book. In short, I wasn’t expecting too high for the second book because I didn’t think that there is something more intense than what happened in the first book. And I guess that’s why I extremely enjoyed reading this book because I was not expecting too much. So let me enumerate the reasons why I got totally hooked by this book.

• The new set of characters is much more interesting than in the first book. I really like Finnick (a victor from District 4). He wasn’t in the first book but I really like the twist that Katniss was fisrt so pissed off with him and later, he was actually the best ally that she could have. I don’t want to elaborate how that happened for the sake of those who are just planning to read the book. :)

• While every part of the first book is all about excitement, extreme intensities and fast-paced plot, Catching Fire had some low parts where it is all storytelling and less showing. But when it comes to an intense part, it’s like dropping a nuclear bomb in front of your face that made me want to shout while reading it! Haha! 

•  I suggest that if you grab a copy of Catching Fire, grab the next series (Mockingjay) because it’ll totally leave you hanging and it’s like grasping for your life on a thin rope! I say it’s the most hanging cliffhanger I’ve ever encountered in my reading years.

• Violence has never been this good! Okay, you might get that wrong but really, the scenes are just so thrillingly inhuman in the best way possible. I just couldn’t get enough!

That’s all folks! I hope you enjoyed reading. If you haven’t read the Hunger Games and Catching Fire books, please make a way to read it before it’s shown in the movies on March. You totally won’t be disappointed and you’ll surely love it. It’s the only book aside from Harry Potter that made my sleepless nights all worth it. Trust me, I have good taste for books, you know. *wink*

Preceded By : Hunger Games
Followed By: Mockingjay

COVER OF THE WEEK: Fallen In Love by Lauren Kate

 

Publication Date: January 24, 2012
Author: Lauren Kate

Can’t wait for Valentine? Here’s Lauren Kate’s advance Valentine treat for all the Fallen Novels fans. Four original hidden stories compiled in a novel will be unveiled with this newest book by the bestselling author Lauren Kate. Before the epic love story of Luce and Daniel continues in Rapture, here comes an appetizer for all the Fallen fans. The stories include: Love Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles , Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland; Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane; and Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda.

My Review about the Cover:

Whoever is behind Lauren Kate’s book covers definitely has the eye to create such a jaw-dropping work of art. I really love the gothic girl theme for the cover of the entire books. The cover is simply gorgeous and it is extremely compelling and interesting. I will definitely not miss this novel if it were with a bundle of other books. 

Book Review: Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices #1)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publication Date: August 31, 2010
Genre: Young-adult, Fantasy

Summary (by Goodreads):

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.

My Review:

“There’s plenty of sense in nonsense sometimes, if you wish to look for it.”  -Will

Cassandra Clare has put up quite an impressive reputation in writing novels with her Mortal Instruments Series, so when I heard about this book, I did not hesitate to read and review it. 

The Clockwork Angel is the first of a trilogy of Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices. It is written as a prequel of The Mortal Instruments and the setting was in a Victorian London. 

I’ve read TMI series and I was really curios with the cover of this book. I was already guessing that the setting is some sort of Victorian and I wasn’t wrong. What I love about both TMI and ID series is how Clare crafted such interesting and intriguing characters in her novels. There’s just something with the characters that captures my heart and fall in love with the hero and admire the heroine. 

What I like About the book: 

• The cover is compelling. It tells a lot about how the story revolves around a Victorian setting. 

• The characters are interesting and very intriguing. I would have to say that I like Will more than Jace of The Mortal Instruments. He’s witty and charming and his sense of humor never fails to make me laugh. He’s also well-read and inclined in literature that makes him attractively sensible and smart. He made a great hero in this book. 

• Reading this prequel enabled me to pick up things that I didn’t notice earlier while reading the Mortal Instruments Series. There are answered questions and mysteries unveiled in this part of the Shadow Hunters’ history that all TMI fans should not miss.

What I don’t like about the book: 

• One thing that I don’t like about the book was that there were times that I found myself bored and skipping pages just to get to a more interesting part. I guess it’s because I have read all of the TMI series that I have a lot of information about Shadow Hunters that make CA a little less interesting for me. 

• The ending is indeed a cliffhanger but I kind of expected that since it’s the first of a series. So I don’t take that as a negative thing about the book. What I don’t like is there were a lot of issues that were raised while the story was moving on and they stayed unresolved until the book ends.