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City of Lost Souls

City of Lost Souls  - Cassandra Clare The book would have been much better if Cassandra had left Clary and Jace out of it. I'm tired of them. I forgive Jace for being so annoying because he was sort of possessed (actually, I liked him during his unpossessed interval), but I couldn't stand Clary anymore. Their relationship has become too twilightesque for me.

I wish these series had been "The Daylighter Chronicles" or something like that. Simon still has the best storyline, the best lines and the most down-to-earth relationship. I like how things are developing between Isabelle and him.

I still don't know how I feel about Maia and Jordan. I like them and I want them to be happy, though I can't help but feeling uncomfortable remembering what happened in the past - even if it wasn't truly Jordan's fault.

As much as I love Magnus and Alec together, I totally agree with Magnus' final decision. No matter how much he loves Alec, he shows sense and self-respect (another reason I love him). Other characters could learn a lot from him. Alec was a huge asshole, he deserved it. Seriously, how could he even consider shortening the life of the person he loves? That's more than selfish; it's abusive. He should have, at least, talked to Magnus about the possibility of the latter becoming mortal. But you can't force something like that into someone else. It's HIS life. I'm so pissed with Alec.
Magnus, on the other hand, was as amazing as always. And his lines are as hilarious as Simon's. They should have more dialogue between them. The really gay spider made my whole week.

The plot was good, though it could have done more development. I would have preferred more actual plot and less "romance" (or whatever you call it).I found half of the scenes of Clary with Jace and Sebastian unnecessary (and annoying, like Clary herself). However, I think I wouldn't have cared about this book if it wasn't for team angel-summoners. They had all the fun.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The Chronicles of Narnia

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes Actually I'd give it 2.5 stars. It's better than the first book in the series, but I found it not as good as the second.

The first half of the book was a bit boring, but the second half finally got interesting.
I liked the adventures they had, they were really creative, especially the part about the stars, but I still found the plot quite poor. They seemed to be just wandering from island to island. In the previous books, they had a mission to accomplish themselves at Narnia and were taken there because of that; in this one, however, they just happened to come across Caspian's ship and join his mission.

Eustace wasn't the most likeable boy, but I had a lot of issues with the bashing he received from Lewis and the latter's comments. Even knowing who I was reading, the way he presented Eustace's up-to-date family made me want to get in the TARDIS and go back in time just to punch him on the face. OH MY GOD, they were vegetarians! And had little furniture! And the windows were OPEN! Yes, open - what a horrible family! And the worst of all: Eustace's school didn't have corporal punishment. What kind of education is that? Where is this world going to? Yes, his parents were the worst. Oh, and I almost forgot: they apparently taught their child to treat girls a bit more equally. That's the devil's work, for sure. Thanks Aslan good ol' gentleman Caspian was there.

Nevertheless, with all the sexism these books contain, I still think Lucy is a great and strong character. I like her.
Speaking of the Pevensies, the explicit differentiation between Peter's and Susan's current locations was terribly -and sexistly- annoying.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien (I was torn between giving it 3 or 4 stars. I originally gave it 3 -actually meaning 3.5-, but then I started thinking about what this book meant for its time. It has an originality and magic that is not so easy to appreciate at this age and decade, so I think I found the half-star I was looking for — so I change my rating to 4 stars)

I liked the plot, I liked Bilbo, and I liked the ending. I wasn't actually fond of the songs, but it's a children's book, so I think they might be cool for children.

Bilbo Baggins made a great hero: yes, he had the magical ring, but he was also brave and smart, and he didn't win his battles out of force but out of his brain -and more than a little of luck-. His evolution is the best part of the journey.

It's a book I would totally give/read to a child (or even older people), though my read-aloud version would change a few sentences during the battle between Smaug and Esgaroth people and tell about how "both men and women" fought. I can't help it.

Hamlet

Hamlet - William Shakespeare I couldn't give it 5 stars because they're supposed to mean "liked it". And, though I do think Hamlet is a great play, I didn't enjoy it. I guess I couldn't see past all the misogyny.
I kind of see why people love this work, but it's just not my cup of tea. Anyway, I might re-read it in the future to see if I can see something more.

Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 12

Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 12 - Yuu Watase Such a beautiful story, and undoubtedly superior to the original Fushigi Yuugi. The art is dazzling. The plot seems more mature than the original, and Takiko turns out to be a strong and very likeable heroine. Unlike Miaka, she doesn't let her feelings for Uruki define her life and her quest.
The end was perfect. And better than Fushigi Yuugi's. Some stories don't work that well with a 100% happily ever after. Maybe the best part was the fact I did know that Takiko's father would kill her in order to prevent Genbu from devouring her, and then commit suicide because it had been mentioned in Fushigi Yuugi, but the way these events were executed still surprised me a bit. It was really good.
I hope Watase decides to write Suzuno's story in the future!

Dexter's Final Cut

Dexter's Final Cut  - Jeff Lindsay Disappointing. It actually started well, but then went downhill. And no matter if you already suspected who the killer was or not, it got pretty obvious from a certain point. So, how could Dexter still remain oblivious?
Dexter was not only too out of character for my taste, but I felt his character lacked continuity from the previous books. Hey, remember how obsessed he used to be with Lily Anne, just a couple of books ago?
I expected more for a seventh and final book.

Until I Die

Until I Die  - Amy Plum The book was boring and Kate is a lame character. Actually, the only interesting part was the cliffhanger in the end. It was a fine ending.
It's a shame, because I still find the concept behind the revenants appealing. And the writing seemed to have improved since the previous book.

City of Fallen Angels

City of Fallen Angels  - Cassandra Clare What I liked:
- Simon: great character and the most interesting storyline. I think he's actually my favorite character (along with Magnus). And his lines are hilarious.
- Isabelle: finally some development. I like her.
- Magnus: because he's Magnus.
- Magnus and Camille meeting again after all those years, and all the talks about events and characters from TID (and Brother Zacharias!)
- The incident involving Maureen.
- Simon's friends knowing he's a vampire.

What I didn't like:
- Clary and Jace and all the angst and cheap drama. Seriously, every time they appeared in a scene I was like "please, bring Simon back". I can't stand them anymore.
- Jace. He used to have a personality. Now he's 99% annoying teen angst.
- Certain sexist point made in the chat between Lilith and Jace.
- Biblical stuff got too... literal? Angels, the mark of Cain and stuff like that were cool, but making the myth of Adam, Eve and Lilith real in the universe of the book was too much. Specially when they kept repeating that "Lilith was the bad one because she didn't want to obey God and Adam". Yeah, that she didn't want to obey God might be bad, but Adam? WTF? I know the original myth says that, but a 21th century FEMALE writer should know better than keeping the original level of sexism when using a such an ancient myth in her story. Has she ever stopped to think what that stupid tale meant?
Angels? Cool. Demons being the bad guys because they're against God and God is good? Ok. God supporting Patriarchy? NOT COOL AT ALL.
- Alec and his lack of common sense. "OMG, you dated someone before me? HOW COULD YOU?!"

What I still don't know if I liked or not:
- Maia and Jordan. It's like some part of me understands Jordan and wants to forgive him, but the other part isn't comfortable with Maia being in a relationship with someone who had previously been abusive to her (even if it wasn't his fault). I have a moral dilemma, I guess.


I hope the next book in the series has more plot and less angst and romantic drama.

Fushigi Yûgi: The Mysterious Play, Vol. 07: Castaway

Fushigi Yûgi: The Mysterious Play, Vol. 07: Castaway - Yuu Watase Transphobic attitudes against Nuriko are not funny at all. And there were other issues I wasn't comfortable with either. But the plot has caught me anyway.

Diario de Ana Frank

Diario de Ana Frank - Anne Frank I took a couple of days off before reading the end of the diary because I didn't want it to end. I felt like, as long as there were more entries left, Anne would be alive for me.
I read this book aware of the fact it was real; there had been a real person writing those letters about her real life. How many times she talked about "life after the war"! This book doesn't only make you think about war and hate but also about life itself. No matter how bad things are, we still make plans for the future. We hope for them. We never know, but we think we'll make it.
And some, like Pim, will.

ふしぎ遊戯 (1) (少コミフラワーコミックス)

ふしぎ遊戯 (1) (少コミフラワーコミックス) - 渡瀬 悠宇 It has some issues I wasn't ok with and almost made me drop a star, but I guess I'm giving this series a chance.

Double Dexter

Double Dexter  - Jeff Lindsay It was a good book, I would have given it 4 stars it I hadn't known almost every future move of the Shadow several chapters before Dexter even thought of them. I get that Dexter was blinded by all his worries, but it seemed too much. He should have realized that his Shadow, being so good with computers he even faked his own death, had already hacked into his computer. It was too obvious. And I knew Crowley's identity from the very first moment he appeared. The idea behind the plot was interesting, but it got too predictable.

Paper Towns

Paper Towns - John Green You may say John Green is overrated, you may say his characters and plots are too look-alike, and you may be right, but damn it, I just love his books, and Paper Towns was amazing.
And it wasn't just about the great characters, the hilarious dialogue and the awesome plot; this book left something important to me. Like Margo, I've been planning my escape from a paper town since I was a child. Both Margo's and Quentin's journeys are certainly similar to my own. I'm still a paper girl living in a paper town, but I'm trying to find a way to become real.

The Casual Vacancy

The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling It started a bit slow, but once Part Two begun, it kept getting more and more appealing. I like books that are told from diverse POVs, and it worked perfectly here. Sometimes I felt a pause might be lacking between POV changes, though. Constant changes between POVs inside a single chapter could be confusing.
Most of the characters were interesting, yet not completely likable (or not remotely likable, some of them). They were the story, and they felt real. I found myself missing Barry Fairbrother too. He seemed such a nice guy, indeed!
I think my favorite character might have been Krystal (yeah, with her ending and all), and I liked Sukhvinder and Andrew too. I could relate a lot to Sukhvinder. I thought I liked Fats when he was first introduced. However, I instantly changed my mind and hated him from the moment I knew he bullied Sooks (liked that nickname). And yes, he was an asshole after all.
I ended up liking Samantha too. Tell me about living in a place you hate so much...
I hated Howard and Shirley, but in the way you'd hate them if they were real but you find them good characters and like they way they were written.
I loved how social issues were added to the typical small town story. I guess most countries deal with the same discussions regarding places like the Fields. Everything sounded so close to home, even if I don't live in the UK, nor even in Europe. People's hypocritical reaction to Robbie's death was so accurate I instantly thought about analog real-life cases.

(Ok, I wanted to write longer but I have to go and I guess I would forget to continue this...)
SPOILER ALERT!

City of Glass

City of Glass  - Cassandra Clare I found the first chapters a bit boring. Clary and Jace's romantic drama was annoying, so I was glad every time the POV switched to Simon's. I like Simon. He's by far the character who has evolved the most. I guess he's become one of my favorite characters.
Alec shows some growth too. MY OTP IS OUT AND PROUD AND KISSED IN FRONT OF EVERYONE AND I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS. Seriously, I love Alec and Magnus together. I'm starting to like Alec. And Magnus was as amazing as always. I totally loved when Clary was expecting Ragnor Fell and got Magnus instead. And then his conversation with Alec after the shadowhunter saved his life♥.

Well, after that hilarious scene with Magnus and the stupid scene between Clary and the back then annoying and boring Sebastian (I didn't find him interesting at all at first, and it was too obvious that he was the bad guy in disguise, until I realized he was the real Jonathan and he became somewhat interesting), things improved a lot and it suddenly turned out to be a very good book. I liked the way most things solved. I had guessed from the beginning that Clary and Jace weren't really related, and it was confirmed in City of Ashes the moment Imogen died for Jace, but since I saw the family tree after reading said book and spoiled myself, I already knew he was a Herondale before reading City of Glass. Nevertheless, Clary STILL kissed her brother. Not that I care.

Oh, Max... Poor little thing. And poor Lightwoods. I wasn't expecting that. WHY IS THIS FICTIONAL LIFE SO UNFAIR?

Raphael's an asshole, I hate him. He's like a nazi vampire, wanting to exterminate the "unnatural" ones. Haven't you heard of Valentine?

And then, at he end... OMG THAT'S TESSA, MY TESSA!! I like her much better than Clary. Clary has her good moments, but I still don't like her entirely. It's like I barely like her, while I really like Tessa. Ok, I could say I like the characters in TID more than the ones from TMI in general. That's good, actually, because it shows improvement in Cassandra's character design and development.

P.S.: I don't know if I ship Simon and Isabelle or Simon and Maia. Help!

Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet

Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet - Gerry Davis 1.5 stars, I guess...
It hurts me to give a DW story a single star, but I found this one boring and disappointing. I didn't like the guest characters, the treatment received by Polly rubbed me the wrong way, the story just lacked something, and neither the Doctor or Ben could make up for all the lacks. Besides, the plot came across a bit unoriginal at this point (in chronological order).
Maybe I had higher expectations than usual because this was the First Doctor's last adventure. I don't know.