King's Cage and Fifty Shades Darker

SO MUCH BOOKISH STUFF THIS WEEK!!!

Ok, there are two gigantic things that are coming out this week in the bookish world. The first, King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard is going to be released. And second, Fifty Shades Darker comes out this weekend. There are probably a lot more things happening this week, like the release of Wintersong by S. Jae Jones, but these two really jump out to me.

King's Cage:
OH MY IT IS FINALLY HERE AND I CANNOT OH ME OH MY WE FINALLY HAVE THE NEXT BOOK AND I AM GOING TO SCREAM AND CRY AREN'T I?!?!?!?!!


King's Cage comes out today actually, February 7, 2017. This is the third book of the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. I have this book pre-ordered and it should be coming in at some point this week. I will probably stay up the entire night that it comes in the mail. The great upside to this- there is one more book coming out after this one! This is going to be, overall, a four book series.

Fifty Shades Darker:
To be completely honest, I am more excited about King's Cage coming out, but this is exciting too because it's another page to screen adaptation that is being released. I am a sucker for good adaptations and I really hope that they did a good job representing the book and making it a good movie.


What I find really interesting is that they filmed this movie and the last one, Fifty Shades Freed, at the same time. It makes me wonder if you'd be able to tell during the movie, so even though I hate to say it, I may be looking for that while I watch it.

This is overall going to be a great year for books and page to screen adaptations and I can't wait to see how they all turn out!

Thanks for reading!

Shadowhunters 2x06

Shadowhunters 2x06

"Iron Sisters"

Thoughts and Feels

 Thinking about it, there wasn't too much that actually happened in this episode. There was some stuff right at the very end, but thaaaaaaat'ssssss about it. I would still rather have an episode like this though, where it is well-paced and has a few different plots, than an old one where we go at break-neck pace with a thousand things going on.

I think they did a pretty decent job with the Iron Sisters! Some of the training/fight scenes with them were slightly disappointing, but the outfits looked good. I'm not totally sure what the shining stuff on their faces were. Or what that story with the Mortal Sword was about. Can the Sword kill all downworlders? I don't think so.... I'm pretty sure its only powers were that it made shadowhunters tell the truth and is used to summon Raziel. Please correct me if I'm wrong though. I thought the setting of the barren landscape around the castle was awesome! They portalled through and there was just- wasteland. And it was 100% great.



To be completely honest, I think I loved the commercials most while watching this episode. I watched it live, and I don't know if this will happen for the other ways to view it, but while it was live, they went straight from the show into a commercial with the Shadowhunters actors in it, for a Fifty Shades Darker promo. I was so confused at first, but then I realized what it was, and I LOVED it!!! Especially Simon's part in the commercial! Oh my, that has got to be one of my favorite Fifty Shades promos to date.

I also really loved the Malec development! They get to go on a date and they talk about so many things that are also issues and point of interest in the books and it was so nice to see them get a minute to themselves, where they aren't trying to work or were just hanging out with other people. They carved out time for themselves and they progressed their relationship and I cannot wait to see what happens with them in the next episode!

The last thing that I think I need to mention is the growth of Simon and Maia's relationship in this episode. They sort of had a few moments in this episode, and it was nice to see that part of the books come through a little bit. It makes me wonder if Jordan is going to come onto the scene soon, because we meet him in City of Fallen Angels right? But we've already met Maia, so I don't see why we couldn't meet Jordan soon too. This all means that the timing of the show is slightly off from the timing of the books, but that has been the case for a while now, so nothing new.


One of the things I am most excited about is the fact that with every episode we get one episode closer to meeting Sebastian!!! He is actually one of the worst villains I think in YA history, but that's part of the reason why I want him to be on the show so much- he is such a critical part to the story! I am also really interested to see what they do with his plot line and how it is going to differ from the books.

Thanks for reading!

WWII Books

I love almost all historical fiction, even sometime just history in general (I'm not kidding you, I mean history textbooks). One of my favorite time periods to read about is World War II. There are just so many different things that were happening at that time and it seems like no matter how much I learn about it, there is always going to be more to learn. I've read quite a bit of WWII books already, but there are still so many out there that I want to read!!

Top 5 WWII Books that I've Read

1. Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

2. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank 

3. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

4. The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Top 5 WWII Books that I Want to Read

1. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

2. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

3. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

4. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

5. Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye by Marius Gabriel

Thanks for reading!

February TBR Pile

My February TBR Pile

As usual, I am going to list a bunch of books that I plan on reading in this month, but in all reality, I may read a bunch of different books than those that are on this list.


1. The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
2. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
3. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
4. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
5. Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken
6. King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard
7. Unforgiven by Lauren Kate
8. By Your Side by Kasie West

It's actually slightly embarrassing to look at this list because I had some of these book on my January TBR list.... maybe I will make sure to read these books this month. It also might be hard to get all 8 books in because there are only 28 days in February, but I'm still going to try to do it.

Thanks for reading! 

Shadowhunters 2x05

Shadowhunters 2x05

"Dust and Shadows"

Thoughts and Feels

I think that in general, this episode made the show look a lot more like a normal TV show, which was fantastic.

One of the things that I really loved in this episode were the scenes with Alec and Magnus. Their relationship took a step toward more toward what I get the feeling from in their relationship in the books. There were two really great moments in particular. The first is when Alec just shows up on Magnus's porch and is struggling with what he did to Jocelyn. Not only is this something that Alec does in the books- he goes to Magnus all the time- but it is also a very real portrayal of Alec's character, Magnus's character, and what their relationship is like. The other moment that I really liked was when Magnus talks to Alec about Camille and they have that conversation where Alec accepts that Magnus is immortal and has cared about other people in the past. For those of us who have read the books, we know that there may be more to the immortal thing/issue, but for now, all is well.


The strangest and absolutely most bizarre and non-book canon thing about this episode were the freaky witch demon babies. It's isn't the part where she is getting mortals to bear the children to make warlocks and witches- that makes sense cause that's how it happens. It's the part where she gives Clary an elixir in order to have a half-demon half-shadowhunter baby??? Errrmmmm.... this happens twice in shadowhunter history, and as far as I know, can only happen in these two ways. One, the shadowhunter can conceive a baby with a demon if they do not have any runes. Two, if the baby is given demon blood while in the womb. So this part of the episode really bothered me and I hope that if it continues there will be a reveal like, "Oh no! The elixir actually doesn't work!" Maybe that'll be how they introduce Sebastian?

THERE WAS YIN FEN!!!! I have a whole yin fen theory on another post, but long story short, I think Izzy is taking Jem's place in the TMI plot line.


I have to mention the funeral. I thought is was so well done and with the story line of this episode in particular, it was even more moving than it would have been if Clary had just accepted it. They did an incredible job of sticking to the shadowhunter traditions that we know of in the books. Everyone was wearing white, which is the mourning color for shadowhunters. They also said ave atque vale (that may be spelled wrong), which was so incredible to see them all chant it at the same time for Jocelyn. I also think that they did a really good job with Clary's and Jace's characters in this scene, because Jace is there for Clary in a very brotherly way. Clary's emotion was also spot on. I think the moment where I started crying was when she can't finish saying her mother's name and falls into Jace. It was such a serious moment for the show and they slowed it down, took their time, and really did it justice.

I am the kind of person that almost always will notice the music in the background of TV shows and movies. I don't know if this is connected to the change in show runners, but the music in this episode was phenomenal. It was so good that I started making a Spotify playlist for the songs on the show. They also didn't have any crazy techno songs while they were training. They had a Sklyar Grey song! Which I think is perfect because while it had a little bit of that beat or sound sort of techno, it wasn't, so it wasn't super distracting while I was watching the scene. The song that really killed me in this episode was the one that was playing at the end of the show, during Jocelyn's funeral. It was so perfect in tone, sound, and words for what was happening that it finished the scene. I was already a mess, but that song put me over the edge. It was beautiful and sorrowful and an excellent choice.


I would like to see them head in a direction toward Idris, but that's mostly because one of the best villains in YA literature is introduced in that city. And I can wait for this too; I'd rather them take their time to get to this point and have it done really well then rush ahead just to meet certain characters. With the way that the episodes are changing, I am really looking forward to next Monday and how they are going to take things. I also want to know if my yin fen theory is correct. :)

Thanks for reading!

Shadowhunters Yin Fen Theory

The Yin Fen Theory

Tying Together Yin Fen in Shadowhunters with What We Know from TID and TMI

***Assume spoilers for Shadowhunters, The Infernal Devices, and The Mortal Instruments***

In this past Monday's episode of Shadowhunters, "Dust and Shadows", we see Izzy use yin fen, something that the fans of the books know to be a highly addictive and dangerous substance. My first major response was simply, why?!?!?!?! How could they do this to Izzy?!! Where did this come from?!?! Where is this going?!?! I have a theory:

Yin Fen in TID:

This is where yin fen is first introduced, where we all fall in love with Jem who by unfortunate necessity is addicted to this substance, yet it is keeping him alive. At the end of the infernal devices, Jem needs to turn into a Silent Brother in order to survive because it is the only way to "live" without needing to take yin fen or die from the withdrawal symptoms. This is very important not just to TID, but it also comes into play at the end of TMI.

Yin Fen in TMI:

It actually isn't really important in The Mortal Instruments. BUT, in City of Heavenly Fire we run into Jem again! In the last book of TMI, Jem gets the rest of the yin fen burned out of him with heavenly fire- a very key point of the plot because he was trying to heal Jace's stab wound when it happened. If another Silent Brother (or person in general) had tried to heal him, they might have died. Clary was only able to heal him with a special strong rune. 

Yin Fen in Shadowhunters:

With the new show runners, it seems like the show is trying to turn in a direction that is more like the plot of the books. Sadly, the TMI books overlap with the TID books, which have not been adapted to run with Shadowhunters the TV show. This means that our shadowhunters Tessa, Will, and Jem are not going to be known by the fans who only watch the show. I have a theory that the show is setting up for a long-haul plot line of heavenly fire being used to get the yin fen burned out of Izzy. I guess they could have they scene happen as it does in City of Heavenly Fire, but that would be totally random and unexplained by what has happened in the show. There also wouldn't be any real emotion behind it- it would be a random Silent Brother being cured, not our Jem. There would be no ethos. 

Having it affect Izzy though will make people care more. Yes Izzy is important to the arching plots of the TMI series, but she doesn't have as many major roles as the other characters do. Clary and Jace are the MAIN main characters, Alec has a huge development with Magnus, and Simon becomes the Daylighter. I think the show runners are getting ready for the heavenly fire that comes at the end of the series, and they are setting it up in a way that is similar to the books, but still unique to the show. This way it will flow nicely too, instead of being a last minute ad-on to the plot of the show for the sake of having it. 

Let me know what you think! I hope to have a review of the whole episode up sometime either tomorrow or the day after, but this was a truly great episode, and I really like what they've done so far. I hope they keep going in the direction that they are going and the show can do the books justice.

Thanks for reading!

January Wrap-Up

So I apologize for falling of the face of the virtual world for like a week..... I had a case of the flu/cold/mysterious winter illness. Without further ado:

My January Wrap-Up

Total Books Read: 13

I really exceeded my expectations for reading this month, which is good, because now I feel like blah and am not really reading right now, which is neither good nor fun. But I did get to read a lot of really good and interesting books while I was feeling good this month! If I have a review of the book, I will try something new and put a hyperlink on the word "review" for you to follow.

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare (Review)
City of Bones by ^^^
City of Ashes by ^^^
City of Glass by ^^^
City of Fallen Angels by ^^^
On the Freedom of a Christian by Martin Luther
Grounding of the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant
Poison Princess by Kresley Cole (Review)
Endless Knight by ^^^ (Review)
Raven Song by IA Ashcroft (Review)
Dead of Winter by Kresley Cole (Review)
On Liberty by John Stewart Mill
Arcana Rising by Kresley Cole 


Off the top of my head, I know that I had Twilight on my post of books to read in January, along with many others that I just straight up did not read. (whelp--- oops.) This stuff happens though, you pick up a good book ***cough Poison Princess cough*** and then you can't help but binge read the entire series. I regret nothing. Also, if you have read The Mortal Instruments, you will notice that I am missing two books on this list; again, Poison Princess is responsible and again, I regret nothing.

I'll be putting up my February TBR list sometime tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!!