Book Review: The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

There are a lot of spoilers ahead. Seriously. Not just for City of Ashes, but for the series. I warned you.

City of Ashes picks up right where City of Bones left off (I am assuming that if you are reading this review you have read the first book). Clary is living with Luke as her mother has yet to wake up and things between her, Jace, and Simon are… well, complicated. Things become even more twisted when Raphael turns Simon into a Vampire and the Inquisitor, a fierce Shadowhunter that has it out for Jace, imprisons him. Meanwhile Valentine uses the Mortal Cup to summon demons to do his bidding. While City of Bones came off as a young, young adult read it was made apparent very early on that this second installment upped the maturity level.

 I was made very uncomfortable by the revelation that Clary and Jace are siblings, so I took the liberty of Googling what came of that without spoiling anything else in the series. After discovering that they are in fact not related, revealed in a later book, I took it upon myself to fangirl hard during the Faery Court scene. Intense.

Sometimes series tend to not be able to maintain the pace set by the initial book, but City of Ashes was on par with City of Bones. Of course, as with most YA reads, it gets tedious, but Clare has a way of reeling the audience back in. 

-Elle

Book Review: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones is the first book in Cassandra Clare’s fantasy series The Mortal Instruments. Clary Fray is just your average Caucasian Hot Topic Goth who loves manga and all other far eastern things. Her best friend Simon has a life-long crush on her, but in typical young adult fiction fashion she is quite oblivious to this. One night while at a teen nightclub she witnesses the apparent murder of a guy at the hands of a group of beautiful teenagers that nobody else can see.

Fast-forward and we find out that the trio of murderers are actually Nephilim, the children of mixed angel and human blood. They are Shadowhunters who are basically the police of the underworld. After some semi-climactic fights with various demonic creatures Clary finds out that she is actually the daughter of a Shadowhunter and it is up to her to find her mother who has been taken by an unknown force.

I do not want to give away too much more of this plot. With that being said I’m going to be a hypocrite for a minute to discuss the Jace, Clary, Simon love triangle. I was pro-Jace from the moment she laid eyes on him. He was mysterious, brooding, strong willed, and tormented. Simon was… well, safe. In real life Simon would probably be whom you settle down with, but Jace is the wildcard.

SPOILERS AHEAD

 By the end of the book we find out that Clary and Jace are possibly brother and sister. All of my shipping for them felt like a lie and I was highly upset. So upset that I Googled what the eventual outcome was for that paternity test. Thank baby Jesus that they are proven to not be related later on in the series… It was getting a little too Flowers in the Attic-y for my taste.

Although this book is riddled with clichés and with descriptions of people I deliberately avoided in high school, I did enjoy this book and I am currently reading through the second installment, City of Ashes. There is a movie being released sometime late summer, early fall and I will be seeing it. Although the actors casted are not who I pictured in my head and the graphics look a little subpar, I am throwing all shade aside to be there.

-Elle

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”

Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy’ recently came to an end, but was all the hype and speculation accounted for? Yes and no. With what could have been the best movie in the series Nolan fooled around and allowed extensive plot holes and pitchy, so-so sound quality to interrupt the awesome-ness that is Batman. Without giving anything away, the momentum of the story loses speed and by the two-hour mark I was wishing it would end, but then it did and I was sad.

SPOILERS AHEAD

As far as the plot goes, Bane takes control of Gotham, bomb to explode in approximately five months… yeah. It was a combination of Knightfall, No Man’s Land, and The Dark Knight Returns. So, there were logistic issues and time frame issues and scratching-your-head-like-what-the-fuck issues, but overall the enthusiasm I had for Batman to succeed frosted over these inaccuracies in order for me to be a happy camper.

My biggest issue pre-release was Anne Hathaway playing Selina Kyle. Hathaway lacks the necessary sensuality of Kyle and although I have seen Hathaway naked, she is not sexy. She is cute, adorable, pretty, just not sexy. However she did not disappoint; true the sex appeal was non-existent and her chemistry with Batman/Wayne seemed a little forced, but it was an acceptable rendition of Kyle considering what we have been given in the past (cough, motherfucking Halle Berry, cough).

Another surprisingly wonderful addition to the TDK Trilogy was Bane’s voice… You just don’t know what I would to Bane with his mask on. Actually Bane’s rendition, though one dimensional, was pulled off quite well. I’m glad that Nolan kept to his more humanized style and did not include the Venom, but the fangirl in me was disappointed. I wanted to see him get jacked up! I also wasn’t a big fan of the Talia/Bane/ Peña Dura storyline. I guess for the general audience it was neat to see their backstories intertwine like that, but I just sat and nodded. As soon as Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) opened her mouth to speak I knew she was really Talia al Ghul. It was a womp, womp moment because again Talia is a very sensual character and Cotillard was not the woman.

Tim Drake, my bad. Dick Grayson, nope. Jason Todd, ugh no! John Blake, later to be revealed legally as Robin Blake is a combination of the first three Robins. Deduces that Wayne is Batman, dead parents, thirst for justice… yeah. Again, I get that for the general audience the announcement of the name Robin is exciting, but I would have been more excited had they chosen one of the already known ones. There is also a bit of symbolism at the end with Robin being given the coordinates for the Batcave and upon swinging in he is risen —- cut to the title, The Dark Knight Rises… could it be Knight = Night = Nightwing? No? Okay.

So overall I give The Dark Knight Rises an 8.5/10. Had they shown Bane more often with his shirt off… 11.5/10.

-E

Restaurant Review: Chronic Tacos

Redondo Beach, California

Scattered around California, and some parts of Canada, is a magical Mexican restaurant aptly called Chronic Tacos. I don’t smoke weed, but if I did this place would be heaven. Pictured is the carne asada nachos with their special sauce.

Imagine having the munchies and then making a giant platter of nachos with whatever items you can find and BAM! You have this.

I always hear a lot about their tacos, but I actually haven’t tried them yet. I need to space out my visits though since I’m on a diet and all.

-E