Sniffing A Book

5/5 City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare may have just become my favorite of the Mortal Instrument series. I really wasn't a fan of City of Fallen Angels, it felt like it didn't need to exist. But now that I've read this one it completely makes sense. Also the fact that you're not supposed to read them in order makes it more enjoyable as I could kind of see how it was supposed to be two separate series within the Mortal Instrument series almost.  This book takes place a couple of weeks after City of Fallen Angels. Jace is still missing, and no one has heard from Sebastian. But they come after Clary, and in the process, wound Luke with a poison dagger. Clary doesn't go with them, but just as Jocelyn suspected, Jace comes back for Clary again, and this time she goes with him. She goes into this new place thinking that she has the advantage because she has fairy rings to talk to Simon through, but eventually hers goes missing. It's painfully obviou...

4/5 Club Dead by Charlaine Harris picks up where Living Dead in Dallas left off. Sookie and Bill are together in Bon Temps but Bill is being really secretive. Things get even more strange when Bill tells Sookie that if anything happens to keep his computer safe and that he's going to be going to Seattle. Only later do we find out that he actually went to meet his ex, Lorena, and that he was leaving Sookie to go back to her. Not only does Sookie not find this out from Bill himself, but from Eric. And to top it off, Bill was he going to leave her and pay her off essentially, but now he's gone missing and everyone's asses are on the line. So Sookie goes on a mission with Alcide to Mississippi where they get into all sorts of trouble trying to track down Bill. But it takes Sookie getting stabbed with a stake for her to be able to get close enough to rescue bill from the King of Mississippi's compound.  There are lots of fights in this book and Sookie kee...

4.5/5 Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan picks up 9 months after The Lightning Thief and Percy has almost made it through a full year at his new school. He has a new friend that the school has taken in as their charity case as he's homeless, Tyson. But it turns out Tyson is not only a cyclops, but also Percy's brother. They reach camp to find that someone has poisoned Talia's tree and the only cure is the golden fleece. While Clarisse is given the quest to go find the fleece, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson all head out to look for Grover who's in trouble. They end up teaming up with Clarisse to get down to the Sea of Monsters, also known as the Bermuda Triangle. There, Annabeth and Percy run into all sorts of trouble with different monsters. But they eventually find Grover, and with the help of Clarisse and Tyson, rescue him and get the fleece all at once.  This was an excellent continuation of the series. It continues to build the world and expand on the p...

4 /5 In Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol 7 by Naoko Takeuchi we met the new bad guys. They're called the Death Busters. It reminded me of the ghost busters every time they said their name. We also find out that Sailor Saturn has been reborn, which can only mean doom for the planet. She's also fully possessed thanks to the help of her father. But there's still a piece of Sailor Saturn still in there as she helps Chibi-Usa reclaim the Legendary Silver Crystal. This was a good continuation of the story, and I'm excited to see what happens next with Sailor Saturn. As well as Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto, now that they're here fully and hell bent on not letting Sailor Saturn be fully reborn. It'll be interesting to see how we get Sailor Saturn without destroying the world.

4/5 Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris has Sookie and Bill head to Dallas under contract to find a missing vampire. Sookie just has one condition, the vampires must promise to behave and let the humans involved not be harmed. But they end up finding more than they were looking for when Sookie learns about Godric. Unlike the tv version, Godric is not a good being. He is self-aware enough that he knows he needs to die to protect people. More specifically, he needs to protect little boys from him. But when Sookie is kidnapped by the Fellowship of Sun, and about to be rapped, he steps in and kills her attacker, and then is convinced to let her go. An undercover shifter comes to her rescue to get her out and the vampires don't just owe Sookie anymore. Sookie returns to the sheriff of Dallas and tells him everything that happens, he hands out the punishments to fit the crime after his vampire friend is safe. But then the church attacks and kills some of the humans i...

5/5 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 6 by Naoko Takeuchi was an excellent addition to the series. It picks up with two new people from the private school showing up and starting to get close to Sailor Moon and Mamoru. At the same time, two new Guardians appear out of nowhere. The Sailor Guardians don't know who's side they're on though because they're standoffish and don't really want anything to do with the Guardians. I loved the introduction of Haruka and Michiru, and I loved that Sailor Uranus (Haruka) is gender fluid. We start to meet Hotaru but we don't really know who she is or how she'll play into the series. It was a nice change from the previous books and I liked that it brought in a new villain, and minions.

4/5 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 5 by Naoko Takeuchi takes up where we left off. Chibi-Usa goes missing and it's up to Tuxedo Mask to get her back. Instead of finding his small future daughter, he finds a woman claiming to be his daughter fully grown, and evil. This was a nice change of pace from the previous books and easy to follow. It was an interesting story line that you didn't really see coming if you haven't seen the anime. It was a tad uncomfortable watching her kidnap Mamoru and basically claim him as hers. To watch Pluto leave her post to go and help was heartbreaking because you knew in your heart that she was going to die for it. The book did make up for it (slightly) with Chibi-Usa getting her full guardian powers though!

4/5 The Selection by Kiera Cass takes place after World War 4, when the USA is no longer a thing, and to survive, Canada and Mexico join the USA to create Illéa. Illéa is a nation that blatantly separates it's people into a ranking system. The higher the number, the less money you make and the harder it is to survive. America Singer is a five, so she doesn't make a lot of money, but she at least has food on the table.   She has no intention of entering the Selection to find the next queen, but she does to make her boyfriend, Aspen, who is a six, happy. But she's chosen, so to the capital she goes. She's not happy about it, but it's a lot of money for her family and will greatly help them fend off hunger in the slow months. During her time at the palace, America and Prince Maxon become close friends and grow to like one another. But they're faced with an enemy they don't really understand, and that is very dangerous. It's obvious this could be ...

Rating: 4/5 Beastly by Alex Flinn is a modern take on Beauty and the Beast. Kyle Kingsbury is a jerk, but he was raised by a jerk, so it kind of makes sense. He gets everything he wants because of who is dad is and how handsome Kyle is. But he plays an awful practical joke on a girl named Kendra, who happens to be a witch. She curses him to look on the outside as he is on the inside. "You are ugly now, on the inside, where it matters most, and if you ever lost your good looks, I bet you wouldn't be smart or strong enough to get them back. Kyle Kingsbury, you are beastly." (8%) "Two petals, two years to find someone willing to look beyond your hideousness and see some good in you, something to love. If you will love her in return and if she will kiss you to prove it, the spell will be lifted, and you will be your handsome self again. If not, you'll stay a beast forever." (20%) After the first year passes, Kyle (now Adrian) kidnaps the gir...