30 Day Random Questions Challenge

Hey, y'all! It's once again time for a One Day Tumblr Challenge! Today, I'm doing 30 Day Random Questions Challenge. So, it's all really random questions about me, some which one might expect on an "about me" challenge, some which are a little more random. Let's get started!


Day 01 - Your middle name, and how you feel about it.

My middle name is Nicole! I don't mind my middle name, except that it's so common. But I hate when people call me by my middle name. It's my middle name for a reason. 

Day 02 - Talk about your piercings or tattoos, if you have any.

I have my lobes and my left cartilage pierced. I didn't get my lobes pierced until I was a freshman in high school, and then I got my cartilage pierced the summer after I graduated from high school.

Day 03 - Your favourite television program.

Almost too many to name. I love scripted comedy shows like The Office and Community. I also love reality competitions, like Project Runway, Top Chef, and America's Next Top Model. Also, scripted fantasy shows like Supernatural and Grimm. There are a lot more, but those are the basics. 

Day 04 - Write about your closest friend(s).

I actually live with my two best friends. We met at the very start of college, and have been best friends since our first semester here. We're super close and know each other a bit too well because we spend so much time together. 

Day 05 - Tell us your three favourite colours.

Red, teal, and purple!

Day 06 - Your favourite season, and why.

Summer! It's kinda the obvious choice, but my birthday is in the summer, I have more freedom to do my own thing, and I enjoy at least getting a little time to relax.

Day 07 - How you came across blogger, and how your life has changed since joining.

Well, I guess I just enjoyed reading blogs, and eventually I decided that blogging would be a fun hobby. My life hasn't changed a ton except for what I do with my free time. It's just a little more structured now, because I feel the need to actually do work on my blog rather than just sitting around. I typically can't even just sit and watch a show without doing something else at the same time.

Day 08 - Are you a fitness guru or a couch potato? Talk about your exercise habits.

I'm definitely a couch potato... my exercise habits are pretty nonexistent. 

Day 09 - Favourite meme at the moment.

I don't have one. I tend to avoid memes like the plague.

Day 10 - Talk about your pets, or the pets you would like to have.

I don't have any pets. From the ages of 6-17, I had a golden retriever named Sean, but we had to put him down :( That's the only pet I've had for any extended period of time. 

Day 11 - Your top three favourite bands.

My top 2 are easy- McFly and All Time Low. I'm not exactly sure what my next favorite might be. Maybe Parachute? Or Pentatonix? Or The Academy Is...? Or The Audition? I'm honestly not sure. But those two are definitely the top two.

Day 12 - Your thoughts or opinions about Harry Potter.

If you've seen many of my posts, you probably already know that I'm obsessed with Harry Potter. I grew up on the books, they're my favorite series, and they hold an extremely special place in my heart. 

Day 13 - Your thoughts or opinions about Mean Girls.

It's never been my favorite movie, but I have seen it several times, and really enjoy it. 

Day 14 - Do you have siblings? Talk about them, or talk about what it’s like to be an only child.

I don't have siblings. I really like being an only child (which is probably the effects of being an only child). I have always enjoyed having my alone time, and I think that enjoying alone time (or at least being able to cope with it) is an important quality to have to be independent in life.

Day 15 - Tell us your favourite junk food.

Almost any junk food ever. If it's unhealthy, I probably really enjoy it. 

Day 16 - Your favourite Disney Princess movie.

This one is really simple. Mulan. It's hilarious, it has great music, and it has a kick-butt heroine (which cannot be said about older Disney princess movies). 

Day 17 - Your thoughts on Ugg boots.

I don't have a problem with the shoes themselves. They don't look that great (IMO) but they do seem like they're really comfy. My problem is the fact that so many girls wear them to fit in or think that they have to wear them to look cool. 

Also, Uggs with leggings is just illogical. Uggs are for cold weather and leggings are basically tights, so they are thin and not warm at all. They don't go together, and you just look weather confused if you wear them together. 

Day 18 - Do you drink soda more often than milk?

Fun fact- I can't stand milk. Chocolate milk isn't terrible, but I can't drink plain milk. I hate the taste of milk. And I love Dr. Pepper. So, soda. Definitely soda.

Day 19 - The initials of your crush(es).

Right, because I'm actually going to talk about that on my blog.

Day 20 - Do you wear glasses? If so, what are they for?

I don't. 20/20 vision. But if I did, I would assume that I would wear them to see better. Since that's the purpose of glasses.

Day 21 - Your favourite subject to study.

Music, obviously. However, of core classes in high school, I always really enjoyed English. Also, specifically, I really enjoyed Earth and Space Science, which is probably the only science class I've ever enjoyed. 

Day 22 - Do you play a sport? Tell us about it. If not, talk about a different hobby you may have.

I don't play any sports now, but I used to in elementary school. I played basketball 2nd-6th grade, t-ball and coach pitch when I was 6-9, took tennis lessons for a few years, played volleyball 6th and 7th grade, and took horseback riding lessons. The horseback riding lessons were my favorite. If my family hadn't moved to a place where I couldn't take lessons, I probably would've continued.

Day 23 - Your opinions on Lady Gaga.

I don't have terribly strong opinions about Lady Gaga. I'm not really a fan of pop music in general, including her music. So, I don't really like her, but I also don't really care that much.

Day 24 - Tell us about the last movie you saw in theatres.

It's been a little while. I think the last one I saw was Dallas Buyers Club. I mostly saw it just because I really love Jared Leto. A lot.

Day 25 - Tell us about the last book you read (for leisure or for school).

I finished Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare yesterday, and I'm working on Clockwork Princess.

Day 26 - Name one place you would love to visit one day.

The expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I'm really excited to see what all has happened to it. It's super cool.

Day 27 - List your three favourite girls’ names and three favourite boys’ names.

Lainey, Riley, and Regan for girls (also, I like the name Joey)
Ian, Ace, and Jesse for boys

Day 28 - Your first celebrity crush.

I don't know if he was my first celebrity crush, but Nick Jonas was the first celebrity that I had a huge crush on. I was obsessed with The Jonas Brothers back in the day. 

Day 29 - Your opinions on the television show ‘Glee’.

Nothing pleasant. They popularize bad covers of good songs. And yes, the covers are always worse than the original. I don't care too much about the actual plot of the show. Just the fact that they've ruined some good songs with some bad covers. 

Day 30 - Take a picture of yourself right now and post it, or post the most recent picture you can find.

That's probably one of the most recent pictures of me. You wouldn't want to see a picture of me right now. I'm chillin' in my PJs. 

So, there you go, my 30 Day Random Questions Challenge! There are a lot of exciting things happening in the next couple weeks on From Kristen's Brain...! As I said on my Clockwork Prince post, my Clockwork Princess Discussion will probably be up either Monday or Tuesday, with the Infernal Devices series post up the following day.

Thanks for reading! Hope to see you back here soon!

Clockwork Prince Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! This time, I decided not to update as I was reading. I began doing it, but got so engrossed in the story that I just didn't want to put it down to write notes. I also realized that I was doing it more for my benefit than anything, so I decided to try it without, just to see how it works.

Book Summary

If you haven't read Clockwork Angel, don't read this! I have to spoil the events of Clockwork Angel to talk about what happens in Clockwork Prince! 

OK, so Clockwork Prince picks up not too long after Clockwork Angel. Mortmain has escaped, but is still trying to get Tessa to use her powers, while Tessa is trying to figure out what she really is. In the meantime, Benedict Lightwood challenges Charlotte for the running of the Institute, and if the Shadowhunters living in the Institute can't find Mortmain in time, Benedict will take over. It's up to Tessa and the Shadowhunters to uncover the secrets of Mortmain's past and to find him before it's too late. 

Overall Thoughts

I really loved this book. I really enjoyed learning a lot of the big secrets surrounding the series, as well as seeing the relationships between the characters develop. There was one big secret- with two separate revelations attached to it- that I just couldn't keep my mind off of throughout the entirety of the book. The things we did and didn't figure out were just so intriguing and once I got about 200 pages in, I just couldn't put it down. 

One aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was how believable the love triangle was. Typically, the love triangles in YA books are completely unbelievable, and it's overtly clear who the main character will end up with (c'mon, did anyone really think that Bella was going to choose Jacob over Edward? Really?). And while I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on who Tessa will eventually end up with, it could just as easily end up going the other way, and I really like that. Kudos to Cassandra Clare for creating an actually believable love triangle! I do think that this book was focused a little too much on the relationships, but it seems like that was a little necessary, given how vague and unresolved it was in Clockwork Angel.

I also think that the similarities between the characters in the Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments became just a bit less pronounced, specifically in the comparison between Jessamine from the ID and Isabelle in TMI. I also think that the difference between Alec from TMI and Jem from the ID is more pronounced than I originally thought. I still think that Will and Jace are fairly similar and that Tessa and Clary are pretty similar, but the comparisons between them are also slightly less pronounced than it seemed in the beginning, especially with some of the discoveries in Clockwork Prince.

So, before I get into the spoilery discussion, I'll give my rating of the book. I really, really loved Clockwork Prince. I'd say that with all of the character and relationship developments, as well as all of the secrets that were uncovered, I'd say that Clockwork Prince would have to be at least a 4.5 out of 5. I may end up giving it a higher rating (and if so, I'll say it in the series wrap-up), but I'll leave it there for now. 

Spoilery Discussion!

Ok, so William Herondale. I was really surprised when I found out about how he believed that he had a curse on him. It explained so much of his erratic behavior. At this point, I'm really interested in seeing Will in his natural state rather than forcing himself to push people away like he had been for so many years. We've only gotten a small snippet of his normal self, so I'm excited to see what he's really like. Maybe he'll be less like Jace once his cold exterior has been torn away.

I thought that Jessamine couldn't get any more unpleasant, and then... she betrays the Shadowhunters. It's not completely surprising, just because of how desperate she was to find a husband and to get away from the Institute, but I didn't expect her to betray everyone in the Institute just to get away from being a Shadowhunter. As much as she and Isabelle seemed similar in the beginning, Izzy loves being a Shadowhunter, and would never do that. I'm interested to see how this plays out in the end and if Jessie will come back to the right side, end up finding someone, or maybe even choosing to be a Shadowhunter.

The love triangle was also really interesting in the book. We can really tell that Tessa is really conflicted with whether she's in love with Jem or Will. However, it does seem to me like she's going to eventually end up with Will. As much as she seems to really care about Jem, it's obvious that she wants to be with Will more than she does with Jem. Even though Cassandra Clare has made it believable for her to end up with either, I think that she will end up with Will, and I think that she should end up with Will (As much as I personally might choose Jem). Also, what's going to happen with Jem? If Jem gets killed off, I swear I will be murderous. And it's very likely, considering the fact that he's really sick. I'm just worried for him.

Aside from Will and Jem, the best character in the book is of course, Magnus Bane. I just love that Magnus is in both the Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments. He's one of the most hilarious and interesting characters in the entire series, and I just love how he manages to turn up out of the blue with some hilarious comment. Plus the scene where he kisses Will is just absolutely hilarious. Magnus is just great.

Plot-wise, I like that we're still in the dark about what Tessa really is. I'm really intrigued with the claim that Tessa's mom was a Shadowhunter and her dad was a demon. Is it possible? Is it not? If it's true/possible, and Shadowhunter blood is dominant, then does that mean that Tessa is technically a Shadowhunter, just with a special ability? Cassandra has created a lot of suspense leading up into the last book, especially after that intriguing ending with Cecily Herondale showing up at the Institute. What brought it on? And that last battle with the huge automaton was really exciting. What's going to happen now that Nate, the Magister's only confidant that we know about, is dead? I have to hand it to Cassandra, she's done a great job getting me excited about Clockwork Princess!

Favorite Quotes

Not all of the places marked in the book are below- I picked only my absolute favorites for this post- because as you can see, I have several marks in here. Like with Clockwork Angel, the blue tabs are Will moments, the purple tabs are Jem moments, and the green tabs are everything else. I think that a couple are Magnus moments, and another is the Henry/Charlotte adorableness.

Page 33: "Reparations," said Jem very suddenly, setting down the pen he was holding.
Will looked at him in puzzlement. "Is this a game? We just blurt out whatever word comes next to mind? In that case mine's 'genuphobia.' It means an unreasonable fear of knees."
Oh, William. Always the logophile.

Page 86: Tessa snorted. "And what color do you suppose the inner depths of your soul are, Will Herondale?" "Mauve," Will said.
Yes, Will Herondale, the first color I think of when I think of you is mauve.

Page 255: "Sophie did this?" he [Will] said, not for the first time...
"Yes," Tessa said, "and do stop repeating it."
"I think I may be in love with you, Sophie," said Will. "Marriage could be on the cards."

Page 318:"I am brave," Will said. ...
"Yes, you are," Magnus said, and kissed him. It wasn't the most dramatic kiss, but Will flailed his free arm as if a bee had landed on him; Magnus had to hope Camille would assume this was passion. When they broke apart, Will looked stunned. So did Camille, for that matter.
Magnus Bane, always one with a flair for the dramatic. Gotta love him...

Page 319: "Did you just kiss me?" Will inquired. 
Magnus made a split-second decision. "No."  
"I thought-"
"On occasion the aftereffects of the painkilling spells can result in hallucinations of the most bizarre sort."
Oh, Magnus...

Page 438: Meanwhile, Will appeared to be singing a song about how he had been right about demon pox all along.
"Demon pox, oh, demon pox,/ Just how is it acquired?/ One must go down to the bad part of town/ Until one is very tired./ Demon pox, oh, demon pox/ I had it all along-/ No, not the pox, you foolish blocks,/ I mean this very song-/ For I was right and you were wrong!"
"Will!" Charlotte shouted over the noise. "Have you LOST YOUR MIND? CEASE THAT INFERNAL RACKET!..."


So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! I plan to have a One Day Tumblr Challenge post up tomorrow. Hopefully, if I read quickly enough, my Clockwork Princess post should be up either Monday or Tuesday, and my series overview post should be up the following day. The rest of my plans are a bit up in the air, but I do plan on having another chapter of The Secret Lightning Scar up on Saturday. That might change, but that's the plan for now.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all tomorrow!

Green Day- American Idiot

Hey, y'all! It's time for me to talk about another CD on my shelf! As always, I put my iTunes on shuffle, and the CD containing the first song that played is the one I'll be talking about!

Release Date: September 20, 2004

Genre: Pop Punk, Punk Rock, Alternative

Track Listing

1. American Idiot
2. Jesus of Suburbia
3. Holiday
4. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
5. Are We The Waiting
6. St. Jimmy
7. Give Me Novocaine
8. She's a Rebel
9. Extraordinary Girl
10. Letterbomb
11. Wake Me Up When September Ends
12. Homecoming
13. Whatsername

Green Day lineup:
Billie Joe Armstrong- vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica
Mike Dirnt- bass guitar
Tre Cool- drums, percussion

L-R: Mike, Billie Joe, Tre

About Green Day: 
I'm sure I don't have to tell you too much about Green Day, since they're pretty famous. They have released 11 studio albums to date. And that's not even including compilations and live CDs. They've sold millions and millions of CDs. Fun fact that you may not know: Dookie, their first big success, has actually sold 10 million copies in the US, while American Idiot, which is often considered to be their most well known and commercially successful album, has only sold 6 million in the US!

My Opinion about Green Day:
I really like Green Day, but they don't quite make my top 10 bands. They'd definitely make my top 20, and probably my top 15, but they don't quite get up there. I've found that of all the bands I like, the ones that are super commercially successful (like Green Day, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Panic! At The Disco), while I do really like those bands, they're almost never the ones that end up as my absolute favorites. IDK if I subconsciously like really popular bands less, or if the ones that are popular only among alternative fans just make better music. Although I would say that among the alternative bands, Green Day is definitely one of the most talented ones. 

About the CD:  

What could I say about this CD that you may not already know? I'm thinking NOTHING. One fun fact about the CD is that the band originally recorded an entire album, before the master tracks were stolen and they decided to start from scratch, writing new songs, which would go on to become American Idiot, which is possibly their most commercially successful album

IMHO: 
I hate to be "that" Green Day fan, but I would be lying if I said that this wasn't my favorite CD by them. Even the songs that I don't like as much are really great. Green Day created a masterpiece with this CD, and I honestly don't think they'll ever be able to outdo themselves.

As always, I'm going to give each song a rating out of 10 and then give a brief explanation of why it got that rating. 

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American Idiot- 10/10. There's a reason that this song is one of Green Day's most well-known songs. It's so true to Green Day's whole vibe and so in your face that it's hard to dislike it. Plus, it's just so fun to jam to.

Jesus of Suburbia- 10/10. Generally, I have trouble making it all the way through songs that are nearly 10 minutes long, but I could listen to this one on repeat. Granted, it is a 5 act song, a la Bohemian Rhapsody, but it's just so great, and each section is just as strong as the last.

Holiday- 9.5/10. The guitar part is just really great and recognizable. And I really love the bridge. I don't know what else to say, I just really enjoy this song! Also, the way it seamlessly transitions to Boulevard is great. 

Boulevard of Broken Dreams- 9/10. This is a really great song. It would have a higher rating, but I'm just incredibly burnt out from hearing it as many times as I've heard it. 

Are We The Waiting- 8.5/10. It's a good song, but it's not one of my favorites on the CD. I can never seem to enjoy the slower Green Day songs as much as the fast ones.

St. Jimmy- 9.5/10. This is what Green Day does best, heavy guitar, fast tempo, gritty vocals. It just works so well, and it shows off all of their strongest skills.

Give Me Novocaine- 9/10. I really like the contrast between the relaxed verses and the heavy chorus. This is one of Green Day's strongest slower songs, in my opinion. And once again, the transition into the next song is really great.

She's a Rebel- 10/10. Possibly my favorite song on the whole CD. Although it's really short, it embodies Green Day's vibe almost perfectly. It's so loud and jam-worthy. Any time it comes on, I crank up the volume. 

Extraordinary Girl- 8.5/10. Good, but not one of my favorites on the CD. I actually tend to forget that it's on the CD, so that shows how much I really pay attention to it! But when I actually listen to it, I enjoy it. 

Letterbomb- 9/10.  Surprisingly, I don't like this one quite as much as some of their other fast songs. Although, I do really like the line "It's not over 'til you're underground" as well as the tie-ins to all the other songs.

Wake Me Up When September Ends- 9.5/10. If you'd asked me a year or two ago, this probably would've gotten a 10. But like Boulevard, this one has just been played far too many times. It's a great song, I just need some distance from it, after how much I used to listen to it. 

Homecoming- 8/10. This is one of the long songs I have more trouble making it through. This is probably my least favorite song on the CD, just because it keeps going and going. Obviously, I still like it since I gave it 8, but it takes some patience for me to get through the entire song.

Whatsername- 9/10. I love the simplicity of all of the instruments' parts, and how although they're playing basically the same thing over and over, it creates a really good song.

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Favorite Songs: She's A Rebel, American Idiot, Jesus of Suburbia, and Holiday.

Least Favorite Songs: Homecoming, Are We The Waiting, and Extraordinary Girl.

Video! 

American Idiot music video

Jesus of Suburbia music video

Rating: 9.5/10. I'd say that this CD is probably one of my favorites of all-time. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close. If I were giving 1/4 points, this would get a 9.75, but since I'm not, and since 10 is getting reserved for the best best of the best, this one loses out a bit. But it's such a great CD and it is an extremely cohesive CD, which gives it major brownie points

Hope you liked my newest "The CDs on my Shelf" post! Have any questions? What are your opinions on Green Day? Let me know in the comments. If you like my posts, I'd really appreciate if you'd subscribe/follow, because it lets me know y'all are liking them! Hope you enjoyed! Comment, comment, comment! I love feedback! Thanks for reading!

April Wrap-up/ Favorites

Hey, y'all! It's time for the new series I've mentioned a couple times! I'm just testing it out right now- I'm not completely sure if it'll become an actual series and make its way into my normal rotation.

Anyway, on to my April! So, two major things happened in April for me. The first one needs a back story. Long story short, when I went to college, my parents moved a significant distance from where we lived due to my dad's job. The town they live in now is really small and the only people I really know are my parents, so there's not really much for me to do over the summer when I go "home." I had a job last summer that I didn't really enjoy, so I decided that for this summer, I'd stay at school and work.

During the school year, I have a work-study job in the library that I really enjoy, and there's always a student position open for the summer. I decided that rather than go back to a place where I don't have friends and have a job I don't necessarily enjoy, I'm going to live on campus over the summer and work in the library.

Our library is so pretty! 

This is going to be the first time I'm living by myself and paying my own rent, so this is a pretty big step for me. I'm really excited to finally be a bit more independent and taking care of myself.

So the other major thing that happened for me is that my advisor has gotten a grant to have a research assistant for the fall and has asked me to take that job. She does music/psychology research, so it's right up my alley. I'm also getting paid, and I possibly get to be a co-author on the paper. WOW. Such an exciting and awesome opportunity for me! I can't wait to get started on this.

April Faves!

Sushi

April was definitely the month of sushi. I hadn't tried sushi until March, and once I tried it, I went a bit sushi crazy. I wanted to try any kind of roll that I could, and that's what I did. My absolute favorite that I tried is the one at the very top on the left. It was a crawfish volcano roll and it was absolutely delicious. I really like the deep fried rolls, and rolls with avacado or salmon.  

The Office 

The Office has been one of my favorite shows since I was a freshman in high school. I've only seen through the second half of season 7, because it's just not the same without Michael. I want to finish up the show, so I decided to start from the beginning and work my way to the end. So, my goal this summer is to finish the entire show. So far, I'm a few episodes into season 3, which is one of my least favorites... so it may take me a while to get through to season 4... which is one of my favorites.

Dance Moms

I don't know what got me watching this show- I hadn't watched it much before this month, just off and on when I found it on TV. But when I discovered that pretty much every episode of the show is online, I went a bit crazy. I watched all of season 1 and almost all of season 2 in only a couple weeks. I guess I just started watching and wanted to see what drama would happen next, so I just kept watching. And watching. And watching...

Used Bookstores

As you could probably tell from my book haul, I spent a lot of my time in April in used bookstores. I just enjoy going through the shelves and seeing what I can discover and how inexpensively I can find it. Now I just need to make sure I don't spend all of my money on books, as much as I love them. 

So, that's about all that I had for this post! My April wasn't extremely interesting, so hopefully my May will be a little better and more interesting. You'll probably see me again tomorrow with a new post, so I'll see y'all again soon!

Clockwork Angel Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with my first summer reading challenge post! I decided to try something a little different and write this as I was reading, since this trilogy is (almost) the only thing I'm reading this summer that isn't a re-read. I made sure to note the page that I was on whenever I decided to make a comment or quote. I may or may not continue this format for everything this summer, but it did help to break up the reading and to collect my thoughts, so I might keep on doing it.

That being said, in the "As I Read" section, there are spoilers for this book (and The Mortal Instruments, perhaps) since I did update as I was reading. I'm going to put my overall opinion and book discussion down below the "As I Read" section, and there will be a non-spoilery section, so if you want to scroll down there and check it out, you can!

Book Summary

No spoilers in this section! Our main character is Tessa Gray, a teenage girl from New York City, who is travelling to London to meet up with her brother, Nate. Once she gets there, she's kidnapped by two women called the Dark Sisters, members of something called the Pandemonium Club. Tessa discovers that she has the ability to change into different people, and that The Magister- the head of the Pandemonium Club- wants to use her because of this power. She escapes and takes refuge with London's Shadowhunters- people who fight to rid the world of demons, and finds herself in the middle of a conflict which has more to do with her than she originally believed.

As I Read...

Page 86: Tessa: "Perhaps he's in love with Agatha." Will: "I hope not. I intend to marry Agatha myself. She may be a thousand years old, but she makes an incomparable jam tart. Beauty fades, but cooking is eternal."
Amen, Will Herondale. Amen.

Page 100: Jem plays the violin! Love, love love!

Page 130: "Well, she's not responding to my advances," he observed more brightly than he felt, "so she must be dead."
Will Herondale: constantly reminding me of Jace...

Page 186: I think I'm officially in love with Jem. He's such a sweetie. I just wanna give him a big hug.

Page 201: "How clearly can you see the thoughts of the dead? For instance, if I gave you an item that had once belonged to my father, would you know what he was thinking when he died?"
Jem's doing a great job of tugging at my heartstrings...
Also, his eyes are silver. I've always thought that grey/silver eyes are extremely attractive.

Page 224: "Sometimes, when I have to do something I don't want to do, I pretend I'm a character from a book. It's easier to know what they would do."
Will Herondale gets me, y'all.
But I still think I like Jem a bit more.

Page 233: MAGNUS BANE! Magnus Bane has entered the book and everything is sunshine and rainbows and glitter.

Page 268: "There was a time I thought I was a ferret," Will said, "but that turned out to be the opium haze. Did you know it had that effect? Because I didn't."
So sassy, William.

Page 272: OK, Cassandra Clare, stop being so secretive. I just want to know what's wrong with poor Jem. Gabriel said something about Jem when Will referenced opium, but I'm not sure that really makes sense. It almost seems like there's a demon inside of him, but I would think that would be causing him to act oddly, and it doesn't. Hmmm... hope it's answered in this book.

Page 275: I'm setting it down for the night, so I figured I should give my opinions so far. Unlike most of the first-time reads I've had so far this year, I find it very hard to read this series critically. I fell in love with TMI two and a half years ago, and it's been a long time since I've dived into this world. Reading the ID is almost nostalgic, even though it's set in a different time with different (but similar) characters. I have a feeling that although better series exist, probably with better writing, plot, whatever, all of the books set in the Shadowhunter world will probably continue to be among my all-time favorites because of how head-over-heels I fell in love with TMI upon a first read.

That being said, I'm really enjoying Clockwork Angel. I wasn't so sure at the beginning, but once we fully delved into the Shadowhunter world (nephilim, vampires, and warlocks- oh my!), that "Cassandra Clare book" feeling hit and it felt very familiar. Not in the way that it's unoriginal or anything, but rather that I understand this world and feel at home in it. It was especially nice to see characters who overlap from TMI, such as Magnus and Camille. Although I daresay I wasn't terribly excited to see Camille.

Page 293: Kudos to Cassandra Clare for waiting until almost 300 pages in to really get into the romance. The romance in so many of the books I've read lately has felt like instalove, whether because it was actually instalove or because it seemed rushed. But Cassie's taking her time, and I like that.

Page 307: Now I'm really curious why everyone seems to love Will Herondale. He's cool and all, but Jem is so sweet . And he plays the violin.

Page 338: Finally! Finally, we’re going to learn about Jem’s illness!

Page 340: Addicted to demon poison… wasn’t expecting that one. But my guess wasn’t terribly far off!

Page 399: Well that’s a plot twist if I do say so myself… Didn’t see that one coming. We’d gotten so used to the idea that de Quincey is the Magister. It’s pretty clear to me at this point, now that we know that de Quincey is not the Magister, that it’s actually Mr. Mortmain. And if it’s not, then we at least know that he’s a villain, because he claimed de Quincey was the Magister, as well as claiming that Mrs. Black was alive again. But we’ll see what happens. 

And... that's where I stopped taking note of things because I got so into the book that I simply couldn't put it down. So much happened, and it was just so crazy. Anyway, on to the non-spoilery overview.

Overall thoughts...

Now that I'm getting into this series, a lot of the hype surrounding it is surprising to me. Everyone has said that it's way better than The Mortal Instruments, but so far I'm just not seeing how it's leaps and bounds better. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely loving this series so far. I'm just a little surprised by the fact that everyone seems to think it's so much better. So far, I think the books are on the same level. But who knows, the second and third books could be even better.

That being said, just as I loved The Mortal Instruments series, I'm loving The Infernal Devices. At first, I was a bit annoyed at some of Tessa's antiquated tendencies even though they were common for the time, but once we got into it, that went away a bit. I've said this before, but I love this Shadowhunter world that Cassandra Clare has created and it's always a pleasure to dive back into it.

Also, although I really like Will Herondale, I once again am surprised by the intense love he gets on booktube. Compared to Jace from TMI (the obvious comparison, here), I still prefer Jace. Honestly, I'm really loving Jem a lot more than Will. Obviously, there's a lot more to find out about Will, so I guess I could change my mind, but I think Jem has sufficiently stolen my heart.

One thing I did have a small problem with is that Cassandra Clare has kinda created the same dynamic between the main characters in this book as she did in City of Bones. We have our female protagonist, who is new to the Shadowhunter world and is trying to learn about it, while simultaneously worried about a family member. We have one lead male- sarcastic, charming, witty, moody- but who seems very deep and has some family issues. Then, there's our other lead male- a bit quiet and unassuming, parabatai with the other lead male. Finally, we have our secondary female, who is very feminine and who we immediately dislike (but will probably come to love at some point). I love the dynamic between these characters, but the similarities are undeniable, and it seems really unoriginal to practically write the same characters again. But yet, I love them.

Another small complaint is that I think Cassandra assumed that the reader would have already read The Mortal Instruments. While I definitely think that the reader gets a good sense of the Shadowhunter world, I don't think that it was explained as thoroughly as in TMI. But I have a feeling that most people wouldn't pay too much attention to that.

As I was reading, I marked parts that I really liked. The blue sticky notes are Will moments (mostly an especially sassy comment), the purple ones are Jem moments (mostly places where I exclaimed, "Aww!"), and that one green one that you can barely see is where Magnus Bane shows up. Because it's Magnus.

OK, before spoilers, I'll give my overall opinion. I really enjoyed Clockwork Angel. I loved the characters and the world and the plot, despite a few minor flaws. Overall, I'd have to give it 4.5 stars out of 5.  

Spoilery Discussion!

I almost didn't do a spoilery section, but I did want to talk about those twists near the end. 

Honestly, I didn't see the twist coming at all. Usually, I can see what's coming, but when it was revealed that de Quincey wasn't the Magister, I was really surprised. Although only a couple characters told us that he was the Magister, it was extremely easy to accept, and when we were told otherwise, I was surprised. As I mentioned in my last "As I Read" update, I did figure out what was going on immediately upon being told that de Quincey wasn't the Magister. However, I still failed to realize that Nate betrayed his sister. That one surprised me too.

I was also surprised when we realized that there's a good possibility that Tessa can't have children, because I was pretty sure she'd end up with Will and that we'd learn a bit about her great-great-great grandchild in TMI (not going to go into that, in case you haven't read TMI). However, since we really aren't sure if she's truly a warlock, maybe she can have children? Who knows...

So Tessa, Will, and Jem. I wouldn't be surprised if Tessa and Will ended up together. But seriously, Jem is the one she should end up with. I really, really, really love Jem. As seen in my book marks, there were so many parts where Jem was just so sweet. He's sarcastic and funny like Will, but he's just so sweet. I want to give him a big hug.

OK, so that's all for this summer reading challenge post! So, the preliminary plans for the posts this week are: CDs On My Shelf will probably be out on Thursday. My As I Read for Clockwork Prince will probably be out Friday or Saturday. My One Day Tumblr Challenge post will be on whichever of those two days that the Clockwork Prince post isn't on. And that's about as far as I've gotten. 

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all in a few days!

The Secret Lightning Scar- Chapter 7 [A Harry Potter FanFic]

“Carrie?”

“Carrie!”

A frantic voice cut through the darkness as I began to re-gain consciousness. Everything hurt. All I could see were blurs. A hand touched my cheek briefly, but was suddenly gone.

I was lifted from the ground by two arms and cradled against a chest. We were moving quickly and I felt myself lightly bouncing up and down, my entire body experiencing crippling pain.

“Carrie? Can you hear me? Hang on, Carrie. You’re going to be OK,” the voice said again. “Please be OK,” he said more softly.

I felt myself continuing to move, but hadn’t any idea of what was going on, the pain searing every inch of my body. Finally, I felt something soft below me and I slipped away again.

I opened my eyes to see that I was lying in a bed in the hospital wing. My body ached, but the intense pain had disappeared. A hand was tightly grasping mine, the thumb massaging the back of my hand in a circular motion. I looked up to see Draco sitting by my bed, his forehead resting in his free hand.

“Draco,” I said, my voice coming out weaker than I expected. He looked up so quickly that I wondered how his neck didn’t snap.

“You’re awake,” he said breathlessly, although I could tell he’d been sitting for a while.

“How long have I been asleep?” I asked.

“Only a couple hours,” he replied, his eyes showing deep concern. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I remember blacking out,” I said cryptically, wanting to avoid the cause of my black out.

“I saw you flying toward the ground, and at first I thought you’d seen the snitch, but then you went limp and I couldn’t get to you in time-” his voice cracked and I saw tears in his eyes. His voice quieted, “I was so scared.”

“There wasn’t anything you could’ve done. You got me here quickly and that’s all I could ask of you. Thank you,” I said earnestly, squeezing his hand.

He spoke in a soft, strained voice. “I just wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I hadn’t been able to get you help in time.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Draco,” I said. I continued on, hoping to stop him from continuing to feel guilty. “So what did Madame Pomfrey need to fix?”

“You broke a few bones and hit your head pretty hard. She said that it was an easy fix, but that you’d probably be pretty sore for a while. Are you feeling ok?”

“Well, she was right about feeling sore. But other than that, I’m OK,” I replied.

“Good,” Draco replied with a relieved smile. “I’m glad that’s it.”

Suddenly, the doors of the hospital wing flew open and Harry rushed in, his eyes searching the room before falling upon me.

“Carrie,” he said breathlessly, hurrying to the other side of my bed. “I just heard what happened. Are you ok?”

Before I could answer, Draco stood and said, “I’ll let you two be alone.”

“Ok. Thank you, Draco. Really,” I said. With a smile, he leaned over to kiss my forehead. He gave my hand a little squeeze and then turned and walked out the doors.

“How are you feeling?” Harry said urgently.

“I’m alright. Draco said that Madame Pomfrey had to mend a couple of broken bones, but I’m mostly just sore,” I replied.

“So what happened? I know you fell off your broom, but I also know my best friend a bit too well to believe that you just fell,” Harry said. My heart started beating a little too quickly. Hiding the truth from Draco had been fairly easy- he wasn’t fully aware of all of the nuances of my facial expressions. Harry, however, was likely to be impossible to keep in the dark.

“I’m not sure,” I began. “I blacked out, but I don’t know what happened. Maybe I flew too high or too fast. I don’t know.”

Harry’s eyes narrowed, clearly examining my facial expression. “You’re lying,” he decided. “What actually happened?”

“I told you,” I replied. “I blacked out.”

“There’s no way you were flying fast enough or high enough to make you black out,” Harry replied. “Why won’t you just tell me what really happened?” I sighed, knowing he wouldn’t accept any lies I might try to throw at him.

“I can’t tell you,” I said, avoiding his analytical stare.

“You can tell me anything, Carrie. You know that,” Harry said quietly. I looked back up at him and saw that his eyes had softened.

I shook my head. “Remember how you couldn’t tell me what you were doing this summer?” I asked. “It’s like that. I can’t tell you.” Harry’s brow furrowed, an expression of concern on his face. “I’m alright, Harry. I really am. Don’t worry about me,” I said.

“I have to be worried about you. It’s my job,” he said. “But if you’re really alright…”

“I am. I promise,” I interjected. He smiled.

“You weren’t trying to get rid of Draco, were you? Because there are several much better ways to get out of a date. No need to fall off your broom,” he joked.

“No,” I replied. “The date was actually going pretty well until that point. I was winning.”

“Of course you were,” Harry smirked.

I rolled my eyes. “Just go and ask Madame Pomfrey if I’m allowed to leave,” I said.

As it turned out, I was allowed to leave, so Harry and I made our way through the castle and up to the common room. Surprisingly, it was fairly empty and Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be found. Harry and I both sat down on the couch, Harry with his legs outstretched onto the coffee table, and me with my back on the armrest, legs stretched across his.

“So the date was going well until your incident?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, we were having a lot of fun,” I said with a smile.

“I never would have thought you’d fall for Malfoy,” Harry chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I’m not falling for him,” I replied, rolling my eyes, but uncertain if I really meant what I’d said.

“That’s such a lie. We both know that’s a lie,” Harry said.

“I- I don’t know anymore. I’m still not sure how I feel,” I said, shaking my head.

“Carrie has a boyfriend,” Harry teased, the smirk not budging from his face.

“How old are we? You’re just jealous,” I laughed. “We need to find you a girlfriend.”

Harry chuckled. “Nope, I’m pretty sure I’m doing fine on my own,” he replied.

“I’m actually kinda serious,” I said. “What about Ginny? The two of you seemed to have a bit of a thing before all the stuff that happened last year.”

“It’s been a long time,” Harry said, now slightly frowning. “I’m sure she’s moved on at this point. She’s always dating someone.”

“As far as I know, she’s not dating anyone right now,” I informed him. “You’d better make a move before someone else does.” Harry raised an eyebrow.

“And who said I wanted to make a move?” he asked.

“I did,” I replied. “You still have feelings for her, don’t you?”

“I don’t even know at this point,” he shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Well, do you like anyone else? It’s not like you’re only allowed to date Ginny,” I said.

He shook his head. “No,” he said. “But I’m not sure I want to be in a relationship right now  either.”

“Then don’t,” I shrugged. “It was just a suggestion. It’s not like you’re supposed to obey everything I say blindly.”

He raised an eyebrow again. “Are you sure about that? Sometimes I wonder about that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

“But maybe you’re right. If I don’t ask her out soon, someone else will,” he said, contemplating his options.

“And you wouldn’t want to lose her,” I said. He gave a halfhearted nod and looked in my direction, clearly lost in thought.

“Well, I’ll think about it,” he said, seeming to pull himself back into reality.

“Good,” I smiled, glad that he was at least considering dating again.

He looked back at me with a small smile on his face, but I could tell something was bothering him. Did it have to do with what he had been doing over the summer? Was he trying to figure out what I wasn’t telling him? Whatever it was, it got me worrying about him all over again…

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I hope y'all enjoyed chapter 7 of The Secret Lightning Scar! Chapter 8 is coming soon! Hope y'all are excited for the next section, because I'm excited for y'all to read it! See you back here soon!

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