It is not a secret that, here, at The Bucket List love the Mortal Instruments series.  Way back in 2011, we brought you an awesome City of Bones discussion.  We freaking love anything that Cassandra Clare gives us.  As much as the City of Bones movie was okay, I always knew it had to be a TV show.  That way, I feel that we could get more of the book and focus less on the bad effects.  It was a win win when I heard there was going to be a TV show.  Titled the Shadowhunters, it premiered last night.  Much to my dismay, it wasn't as great as I hoped.  Actually, it turned out to be incredibly lame.  Here's why:

Shadowhunters is Supernatural meets a procedural cop show.

Non subtle things that happened in the book become super subtle in the show.

You could play a drinking game with how many times Jace was confused in the first episode.

Jace is supposed to be a confident, borderline cocky jerk the first time we meet him.  Instead he turns out to be a really confused guy who doesn't know how to roll with things.  Yep, Clary can see you through your Glamour. Confused. Yep, she's been drawing runes in her sketchbook. Confused.  Come on, Jace.  This isn't you.

Isabelle does a sexy dance.

Did not see that one coming.  The gang got all the demons in one place and closed the curtain (even though they were glamoured). The demons are in one place-- what are you waiting for? Oh, the boys mutter something like, "Isabelle, you're up." Like, Isabelle, we only hang out with you only for your looks and how you do a sexy dance before killing demons.  What was the point!

It would all be somewhat bearable IF the script wasn't so cheesy.

It's strange how Clary's sketchbook shows up everywhere.

It's the first episode and Jace has already gotten Clary naked.

Clary's mom, Jocelyn turns out to be a real jerk.

Did it really matter where Valentine is hiding out?

The Institute turns out to be a sort-of police station for Downworlders.

There were so many people just bustling about.  It was complete with a white board with the latest Downworlder crimes and whatnot.  And not even a sign of Hodge, if you can believe it.
Now, don't get me wrong.  I didn't focus on all the strange and just bad things going on in that first episode.  There were some fabulous things happening too.  (Can we please talk about how Simon and how is awesome in every way?)

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori. 
Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move. 
Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her. --Goodreads

So, while I am impatiently watching the news for the ball to drop in Times Square, I want to tell you about the year in review.

January:
Entered 2 challenges that I sadly did not complete, but had fun entering and talking about them anyway (and read some awesome books that I would have not otherwise!)
2011 Debut Author Challenge
2011 Off the Shelf Challenge

Held The Bucket List’s first giveaway (baby steps!!)

February:
Celebrated Valentine’s Day with a strange twist and talked about love triangles

100 amazing people followed the site

Started Cover Discovered, a feature where I rant about the latest book covers I have found.

March:
Interviewed best-selling author, Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi

April:
Hosted the City of Bones book discussion

The Bucket List’s first guest post

May- June:
Top 5 Fictional Proms

My Dream Library

July:
Borders closes :(

August- December:
I went to college and left the blogosphere, besides a few posts here and there but I plan to be back on the air for spring semester.

I started this site in August of 2010 and it was awesome to see it turn one year old this year. You have been with me throughout all of it and I appreciate you all. You all are fantastic and great and I want to give you a huge, THANK YOU, for keeping me motivated in continuing showing you all about the great books I discover. I hope you stick around for another year of fun because this year will be even better than last year.


What will 2012 bring: hopefully it will not bring the end of the world, because The Bucket List will only get better with age. I hope to be online more than I was this semester, so I will definitely have more posts for you to read.

There will be more great giveaways that you could enter.

I am looking into going to BEA this year, something I have never done before, so if you have been, I would love to hear your experiences of the convention.

Since last year’s book discussion was on City of Bones to celebrate the release of City of Fallen Angels, I want to do this year’s book discussion on Fallen to celebrate the release of Rapture. Do you think this would be a good idea? If interested in participating in any way, please contact me HERE.

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the City of Bones Book Discussion! I’m so glad you could join me! This is the LAST week that I’m bringing on some awesome-ness to spice up your life! That’s right, I’m about to get the party started, but I have to set a few ground rules first (*trying to make a stern face*). This is how each week will play out:

• Each week I will do a detailed discussion of the plot of that week’s chapters (every Monday!). I will also highlight characterization, quotes, favorite parts, random scenes, and ask/answer questions.
• Argh, thar be spoilers ahead, matey!! While each week will be spoiler-free for the next chapters in the book, all of the previous chapters I’ve read will become free game. So to keep this discussion fun for readers who have not read the amazing series try to keep your comments spoiler-free, from the next chapters, as possible.
• At the end of each post, questions will be asked. Feel free to participate every week! We’d love to hear your opinion but you don’t have to answer everything. The questions are only there as guidelines but I’d love to read your tangents on that week’s chapters. And if you feel totally inspired about this book, as much as I am, you could always discuss your own opinion in a guest post: just fill out the form HERE.

For an entire schedule of our discussion (or just in case you’ve missed a post), you can go HERE. And I am also giving away a copy of City of Bones, to enter the contest, go HERE. Finally, on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. *drumroll*

Chapter 23: Valentine

Can you believe it's almost the end?  My heart's pounding, this is where everything goes down.  The entire title is called Valentine, that totally tipped me off.  Especially because we just left off where Jace is under the impression that he is Valentine's son.  WHAT?!  Clary is in utter disbelief, while Jace plays the introduction game that leaves another, oh-no-he-didn't-moment.  "This is Clary...  She's a friend of mine" (435).  I was sure that Jace and Clary were between the friend station, but not quite dating.  What happened to that fact, Jace? 

But anyway, Clary eventually realizes that Jace and her are brother and sister, which I think must deserve another WHAT moment.  Valentine keeps that fact a secret from Jace for awhile.  Clary tries to put some sense into Jace that Valentine is a bad man.  Valentine has been giving Jace lies for most of his life.  It made both Clary and I frustrated with Jace.  "Don't talk to my father like that" (439).  Valentine explains how Wayland was never really Jace's father, how he'd staged his own death a second time to run from the Clave, how he'd had to make Jace believe he was dead.  Valentine tries to make it look like Jocelyn is the bad guy.  Not true.

Of course, Jace believes every word.  So when Valentine suggests they all take the portal to Idris, Jace tries to put some sense into Clary (who seems more sensible than Jace at the moment), "Yeah, that sounds like a perfect family reunion" (444).

Then Luke shows up.  Now it's a party.  Luke and Valentine get in a heated argument about Jocelyn and the dagger that Valentine gave Luke to kill himself.  Then Valentine and Luke really start fighting, which isn't very fair considering Luke had to battle Forsaken downstairs and Valentine got to sit on his bum, talking with Jace and Clary.  Valentine is about to do some real damage to Luke when Jace saves the day and tells his father to leave.  Valentine is not used to people giving him attitude, "I will not take orders from a child" (456).  Finally Jace starts to see the light when Valentine admits his plans of what he had done to Jocelyn and her parents.  Jace wants to go to Idris with Valentine to retrieve the Mortal Cup.  Valentine walks through the Portal, a mirror from across the room.  The mirror shatters while Jace is standing there, almost in shock.  He picks up a piece of the mirror, where he can still see part of Idris, his home from long ago, in and sits down and bows his head.  Clary comforts him, but there's not much she can do.  He whispered her name over and over.

Epilogue: The Ascent Begins

Clary's mom is in a mundane hospital, trying to be cured.  The doctors have no clue neither does the Silent Brothers.  "This was no ordinary coma-- no injury, no lack of oxygen, no sudden failure of heart or brain had caused it" (471).  Luke has been staying with Jocelyn and Clary would visit during the day.

Clary visits for a while, but then orders Simon (her driver- driving Eric's van) to take her to the Institute.  She hasn't been back since that night.  Isabelle and Church greets her at the door.  Isabelle comes to the conclusion that Clary is sort of part of the gang, "I guess I resented you at first, but I realize now that was stupid" (477).  Alec even apologizes for being a total jerk to her.  He leads Clary to the greenhouse where Jace is. 

Jace is still obsessing over the small piece of mirror he took.  He can still see Idris in the reflection.  Clary sympathizes and questions the importance of Idris.  She then suggests that Jace should come with her.  She wants him to try to talk to Jocelyn, maybe that would wake her up from her coma, hearing her son's voice.  he agrees to go for Clary and leads her to the roof where he is keeping a vampire motorcycle.  Jace and Clary drive it to the hospital, "but this time Clary kept her eyes open, so that she could see it all" (485).  (The End of City of Bones.)

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the City of Bones Book Discussion! I’m so glad you could join me! Over the next two weeks, I’m bringing on some awesome-ness to spice up your life! That’s right, I’m about to get the party started, but I have to set a few ground rules first (*trying to make a stern face*). This is how each week will play out:

• Each week I will do a detailed discussion of the plot of that week’s chapters (every Monday!). I will also highlight characterization, quotes, favorite parts, random scenes, and ask/answer questions.
• Argh, thar be spoilers ahead, matey!! While each week will be spoiler-free for the next chapters in the book, all of the previous chapters I’ve read will become free game. So to keep this discussion fun for readers who have not read the amazing series try to keep your comments spoiler-free, from the next chapters, as possible.
• At the end of each post, questions will be asked. Feel free to participate every week! We’d love to hear your opinion but you don’t have to answer everything. The questions are only there as guidelines but I’d love to read your tangents on that week’s chapters. And if you feel totally inspired about this book, as much as I am, you could always discuss your own opinion in a guest post: just fill out the form HERE.

For an entire schedule of our discussion (or just in case you’ve missed a post), you can go HERE. And I am also giving away a copy of City of Bones, to enter the contest, go HERE. Finally, on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. *drumroll*

Chapter 21: The Werewolf's Tale

Luke is about to tell us his story, so shhh... all gather around.  It's storytime!  Jocelyn, Luke, and Valentine all went to school together.  They grew up together.  Valentine helped Luke along in his studies, while Jocelyn fell in love with Valentine's kind heart (haha).  Valentine had an idea though.  He shared it with his group of friends, including other people he helped in school.  He believed that the Clave should creat more Shadowhunters because "we were a dying breed" (390). 

Luke didn't know then but "now I think he was building himself a cult" (390).  After Valentine's dad died by a werewolf attack, he changed.  He seemed always angry and not himself.  Jocelyn admitted this to Luke when she first discovered she was pregnant.  "She had grown afraid of her husband" (392).  Valentine only laughed at the accusations thrown at him.  That night Luke and Valentine searched out the same werewolves that had killed Valentine's father.  Luke got bit and Valentine gave him only one option.  Luke must end his own life, rather than become a Downworlder.  Luke refused and went his own way, joined a pack as leader.

Valentine had big plans for the Accords.  "Never had the Hall of the Angel seen such bloodshed" (396).  Luke tried to stop Valentine, but seemed to only make things worse.  Valentine escaped, setting the building to flames as well as Valentine's own home which housed Jocelyn's (once again pregnant) and Valentine's first born, Jonathon Christopher. 

Jocelyn and Luke fled Idris, the land of Shadowhunters.  Jocelyn went her own way, but Luke felt incomplete without her.  He left his wolf pack to search for Jocelyn, where he found her in New York.  "The rest you know" (402).

Chapter 22: Renwick's Ruin

So now Clary and readers are up to speed-- we must find Valentine.  He has Jace and Clary's mother and now the Mortal Cup.  Valentine is evil; he needs to be stopped. 

Clary and Luke must have some detective skills going on here because they find the whereabouts of Valentine's super-secret (not so secret anymore) lair.  Clary calls Simon to research the location: Renwick's used to be a hospital for the insane, now it's just a ruin.  As soon as they are all ready to go, getting armed for battle (even though Luke doesn't even ask if Clary has a weapon), they go to Renwick's with Luke's new wolf pack.   

You can feel that this is where it's about to all go down.  (Sorry for the slang, but just the pacing of the novel has me on edge at this chapter.)  Renwick's is described as being a castle, even though from the outside (the glamour) it looks like a dump.  The Forsaken watch the boundary, making sure no one gets in (or maybe out) of Valentine's hideout.  The wolf pack fight, while Luke and Clary make their way to the entrance in search of Valentine.  They find Jocelyn first, who doesn't look very well.  Blackwell and Pangborn show up and Luke doesn't seem too happy about that.  He throws a syringe at Blackwell (what a greeting).  Clary runs before it gets too ugly. 

She finds Jace.  He looked, well, nice.  "He was dressed in a loose white shirt and dark pants, his scrubbed hair falling all around his face, pale gold and flyaway" (432).  Valentine shows up just when Jace was going to reveal to Clary what was really going on.  Clary is not too happy about the interruption and goes for the dagger at her waist.  Jace stops her and introduces Valentine, "This is my father" (434).


REMEMBER: Please try to give a minimum of spoilers unless it is about the chapters we have read already. Also, every comment (one per post) on our discussion posts gives you extra entries if you are entered to win a copy of City of Bones.

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the City of Bones Book Discussion! I’m so glad you could join me! Over the next four weeks, I’m bringing on some awesome-ness to spice up your life! That’s right, I’m about to get the party started, but I have to set a few ground rules first (*trying to make a stern face*). This is how each week will play out:

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the City of Bones Book Discussion! I’m so glad you could join me! Over the next five weeks, I’m bringing on some awesome-ness to spice up your life! That’s right, I’m about to get the party started, but I have to set a few ground rules first (*trying to make a stern face*). This is how each week will play out:

• Each week I will do a detailed discussion of the plot of that week’s chapters (every Monday!). I will also highlight characterization, quotes, favorite parts, random scenes, and ask/answer questions.
• Argh, thar be spoilers ahead, matey!! While each week will be spoiler-free for the next chapters in the book, all of the previous chapters I’ve read will become free game. So to keep this discussion fun for readers who have not read the amazing series try to keep your comments spoiler-free, from the next chapters, as possible.
• At the end of each post, questions will be asked. Feel free to participate every week! We’d love to hear your opinion but you don’t have to answer everything. The questions are only there as guidelines but I’d love to read your tangents on that week’s chapters. And if you feel totally inspired about this book, as much as I am, you could always discuss your own opinion in a guest post: just fill out the form HERE.

For an entire schedule of our discussion (or just in case you’ve missed a post), you can go HERE. And I am also giving away a copy of City of Bones, to enter the contest, go HERE. Finally, on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. *drumroll*

Chapter 17: The Midnight Flower

This has got to be my most favorite chapter of the entire book.  Jace and Clary go up to the greenhouse to hold a picnic in celebration of Clary's birthday.  They both share birthday stories of when they were small, Jace wanting to take a bath in pasta (it was "Slippery" (310)) and Clary wanted to go around the dryer.  While they rambled on, "suddenly one of the tightly closed buds began to quiver and tremble.  It swelled to twice its size and burst open" (312).  The flower only blooms at midnight, a sight so beautiful that Jace wanted to share with Clary.

"Happy birthday, Clarissa Fray" (312).  Jace gives her a witchlight as a present.

Clary finally works up the courage to ask what Simon wanted to know before, "Have you and Isabelle ever-- dated?" (314).  Jace just saw Isabelle as a friend, nothing more.  Then, Jace suggests they go down from the greenhouse.  They both get up to leave.  She moved away from the knife that was on the floor and "he put a hand out to steady her, just as she turned to apologize, and then she was somehow in the circle of his arm and he was kissing her" (315).  Wow, that's all I have to say.  It was a very adorable kiss, until Hugo, Hodge's bird, decides to ruin it by making his entrance.

They make it down from the greenhouse; Jace walked her to Clary's bedroom door.  Jace starts kissing her again (yeah, it was a steamy chapter) and Simon walks out of his bedroom.  "In future, Clarissa... it might be wise to mention that you already have a man in your bed" (317).  Well now there's a situation.  Simon, of course, gets upset.  He doesn't like how Clary gives her googly-eyes all to Jace, he thought she was better than that.  Everyone can tell he's just jealous.  "I've been in love with you for ten years, so I thought it seemed like time to find out whether you felt the same about me.  Which, I guess, you don't" (320).  He walks out on her to return home.  Clary mopes in her bedroom, upset with both boys.

She looks at her sketchpad, running her hand across one of the pages, Jace with wings.  "Her fingers had touched not dry paper but the soft down of feathers" (322).  She draws a tea cup this time, sketching a rune in the corner.  She is able to grab it and pull it from the paper, having the cup form into something solid.  She may be on to something here.

Chapter 18: The Mortal Cup

Now readers get to see Jace's side of the story, sort of.  Jace is in his room, skulking.  Clary was knocking on his door, demanding to be let in and show him something.  "It made sense after what he'd said to her.  Words were weapons... and he'd wanted to hurt Clary more than he'd ever wanted to hurt a girl before" (324).  Clary got Jace to shut up for a second, while she explained that she may have a clue to where the Mortal Cup was hidden. 

She shows him the coffee cup that comes out of the sketchpad and explains that this was how her mother must have done it.  She drew the deck of cards for Madame Dorothea; must have hidden the Mortal Cup in one of the tarot cards in her apartment. 

Jace tells everyone to meet with them and to talk what to do next.  They may know where the cup is, this is a big deal.  Alec does not see it that way.  He wants to give the situation to the Clave, he doesn't want to put Jace in any danger.  "We're all in this together" (329) and they're going.  They just need a ride.

Clary grudgingly calls Simon, asking him to give them a ride in Eric's van.  He accepts but doesn't seem too happy about it. 

Clary and the gang make their way to Dorothea's.  They leave Simon in the car, making way for an easy get-away or maybe they just don't want to have him around :( .  Clary confirms to Dorothea that Valentine had, indeed, taken Clary's mother and he wants the Mortal Cup.  Clary explains that the Cup is in one of the tarot cards.  Dorothea doesn't really believe her and thinks she is calling her a liar.  She gives Clary the card to make her look a fool but instead, with the use of Jace's stele, Clary grabs within the card and takes out the Cup.  The card "turned to ash that sifted away between her fingers to the carpeted floor" (348).

If you could draw the exact rune that Clary did on any painting, that made it come to form, what painting would it be?

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Every Wednesday participants choose a book that they are "waiting on" or hasn't been released yet. This week I'm waiting for some Will and Jem:

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: December 6, 2011
Pages: 496
Per Order It: Amazon

"What desperation drove you to me, in the middle of the night, in a rainstorm? What has changed at the Institute? I can only think of one thing..."

In Clockwork Prince, with Mortmain vanished and the clock counting down on how long Charlotte can keep control of the Institute away from Benedict Lightwood, Will, Jem and Tessa must dig into Mortmain’s past to predict what he will do in the future. But secrets about Mortmain aren’t all they find buried — Tessa begins to uncover the truth about her own birth, and the ghosts of Will’s past return to haunt him. As Tessa grows closer to Jem, and Will is driven further toward the brink of madness by jealousy and guilt, will they discover the truth in time to halt the next phase of Mortmain’s evil plan? --Goodreads

Would you look at that up there?  The cover has finally come out.  I would be writing a Cover Discovered post all about it, but I'd rather talk about how much I want this book to come out instead of just how pretty that cover is.  Because the cover is.  It's pretty.  I really don't know what I was expecting when I found a rumor that the cover was coming out today, I didn't know what it would look like.  To me, my first impression was that this cover looks too much like the cover of a video game rather than the book I know and love.  However, no matter my feelings on the cover (but I would love to know what you think about the cover) I'm still going to be waiting in line on December 6, patiently waiting to buy my copy of Clockwork Prince.  Oh, I can't wait!

So what are you waiting for?  And how do you like that cover up there?

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the City of Bones Book Discussion! I’m so glad you could join me! Over the next six weeks, I’m bringing on some awesome-ness to spice up your life! That’s right, I’m about to get the party started, but I have to set a few ground rules first (*trying to make a stern face*). This is how each week will play out:

• Each week I will do a detailed discussion of the plot of that week’s chapters (every Monday!). I will also highlight characterization, quotes, favorite parts, random scenes, and ask/answer questions.
• Argh, thar be spoilers ahead, matey!! While each week will be spoiler-free for the next chapters in the book, all of the previous chapters I’ve read will become free game. So to keep this discussion fun for readers who have not read the amazing series try to keep your comments spoiler-free, from the next chapters, as possible.
• At the end of each post, questions will be asked. Feel free to participate every week! We’d love to hear your opinion but you don’t have to answer everything. The questions are only there as guidelines but I’d love to read your tangents on that week’s chapters. And if you feel totally inspired about this book, as much as I am, you could always discuss your own opinion in a guest post: just fill out the form HERE.

For an entire schedule of our discussion (or just in case you’ve missed a post), you can go HERE. And I am also giving away a copy of City of Bones, to enter the contest, go HERE. Finally, on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. *drumroll*

Chapter 15: High and Dry

Wolves just barge into Hotel Dumort like they own the place.  Which they don't.  It must be a serious situation when wolves overstep their boundaries and come into vampire lairs.  "Something must have happened.  This is bad.  Very bad" (281). 

The wolves want Clary, for some reason.  That can't be good.  Jace and Clary and the rat Simon make a run for it.  They are trapped by a locked or rusted-shut door that Jace can't even open.  He tries to break down the door by throwing himself against it.  "My shoulder will never be the same.  I expect you to nurse me back to health" (284).  The wolves come for Clary, running up to her.  Clary throws a knife and it hits the mark.  I was impressed.  Jace finally gets the door open and they run up the stairs that leads to the roof.  Wolves are running toward them and it seems that they are cornered.  No where to go but down and down doesn't seem like an good option. 

I can almost see the light bulb come on in Jace's mind.  "He had reached the tarpaulin and was tugging at the edge of it.  It came away, revealing" (288) a motorcycle.  Vampire motorcycles run on demon energies, which basically means that there are no keys and when the sun comes up, it's all over.  Jace hops on the motorcycle and starts it up with his Stele.  Clary grudgingly hops on behind him and they are off, flying into the night.

All is going well, except for Clary who dislikes heights with a passion.  And when the sun begins to rise.  The bike starts to plummet to the ground.  Jace lands somewhere close to the bike, breaking some bones but otherwise is unharmed.  Clary is thrown some feet away from the bike, landing in an icky puddle.  Simon is no where to be seen, until he shows up caressing Clary's shoulder, in his human form.  "She put her arms around him.  Everything about him was familiar" (294).  Jace pretended not to notice.

Chapter 16: Falling Angels

Hodge wasn't too happy with Jace.  He put them in the infirmary until Hodge was ready to heal them.  "But you'll just spend the next few days in the infirmary with Alec and Isabelle fussing around you.  You'll probably even enjoy it" (296).

In the infirmary, Jace and Simon lie in beds, waiting for Hodge.  Simon wants to talk to Clary.  "I'm going to my room.  Come and see me after Hodge fixes you up" (297).  Simon kisses her on the cheek, leaving Clary to ponder over what this means as she makes her way to her room.  Alec meets her in the hallway.  He thinks Clary should go home.  Alec fights with her, accusing her of putting Jace in danger.  Clary begins to angry, "You can rant all you want about honor and honesty and how mundanes don't have any of either, but if you were honest, you'd admit this tantrum is just because you're in love with him" (300).  Alec pushes her against the wall and leaves her with a threat. 

Clary goes to her room and doodles in her notebook.  Simon finally comes in.  He thanks her for saving him and makes the point that "I've always been the one who needed you more than you needed me" (303).  Clary and Simon talk, staring at the ceiling from the comfort of her bed.  He falls asleep and leaves Clary no room to do the same. 

Jace shows up in his all-gorgeous beauty at her bedroom door.  Jace was told that tomorrow is Clary's birthday.  He wishes to celebrate with her.  He wants to have a picnic with her in the greenhouse.  Clary agrees.

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the City of Bones Book Discussion! I’m so glad you could join me! Over the next seven weeks, I’m bringing on some awesome-ness to spice up your life! That’s right, I’m about to get the party started, but I have to set a few ground rules first (*trying to make a stern face*). This is how each week will play out:

• Each week I will do a detailed discussion of the plot of that week’s chapters (every Monday!). I will also highlight characterization, quotes, favorite parts, random scenes, and ask/answer questions.
• Argh, thar be spoilers ahead, matey!! While each week will be spoiler-free for the next chapters in the book, all of the previous chapters I’ve read will become free game. So to keep this discussion fun for readers who have not read the amazing series try to keep your comments spoiler-free, from the next chapters, as possible.
• At the end of each post, questions will be asked. Feel free to participate every week! We’d love to hear your opinion but you don’t have to answer everything. The questions are only there as guidelines but I’d love to read your tangents on that week’s chapters. And if you feel totally inspired about this book, as much as I am, you could always discuss your own opinion in a guest post: just fill out the form HERE.

For an entire schedule of our discussion (or just in case you’ve missed a post), you can go HERE. And I am also giving away a copy of City of Bones, to enter the contest, go HERE. Finally, on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. *drumroll*

Chapter 13: The Memory of Whiteness

Clary discovers that her mother had payed Magnus to put the block in her mind. She describes what Magnus did to her as "mind-rape" (227). She is shocked to find that he cannot reverse the spell nor undo what he had done. She may never recover the memories she lost. Magnus tells a little backstory of who he was growing up. "When your father flinches at the sight of you and your mother hangs herself in the barn" (231). He hated himself for being who he was: a wizard. Clary understands the meaning of the story and simply doesn't care who she is- she just wants to figure who she is.

Magnus gives her a copy of the Gray Book. It is given to a Shadowhunter child to help him learn Shadowhunters' runes. She is very curious about the book and leafs through the thing, recognizing many of the symbols.

The Mortal Instruments are discussed in more detail with Clary. "The Angels gave three items to the first Shadowhunters. A cup, a sword, and a mirror" (234). Magnus refuses to help the group find the Mortal Cup; he does not want to get involved. Clary is trying to stomach all this information when she joins the party again. They find Isabelle and "Simon drank one of those blue drinks... and he turned into a rat" (237). Clary takes Simon and puts him in her backpack. Magnus refuses to change him back because the drink will wear off in an hour or so, so there is really no point. Magnus calls for the party to end and moves everyone out. Clary is walking with Jace on the way out when a vampire is interested to what she has in her backpack. Jace responds with "holy water" (243) and the vampire leaves with a huff. Magnus wants Alec to call him, "he dropped a glittery wink at Alec" (243). Everyone else walks out the door except Clary who Magnus wishes to speak with her. "Keep in mind that when your mother fled from the Shadow World, it wasn't the monster she was hiding from... It was the Shadowhunters" (244).

When walking back to the Institute, Clary can't find Simon in her backpack. Someone had stolen the rat, Simon. Isabelle and Alec leave them as Jace and Clary make their way back to Magnus' to inquire about his party guests. Jace wants to know where the vampires' lair is. It takes some coaxing, but Magnus finally gives them a location: "The old Hotel Dumont" (250). Before they storm the hotel, Jace wants to be prepared. Clary and Jace head towards a church to retrieve more weapons.

Chapter 14: The Hotel Dumort

Jace and Clary go to a Catholic church. Jace gets his weapons at the altar of the church in a secret compartment sealed with a Shadowhunter rune. "Shadowhunters cleave to no single religion, and in turn all religions assist us in our battle" (255). Clary is surprised, however, that Jace doesn't believe in God. It was because of his father, when he "saw him lying dead in a pool of his own blood, I knew then that I hadn't stopped believing in God. I'd just stopped believing God cared" (257). There really was nothing else left to say after that. They made their way to the hotel.

Even the sign warned them away: Hotel Dumort. While trying to get into the boarded-up building, they meet Raphael, a Spanish-speaking boy who warns them on entering. After hearing the story of why they are there, he shows them the way. It seems he is slightly touched by their story and "perhaps I cannot warn you away" (264). Jace and Clary enter the lair through the basement, Raphael follows.

It turns out that Raphael is a vampire- the leader at that. He calls for the others to join them. Clary suggests to take Raphael hostage and poses a trade to the others for the rat. Raphael thinks it is a bad idea. This is his life the vampires are gambling for. They do not trust Clary's word; they want the Shadowhunters to swear. Jace refuses to swear, so Clary lunges for Simon and a fight immediately breaks loose. Jace fights the vampires while Clary puts Simon in a safe place. They finally make their to edge of the crowd of vampires, fighting along the way, and wolves jump through the window. "Now this... is a situation" (280).

When the Hotel Dumont was up and running, would you stay there or would you rather stay at the church, knowing that the hotel, in the future, will become a vampries' lair?
 
REMEMBER: Please try to give a minimum of spoilers unless it is about the chapters we have read already. Also, every comment (one per post) on our discussion posts gives you extra entries if you are entered to win a copy of City of Bones.

Hey, everyone! Welcome to the City of Bones Book Discussion! I’m so glad you could join me! Over the next eight weeks, I’m bringing on some awesome-ness to spice up your life! That’s right, I’m about to get the party started, but I have to set a few ground rules first (*trying to make a stern face*). This is how each week will play out:

• Each week I will do a detailed discussion of the plot of that week’s chapters (every Monday!). I will also highlight characterization, quotes, favorite parts, random scenes, and ask/answer questions.

• Argh, thar be spoilers ahead, matey!! While each week will be spoiler-free for the next chapters in the book, all of the previous chapters I’ve read will become free game. So to keep this discussion fun for readers who have not read the amazing series try to keep your comments spoiler-free, from the next chapters, as possible.

• At the end of each post, questions will be asked. Feel free to participate every week! We’d love to hear your opinion but you don’t have to answer everything. The questions are only there as guidelines but I’d love to read your tangents on that week’s chapters. And if you feel totally inspired about this book, as much as I am, you could always discuss your own opinion in a guest post: just fill out the form HERE.

For an entire schedule of our discussion (or just in case you’ve missed a post), you can go HERE. And I am also giving away a copy of City of Bones, to enter the contest, go HERE. Finally, on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. *drumroll*


Chapter 11: Magnus Bane

Jace invites Alec and Isabelle “to the greatest restaurant in New York” (190). Isabelle brings Simon, who appears to still be falling for Isabelle’s good looks. The restaurant, Taki’s, is a dining place specifically for Shadowhunters and Downworlders. They serve raw meat, raw fish, and human food.

Jace tells the group what happened with the Silent Brothers and about the warlock, Magnus Bane. Isabelle, nonchalantly, takes a party invitation out of her purse-- she had taken it from a kelpie in the club, Pandemonium. Magnus Bane was holding “a rapturous evening of delights beyond your wildest imaginings” (197). They all agree to go to the party to remove the block in Clary’s mind.

The party doesn’t start until late, so back at the Institute Clary decides to take a nap since she’s been losing sleep. She fails to fall asleep and ventures to the library in search of Hodge to give her a sleeping potion. The library is empty, but her eye catches a photograph of the original Circle. She finds her Mom in the bunch, when she was at Clary’s age. Hodge comes in and ruins Clary’s thought. Her mom’s arm was hugging Valentine, he “was good-looking, with hair so fair it was nearly white, and black eyes” (199). She discovers Luke, Jace’s father Michael Wayland, and Hodge himself.

Not to overstay her welcome, Clary quietly excuses herself from the room with a request for a sleeping potion. Jace was in her room when she returned, he was looking through her sketchbook. Clary describes it as a “diary… ‘A diary with no drawings of me [Jace] in it?’” (204). She still wishes to go to sleep and Jace tells her a bedtime story to calm her mind. Jace tells her of his falcon, how he taught it to love: “that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed” (206).


Chapter 12: Dead Man’s Party

The party finally starts, where each character decides to go off and do their own thing. Alec and Jace put holy water in the vampires’ motorcycles, Simon and Isabelle dance the night away, while Clary finds Magnus.

Clary, Jace, Alec, and Magnus go to the warlock’s room to talk privately. She explains that there is a block in her mind. Magnus curses himself for making it so easy to be able to recognize his own work. “My signature… I knew it was folly when I did it. An act of hubris…” (225). Magnus Bane discusses how proud he was of the magnificent work done on Clary’s mind. “It was the way she wanted it” (226).

When Clary wished for him to explain who wanted the block in her mind, she seemed to already have a hunch of whom it might have been. Her mother.


Why do you think her mother put the block in her mind? Do you think she had a right to or should it have been Clary’s choice?


REMEMBER: Please try to give a minimum of spoilers unless it is about the chapters we have read already. Also, every comment (one per post) on our discussion posts gives you extra entries if you are entered to win a copy of City of Bones.

Hey, everyone! Welcome to our City of Bones Book Discussion! We’re so glad you could join us! Over the next nine weeks, we’re bringing on some awesome-ness to spice up your life! That’s right, we’re about to get the party started, but we have to set a few ground rules first (*trying to make a stern face*). This is how each week will play out:

• Each week we will do a detailed discussion of the plot of that week’s chapters (every Monday!). We will also highlight characterization, quotes, favorite parts, random scenes, and ask/answer questions.

• Argh, thar be spoilers ahead, matey!! While each week will be spoiler-free for the next chapters in the book, all of the previous chapters we’ve read will become free game. So to keep this discussion fun for readers who have not read the amazing series try to keep your comments spoiler-free, from the next chapters, as possible.

• At the end of each post, questions will be asked. Feel free to participate every week! We’d love to hear your opinion but you don’t have to answer everything. The questions are only there as guidelines but we’d love to read your tangents on that week’s chapters. And if you feel totally inspired about this book, as much as we are, you could always discuss your own opinion in a guest post: just fill out the form HERE.

For an entire schedule of our discussion (or just in case you’ve missed a post), you can go HERE. And we’re also giving away a copy of City of Bones, to enter the contest, go HERE. Finally, on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. *drumroll*

Chapter 9: The Circle and the Brotherhood

Clary, Jace, and Simon left Luke's place rather quickly after Luke left.  Jace was still seething over seeing his father's murderers.  He was "scary calm" (132).

Clary and Jace bring Simon back to the Institute, "You'll be the first mundane who has ever been inside the Institute" (133).  Church, the cat, leads the way to the kitchen where they introduce Simon to Isabelle.  Isabelle only smirks to find that Simon barely say a word when he watches her.  Clary feels a bit hurt and jealous by Simon's sudden change of interest. 

Clary and Jace find Hodge in the greenhouse.  "The greenhouse was laid out in what seemed to Clary's untrained eye no particular pattern, but everywhere she looked was a roit of color" (143).  Jace catches Hodge up on what they've discovered at Luke's and Clary's house.  Hodge believes it is time to tell Jace about the Circle.  He shows Jace and Clary the Circle's oath-- the Circle of Raziel was "dedicated to wiping out all Downworlders and returning the world to a 'purer' state" (145).  Hodge surprises them both that he was part of the Circle (the group was led by Valentine), as was the Lightwoods (Isabelle and Alec's parents).  And, an even bigger surprise, Clary's mother was in this group as well, because "she was Valentine's wife" (146).

Chapter 10: City of Bones

The news of Jocelyn shocks both Jace and Clary.  But Hodge clarifies that Luke, Jocelyn, and Jace's father, Michael Wayland all escaped the Circle after they realized Valentine's intent.  Hodge and the Lightwoods did not, and the Clave restricted Hodge from leaving the Institute forever.  "The Law is hard, but it is the Law" (151). 

Alec and Isabelle are filled in about the Circle over dinner.  They all believe that Valentine wants the Mortal Cup to make an army of Shadowhunters.  Hodge acts as though he has said too much when he speaks figuratively, Valentine "would have sacrificed his own son for the cause" (155).  Hodge tells the others that they will do nothing, this problem is for the Clave. 

Clary is still worried about her mother but doesn't know where to start looking for her.  Jace insists that they must go through Clary's mind to discover what they want to know.  The Silent Brothers, "they are among the most feared of all demon hunters" (158), are coming and Jace wants to hand Clary over to them.  The Silent Brothers would be able to go through Clary's mind and retreive memories.  She's hesitant about the Brothers going through her head but decides not to ponder about it now when she just wants to sleep.

Clary has a dream of the "Glass City" (161), where she dances with Simon and Jace.  In the dream, Jace claims that Simon may be more than he has let on with, "this place is for the living" (161). 

Jace wakes her up to take her to Brother Jeremiah, one of the Silent Brothers.  "The archivist's head was bald... darkly indented where his eyes had been.  They were gone now.  His lips were crisscrossed with a pattern of dark lines that resembled surgical stitches" (166-167).  The Brothers seem to be made of nightmares, at least, in appearance.  The Brother tries to go through Clary's mind, but "there is a block in your mind" (168).  He insists that Clary should come to the City of Bones with him to get the help of the other Brothers as well.  With a short ride through the city in a horse-drawn carriage, a walk in a cemetary, Jace, Clary, and Brother Jeremiah go to the City of Bones.  The sign, labeling the entrance to the city, leaves Clary cold and frightened; the sign depicts, "The descent into Hell is easy" (179). 

She is introduced to the Silent Brothers.  The Brothers uncover the name Magnus Bane from Clary's memories.  The Brothers let her leave by saying that the block in her mind, "can be safely undone only by the one who put it there" (186).  Clary and Jace are somewhat glad to be out of the Brothers' presense, when they leave the City of Bones, contemplating what to do next.

Hey, everyone! Welcome to our City of Bones Book Discussion! We’re so glad you could join us! Over the next ten weeks, we’re bringing on some awesome-ness to spice up your life! That’s right, we’re about to get the party started, but we have to set a few ground rules first (*trying to make a stern face*). This is how each week will play out:

• Each week we will do a detailed discussion of the plot of that week’s chapters (every Monday!). We will also highlight characterization, quotes, favorite parts, random scenes, and ask/answer questions.

• Argh, thar be spoilers ahead, matey!! While each week will be spoiler-free for the next chapters in the book, all of the previous chapters we’ve read will become free game. So to keep this discussion fun for readers who have not read the amazing series try to keep your comments spoiler-free, from the next chapters, as possible.

• At the end of each post, questions will be asked. Feel free to participate every week! We’d love to hear your opinion but you don’t have to answer everything. The questions are only there as guidelines but we’d love to read your tangents on that week’s chapters. And if you feel totally inspired about this book, as much as we are, you could always discuss your own opinion in a guest post: just fill out the form HERE.

For an entire schedule of our discussion (or just in case you’ve missed a post), you can go HERE. And we’re also giving away a copy of City of Bones, to enter the contest, go HERE. Finally, on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. *drumroll*

Chapter 7: The Five-Dimensional Door

Madame Dorothea invited them in for tea, explaining how she knew so much about the Clave and Accords. Madame Dorothea reminds me of the Nosy Grandmother, who comes over and always tries to get in your business (I don’t know, that what she seems like to me).

Jace seems a bit more classy when he specifies to Dorothea that he’ll have tea, “as long as it isn’t Earl Gray” because he hates bergamot (100). Clary is very impressed but doesn’t say much when Madame Dorothea brings out the pickle sandwiches. Pickle sandwiches are not my thing, but Clary scarfs them down like she hasn’t eaten in three days, which she hasn’t.

As soon as Clary set down her cup of tea, Madame Dorothea went about reading her tea leaves in a I-will-tell-your-fortune kind of way. Jace thought the whole thing was ridiculous. Clary’s fortune was “confusing” (105), whereas Jace will “fall in love with the wrong person” (106). Dorothea and Jace come to the conclusion that there must be a sort of block in Clary’s mind. Or, according to Clary, “Maybe I’m just a late developer” (106).

Dorothea is not convinced and brings out the tarot cards instead. The cards were a gift from Jocelyn, who painted them herself. It turns out that Jocelyn was a Shadowhunter. Clary is shocked to find that her mother has been keeping so many secrets from her.

Jace finds a five-dimensional door, a door that can take you anywhere. You think of the location and walk through and you’re there. Clary wants to see where her mother wanted to go, to see where the door led. She opened the door and “found herself flung forward and tumbling through empty space” (109).

Chapter 8: Weapon of Choice

Clary does not make a safe landing, after falling from the sky and hitting some branches she finally reached the ground. Then Jace landed on top of her. They’re nothing that her arm or something wasn’t broken.

The door had led them to Luke’s house. Clary wasn’t even curious why Luke had been so hostile to her on the phone so she was about to just go back home. Jace wanted to find out what Luke’s deal was.

Jace found Simon hiding in the bushes next to Luke’s bookstore (I’m jealous that he lives behind a bookstore… so cool!). Simon was hoping to find Clary with Luke but “Luke told me you were off staying with some relatives upstate when I know you don’t have any other relatives” (115). Simon decided to stay around when he spied on Luke packing a bag full of weapons. Clary tries to calm him down but eventually decides to tell him the truth. After hearing the whole story, Jace is a Shadowhunter, killing demons—Simon thinks the whole thing “is so awesome” (117).

After everything is cleared up, Simon, Jace, and Clary break into Luke’s house, where it looks like Luke had left in some kind of hurry. Jace finds a chakhram and the bag full of weapons. The chakhram is Hodge’s weapon of choice.

They discover that Luke has been back to Clary’s apartment since the Ravener had been there, when they find a cracked picture of Jocelyn, Clary, and Luke. Before they can find anything else, Luke comes back with two warlocks, Blackwell and Pangborn.

Clary and the two boys spy on Luke and the two warlocks’ conversation. The two warlocks want Luke to tell them his knowledge of the Mortal Cup’s whereabouts. He doesn’t seem to know. Valentine wants it and is currently keeping Jocelyn hostage, believing that it has been hidden by her. Valentine is also looking for Clary. As soon as they leave, Clary starts to freak out. But she’s not the only one, when Jace (who is either freaking out in his own way or is just very angry) points out that “those are the mean who murdered my father” (130).

Do you think it was fair for Jocelyn to keep Clary from this world, from knowing about the Shadowhunters, warlocks, etc.?

If you were a Shadowhunter, what would be your Weapon of Choice?

REMEMBER: Please try to give a minimum of spoilers unless it is about the chapters we have read already. Also, every comment (one per post) on our discussion posts gives you extra entries if you are entered to win a copy of City of Bones.