I am a pretty avid reader recently. My reading goal for this year is at least 22 books, and I’m on book 19 currently. I will be ranking books that I have read between the months of May and August, as that is when summer happened for me. Each book is at least 50 pages, as I have read some short stories that will not be included. In this time period, I have read 10 books from two separate authors: Cassandra Clare and Maggie Stiefvater. Now I love all these books, but some are better than others, so let’s get into the ratings.
10. The Dream Thieves
This book was written by Maggie Stiefvater and is the second book in the series the Raven Cycle. This book picks up where the first book in the series, The Raven Boys, left off, where they are searching for the legendary Glendower. Glendower is a welsh king who one of the main characters, Gansey, has a connection to. This specific book follows Ronan Lynch, one of the raven boys, as he discovers his power to bring objects out of dreams. It was a good book, and I enjoyed it; it just was not the best one I had read because of this one character they had introduced called Kavinsky..
9. Blue Lily, Lily Blue
This book was also written by Maggie Stiefvater and is the third book in the Raven Cycle. This book picks up where The Dream Thieves left off where the main group is searching for Blue’s mom who has disappeared at the end of the last book. While this is happening, a magical place called Cabeswater is warning Blue and the Raven boys about someone else who is searching for ley lines in the town. Overall, I enjoyed it a bit more than The Dream Thieves, but again, it was not the best book I had read this summer. I’m indifferent about this book, and I prefer others to it.
8. Clockwork Prince
This is where it got tricky to rank the books, as I loved these top 8 so much. Clockwork Prince is the second book in the series the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, which is part of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. The plot of this book picks up after Clockwork Angel with Tessa Gray finding a place with the Shadowhunters but they must find someone called the Magister who wants Tessa’s powers. This book I thought this was a little slower than the rest, but it still hurts to rank it at 8.
7. The Raven King
This is the fourth book in the Raven Cycle written by Maggie Stiefvater. After Blue Lily, Lily Blue, we discover that the endgame has essentially begun, and Gansey admits to himself what the readers have known since the first book, which is that he will die within the rest of the year. While the ones who know about his death, Adam and Blue are planning to ask Glendower for Gansey’s life so he can live other dangerous searchers are coming for Glendower and Greywarren. This was a pretty great ending to the main part of the series, and it set up Ronan and Adam for the spin-off series, the Dreamer Trilogy. The others I feel like I connected to more, so that is why this book is at 7.
6. City of Bones
The start of the Shadowhunters Chronicles. This book started the whole world I love. This is the first book written by Cassandra Clare for the Shadowhunters Chronicles and is the first book in the Mortal Instruments series. In this novel, we follow Clary Fairchild as she discovers the Shadow world and her shadowhunter heritage that her mother kept from her to protect her from her father, who wants to destroy all of the downworld. This book was great, I love most of the characters in this book and I have my favorites. I do love the Herondale boys and their parabatai.
5. Clockwork Princess
The ending to the first series I read by Cassandra Clare. This book is the last book in the Infernal Devices series, and it was a pretty good ending to the series. Mortaim, the magister, continues to try and get Tessa Gray as he launches his final attacks with the automatons while Tessa has to choose between the two Parabati, Will Herondale, and Jem Carstairs. I don’t have much to say; this book was pretty great, and I loved it!
4. Chain of Gold
This book is the start of my favorite part of the Shadowhunters Chronicles at the moment. This book is a part of the Last Hours series by Cassandra Clare in the Shadowhunter universe. This series takes place after the Infernal Devices following the children of the shadowhunters from the first book. Cordelia Carstairs and her family move to London to try and prevent their ruin from her father’s crimes, and she gets caught up in fighting new kinds of demons that the shadowhunters have never seen before. I’m in love with this trilogy; it took a few days to read as I read it during graduation week for my family and friends, but it was so worth it.
3. Chain of Iron
The second book in the Last Hours series by Cassandra Clare, and I loved it just as much as the first. In this book Cordelia, finds herself engaged to James Herondale to protect Cordelia’s reputation, and Cordelia’s sword burns her anytime she wields it. Cordelia, Lucie, who is the daughter of Tessa and Will, and the Merry Thieves must follow the trail of a killer who is killing shadowhunters. Again, I read it during an extremely busy week, but I have no regrets. I love the progression of the series and the fact that we know what’s going on, but the characters don’t. I have no words. I love it.
2. The Raven Boys
This book is the first book in the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. It’s what made me fall in love with the Raven Boys and Blue. The book follows Blue, who is from a family of psychics, but her power is that she makes psychics’ powers stronger. In this book, Blue breaks her biggest rule, which is to stay away from Aglionby boys, shortly after she learns of Richard Gansey III’s, Gansey, death on St. Mark’s Eve, where she, for the first time, sees the ghost of the day he dies. Now Blue, who has never seen the people who are to die this year, finds out that either she kills him or is his true love, but Blue has known all her life that if she kisses her True Love she will die. This is such a good book, and the trope of this fantasy book is essentially found family as the book progresses, which I love.
1. Chain of Thorns
MY FAVORITE BOOK BY FAR. I love this book so much. It’s the last book in the Last Hours series by Cassandra Clare. In the last book of the Last Hours series, Cordelia flees to Paris with Matthew Fairchild after a series of events that turn her world upside down. When she returns from Paris she finds out that a Greater Demon of Hell is threatening London while it is revealed that he is Lucie and James Herondale’s grandfather. To save London and everyone they know Cordelia and the Herondale children need to trust each other again. It took me two days to read because I brought that book absolutely everywhere with me. The Last Hours is definitely my comfort series, but this one in particular I couldn’t put down. I brought the book to softball games, and I have absolutely no regrets. It may have made me cry, but I still have so much love for this book and James Herondale. And Daisy’s amazing.