"City of Lost Souls" by Cassandra Claire

I've mentioned this before, but the Mortal Instruments series is my dirty little secret.  It's not great literature (the editor in me kept re-writing passages in my head as I read the book).  But I'm certainly guaranteed to be entertained by the story.  I don't shout out the the world that I'm an MI fan, but when I meet a fellow book worm I always ask if they've read these books.  I'd compare it to some television shows on TV that are wildly popular but would make you blush if you watched an episode with your parents.  I think they're a tad too mature for YA, then again, I know there are much racier YA books than Mortal Instruments out there.

That being said, when I found out a couple months ago that the fifth book of the MI series would be released May 8, I rushed to bn.com and pre-ordered my book.  I couldn't help myself.  When it arrived on my doorstep on May 10, I began squeezing in some of the 500-plus pages.  I managed to stretch it out over eight days and none of my children went hungry in those eight days, which I call a win-win.  I only goal was to finish it by Monday because a friend is coming to visit and I told her I'd be done with it then so she could borrow it.

I really need to read all five books in succession, because often when reading the newest one there is a reference that leaves me in the dust. Some books provide some back story to previous volumes in the series but Claire does not provide those.  Which may be good, or else the books would be 600 pages or more.

I won't say the book was a must read, but I wasn't disappointed in it, either.  Claire has been very consistent with the MI series and that's good enough for me.  I like Twilight, but the vampires and werewolves in MI are in a completely different category.  There are also demons and warlocks and Shadowhunters and magic.  And a lot of blood.  My favorite word I've learned from the MI series is 'ichor'.

So, that's what Amy's been reading.  My upcoming book club book is "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley.  I put my Newbery "Gay-Neck" book on hold while I was preparing to host "The Good Earth."  I'm struggling with the Newbery books, which surprised me. But what was considered the best children's literature nearly 100 years ago just doesn't keep up with the stuff I read when I was growing up.  I think I need to start getting the Newbery's on CD so I can listen to them while I do stuff around the house, or else I'll never finish this goal.