Waiting on Wednesday- By Gaslight By: Steven Price

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature/meme hosted here at Breaking the Spine. The idea behind it is to share upcoming releases that we can't wait to get our hands on!

My pick this week is By Gaslight By: Steven Price.  I  really want to read this one because I am a sucker for anything set in Victorian London. I like a good mystery and hopefully this one is as atmospheric as the summary claims. I love a book with great atmosphere! I'm also intrigued because it says in the summary that the book is also a journey of secrets, deceit, and betrayals. Oh yeah, I'm so in. 

Expected Publication Date: August 23, 2016

What do you think, does By Gaslight sound interesting to you as well? Have you read any other books by this author? Also, I just love that cover. I know I say that about almost every cover, but there have been some good ones lately!! What are you waiting on this Wednesday? 

The Picture of Dorian Gray By: Oscar Wilde Review (MY ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOK)

This is not the first time that I have read The Picture of Dorian Gray. It's not even the second time I've read it. As many of you may know from following my blog The Picture of Dorian Gray is my all time favorite novel. Which oddly makes it the hardest to review. I've been trying to decide what to say about this one for a while now. Mostly this review is rambling and fangirling, but how do you review your favorite novel without giving away the best parts of it? Which is the WHOLE book. Plus I think I put too much pressure on myself for this review because I wanted it to really express my love of the book accurately. Not sure if I've succeeded, but here it is finally!

#ReviewingCanBeHard

First of all I just love that feeling when I pick up a favorite book and I can't wait to dive back into the familiar story that I already know is fantastic. This one is particularly special to me and I have this lovely leather bound edition (see picture above) that makes it even more enjoyable. Yeah, I'm a total booknerd and I'm not sorry.  Anyway I try to read this one once a year, but sadly I didn't have the chance last year. So I was really overdue for a re-read! 

#I'mABooknerdAndI'mNotSorry

I just had so much fun with my re-read of The Picture of Dorian Gray.  Oscar Wilde is a genius and there is so much to enjoy in this novel. There are so many parts that make you think, really THINK. Especially in regards to good, evil, morals, ID (Sigmund Freud ID), influence, and manipulation. I could dissect this book so much, but you just have to read the book and see for yourself what you think about it. Dorian is my favorite literary character and in my opinion the most fascinating. All three of the main characters Dorian, Lord Henry, and Basil are quite an interesting trio though. 

#OscarWildeIsMyHomeboy

Another thing I really love about the book is the QUOTES. We all know Oscar is the king of quotes and man there are so many good ones packed into this novel. One of my favorites: 

“Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.” 

― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

#QuotesMaster

Overall The Picture of Dorian Gray is a masterpiece meant to be devoured and then re-read many times. I get more from it each time I read it and I love that it makes you think. Also, this novel has one of my favorite book endings of all time. A little off topic, but have you ever played that game what five people dead or alive would you want to have dinner with? Oscar Wilde is my number one choice for sure! In case you're curious my others are Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath, and Sigmund Freud. That would be such an entertaining dinner party!! HA! What would your choices be?

#What5PeopleDeadOrAliveWouldYouWantToHaveDinnerWith

I recommend The Picture of Dorian Gray for everyone. Okay, not really. I know this isn't a book for everyone, but a definite must for gothic and victorian novel fans. I also recommend looking up facts about Oscar's life as well. It's fascinating and you can really see where this novel stemmed from. 

#GiveItAWhirl

*In the end I had so much fun writing this review. Even though it took a lot of time to organize my thoughts a bit. Sorry for the delay getting this review out!*

Clockwork Angel By: Cassandra Clare Review

View on Goodreads

This is my second time reading Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. The first time I read it I loved it and gave it 5 stars at that time as well. However, I never moved on and read any more of The Infernal Devices series.  I hadn't finished The Mortal Instruments series yet and I decided to finish that series first. Even though it doesn't matter chronologically, since this series takes place first in 1878 London. I'm just weird I guess because I really wanted to finish The Mortal Instruments series first. 

Clockwork Angel is about Tessa Gray who travels to London to live with her brother. Only she is tricked and kidnapped by the Dark sisters. She finds out that her brother has been taken as well and is being held hostage somewhere. The Dark sisters force her to learn how to use her shape shifting power (which she was unaware she had) until she is rescued by the Shadowhunters. Teamed up with the Shadowhunters she begins searching for her missing brother. Tessa, Will, Jem and the other Shadowhunters find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club and an army of mechanical clockwork creatures. 

I love Cassandra Clare's writing, there is an ease to it that I find very enjoyable. I love her Mortal Instruments series and Clockwork Angel is just as good. I love the Victorian time period and so I very much liked that aspect of the book. I've recently been getting into the steampunk genre a little bit and so far I like it a lot. I think Clockwork Angel adds just enough steampunk in Clockwork Angel to make it interesting, but not enough to be overwhelming for newbies to the genre. The first time I read this book it was the first steampunk novel that I had read. I really feel like it eases you into the genre so well. 

The automatons were my favorite part of the story, but I also enjoyed Tessa's shape shifting ability quite a lot. I found that very unique and it gave this series something fresh to separate itself from Clare's other series. That being said, I did like seeing some of the characters and things that tie into the Mortal Instruments series. Like Magnus! He's such a fun character and one of my favorites.

Of course there is romance in the story. A triangle (shocker!) is forming and I think one of the big questions is, who do I ship? Tessa and Will or Tessa and Jem? Well... I don't know yet. Who do you ship and why? I can't decide. Maybe I will be able to pick one after I read Clockwork Prince. Which I can't wait to read!! 

I recommend Clockwork Angel to fans of Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series, steampunk, Victorian novels, and Paranormal YA lovers.

Follow