THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS - Jace's Letter to Clary in City of Glass

This is the copy of the letter Jace gave to Clary in the City of Glass.  I deleted the NOTES tab on this blog where it was originally posted, and I just want to re-post it for those who haven't seen it yet. 

Disclaimer: I do not own this. This is a bonus copy from City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare. This is the letter Jace gave Clary in the Cassandra Clare's City of Glass. 

Clary,

Despite everything, I can’t bear the thought of this ring being lost forever, any more than I can bear the thought of leaving you forever. And though I have no choice about the one, at least I can choose about the other. I’m leaving you our family ring because you have as much right to it as I do.

I’m writing this watching the sun come up. You’re asleep, dreams moving behind your restless eyelids. I wish I knew what you were thinking. I wish I could slip into your head and see the world the way you do. I wish I could see myself the way you do. But maybe I don’t want to see that. Maybe it would make me feel even more than I already do that I’m perpetuating some kind of Great Lie on you, and I couldn’t stand that.

I belong to you. You could do anything you wanted with me and I would let you. You could ask anything of me and I’d break myself trying to make you happy. My heart tells me this is the best and greatest feeling I have ever had. But my mind knows the difference between wanting what you can’t have and wanting what you shouldn’t want. And I shouldn’t want you.

All night I’ve watched you sleeping, watched the moonlight come and go, casting its shadows across your face in black and white. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful. I think of the life we could have had if things were different, a life where this night is not a singular event, separate from everything else that’s real, but every night. But things are different, and I can’t look at you without feeling like I’ve tricked you into loving me.

The truth no one is willing to say out loud is that no one has a shot against Valentine but me. I can get close to him like no one else can. I can pretend I want to join him and he’ll believe me, up until that last moment where I end it all, one way or another. I have something of Sebastian’s; I can track him to where my father’s hiding. And that’s what I’m going to do. So I lied to you last night. I said that I just wanted one night with you. But I want every night with you. And that’s why I have to slip out of your window now, like a coward. Because if I had to tell you this to your face, I couldn’t make myself go.

I don’t blame you if you hate me, I wish you would. As long as I can still dream, I will dream of you.

- Jace

Book Review: DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth (Consider me awed!)

Divergent (Divergent #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publication Date: May 3, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre/Category: Young Adult, Dystopian

Summary on Goodreads:

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

Click here to see my initial post.

My Thoughts:

I already made an initial review about this book and I'm back as I promised. And what more can I say? Well...

"Consider me awed."

I don't know if I could put into words the things I really have in mind right now. When I first read this book, I knew in myself that I'm gonna love this. I was sure that I would want a hard copy of it instead of getting a Kindle copy. And I was right. This book deserves to have a rightful place on my shelf!

I will be a forever fan of The Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Matched... And I am fascinated by their awesome authors. But I never thought it was this soon that I would meet another author as remarkable as they are. Veronica Roth made a bursting existence on my top author's list.

While reading Divergent, I realized I have to revised my Top 10 Series in my blogsite. I am saddened by the thought that one book would be cut on my list but at the same time, I'm thrilled to give this book a proper place on my Top List.

As I said before, I love Tris. No wonder why I enjoyed this book. I don't remember being annoyed with her even once throughout the story. The author didn't fail when she gave breath to this character. She's amazing... I love her wit... she's honest to her feelings despite of the consequences she may face. She's learning to be selfless, and she's brave. I wish I was like her. Not too chicken enough to take the risk for things she care about. She is now one of my favorite heroines!

Four is forever adorable! :) I really really like him! He's disciplined (and strict), tough, strong, and good-hearted... and I think I haven't told you yet... he's handsome too! :) I like his character, I bet everyone would! Four and Tris are both smart and wit. I enjoyed every conversations and arguments they had. I always look forward to their meetings.

There are more characters I like in this book. There's Caleb, Uriah, Will, and Tori too. I feel devastated when good people die... (what would I expect on Dystopian Novels anyway... of course there would be death, lots of them. I hope I don't spoil your readings, I won't tell you--who, when, and how, I promise :)

The world the author developed is not much different with the Hunger Games, Matched and Delirium. Sometimes I wonder, what would it be like to be part of those dystopian worlds? These stories are so fascinating to read, but too cataclysmic if real...

I just wanted to quote a few lines from Divergent:

"Are you saying that if you had known this before the Choosing Ceremony, you wouldn't have chosen Dauntless?... Because if that's the case, you should get out now. If you are really one of us, it won't matter to you that you might fail. And if it does, you are a coward."

"We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another."

If I would choose a faction, I would choose Dauntless. The initiation process scares me, but if I live in their world, what choice do I have? I want to be brave and selfless at the same time, just like Tris and Four. And even though I'm not sure if I have the guts to kill, given the same situation, I might. And yes, being selfless and brave is not at all different. It requires great amount of bravery to be selfless and care about other people instead of your own. And being brave means being selfless enough to stand up for what is right even if it means terrible consequences on your part.

What would you choose? I guess I'll leave you that question until you read the book. I really hope you will.

I would like to give this book a rating of 5/5. No questions about that, because I enjoyed and loved it very much! I couldn't put it down but was tormented to even think of finishing it. I hope that everyone who chooses to pick this book would enjoy it as much as I did. It was AWESOME and FASCINATING to me. One of the BEST BOOKS I've ever read.

Waiting for the next book will be tragic so I need to grab a new book right away!

My Rating:

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth (Currently reading & can't wait to post!)

Originally, my plan is to finish this book then blog. But the time I opened it and read a few pages, I was very anxious to post it. I just finished Chapter 12 last night, believe me, I wanted to read more but my eyes won't cooperate and I fell asleep. When the book is really really good, I can stay up late even until 3 am, but I recently avoided sleeping later than 1 am now, 'cos when I do, I feel like a walking zombie in the morning. So groggy that it's too difficult for me to get up and prepare a decent breakfast before 7 am!

So while my baby is asleep (and snoring...), and I still have a couple of hours before the need to go and prepare lunch, I'll spend this hour with the company of my laptop and my book (beside me). So here's my current opinion on Book 1 of the Divergent Trilogy: Divergent by Veronica Roth.

Description (inside flip cover): In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes, fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves... or it might destroy her.

Maybe you're thinking another dystopian story again. And yes, this is another "dystopian story again". But if you did loved The Hunger Games, Matched, Delirium, The Maze Runner, Unwind, and other great books on dystopian society, you will surely love this one! I can relate Beatrice Prior's character with Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games. Though I might say that Katniss live for survival, Tris live for freedom and finding her own self. They both love their family. Katniss has Prim, Tris has Caleb. Both characters are strong, brave, and driven of what they think is right. They both live in a dystopian society, but in Divergent, the society is much similar to Matched, Delirium and Unwind--determined to eradicate flaws, mistakes, and whatever it is that seems to destroy a perfect community... they all wanted perfection.

I easily love Tris, because I don't find her annoying. She was not described as beautiful or attractive (and knowing that she lived her life in Abnegation, which requires being as plain as possible), but that doesn't lessen my interest on her character. She's true to herself and though she admits she is sometimes selfish (or actually selfish), I still find her amusing. I like her bravery, her instincts, the way she talks and express her feelings.. I really hope that my opinions on her will not change as I progress in my reading :)

If you're looking for romance, yes, there is romance in this book. I don't know how little or how great that sparkling romance would be, but at this time I'm enjoying it. I'm always fond of beautiful, strong, a bit funny, and dependable guy. Though Four is not described as a total hunk or utterly beautiful boy, I like his attitude and personality. I bet you'll like him too!

I wanted to tell more but I don't have any more yet... if I continue to blab about it, I might spoil your future readings. So maybe I should go now and I promise to be back once I finished the book.

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What are you reading right now? I would love to hear it.. -April :)