The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...
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Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy - Cassandra Clare

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA Fantasy

Image result for tales from the shadowhunBlurb (on back of book): Simon Lewis has been a human and a vampire, and now he is becoming a Shadowhunter. But the events of City of Heavenly Fire left him stripped of his memories, and Simon isn’t sure who he is anymore. He knows he was friends with Clary, and that he convinced the total goddess Isabelle Lightwood to go out with him…but he doesn’t know how. And when Clary and Isabelle look at him, expecting him to be a man he doesn’t remember…Simon can’t take it.
So when the Shadowhunter Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of demon-hunting, determined to find himself again. His new self. Whomever this new Simon might be.
But the Academy is a Shadowhunter institution, which means it has some problems. Like the fact that non-Shadowhunter students have to live in the basement. And that differences—like being a former vampire—are greatly looked down upon. At least Simon is trained in weaponry—even if it’s only from hours of playing D&D.
Join Simon on his journey to become a Shadowhunter, and learn about the Academy’s illustrious history along the way, through guest lecturers such as Jace Herondale, Tessa Gray, and Magnus Bane. These ten short stories give an epilogue to the Mortal Instruments series and provide glimpses of what’s in store in the Dark Artifices.

 MY OPINION: ***

Happily got this book for free and sadly took forever to finish it!

Not my favorite from Cassandra Clare, mainly because I'm not the biggest fan of novellas. A book of novellas somehow makes it a little better but still not my favorite. Cassandra Clare has been killing it with her 759438508254 novellas lately but this is the first collection I've read from her.

I would individually review all 10 of them separately but a) I don't have time b) I don't remember half of the first couple of novellas and c) it would make this review SOO long. I'm just going to pretend it was a book and review it that way.

Basically this was a book of 10 novellas featuring the one and only Simon Lewis training to become a Shadowhunter. We meet a whole new cast of characters of Shadowhunters and mundanes alike, such as Simon's "brother/bff/roommate" George Lovelace, Jon I-forgot-his-last-name, Marisol, Julie, and Sunil. As we go through a lot of adventures featuring old characters like Clary, Alec, Magnus, Tessa, Jem, Will, and ISABELLE, we see how Simon matures and grows into the Shadowhunter that he really is inside over two years.

I was honestly really happy with this book until I got to the tenth novella.

I don't care what y'all say.

GEORGE DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE LIKE THAT. It happened too fast, it was depressing, and it was shocking. I just couldn't handle it. It made the whole book so disappointing. I don't read 600+ pages about a character only to have him die in the last 3 pages. 

Overall, I liked the book and am interested in reading The Bane Chronicles though I've seen a lot of mixed opinions about it. Also, I AM going to read Lady Midnight. I actually got this book for $1 along with Lord of Shadows and I'm so excited!!

I would recommend this "book" to readers looking for a new insight to the Shadowhunter world. *Would not recommend if you haven't read TMI or TID*

Main Character: Simon
Sidekick(s): George, Marisol, Julie, Alec, Isabelle, Clary, etc
Villain(s): Death, memory loss, not growing into yourself, etc
Fantasy Elements: This book was based on fictional characters and settings and plots

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