---- 10 Fictional Deaths I Will Never Get Over ----

One of the worst things about reading is becoming emotionally attached to characters, following them through page after page of their journey, and then seeing them killed off. I've always found deaths in books are so much more emotional than in movies - you are literally inside the characters head, feeling what they're feeling, seeing what they're seeing - so whenever my much-loved characters die, it's safe to say I become emotionally unstable. 

Some fictional deaths have touched me in such a way that years later I still feel that pang of hurt every time I remember. But I'm not saying I don't agree with killing off characters - it certainly makes the book stay with you long after you put it down, and so I compiled a list of all the fictional deaths I am still recovering from.

Spoilers. Obviously. So if you haven't read these books, don't read this list!

. The Mortal Instruments series

. Harry Potter series

. The Hunger Games trilogy

. The Divergent trilogy

. The Book Thief

. The Fault in our Stars

. A Game of Thrones

If you have read the above, then carry on!.....

10. Max Lightwood (City of Glass)

Max was such a sweet, innocent, intelligent boy. His death was cruel and cold (screw you, Sebastian) and I think he'd be higher on the list if we had actually experienced his death - we aren't 'there' when he dies, we just see through Clary's eyes as the Lightwoods mourn over his body. It still made me well up though - I loved Max!

9. Dumbledore (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince)

This one doesn't need much explaining. It'd be higher on my list if it weren't for the fact that Dumbledore had lived a long, full life before his time came, and he chose his ending for himself. Still, though, it was hard to deal with, and the reactions of the characters (particularly Harry) are what really made me emotional.

8. Primrose Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

Prim's whole journey was very emotional for me. She was forced to go through things that no twelve year old should go through, yet stayed sweet and honest right to the end, putting her faith in others despite being in a world when your life depends on trusting nobody. She was strong and brave in ways that most aren't, saw the world in a beautiful way, and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

7. Ned Stark (A Game of Thrones)

I was not expecting Ned to die. Throughout the book he'd been that 'hero' character; I was sure he'd defeat the Lannister control and take the throne as a noble and respected king... but hey, that would be too boring, right? So dickface Joffrey had him beheaded! I was surprised in the worst way possible. Worse still was seeing it through Arya, and feeling so utterly helpless as he's killed. Poor Ned only ever wanted his family to be happy, and he payed for that with his life.

6. Fred Weasley (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

The thing that shakes me so much about Fred's death is how quick it was. By that I mean that there was no buildup, no foreshadowing, it just happened. Sure, they went into battle knowing they could die, but I don't think any of them really considered it would happen. The thought of George and the rest of the Weasley's living without him is a hard one to picture. Deaths in battles are always shocking, because they feel so pointless - especially when it happens to people like Fred who were never really meant for war. He was meant for a family, for smiling and for happiness, which he will never be able to get.

5. Finnick Odair (Mockingjay)

The worst part about Finnick's death was that it was so unnecessary. I will always believe that the book would been much better if he had lived - if he had been happy with Annie for the rest of his life, and got to meet and see his son grow up. I think Annie needed him - she is emotionally unstable after all, so how could she look after their son all alone? I can never find suitable justification for his death, and combined with Prim's death makes the ending of the series very bleak for me, but at least he died helping his friends.

4. Dobby (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

It may be controversial to put Dobby's death higher on the list than Fred and Dumbledore's, but I'll be 100% honest and say Dobby's death affected me the most. The beach setting, his heartbreaking last words, his act of sacrifice for Harry (Dumbledore's was a sacrifice too, but we didn't know that until later - Dobby literally jumped into a knife for him) Everything about his death was so beautifully tragic and true to his character. Who knew it was possible to be so attached to a house elf.

3. Augustus Waters (The Fault in our Stars)

The Fault in Our Stars portrays a strong message. Cancer takes no notice of your age, your dreams or your beautiful personality. You can believe that you can beat it, you can think that you are getting better, but there are things beyond our control and don't always go the way we planned. But that doesn't mean they aren't beautiful; this book is more or less a tragedy, but it is still beautiful. Augustus makes Hazel grow and change, he changes things in the world before he dies, and proves that just because you're dying doesn't mean you have to stop living.

2. Rudy Steiner (The Book Thief)

I cried like a baby when Rudy died. And many times before that. Because the thing with the Book Thief is that you're told who will die and when, by Death himself (and he sure he knows his sh*t) When you know a character will die, it makes every moment with them so much more special; you notice the light and the goodness in them so much more, and with Rudy it is endless. The kiss he never got will forever make me tear up - rest in peace, the boy with hair the colour of lemons.

1. Tris Prior (Allegiant)

Never in my life have I been so distraught by a fictional death. When I first finished Allegiant I was in complete disbelief - I had never read a book where the heroine died before and I was so completely unprepared - I'd been expecting a 'happy family' epilogue. Nope, that didn't happen! I sobbed for hours and actually grieved for Tris for a few days, moaning about how unfair it was! It's awful to imagine Tobias living without her, but reflecting back I can see that death for Tris was her 'ultimate sacrifice'; she would've never be able to live her life truly happy in the shadow of all that had happened.

It was unexpected, tragic, selfless, brave, and downright beautiful. 

So there you have it, my list of ten fictional deaths that still get to me every time I think of them. It damaged me emotionally to reminisce about them all at once, I think I need some serious comfort food now. Sob.

Hope you enjoyed it,

- emssily

---- 5 Most Anticipated Books of 2014 ----

Last year introduced me to some great new series and authors, and the only downside to that is the amount of money I'll spend this year to keep up with them. Nevertheless, I'm seriously excited to buy tons of different books this year, so I decided to make a little list of the five I'm most anticipating.

5. The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings
Publication (expected) = June 10th 2014
This book is Lindsay Cumming's debut novel, and also the first in a series . Duology, trilogy, I have no idea yet; all I can say is that the cover is BEAUTIFUL and the story sounds like just the sort of thing I like. Gore, romance and assassins, what more could you ask for in a book? I definitely have high hopes for it and am really interested to start the series.

4. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
Publication (expected) = September 16th 2014
Although I didn't enjoy 'The 5th Wave' as much as I'd hoped, I still found the plot captivating enough to be excited for the release of this sequel. Aliens aren't something seen often in the YA genre, so despite my issues with the first book I am intrigued to see where the series is headed. I'll definitely be buying it come September, and maybe I'll give The 5th Wave another go, too.

3. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Publication (expected) = September 2nd 2014
I went into the Throne of Glass series without much experience in the fantasy genre, and came out realizing how amazing it is and how many possibilities there are for great stories. The first two books, 'Throne of Glass' and 'Crown of Midnight' were so enjoyable and unique, blending troubled love, fierce assassins and a unique world into two beautiful books. I can't wait for this sequel and I'm really excited for the future of this series.

2. The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
Publication (expected) = October 7th 2014
I can't wait for the release of this book and yet I'm dreading it at the same time - 'The Blood of Olympus' is the fifth and final book in the Heroes of Olympus series, marking the end of a nine year journey with Percy Jackson and co. Rick Riordan is an undeniably talented writer and I have no doubt that this final goodbye will be just as spectacular as the rest of the series - and definitely more emotional, too. *Sniff*

1. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
Publication = May 27th 2014
Many people know and love 'Mortal Instruments' series, so you're probably already aware that the sixth and final book is being released next month. I'm excited to step back into the Shadowhunter world with all the characters, but also sad that this will be the last time I can. On the upside, I haven't read the 'Infernal Devices' trilogy yet so at least I won't have to completely say goodbye to the world. You can read my blog post on my expectations for this book here.

So those are my five most anticipated book releases this year, plus a few books coming up from popular authors who deserve an honourable mention:

                                    . Landline by Rainbow Rowell - no publication date

. Armada by Ernest Cline - no publication date

. The Young Elites by Marie Lu - no publication date

Thanks for reading :)
- emssily

--- The Mortal Instruments: City of Heavenly Fire predictions! ---

  As any Mortal Instruments fan will know, the sixth (and final) book in the series is set for release on the 27th May this year. That's only a month away!

   

So what will happen in this book?

Well straight away we know that the Sebastian dilemma has to be solved. He's walking around ripping wings off angels - that boy needs to go. Question is, will Cassandra Clare kill him off, or will she go down the 'Sebastian can be redeemed' route?

I know I'd rather see him dead! Yeah yeah, a lot of people actually like Sebastian but c'mon people, he's a murderer, rapist and complete psychopath. I do have a feeling that Cassandra might find a way for him to 'become good' again. Hmm, maybe they'll suck the demon blood out of him?

Hopefully it's a very painful process...

And then there's Magnus and Alec *sob*. MALEC NEEDS TO HAPPEN AGAIN. If it doesn't, my fangirl heart will break.

Although, I do have a feeling that one of the two will die. Or perhaps both. Which brings me to my next point.

Six people will die!

Why Cass, why!? 'Six characters we know by name die in CoHF', quoted from the woman herself. Now, many people predict that this means six main characters will die, forgetting the fact that there's many characters in the book who are very minor, but we still 'know them  by name', so they would still count as one of the six. 

My predictions on the 6 deaths are:

1. Magnus or Alec (or both). I love Malec and I hope for everyone's sake that I'm wrong, but I feel like a death is on the horizon. Let's face it, they will always have problems - Magnus will inevitably live longer than Alec, Alec will always struggle to accept Magnus's past. There doesn't seem to be a 'happy ending' for them, so I think it's likely one of them will die.

I'm leaning more towards the probability of it being Magnus. If Alec dies, Magnus would have to live for eternity alone, and a hole would be left in the Lightwood family that would affect all other characters. I don't think Cass would end the book that way. Although despite that, Alec seems to feel so guilty for what he did to Magnus that it wouldn't surprise me if he died saving Magnus as a 'final apology' type situation. So I can't decide which is more likely. Sigh. I JUST WANT MALEC TO LOVE EACH OTHER.

2. Sebastian. DIE SEBASTIAN DIE! 'nuff said.

3+4. Jordan and Maia. I feel with these two that if one goes down, they both go down. Neither of them really have anywhere to go, or much to live for (harsh, I'm sorry).. so it wouldn't surprise me if they died. As evil as I feel saying it, I'd rather those two died than any of the others. SUE ME.

5. A vampire. Excluding Simon! We have the situation going on with Raphael, Maureen, and Camille - yes I know Camille has been pronounced dead but c'mon, I'll believe it when I see it. Well, read it... She's one of the most powerful vampires alive, would she really be killed so easily by a little girl? Either way, I feel that one of the deaths will happen between them.

6. Robert Lightwood. IMO, Robert hasn't been the best father throughout the books - or the best husband. I feel like he'll realise this and die saving his family to prove to them he did love them, or some soppy situation like that. That makes sense, as Cass said on Twitter that someone will die 'saving another character'.

The fate of the others;

I don't feel like any of the Lightwood children will die (counting Jace). They all need each other so much, it doesn't feel right to me that any of them would die. It would ruin their lives so much that the book could never end in a positive way. 

Jace and Clary I'm 99% sure will be fine. There's still that 1% of me that's terrified Cassandra will pull a Veronica on us (Allegiant readers, you know my feels) but I doubt it. I think Jace will get all his annoying fire sucked out somehow, the two will finally DO IT and bam, happy ending. Yay!

Simon and Isabelle. God I love these two. I love them even more than Jace and Clary. They are so perfect together and have been through so much, they deserve a happy ending together and Cass will give it to us, so I don't think they'll die. Yes, Cass did leak the chapter title 'Simon's Sacrifice' and people are freaking out about it, but would she really make it that obvious? If she was going to kill off the most loved character, I'm sure she'd try to keep it more of a secret. So, SIMON SHALL LIVE. 

So many people are afraid of him dying, but I just don't see it happening. Isabelle would be devasted, Clary would be in pieces, plagued with guilt her whole life and therefore so would Jace. Cass said herself the book would end in 'closure' for all characters. If Simon died I don't imagine there'd ever be closure. So high five everyone, Simon is reasonably safe! (please don't die Simon). He's too lucky to die, and Isabelle is too badass to get killed. There is the problem of Simon's immortality, but maybe he'll turn Isabelle into a vampire; now that would be epic. 

Luke and Jocelyn will be fine, I'm sure. Hopefully they'll actually get married in this book - that would be a really cute ending IMO. They've waited forever for each other, I really doubt Cass would tear them apart now. Honestly they don't interest me that much, as I don't really like Jocelyn (sorry, Jocelyn!)

I'll stop writing now, because I feel like I could ramble on about fictional lives for way too long, and the thought of any of my MI babies dying is just too hard.

After City of Heavenly Fire is released, I hope this post wont be embarrassingly off the mark, although it probably will. Sigh. 

- Emssily