A Bowl For the Soul

THE BOYS OF THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS

   “There is no pretending," Jace said with absolute clarity. "I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I'll love you then.”― Cassandra Clare, City of Glass

Familiar with Will herondale? Jace Lightwood? Magnus Bane? I could name a few more boys in the Shadow World, which no doubt so fascinating and enticing characters that pulled us deeper into the complex stories. In each installments, there are at least one or two boys who had captured the hearts of both readers and the female characters. 

The many versions of Jace

         Jace Lightwood are definitely the TMI (The Mortal Instruments) heartthrob. With his tawny, golden looks what's not to like about Jace. Described as leonine, smouldering hot, and eyes that look gold in the sunlight with long eyelashes, he's cocky, arrogant, and but that is part of his charm that drew Clary *cough- and most female characters and readers alike- cough* in the first place. Jace has an untameable nature and he never told a lie (except for the few occasions when he's protecting his family). So never ask Jace's opinion about anything unless you're ready for the truth. 

Then there is Alec Lightwood. If you prefer the black hair paired with striking blue eyes boys, then Alec will surely fit into your type. Shy yet the most level-headed of the bunch. He's sensible and will protect his loved ones without a doubt. Moving on, we have the party-loving, fun High Warlock of Brooklyn: Magnus Bane. If you're into guys with exotic cat eyes (literally) and wears rainbow coloured pants, then Magnus might be the guy for you. He's not picky about his choice of partners (he's dated both men and women, nephilim and downworlders, even a djinn or two). 

If vampire is more of your style, then there's Simon Lewis. Unlike other vampires, he can come out during the day thus earning his infamous nickname: The Daylighter. Simon is typical awkward next-door-boy that suddenly turns cute over the summer break (well, contributing to the fact that immortality suits him), which girls might take a double take when realising he had turned unexpectedly gorgeous.  

Heart-breaker alert: all the mentioned boys are taken, most unfortunately. Jace is in love with Clary Fray and Alec is absolutely smitten by Magnus and vice versa (although Magnus broke up with Alec in the City of Lost Souls). Simon is quite serious with Isabelle Lightwood (also girls might find it hard to compete for Simon's affections when realising Isabelle was exceedingly beautiful). 

So that leaves us with the few available boys from TMI. Raphael Santiago is the sly yet devilish handsome Spanish vampire, who had a devil-may-care demeanour. Unfortunately, he can't go out in the sunlight so your dates with Raphael might be limited to a midnight prowl at the Hotel Dumort (a hotel turned vampire nest- book a room at your own risk). 

Fear not dear readers (both ladies and gentlemen are welcomed to read further), Clare has created some heart-melting boys in The Infernal Devices as well. First, the infamous sarcastic William "Will" Herondale, which possess the same cocky, I-know-I'm-Smokin'-Hot attitude with his descendant Jace Lightwood. Physically, he could be the ideal English gentleman: arctic blue eyes, dark hair, and a tall lean build. Will loves to make ballads even in the worst times, quoting literature phrases (he was noted for his perfect memory), and he absolutely detest ducks- another trait that he shared with Jace (he tried to create cannibalistic ducks by feeding poultry pie to some ducks at the park). 

Next on the list is James "Jem" Carstairs. He's considerate, thoughtful, and gentle yet he possess superb fighting skills and extremely intelligent. He is handsome with a fine-boned angular face with curved silver eyes and an odd bright silver colored hair that matches his eyes. Another plus point was that Jem was extremely talented with the violin (we finally have a musical one in the series). 

The last boys in The Infernal Devices are the duo set of Lightwood brothers: Gideon and Gabriel. They’re both prideful and skilled fighters although Gideon was noted for his maturity while Gabriel possessed a brash attitude. Gideon are stockier compared to his younger brother, Gabriel who was very tall, even taller than both Will and Jem. They both shared the same beautiful emerald eyes. But, alas, the boys of The Infernal Devices were definitely not available. They were happily married with the love of their life (with the exception of Jem Carstairs as he became a Silent Brother).  

Yes, this is kind of frustrating after all the high hopes we had. Oh well, it’s time to go back to the real world and face the reality of imperfect boys *sigh*

Up next: I’ll post a review of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. Another masterpiece by Green after his initial soulful story of Finding Alaska, it is another touching and riveting story that has caused readers to shed more than a few tears while reading it.

Signing off, bookwormsoul.