Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit hit me right in my heart and gut. It was beautiful and relatable and a book that I'm so happy to have broughGeorgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit hit me right in my heart and gut. It was beautiful and relatable and a book that I'm so happy to have brought into my life.
This book took me on an emotional ride from page one! Going into this, I thought it would just be a fun f/f romance Contemporary but I got so much out of it. One of my favourite aspects, mostly because we don't get to see it a lot in queer books, is the huge connection to religion. Not only is Jo the daughter of a reverend but she's also pretty religious herself. I loved that there wasn't really a conflict between her sexuality and her faith in god but rather the way everyone in her religious community sees these two things. I loved seeing both Jo and her dad trying to make the community more inclusive and how much Jo wanted to use her position to help and influence other people.
“Kissing Mary Carlson is spooning homemade peach ice cream into your mouth on the hottest Georgia day. It is shooting stars and hot lava. It is every goose bump you’ve ever had in your entire life built up and exploding all at once.”
I also loved seeing the different experiences when it comes to discovering and living your sexuality. With Jo being out and proud and sure of her sexuality for a long time and her love interest only coming to terms with it, I feel like a lot of people will find themselves relating to either one of the characters. And I liked that. My favourite thing about Contemporaries, especially queer ones, is when I can relate to the characters. And seeing a book that features such a wide variety of experiences, not only with the discovery of your own feelings but also with the coming out process and the way other people treat you, was really great. While we're at that topic, this does deal with a lot of homophobia and I wanna make it very clear, that while relatable, a lot of it could also be triggering and harmful. I don't think any of it was written badly, for me it quite honestly enhanced the experience overall, but I know and understand that it is gonna be hard for a lot of queer people. So please be cautious if you do wanna pick it up. You can ask me for details at any time! Oh and yes, both characters identify as lesbian and it's said on page several times. That was fantastic!
Apart from the romance, which I thought was wonderful, I truly loved the family dynamics. The relationships Jo had to her dad, her stepmom and whole family was so complex and the development extremely well done. Especially the way Jo and her stepmom grew together throughout this novel made me super emotional and showed so much character development for both of them.
Now I do wanna mention that there's a couple of things that stood out in a not so good way. I noticed a couple of things throughout the book that seemed a little bit less inclusive than I would've wanted from a queer novel. I just wish the writing had been a little less binary and more inclusive of multiple gender attraction. It wasn't a huge issue for me and really only came up in a couple of paragraphs, so I'm being really nitpicky but as I said, it's just what I've come to expect from queer novels. What definitely stands out more problematic is ableism. It's nothing that I can exactly pinpoint but there is a character with an intellectual disability that it just written in a way that irked me some of the time. And also some of the descriptions, thoughts and feelings that the main character and others have towards him, seemed super off. Like the fact that his sister's friends degrade him? That really left a bad taste in my mouth.
So yeah, this novel is definitely not without flaws by any means. But I can't help it, I loved it unconditionally and as a queer women, it is a story that I'll cherish forever.
DNF at 35 pages. This was part of my Balancing the Books series in September 2018.
I normally try to read at least 15% or 50 pages before I DNF a book DNF at 35 pages. This was part of my Balancing the Books series in September 2018.
I normally try to read at least 15% or 50 pages before I DNF a book but, first of all, because this was a Balancing the Books book, I already started off with the thought of getting rid of it and second of all, I was already annoyed and bored by this at the same time. I feel like this TRIED to be woke but it wasn't.. at all? I don't know, it completely rubbed me the wrong way so far!!...more
I loved this book on so many different levels, I honestly don't know where to start. Going into this I expected some amazing world ♦ Video Review ♦
I loved this book on so many different levels, I honestly don't know where to start. Going into this I expected some amazing world building and I loved the unique idea of a world run by clock towers. It's a great metaphor for life today where time seems to go by so fast and new technologies get invented what feels like everyday. But this book had so much more to offer and I was so impressed with everything that was given to us readers in just a few pages.
The world building was as awesome as I had expected but it also went way deeper than I thought it would. There was a whole mythology to this world that I really enjoyed finding out about. It's always good to see a proper foundation for a fantastical spin on our own world and this one was interesting but also easy to understand.
I loved all the different characters we get in this story. Our main character has many different sides to him and I loved reading about his life and feelings. We see all kinds of characters in different parts of their lives but for most of them it comes down to wanting to protect the people they love. So while this book definitely has a focus on romance as well, there's lots of love displayed between family members and how everyone just tries to go through everyday life, being with the people they love, even if they act selfish because of it.
Our main character is openly gay and his love interest is probably bisexual/pansexual as he talks about being interested in a girl before. His sexuality is never clearly stated although that probably just has to do with the fact that the character does not quite grasp the concept of sexuality.
Overall I loved the storyline and the different aspects of it and I feel like this book can be enjoyed by many people. Whether you like romance, action, twists and turns, mythology, family life and dynamics.. there is something for everyone to enjoy. The alternate fantastical Victorian England setting was also very interesting and fits the story well. It is a well thought out concept and the author even included a note at the end on some of the things in the world, which I absolutely loved. I highly enjoyed all of these aspects working together and never felt bored in any part of the story! Even though this is the first book in a trilogy, I feel like you could very well read this as a standalone if you're not so much into committing to a series. There is a little "teaser" that makes you want to read on but the story from this first book has a pretty satisfying ending.
I highly recommend this to anyone that is intrigued by the synopsis. I definitely feel like the description of perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare and Victoria Schwab fits this book well and I wish this book gets just as much well-deserved hype!
DNF at 111 pages. I skim-read the ending (last 50 pages or so) to know how this would end and it would not have been worth it to read the whole thing.DNF at 111 pages. I skim-read the ending (last 50 pages or so) to know how this would end and it would not have been worth it to read the whole thing. The main character is an asshole, which is fine but he does not learn anything throughout this novel. There is no character development whatsoever. Everything he does is still all for his personal gain. “It’s not like being a nice guy is a coat of paint that you can just slap on.” is a sentence said by one of the side character and god, do I appreciate it. Definitely some of the side characters where the best part because they called the main character out on some of his bullshit but then there was also a female character that just seemed like a plot device so the main character can realize how wrong he’s been this whole time? Not that he really learns from that then. Ugh I wanna vomit. This was really the worst case scenario. I wanted a great book about video game addiction and coping mechanism and instead I got a sexist teenage boy, unwilling to really learn from his mistakes. NO THANK YOU....more
[Update November 2017: After reading the sequel Ever the Brave I decided to lower my rating to 2.5 stars!]
Overall an enjoyable read for me but a little too full of all my most hated tropes.
I went into this with pretty high expectations and ended up being a little disappointed. It's definitely not a BAD book but it just lacks some uniqueness. I'm normally not one to be very bothered by tropes and cliches in YA but this story felt like I read it before. I just didn't feel like I read anything exciting or new but just a retelling of a combination of a few other YAs, especially Graceling by Kristin Cashore and Defiance by C.J. Redwine.
I definitely enjoyed it despite all that because it's my kind of genre and I like these stories and the main character's journeys in them. But some of these tropes drove me NUTS.This also lead to a little bit of an annoying romance. I normally am a sucker for romance and there's rarely a romantic storyline I don't enjoy. This one though was just unnecessarily annoying. Although there are obvious feelings the main character and her love interest have for each other, it takes them super long to act upon it. Which, fine, whatever, if it wasn't for a constant almost kiss. When finally something happens, it's with the help of another one of my favourite tropes: After weeks of travelling, our main character FINALLY gets cleaned up and put in a dress. GUESS WHAT HAPPENS. Ah yes, all of a sudden the love interest is star struck and can't stop himself from kissing her. UUUGH. After that both just decide not to talk about it and when they finally do, the lying continues. WHY. JUST BE HONEST FOR A FUCKING MINUTE.
I did like the cliffhanger at the end and also the magical aspect was interesting to me, although I hope we get to explore more of that and the world in the second book. Sometimes I felt like the author forgot about the magical abilities our main characters had. There was one scene in particular that didn't make sense with everything we know but obviously I can't go into detail!
Overall I was definitely interested enough to continue the series and I see a lot of potential. If you enjoy books like Graceling or Defiance and don't mind tropes, I would still recommend this book. You just have to know what to expect!
3.5 stars. The beginning of this was rough. I thought there were way too many characters introduced all at once and even after finishing the novel I am3.5 stars. The beginning of this was rough. I thought there were way too many characters introduced all at once and even after finishing the novel I am still having trouble keeping them all apart. I never got used to the writing because it's so distant and I'm finding it hard to understand and identify with the emotions that the characters have. In general I thought a lot of this was all over the place. Who's supposed to be the main characters in this story? Going into it, I thought it would be the three queens but coming out of it I'm still confused about whose storyline I'm actually supposed to really care for. Multiple perspective books with an ensemble cast can be a lot of fun but not when they're written in a way that makes it hard to follow and keep track.
But while I have a lot of things that annoy me about this book, I also can't deny that once I kinda got used to it, I was really into this story. I think there are definitely a couple of super interesting characters, the world building is very intriguing and I do wanna know how all of this will play out. From this first book I'm not quite sure how this is gonna be dragged out to 4 books but okay, I'll stay hopeful. Overall I think it has way more potential and I wish it was easier to actually care about the characters but I'm also excited to see what's to come....more
Reread in July 2019: This was such a fantastic reread! Everything in my original review still stands, except I wasn't even that bored by the political Reread in July 2019: This was such a fantastic reread! Everything in my original review still stands, except I wasn't even that bored by the political stuff this time around, so I'm bumping my rating up to a 3.5 stars! Maybe it's also because we now know there's a sequel, so the political intrigues seem more relevant? I'm really not sure but I know that I enjoyed this so much and absolutely can't wait to read the sequel now!
First read in December 2016: This was an enjoyable read for me but the romance is what mostly kept me going.
I do have to say my initial excitement about the book was BECAUSE of the romance. A romantic relationship between two princesses in a fantasy world? YES PLEASE! In that aspect I was definitely not disappointed. I liked the build up of the relationship, the little moments between the two characters. I do wish we got to see more of them together, how their relationship developed after them confessing their feelings for each other. I feel like that part sadly fell a little flat for the sake of action. I was super impressed with the sex scene in this book. I loved that it wasn't fade to black but written in a way that, while not explicit, you still knew what was happening. I think we need more scenes like that in YA, especially when it's same sex relationships.
When it comes to the fantasy world and the overall plot, I felt like it was very political and too slow paced for me. While there's always hints of magic in the story, it's something that is illegal in this world, so we rarely get to see magic actually getting used. I liked the concept of the magic, I just don't think we got enough to see of it. So next to the romantic relationship, most of the story was just political drama and how to keep alliances between the different kingdoms and it just wasn't engaging enough for me.
I feel like this book would have a lot of potential for a sequel. I do love me a good fantasy standalone but I feel like this book only just paved the way for our main characters to grow and also their relationship to develop. I feel like a sequel could also discover so much more of the world and with that so much more of the magic! I definitely wouldn't be mad if the author decided to write more stories with the characters or at least show us more of the world, even if it is with different characters!
WHAT A FUCKING MESS. Hate me for this review or this rating but I didn't think that this could actually be THAT.RIDICULOUS. I'm gonna forget about it WHAT A FUCKING MESS. Hate me for this review or this rating but I didn't think that this could actually be THAT.RIDICULOUS. I'm gonna forget about it as soon as I've hit "Save" on this review. I honestly don't even understand why this exists (or.. well... $$$). The play is probably cool to watch (and I still wanna see it) but the story is just batshit crazy.
Here's three things I liked (that are kinda spoilery if you don't wanna know anything): (view spoiler)[1. Scorpius (and his friendship with Albus, although.. he has a crush on Rose but is jealous of Delphi.. yeah.. right........) 2. Harry & Draco working together (AND "LOOKING AT EACH OTHER AS FRIENDS") 3. although it was cheesy.. Snape. Just good to read about him and where he would have been in this situation. (hide spoiler)]...more
Wow. What the fuck? Actually I thought the overall story in this one was lovely to read but that conclusion was so disappointing. And then the epiloguWow. What the fuck? Actually I thought the overall story in this one was lovely to read but that conclusion was so disappointing. And then the epilogue was just fucking ridiculous. Whole lotta build up for nothing, basically....more
Maybe 3.75 stars! I definitely LIKED it overall, I just felt like the middle of the book was a little slow and the overall happenings just weren't thaMaybe 3.75 stars! I definitely LIKED it overall, I just felt like the middle of the book was a little slow and the overall happenings just weren't that interesting to me but I LOVED the beginning and the ending was so thrilling (but.. FUCKING CLIFFHANGER ugh). Overall I was just so happy to be back in this world and with the characters and to find out more about it. Honestly I didn't expect this to be like OMGOSH fast pace shit happening all the time so honestly while I maybe didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first book, it was definitiely a really good second installment in this series. Also book amnesia hit me hard with this one and I was so confused with all the names of people and demons pahaha :D...more
It's so hard for me to put into words why I love this duology so much. First of all I'm just so happy it's a duology. We get trilogies all the time in It's so hard for me to put into words why I love this duology so much. First of all I'm just so happy it's a duology. We get trilogies all the time in YA and often they just don't really work. These two books worked perfectly. We had enough time to get the story going but also to develop characters and relationships. I never once felt like the story was dragging! I just feel like this story is so easy to understand and so simplistic and yet so beautiful with that. I just love the characters so much, they have become a family to me, I feel like I'm part of their little group and that's probably the main part as to why I love this duology so much.
You know how sometimes you just have the most amazing time reading a book, you can't pinpoint as to why, but you just realize that it has a big place in your heart. That is this series for me. There is nothing about this that blows me away, there's no crazy plot twists or a world that we have never seen before. But I just can't stop turning the pages and I just have SO_MANY_FEELS. My opinion from the first book still stands; this is one of my favourite romances in a YA book. For me it's one of the best ones out there. Because it's just something that really goes under my skin. I felt like my heart was aching during this novel and then on certain parts it's almost jumping out of my chest out of pure happiness.
And while writing down all of this I have found why this duology means so much to me. It shows me what I love most about reading, why reading is one of my favourite things in the world! It's this feeling of really getting lost in a world and in characters, with all that I have and this is what both THE WITCH HUNTER and THE KING SLAYER have done to me and I feel really grateful <3 I'm sad that it is over but I feel even more satisfied with this whole book and the ending and that is most important to me!
Cover Release Reaction: I AM GOING TO CRYYYYYYYYYY LOOK AT THE COVER!!! I cannooooooooooooooooot wait!!...more
Originally read in June 2016, reread in May 2017 in anticipation for Our Dark Duet. All opinions in this review still stand after my reread. I love thOriginally read in June 2016, reread in May 2017 in anticipation for Our Dark Duet. All opinions in this review still stand after my reread. I love this book.
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VICTORIA SCHWAB HAS DONE IT AGAIN. I am so deeply in love with her books and this one was definitely NO exception. Actually this one was especially special to me because it felt a little different. I felt so “home” in her writing style but also often found myself forgetting that I'm reading a Schwab book which hasn't happened to me before and that felt so extraordinary to me.
“Most people want to escape. Get out of their heads. Out of their lives. Stories are the easiest way to do that.”
If you've seen some of my other reviews or follow my YouTube channel you'll know that I always love Schwab's characters and these just joined the ranks. Both main characters felt very realistic but super unique. I especially loved how both had a rather “tragic” back-story but I didn't feel like their thoughts and feelings were over-dramatized as it sadly often happens in YA, it's one of my greatest pet peeves. The characters had a wonderful depth to them. I really liked the way they were portrayed and the distinction between their personalities and the way people saw them. I also loved many of the secondary characters and the “villains”, as always. If you've read Vicious or A Darker Shade of Magic, you know that evil and villainous characters are what Schwab excels at.
I think it was mentioned pretty early on that while this is a story about a boy and a girl, we should not expect a romance. Either way would have been fine for me, as I love a good romance and I know Schwab CAN write it. But what she did with this friendship was even better. The friendship felt intense and deep and was beautifully written but never once made me question if there is more. There was no romantic or sexual tension between the lines and that made the friendship seem even stronger. I don't think I've ever read such a friendship, especially in YA, especially between a boy and a girl. Simply fantastic!
“It was a cruel trick of the universe, thought August, that he only felt human after doing something monstrous.”
One of the aspects I found so outstanding in this novel was the writing. I also never made a secret of my love for Schwab's writing. It is always easy to read but she has such a great way of describing things that never make the story boring. It's always easy to picture things while the world still feels rich. In THIS SAVAGE SONG I felt like her writing has outdone itself. I don't even know how to describe it, it was simply beautiful and fit the novel perfectly. It set the tone for the world and plot just right and it was able to bring across so many of the feelings the characters felt. I could feel the anxiety and the pain and the hunger. It was mesmerizing to me.
Lastly I wanna mention the music aspect because it was especially important to me. I am a musician and I have a really close connection to music. I know many people laugh about these sentence but I really love music and I couldn't imagine my life without it. Just as I could not imagine my life without Victoria Schwab's books. So these two clashing together was very exciting to me and I had been looking forward to this aspect in particular. While I had hoped that the music would play a bigger role in the novel, I enjoyed this aspect of the story a lot! It was a fascinating concept that I don't wanna go into detail with but it was definitely one of the things that made me fall in love with the novel as much as I have.
“You wanted to feel alive, right? It doesn't matter if you're monster or human. Living hurts.”
I am excited to see where the story is going in the second book. I do hope that we get a bit more about the world, how it came to be and what lies outside of what we've experienced in this story, especially because world building is another aspect that Victoria Schwab has never disappointed me in before, so I feel like there is definitely more to explore and find out. If by now you haven't guessed it.. I loved this book! It's definitely in my favourites of the year. I'd recommend it to simply everyone. It is beautiful, fascinating, dark and compelling!
Originally read in Feburary 2016, reread in January & February 2017 and September 2018.
September 2018: Surviving the 364 DAYS ♦ Video Review ♦
Originally read in Feburary 2016, reread in January & February 2017 and September 2018.
September 2018: Surviving the 364 DAYS LONG wait until A Conjuring of Light after THIS CLIFFHANGER has truly made the strong person that I am today.
January & February 2017: MOST PAINFUL REREAD OF MY LIFE!!! (5/5 for the audiobook btw, loved both narrators)
February 2016: It is currently 1am and I don't have any proper words for this yet. Instead I shall drown in feels and will try to write a proper review tomorrow. I tell you one thing though.. THIS BOOK IS PERFECT!!!
Sigh, I don't know where to beeegin. This review is so hard for me to write. I really, really enjoyed the first and second book and I've been on this NSigh, I don't know where to beeegin. This review is so hard for me to write. I really, really enjoyed the first and second book and I've been on this Nil journey since pretty much the beginning, so it definitely does not feel great so give this book a low rating and tell you how much this disappointed me. But that's why I wanna go into full detail. This is gonna hurt. Sorry #NILTribe!
My biggest problem was probably the main character Skye. I'm not gonna spoil the actual outcome of this but this storyline reminded SO MUCH of Tris from Allegiant, that I feel like if you didn't enjoy Allegiant, you should better stay away from this trilogy as a whole. The main character decided it was her destiny to solve every problem, to be the hero of the story, to save the world.. BY SACRIFICING HERSELF. Bleeeeurgh. This storyline has become really annoying to me. And if she made that decision and then everything was fine from there on.. her making that decision, being a little scared maybe, but pulling through, I would have been totally fine with it. But no, we get her boyfriend CONSTANTLY discussing with her why it's a bad idea. She shuts him out, he's mad about it, she eventually tells him stuff, they make up aaaaand then eventually the spiel starts again. This is what the WHOLE BOOK WAS ABOUT.
We got a lot of mystery solving on the island itself but I still don't feel any wiser about what the island actually is, where it came from, why it behaved the way it did. The island has an ACTUAL POV in this book and still I don't understand WHAT it is and why it had actual feelings and was nice or evil about some things? I feel like all we got a conclusion on was the characters, which is fine, as from the beginning on Nil was more about the characters than anything else. But that had already happened at the end of the second book, ACTUALLY at the end of the first book to be honest. I feel like all the questions I had in the first book, the questions as to why I desperately wanted a sequel, where not answered in any way in this final book. So it might just be because of my expectations.. but I just feel so disappointed.
We get some new characters, that I didn't feel interested in at all at this point, we get some new love stories which felt super old and also Skye and Rives were so fucking in love that they could have filled five more books with their eternal love for each other.
Overall I just really didn't find this an enjoyable reading experience. Main characters don't have to be likeable for me to enjoy the story but if you have several ones and they all annoy the fuckout of you, it gets a little frustrating. I really found myself only wanting to continue to get it done with. The characters didn't really feel believable anymore. They all acted so mature and I get it, an experience like Nil changes you, makes you grow up faster but also an experience like this might make you weak or go crazy. I feel like we didn't have enough facets, ESPECIALLY for the characters that we already got to know before. Where are the people that just can't handle this experience? SKYE LITERALLY HEARS NIL, SHE HEARS NIL'S VOICE! SHE SEES DEAD PEOPLE. And she is like yeah I'm Sky, I'm the bravest of 'em all, I'm gonna sacrifice myself. I DON'T KNOW. I just don't feel like the characters were realistic. They were just TRYING to be annoyingly mature. Which was also portrayed in the romances. They were just way over the top. And in this case I too believe that an experience like Nil makes your relationship a strong one. But they didn't act like it was a strong relationship. It was just too much.
In general this is one of my biggest disappointments of the year. I feel like it could have been wrapped up pretty nicely in just two books. It certainly would have worked a lot better for me.
I've been anticipating this book for such a long time, even before it actually being announced. I've been watching Carrie's videos for a long time andI've been anticipating this book for such a long time, even before it actually being announced. I've been watching Carrie's videos for a long time and when I heard her mention in her "Queen of Procrastination" video that her goal is to write a book, I was already looking forward to holding that book in my hands. Carrie is so full of talent and creativity and I was really excited when she announced her first fiction novel. I was almost scared my expectations were too high but they were exceeded.
This book blew me away. It's one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Made it right into my top books of 2016, my favourite of all time and my heart. I was captivated from the first page on. I went into the book not knowing too much about the story but I already senses that it would be right up my alley. While it is a contemporary book and focuses a lot on relationships between people, it is VERY heavy on the magical realism, so if you don't enjoy that I think you should stay away. But magical realism is one of my favourite things and really added to the magic this book contains. Also.. it's sad. It's super fucking sad. I mean it's also really happy and just in general emotional but if you're a weeper (like me), expect tears. I had to wipe actual big fucking tears away while finishing the book, I wasn't able to read the last page because my eyes wear so full of tears. And then I just hugged the book really, really close to my chest. I am still a little in awe and honestly don't know what else to tell you. This book will definitely stay with me for a really long time and I cannot wait for more of Carrie's work in fiction!...more
First read in March 2016, reread in November 2018!
[November 2018] Y'all what the fuck that was an amazing rereading experience, one most people could oFirst read in March 2016, reread in November 2018!
[November 2018] Y'all what the fuck that was an amazing rereading experience, one most people could only hope for when rereading a book. I AM SHOOK. This went from a low 3 stars to fucking 5 stars. WHAT THE HECK.
A lot of why I enjoyed this so much while rereading is because the experience of reading Lord of Shadows made me much more invested in the characters. So I started this book, already loving everyone and being invested in the relationship between Emma and Julien, which I just found cringey and annoying the first time. Still I did not expect in the slightest to love this reread THIS much. Almost every thing I said in my original review below was flipped on its head. I did not think that it was slow or boring or too long AT ALL. I never wanted to stop reading and I honestly wish I could've read it in a day. I still stand by my paragraph about the "I lie to you to save you"-trope. I still hate that trope and it still annoyed the fuck out of me. BUT I GUESS if there is one BOOK, one TIME, where I feel like it makes some sense, it is this one.
It's actually funny to me.. going into this, with everything I now know from Lord of Shadows, actually made me enjoy this one MORE than Lord of Shadows. That stayed on a very solid 4-star rating which is still great. But this reread of Lady Midnight is what made me fall in love with The Dark Artifices and gives me so much hope for the third book. I wanna thank my wonderful, beautiful friend Melanie, who was the whole reason why I even decided to reread this. I had never planned on doing so and I'm so glad I did and that I got to share the experience with her <3
“When you love someone, they become a part of who you are. They're in everything you do. They're in the air you breathe and the water you drink and the blood in your veins. Their touch stays on your skin and their voice stays in your ears and their thoughts stay in your mind.”
[March 2016 - 3 STARS] This is definitely already a very positive rating, as I had a huge love-hate relationship with this book. There were many parts that I loved and it would break my heart to rate it lower. But you guuuuys, I should have known. I never do well with Cassie's first books in series. My least favourite books by her are City of Bones, Clockwork Angel and City of Fallen Angels (which is technically the first book in the second part of TMI). So my expectations were definitely too high and only while reading I realized that it would probably follow the lines of all the other first books.
My biggest problem with this was definitely the length. TOO LONG! Too many boring parts. Too much explanation of things that happened in the past. And I get that Cassie had to write this in a way that people COULD technically start out with this book before TMI or TID but let's be honest, it doesn't REALLY make sense and you still wouldn't understand most of it if this was your first Shadowhunter book, SO WHY? In general I felt a little detached from the world and the characters, so some of the things that should have made me feel shock or sadness or happiness didn't really happen and that's definitely a factor that made this book less exciting for me to read. I love me some good emotional connection and it just wasn't quite there.
There were definitely parts in this that I really loved. The action sequences were so well done. The family dynamics were beautiful. And I was really rushing through the last 250 pages or so because I felt really like the story was only really starting there. I also liked how much time Cassie then took to let the kind of "final battle" sink in.
BUT_THEN_SHE_USED_ONE_OF_MY_MOST_HATED_TROPES! And I know she loves this trope and it was obvious something like this would happen but that made it even worse. The "I lie to you to save you"-trope is just annoying and I really can't take it anymore. It is not something that made me feel sorry for the characters or "I understand your decision", it just made me roll my eyes. And it destroyed so much of the character development we had. It destroyed a whole character storyline that we have all been waiting for since basically City of Heavenly Fire. So in hindsight it all felt a little.. unnecessary to me. And at this point I'm not sure where this storyline will go in the second and third book and if it all ends up being okay in the end anyway, in a "these people are special and in that case it's fine" way, I will DEFINITELY lose my shit. Because that's just really fucking stupid. But anyway, that's too far in the future.
Overall, while this had many enjoyable parts, I was just a little disappointed. It's by NO MEANS a bad book and I didn't hate it in any way. I just found myself being bored SO OFTEN, I didn't want to continue reading, I actually fell into a little reading slump because of it. And it's just really not something you expect when one of your favourite authors finally releases a new book in a world you love, with characters you know. With 200 pages less I probably could have given it 5 stars.
Lea (drumsofautumn)
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