I enjoyed it, I really did. But not as much as I would have liked. And not nearly as much the first book.
I think the problem with this b~ 3.5 stars ~
I enjoyed it, I really did. But not as much as I would have liked. And not nearly as much the first book.
I think the problem with this book is that there was a lot of back and forth and we always ended up in the same place with no progress being made. It was all so tedious. This book was too long and it dragged at times. I felt like there was no clear direction with the story, it was all over the place. It did start to develop the plot more, which I am grateful for as that was something that I was looking for in the first book, but it still wasn't that great. It tried to build up the angst and suspense, but I wasn't as big a fan of the drama in this book as much as I was in the first book. And that ending was a whole mess. Fortunately, I am still invested in finding out what happens next.
As far as the characters go, I do like them, I even love some of them, but there were a few that started to really irritate me. No spoilers, but the main romance and the main subplot were so annoying. And a lot of the issues and conflicts in this book that were simply just frustrating. That stupid bracelet is actually the bane of my existence, iykyk.
So while I did think this was a good book, it could be better. Definitely could be better. I'm being lenient with my judgment of this book, but I do think this is by far CC's best series and I did enjoy this. I have not had a great track with the Shadowhunter books, and if I wasn't buddy reading them, I probably would not have continued past the Infernal Devices, but I do see improvement, which is worth noting.
"Reading together. Never had Cordelia heard of anything so romantic."
I really enjoyed this. And that's despite the lackluster plot. ~ 4.25 stars ~
"Reading together. Never had Cordelia heard of anything so romantic."
I really enjoyed this. And that's despite the lackluster plot. This is definitely my favorite Shadowhunter book.
I felt like the writing has much improved from the earlier books, I had no troubles with it. I didn't come across any absurd lines that made me want to pour bleach into my eyes or chuck the book off of a 200 story building, so that's great.
I also loved the characters. I liked reading about all of them. Well... excpet James Herondale. I have zero interest in James. Though the other two main characters, Cordelia Carstairs and Lucie Herondale I liked much more. So I only struggled to push through one out of the three POVs.
It was additionally just the right amount and type of drama to where it didn't feel overbearing. I could indulge in it.
Yet, simply because of how weak the plot was, I can't say that I absolutely loved it or had any strong feelings of that sort about it. I do appreciate character driven books, but I think if it would have spent more time developing the plot, that would have elevated this book.
I will go into more details about my thoughts in my Chain of Iron review as I my opinions on a lot of the characters and relationships were much more formed after that, but long story short, stan Alastair Carstairs for clear skin.
Buddy read Foteini! She is literally the sweetest person ever and you can check out her review HERE.
What did I just read? Going into this~ 1.5 stars ~
Buddy read Foteini! She is literally the sweetest person ever and you can check out her review HERE.
What did I just read? Going into this book, having already been told that the plot is messy, I still expected for this book to sit at a solid 3 stars. I feel like 3 stars is a bare minimum expectation. I'm not asking for something spectacular or out of this world. Just something sufficiently enjoyable for the most part. I liked the first two, and I don't know what happened here, but it was not it.
This was so excruciatingly boring. There were so many subplots to the point where I cared for none. I just wanted this to be over.
The romances were too much and started to annoy me. A lot of characters became wasted potential….or started to annoy me. The resolution was so long winded….and annoyed me. And most notably, the book ends with a cliffhanger. I don't know who thought ending a series with a cliffhanger was a good idea, but it really isn't. It defeats the whole purpose of the finale if there is still something more. And that something more is something major.
Kit, Ty, and Mark are the only ones I wanted to read about. Not their stupid subplots that helped no one and did nothing, just to clarify. I hated that. But I love them as characters. They saved this book in my opinion and they deserve the world.
I feel really disappointed with this series. It had a strong start with the first book, but slowly declined in quality.
My reviews of the other Shadowhunter Chronicle book:
This book is so thick that even the librarian couldn't resist making a joke about "light reading" when I picked this up along with 4 other books....more
Buddy read this with my co-president of the Zara Sucks Club, Foteini! Check out her review HERE.
This was not what I expected. After I read ~ 3 stars ~
Buddy read this with my co-president of the Zara Sucks Club, Foteini! Check out her review HERE.
This was not what I expected. After I read Lady Midnight, and shockingly liking it much more than I had anticipated, I thought that this would be even better. But unfortunately, it lacked in certain aspects.
The first negative is that the plot was so messy and there was just too much going on. I don’t know what is worse, when nothing happens, or when everything happens. This is really something else. I thought the first book was a great start to a story, but here there were just a bunch of subplots, too many antagonists, and it just in general was too much for me to keep up with or care about.
The second was THE WRITING. While it has improved, why is it that sometimes there will be 2 full pages of random obsolete descriptions and enough info dumps to last you a lifetime, but other times, a scene will be over in a blink of an eye, almost so that you might miss it?
And lastly, the long chapters. No one wants to read 45 page long chapters. It truly is draining.
Now onto the saving qualities.
I personally have never really considered the Shadowhunter books to be the best action plot/conflict wise. Rather they are always greatly character focused, which while I am not a huge fan of books that are such typically, I like a balance of everything, this is the big reason I have rated the book 3 stars and not any lower. I actually am interested in these characters and that helps me be invested.
My opinions on them and their relationships are still relatively the same as the first book, so I won’t restate them. This also was thankfully not so focused on the character’s petty drama as I expected, and the drama that was present did not bother me as much.
It was also enjoyable enough of a read to get me through, and there is still hope for the plot overall. I am looking forward to how it plays. And that ending….what? What was that? Who ends a book like that? And why?
Final Thoughts: I am anxious about the next book but I just hope it doesn’t disappoint. It’s a pretty thick book, so if I’m going to be reading almost 1,000 pages of content, it better be worth it....more
Thank you so much to wonderful Foteini for buddy reading this book with me! Check out her amazing review here.
This was a pleasant surpr~ 4 stars ~
Thank you so much to wonderful Foteini for buddy reading this book with me! Check out her amazing review here.
This was a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, especially since I have not had a good streak with the Shadowhunter books. But I suppose 3rd time is truly a charm, and because I am in a generous mood, 4 stars it is.
~ plot ~
As far as plot goes, this one definitely was more developed. But I found that the climax was not my favorite. It felt rushed and I didn't feel the stakes. But the ending was intriguing and enough to keep me interested.
~ writing ~
My other critique is the writing which expanded my color palette vocabulary with all the shades of blue. It has improved greatly from the City of Bones days, but it still isn't my favorite. I also didn't like the constant and redundant mentions of TMI. I would have liked it more to be subtle and meaningful, instead of it being popped in wherever possible.
~ characters ~
The characters were great. The Shadowhunter books are very character focused, and as someone who likes a good balance of plot and character, that doesn't always work. Especially if I don't like the characters, but it did here.
Emma: A good main character for a story like this one. She's not exactly my favorite but I wouldn't say I dislike her. In this story, she is trying to solve the mystery behind her parents murder so many years ago.
Julian: He can cook and he paint, so those are automatically advantages. Julian's dedication to his siblings was precious, but I still would like more character development on his part, and to get to know him a bit better, but otherwise, there isn't much else to say.
Mark: He's hilarious and tied for my favorite Blackthorn sibling. Mark is quite impressionable, constantly confused, and has a childish energy, and un-shamefully weird. But he clearly has an interesting story which I want to learn more about.
Livia: I didn't connect with her as much, but her relationship with Ty, and how protective she is to the others, is admirable. I also hope to get more chapters from Livvy's POV in the next book, or at least to get to know her better.
Tiberius: I love him. He's my favorite. Ty is smart, passionate, and is a total cinnamon roll.
Drusilla: We don't know much about her. She's pretty young, so she isn't going to be as closely involved in the story.
Octavian: He's 8, so I have nothing to say.
Christina: She's okay, but her backstory is weak though. I thought it was something super bad. I also would like more development on her part.
Diego: I don't trust him. Something is fishy about him.
Malcom: Magnus still remains the superior warlock.
~ the relationships ~
Emma x Julian: I am a friends to lover enthusiast, so I was excited for this. It wasn't my absolute favorite or necessarily live up to my exceptions, but I don't mind it. It has potential.
Mark x Kieran: I don't know what to make of this. There were a lot of up and downs. I wished we got more of them together just so that I could get a feel for them.
Mark x Christina: Not a big fan, it's not bad though, but I think I prefer Mark with Kieran, and his heart seems to lie there, and not with Cristina.
Mark x Emma: I just know the drama from this is going to drain me and I'm going to hate it. But they are good as friends.
Christina x Diego: Nah. Again, don't trust Diego.
Livvy x Ty: The sibling bonds are what I'm here for. They are complete opposites, yet are the most comfortable with each other.
Emma x Christina: They work well together and I like how it is building their friendship.
Ty x Mark: Another sibling bond I like. Ty obviously looks up to Mark, and I hope we get more of them together in the next book.
Julian x Mark I would also like to see more of this in the next book and for them to build a stronger relationship.
~ world-building ~
Same old, same old. Not much new expect more stories.
Final thoughts: Improvement is improvement, I will give it that. It was overall enjoyable, and while I obviously there were things I do not like, I am choosing not to judge harshly, and I look forward to the rest of the series.
••••• (pre-reading 3/27/21)
I just wanted to say, whoever decided it was a good idea to add permanent stickers to cover needs to pay for their crimes against humanity. Because I actually really like the cover, but can't even admire it because there is an unnecessarily large, bright, red sticker informing me that my library bought it when it was on sale for limited time only, for $4.99....more
Things were going well. It was going to be a 4 star read. But those last 100-200 pages ruined the entire book for me. Remind me never to be~ 2 stars ~
Things were going well. It was going to be a 4 star read. But those last 100-200 pages ruined the entire book for me. Remind me never to be hopeful again. Because I thought I was genuinely going to like this book, and even praised what I thought was "development" in this series in my updates, but goodness, the entire resolution was terrible. It was trying too much, and to satisfy everyone. It was unrealistic, boring, and annoying.
Moment of appreciation for Gideon and Sophie though, I love their relationship. And Magnus. I'm not even sure I like Jem as much as I did in the first book anymore which is weird. Don't get me wrong, I still love him and think he deserves the world, but I don't know. Something is off. Or maybe I'm just tired of everything.
Buddy reading this book with two amazing people, Milena(REVIEW), and Foteini (REVIEW)! Thanks so much! :)
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
All the aspects that ruined this book for me:
• The characters:
Will still remains a character I am iffy about. I don’t find him as compelling and he has his moments that just annoy me to no extent. The only positives about his character is his fixation on demon pox and his friendship with Jem.
Tessa is indecisive as ever, which just makes her annoying. She presents herself on a moral high ground that she isn't on. She's impulsive and just a weak character.
• The Love Triangle: Absolutely despicable. I still remain with the unanswered question of why people love this ONE love triangle, but despise all the rest. Both Will and Tessa have "unwavering loyalty" to Jem, but litterly minutes after finding out he is dead, they hook up and have sex?? When one of them dies, Tessa has the other as a replacement. BuT sHe'S iN lOvE wItH tHeM bOtH sO tHe ChEaTiNg iS jUsTiFiAbLe. Emotional cheating is still cheating. The entire time, she couldn't pick one, so she let death, and other painful conveniences do that for her.
Personally I think the entire time, it should have just been Tessa and Will despite me liking Jem exponentially more. All the drama just ruined the book. Jem and Tessa could be friends. Tessa breaking Jem's heart and telling him she loved Will the entire time, is better than her remaining with him, while being in love with someone else. In my opinion that is.
• Plot: Once again, Mortmain was barely relevant. He's a terrible villain. I don't want more pages of Will and Tessa pining after each other than the actual conflict. Also it wrapped up too nearly. No deaths, everyone is happy, nothing is wrong in life. All that build-up and it seemed so easy.
Once Mortmain was killed the resolution was so messy. 100+ PAGES OF RESOLUTION. The only thing this did was to satisfy everyone, which is never a good move. Trying to make everyone happy just makes it unrealistic. Jem is a Silent Brother, and yet another convenience, is that he doesn't undergo the typical procedures. So he finds a cure hundreds of years later, and is able to live his mortal life with Tessa in the year 2008.
Tessa who got married to Will, had children, grandchildren, the life she wanted. In his situation our heroine gets both guys.
Also for some reason, literally everyone was coupled up and happy. It just threw up a bunch of irrelevant future events on me because unfortunately some things can't be left to the imagination. Just one perfect bow wrapped present that makes we roll my eyes so far back I can see my brain. Sophie and Gideon are married. Cecily and Gabriel are together. Charlotte and Henry have a kid. The end. They all live happily ever after.
Basically, I'm annoyed. I'm let down. This was not a good finale. Burn that lame and cheap epilogue and resolution, and perhaps I would have liked it. It had such a promising start, but then everything went to hell. I do see why people would love this series, but it didn't do it for me. ...more
Big thanks to Milena for buddy reading this series with me! Here is her REVIEW!
At first I was going to rate this higher, but the more I~ 3 stars ~
Big thanks to Milena for buddy reading this series with me! Here is her REVIEW!
At first I was going to rate this higher, but the more I sat on it, I don't think it quite deserves any more than a 3 star. It's an improvement, but it's still missing certain elements that make a book "good" for me. This book is a "barley okay" or "solid" book.
While I had low expectations that would be difficult to not meet, I was a bit surprised they were met, and to have enjoyed it more. More importantly it felt much better than Clockwork Angel. Since this book took its own path, more or less, rather than reading like it's a ripoff, that was helpful in enhancing the experience.
As far as the characters go, I would die for Jem, he's so precious, and I love him, but I'm also starting to really appreciate the side characters.
***SPOILERS***
Negatives:
• The plot in my opinion greatly lacked. Mortmain wasn't even in this book and the information we got regarding him, and his motives were shallow level at best. The big action scene was weak. I have no idea what part of this book was meant to be the climax. Honestly there were more declarations of love than anything else and it took a really painfully long time for anything to actually happen. And then of course Nate. Literally added nothing to this story and was a sad attempt at an antagonist (not sure if even call him that).
• I still cease to see why a lot of people make an exception for this love triangle. I really want to understand why, so if anyone is up to explain it to me, I would love to know why. Because in my opinion it's annoying, brings unnecessary drama, filled with emotional cheating, just like all the others. And it's even worse that the love interests are close friends. The fact that Tessa is thinking of Will while she is with Jem, is a big red flag that they shouldn't be together. Yet they got.... engaged? Jem deserves better.
• The whole, "oh never mind, there wasn't actually a curse on Will" plot twist was cheap and irritating. It's like CC didn't want to commit to that plot line, so she decided to resolve it in such a cliche and lazy way. And even if I no longer hate Will will a burning passion, and I do feel some sympathy, not all his actions are excused by this curse.
Also, why is Tessa completely fine being treated that way? She fell in love with someone with that attitude? Yes it may have been a fake persona, but ma'am please, this isn't okay. And I think that was probably what annoyed me the most.
Perhaps the next book will change that.
• I have just accepted that the writing is just not for me. Here is a quote that made me lose brain cells, just so that you can have an idea of what I mean:
"Where have you been?" she whispered. " You smell like nighttime."
• Also please, enough with the eyes. For the first few chapters, even if Will's eyes were mentioned a million and one times, there were no actual descriptions. I even got a bit excited. Than this happened:
He was staring out the window. His eyes were the color of the Arctic sea at night.
I had spoken too soon *sigh*.
(This is not a serious critique btw, more sarcastic, because my hate for eye descriptions is never ending)
Overall, I appreciate the improvement, though not drastic, definitely worth mentioning. I don't have much to say other than that. I'm looking forward to the next book, which I've seen raved about left and right. ...more
Wow, that's a lot of incest. But plot wise, still much better than the first two.Wow, that's a lot of incest. But plot wise, still much better than the first two....more
Buddy Read this book with Milena! Here is her review.
"Tessa let her breath out. She hadn't realized she'd been holding it in."
I enjoye~ 2 stars ~
Buddy Read this book with Milena! Here is her review.
"Tessa let her breath out. She hadn't realized she'd been holding it in."
I enjoyed this more than The Mortal Instruments, I can see the improvement, and the setting it better, but this was just a revamped version of City of Bones. The similarities were uncanny.
~ Positives ~
• It was faster paced. Despite everything I have to give this book that. It was not a difficult read.
• Jem Carstairs: who is my favorite character arguably in all of the Shadowhunter Chronicles so far. He is precious and deserves the world.
• I like a few of the side characters. Sophie, Charlotte, and Henry were all great, though I don’t know them well enough for that to impact my opinion.
• Magnus. I don’t need to explain any further.
~ Negatives ~
• William Herondale: Or, I suppose, bri ish Jace. He is arrogant, rude, and has a clear disregard for others, and just overall a character in which I don’t like. I am told that he has a great character arc and development, but since that is yet to happen, I must judge him based on what I know. I will try to keep an open mind though.
• Tessa Gray: She's annoying, whiney, and judgmental. I don't see the appeal with her. The only thing I related to her with is the book obsession. She had her moments, but that was not enough to make me like her. She seriously needs some character development.
• Please, I know that Will’s eyes are blue. It is able to mention his eyes and all the various shades and emotions they come in more times than I can count on my hands and toes. It was impeccable. The writing and descriptions is something that I have consistently found is not for me.
• There is a love triangle type, which no one likes. Jem is clearly the best option, but not for Tessa (because he deserves better). Will and Tessa seem to have more "romantical" connection, if that makes sense. It's blatantly obvious who Tessa prefers.
• Now back to my initial point, can you rip off your own book? If so, this book reads as if it was plagiarized.
An ordinary girl finds out that she is actually special and has to save one of her family members from a "villain". Now suddenly everyone and everything is dependent on her. She is saved by a shadowhunter, who she falls in love with and her family kept a secret from her. There is a love triangle where two people are in love with her for confusing reasons and side characters that are more interesting than her. Does that sound familiar? There are just too many similarities for me to overlook.
• I saw the ending coming. The plot has to be the weakest part of this book. Clare’s books are often very character focused, but even then, this has to be the least developed of all her plots. I can’t even tell you what it is about.
Overall I am so immensely disappointed because I expected more. I can't rate it any higher, even if I want to. I really thought I would like this. ...more