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eesh25's review against another edition
4.0
We all know that Goodreads can be... difficult at times. The top review is often one star because it's funny. And there are always people who hate a book just for the sake of hating it. And for this book—or series, really—Goodreads is the worst place. There are so many people who don't want this series to exist because they don't think it's necessary. Though that's become true for any Shadowhunter Chronicles book. So it's almost an unpopular opinion to say that I liked it.
I've been a fan of Cassie's since early 2014. I've had some ups and downs with her books. And while I'll never claim that's she's the most amazing author, the fact that all her series are set in the same universe has never been a problem for me. Because the way I see it, if the characters and the story are different, then it's fine. She even changes time periods and countries.
Though I guess that doesn't apply to this series. Because it's not one that you have to read. It's just for fans who wanted a Malec series. I'm one of those fans, and I really liked this book. I read it slowly over a period of almost two months. There wasn't any urgency because it's set in the past and we know everyone survives. So it was a fun experience in which I got to revisit some of my favourite characters, and got a decent story to go along with it.
The book is set after the events of Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. Shinyun's back (I fucking hate her), but so is Ragnor! We're also, once again, dealing with a Prince of Hell, and we find out what the whole "Eldest Curse" thing is.
The plot is that someone's threatening Magnus again and this time, it leads them to China and, later, to another hellish dimension. But unlike the previous book, Magnus and Alec are joined by Jace, Clary, Isabelle and Simon. They're side-characters so they don't get much individual plot—except Simon, who's still dealing with what happened to George.
The book follows the characters as they try to find out what trouble they're in this time, and how to get out of it. They travel to different places, exchange snarky remarks, and just... have an adventure. You know, in hell. One that could have ended very badly.
I wouldn't call this book riveting or a must-read. But I enjoyed it. I liked seeing the earlier consequences of the Cold Peace, visiting another Shadowmarket, and even getting a hint about the beginnings of the Cohort. Plus, more Jace is always awesome. And so is Isabelle on a giant tiger with a flaming whip. The only thing I didn't like was Shinyun. I wish she didn't exist.
Finally, the epilogue was... unexpected. And I'm now officially worried, and excited, about what'll happen in the third book.
I've been a fan of Cassie's since early 2014. I've had some ups and downs with her books. And while I'll never claim that's she's the most amazing author, the fact that all her series are set in the same universe has never been a problem for me. Because the way I see it, if the characters and the story are different, then it's fine. She even changes time periods and countries.
Though I guess that doesn't apply to this series. Because it's not one that you have to read. It's just for fans who wanted a Malec series. I'm one of those fans, and I really liked this book. I read it slowly over a period of almost two months. There wasn't any urgency because it's set in the past and we know everyone survives. So it was a fun experience in which I got to revisit some of my favourite characters, and got a decent story to go along with it.
The book is set after the events of Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. Shinyun's back (I fucking hate her), but so is Ragnor! We're also, once again, dealing with a Prince of Hell, and we find out what the whole "Eldest Curse" thing is.
The plot is that someone's threatening Magnus again and this time, it leads them to China and, later, to another hellish dimension. But unlike the previous book, Magnus and Alec are joined by Jace, Clary, Isabelle and Simon. They're side-characters so they don't get much individual plot—except Simon, who's still dealing with what happened to George.
The book follows the characters as they try to find out what trouble they're in this time, and how to get out of it. They travel to different places, exchange snarky remarks, and just... have an adventure. You know, in hell. One that could have ended very badly.
I wouldn't call this book riveting or a must-read. But I enjoyed it. I liked seeing the earlier consequences of the Cold Peace, visiting another Shadowmarket, and even getting a hint about the beginnings of the Cohort. Plus, more Jace is always awesome. And so is Isabelle on a giant tiger with a flaming whip. The only thing I didn't like was Shinyun. I wish she didn't exist.
Finally, the epilogue was... unexpected. And I'm now officially worried, and excited, about what'll happen in the third book.
ashjreads's review against another edition
2.0
3 / 5 stars
“The world is an absurd place, and to take it too seriously would be to let it win.”
We are at the point where, if you’re reading this review, I am assuming you don’t care about Shadowhunter spoilers anymore.
Aghhhh this took me so long to read, by my typical standards. Part of it is because I was super busy. Part of it was that I got into a reading slump. The last part is just… I didn’t really like this book. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. I feel somewhat neutral about it. So I am giving it a middle-of-the-road rating.
I love Malec, this information is known by now. But, again, this book felt like poorly written fanfiction. Magnus and Alec feel juuuuust out of character enough that I couldn’t get into it. There was some cute moments between them but not enough to hold up in this book. Honestly, the whole gang felt out of character. They fell very flat and were not like themselves at all and the plot wasn’t interesting enough to distract me from that.
The beginning was good—the ending was sweet. The epilogue was concerning. The middle was… bleh. Just very very bleh. I don’t know if this is because it’s multiple authors or if, when this was written, it had been a while since the main gang had been written. Really, it felt like a filler book. 400 pages is a lot to give to a filler book. I wasted roughly 16 days (give or take, since I definitely spent many days avoiding it) reading a FILLER BOOK. Annoyed, frankly. I was told that I would like this one better than I liked The Red Scrolls of Magic. Twitter lied to me.
The bonus story about Tessa & Jem… if you see me weeping because of it? Simply do not comment on it. Jessa waited a whole century for that and I am not okay. Any mention of the two of them had me kicking and giggling (the camera footage cuts to me crying on the couch to Alissa because they finally got to be together)
“The world is an absurd place, and to take it too seriously would be to let it win.”
We are at the point where, if you’re reading this review, I am assuming you don’t care about Shadowhunter spoilers anymore.
Aghhhh this took me so long to read, by my typical standards. Part of it is because I was super busy. Part of it was that I got into a reading slump. The last part is just… I didn’t really like this book. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. I feel somewhat neutral about it. So I am giving it a middle-of-the-road rating.
I love Malec, this information is known by now. But, again, this book felt like poorly written fanfiction. Magnus and Alec feel juuuuust out of character enough that I couldn’t get into it. There was some cute moments between them but not enough to hold up in this book. Honestly, the whole gang felt out of character. They fell very flat and were not like themselves at all and the plot wasn’t interesting enough to distract me from that.
The beginning was good—the ending was sweet. The epilogue was concerning. The middle was… bleh. Just very very bleh. I don’t know if this is because it’s multiple authors or if, when this was written, it had been a while since the main gang had been written. Really, it felt like a filler book. 400 pages is a lot to give to a filler book. I wasted roughly 16 days (give or take, since I definitely spent many days avoiding it) reading a FILLER BOOK. Annoyed, frankly. I was told that I would like this one better than I liked The Red Scrolls of Magic. Twitter lied to me.
The bonus story about Tessa & Jem… if you see me weeping because of it? Simply do not comment on it. Jessa waited a whole century for that and I am not okay. Any mention of the two of them had me kicking and giggling (the camera footage cuts to me crying on the couch to Alissa because they finally got to be together)
softsamflower's review against another edition
3.0
I'm still trying to figure out if I liked this or I didn't, it had good things like for sure the characters but idk the plot was kinda... weird? not necessary? didn't quite understand it, I loved the first book of this and I got kinda sad bc this one wasn't as good as the red scrolls of magic...
I'm disappointed, some bits were good, but others didn't make any sense. even though, I can't put a bad review to Cassandra Clare... so 3 stars it is ig.
I'm disappointed, some bits were good, but others didn't make any sense. even though, I can't put a bad review to Cassandra Clare... so 3 stars it is ig.
currents_convulsive's review against another edition
4.0
Re-read, increased rating because it's just such a FUN book
kaulhilo's review against another edition
4.0
i am one explosion of heart emojis and that’s all (also the ending?
marshaw's review against another edition
4.0
“– Se você morresse, parte de mim morreria também. Então, lembre-se, Magnus. Não é só a sua vida. É a minha vida também.”
7markers's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
I liked the bonus story at the end the best - In Dreams Begin: a bonus story featuring Tessa & Jem!
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
1 star for Jem Carstairs
1 star for Malec
1 star for TMI gang
1 star for Malec
1 star for TMI gang