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4.37 AVERAGE
4.37 AVERAGE
Wow. This book was phenomenal. I literally can't process the fact that Livvy died. When I read the last page I kept flipping it, not understanding when the book kept trying to show me this strange chapter called "acknowledgments" instead of the next paragraph.
I mean, the entire last chapter was insane. I was so sure Magnus was about to die and it FREAKED me out, but at least he didn't, thankfully. Speaking of him, Magnus was a delightful addition. Quick story: when I realized that the group was at the London Institute, aka Jem, Will, and Tessa's institute, I flipped. Like, I was fangirling in my bed. Then they mentioned that Will had written his name in the library books, and I freaked out again. Then Magnus showed up and I was hit with so much nostalgia and feels and I wanted to read tid again (I've already reread it this year though...)
Also, I'm not sure who Zara reminds me of more: Valentine, because of her "let's destroy all downworlders" policy, Hitler, because of the genocide she wants to commit along with forcing downworlders to wear a "mark" to show what they are, or Gilderoy Lockhart, because of the whole taking credit for other peoples' murders and such.
Well...I'm gonna go watch some booktube reviews, then cry some more.
I mean, the entire last chapter was insane. I was so sure Magnus was about to die and it FREAKED me out, but at least he didn't, thankfully. Speaking of him, Magnus was a delightful addition. Quick story: when I realized that the group was at the London Institute, aka Jem, Will, and Tessa's institute, I flipped. Like, I was fangirling in my bed. Then they mentioned that Will had written his name in the library books, and I freaked out again. Then Magnus showed up and I was hit with so much nostalgia and feels and I wanted to read tid again (I've already reread it this year though...)
Also, I'm not sure who Zara reminds me of more: Valentine, because of her "let's destroy all downworlders" policy, Hitler, because of the genocide she wants to commit along with forcing downworlders to wear a "mark" to show what they are, or Gilderoy Lockhart, because of the whole taking credit for other peoples' murders and such.
Well...I'm gonna go watch some booktube reviews, then cry some more.
I never thought after The Mortal Instruments and Tessa's story that I'd be so invested in another Clare series but how this series and these new characters have found a place in my heart.
As I read more and more of Clare, I see how her writing has grown and become stronger. There are some lines in this book that just left me speechless because they were written so beautifully. Another thing that Clare does so well is show the character progression of each character throughout the story especially our two protagonists Julian and Emma (although this story is told from mostly all the Blackthorns perspective and Kits and Diana) I still feel that Julian and Emma are the soul of this series. I truly hope that Julian and Emma get their HEA but how can Clare make that happen while staying true to the Shadowhunter world? I do not want to contemplate just yet.
There are so many characters to keep up with and so many sub plots but I didn't find it annoying. I was eager to read every characters story and learn more about them. Clare has done such a great job in building anticipation through each chapter which makes it difficult to put the book down.
One thing I disliked is some of the romantic relationships that formed because the build up to certain relationships was confusing and seemed forced (but that's just probably me).
Overall, I truly enjoyed reading this book and the ending left me in tears and now to have to wait two years for the next one is absolute torture. Why do I do this to myself?
As I read more and more of Clare, I see how her writing has grown and become stronger. There are some lines in this book that just left me speechless because they were written so beautifully. Another thing that Clare does so well is show the character progression of each character throughout the story especially our two protagonists Julian and Emma (although this story is told from mostly all the Blackthorns perspective and Kits and Diana) I still feel that Julian and Emma are the soul of this series. I truly hope that Julian and Emma get their HEA but how can Clare make that happen while staying true to the Shadowhunter world? I do not want to contemplate just yet.
There are so many characters to keep up with and so many sub plots but I didn't find it annoying. I was eager to read every characters story and learn more about them. Clare has done such a great job in building anticipation through each chapter which makes it difficult to put the book down.
One thing I disliked is some of the romantic relationships that formed because the build up to certain relationships was confusing and seemed forced (but that's just probably me).
Overall, I truly enjoyed reading this book and the ending left me in tears and now to have to wait two years for the next one is absolute torture. Why do I do this to myself?
Hmm I’m writing my review of this book almost a month after I finished it, and it has proven to be not very memorable. I recall enjoying Kieran’s plot line, and quite enjoyed the younger Blackthorn siblings plot lines too. Oh yes and I’ve just remembered where this book ended! I will read the final trilogy for completeness, but I’m not particularly excited for it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First of all, that ending was incredibly chaotic and depressing. I really don’t think I’ll be able to process it properly for a few days.
Overall a good book, felt a bit long though. A few story lines could’ve been cut in my opinion but I’m assuming it’s set up for the third book. Kept me guessing and shocked me more than a book has in a while.
Overall a good book, felt a bit long though. A few story lines could’ve been cut in my opinion but I’m assuming it’s set up for the third book. Kept me guessing and shocked me more than a book has in a while.
It's been a while since I've read a Cassandra Clare novel, but because of the global coronavirus situation right now I really have nothing better than to read - Lord of Shadows has been on my TBR shelf for a while and I've finally gotten around to reading it. To refresh my memory, I went back to my review of [b:Lady Midnight|25494343|Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1)|Cassandra Clare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460477682l/25494343._SY75_.jpg|19104294] and was surprised to find that I actually read it way back in 2016!
Luckily, Clare catches us up real quick in terms of what happened in the previous novel. To recap, Mark Blackthorne has returned from the Wild Hunt to the rest of his siblings. Julian Blackthorne and Emma Carstairs are still parabatai but they are still in ~love~ with each other, which has the potential to unleash a curse on them and Emma pretends that she's in a relationship with Mark, to avoid this possibility. Meanwhile, Emma's best friend Cristina has reunited with Perfect Diego. All the above should've put an end to the love triangle between Cristina, Mark and Diego but it actually just adds more tension to the situation.
This book begins innocently enough, with a sudden influx of sea demons in LA. Unfortunately, we're told that this is a very bad sign of Marcus Fade's magic. Even though the High Warlock of LA had died in the previous book, it seems to have unleashed some sort of magic causing demons to rise. This, in turns, causes Centurions (a type of elite Shadowhunter) to arrive at the LA Institute, all of whom are expecting Arthur Blackthorne to behave as a typical chair should. Among the Centurions are Diego's fiance, which is news to Cristina, Zara Dearborn. Zara and her ilk have dangerous ideas about how they should maintain the supremacy and purity of the Shadowhunters and to register all Downworlders, in an attempt to control them. Meanwhile, Christopher "Kit" Herondale is now living with the Blackthornes, even though he's determined to not become a Shadowhunter, given how his criminal father Johnny Rook had raised him. Kit isn't even sure if he wants to be a Herondale but finds an unexpected connection with the Blackthorne twins, Ty and Livvy.
But, as these books go, the Blackthornes and Emma can't live in peace together all the time - Zara's father has his own ideas of how Clave politics should go, Mark is asked to go on a quest to rescue his ex-boyfriend and Marcus Fade is determined to have Blackthorne blood as part of his quest to raise his lost love, Annabel.
I actually thought that this is one of Clare's better books, despite all the romantic angst. Because trust me, there was a lot of angst - there are love triangle plenty-bound, as stated in my earlier review of Lady Midnight. But there was actually quite a lot that was going on and the switching of perspectives actually worked pretty well for me because I felt like each character (Emma, Julian, Kit, Cristina and so on) actually felt pretty distinct from each other. Furthermore, the stakes were pretty high, because I actually found myself caring about the Blackthornes and their desire to stay united as a family, and there was a proper quest going on.
And of course, there's the politics in this book. The Cold Peace is not a peace that can hold, especially given the rise of a group calling themselves the Cohort who denigrate the Downworlders. There's definitely some - ahem - real world inspiration from the politics you can see today reflected in the way that the Cohort reacts to marriages between Shadowhunters and Downworlders and the way that they twist facts in their endgoal. I also thought that the Cohort's fanaticism and zeal was well-depicted in the story and their danger was never downplayed in the story.
One issue that I had with the book was how much repetition there was - the same information often gets repeated to different characters along the way. I found that this just needlessly adds to the already hefty pagecount when there's actually no new information being presented to the readers, just the different characters' reaction to the news.
Luckily, Clare catches us up real quick in terms of what happened in the previous novel. To recap, Mark Blackthorne has returned from the Wild Hunt to the rest of his siblings. Julian Blackthorne and Emma Carstairs are still parabatai but they are still in ~love~ with each other, which has the potential to unleash a curse on them and Emma pretends that she's in a relationship with Mark, to avoid this possibility. Meanwhile, Emma's best friend Cristina has reunited with Perfect Diego. All the above should've put an end to the love triangle between Cristina, Mark and Diego but it actually just adds more tension to the situation.
This book begins innocently enough, with a sudden influx of sea demons in LA. Unfortunately, we're told that this is a very bad sign of Marcus Fade's magic. Even though the High Warlock of LA had died in the previous book, it seems to have unleashed some sort of magic causing demons to rise. This, in turns, causes Centurions (a type of elite Shadowhunter) to arrive at the LA Institute, all of whom are expecting Arthur Blackthorne to behave as a typical chair should. Among the Centurions are Diego's fiance, which is news to Cristina, Zara Dearborn. Zara and her ilk have dangerous ideas about how they should maintain the supremacy and purity of the Shadowhunters and to register all Downworlders, in an attempt to control them. Meanwhile, Christopher "Kit" Herondale is now living with the Blackthornes, even though he's determined to not become a Shadowhunter, given how his criminal father Johnny Rook had raised him. Kit isn't even sure if he wants to be a Herondale but finds an unexpected connection with the Blackthorne twins, Ty and Livvy.
But, as these books go, the Blackthornes and Emma can't live in peace together all the time - Zara's father has his own ideas of how Clave politics should go, Mark is asked to go on a quest to rescue his ex-boyfriend and Marcus Fade is determined to have Blackthorne blood as part of his quest to raise his lost love, Annabel.
I actually thought that this is one of Clare's better books, despite all the romantic angst. Because trust me, there was a lot of angst - there are love triangle plenty-bound, as stated in my earlier review of Lady Midnight. But there was actually quite a lot that was going on and the switching of perspectives actually worked pretty well for me because I felt like each character (Emma, Julian, Kit, Cristina and so on) actually felt pretty distinct from each other. Furthermore, the stakes were pretty high, because I actually found myself caring about the Blackthornes and their desire to stay united as a family, and there was a proper quest going on.
Spoiler
The Seelie Queen desires the Black Volume of the Dead, to put a stop to the Unseelie Court's machinations and Julian makes an agreement with her on this. To be honest, I actually found Julian's characterisation to be pretty complex and interesting, as he is cunning, strategic and quite ruthless as long as he can protect those he loves.And of course, there's the politics in this book. The Cold Peace is not a peace that can hold, especially given the rise of a group calling themselves the Cohort who denigrate the Downworlders. There's definitely some - ahem - real world inspiration from the politics you can see today reflected in the way that the Cohort reacts to marriages between Shadowhunters and Downworlders and the way that they twist facts in their endgoal. I also thought that the Cohort's fanaticism and zeal was well-depicted in the story and their danger was never downplayed in the story.
One issue that I had with the book was how much repetition there was - the same information often gets repeated to different characters along the way.
Spoiler
For example, Julian sees Annabel killing Marcus after she has been raised through the Seelie Queen's scrying glass - he repeats this not only to Cristina, Mark and Emma while they're in Faerie to rescue Mark's ex-boyfriend and again he repeats this to Magnus when they return to the London Institute. And this isn't even the only example of when it gets repeated.
aka: faerie drama and sibling feels
this sequel? *chef’s kiss*
the last 5 pages? my jaw actually dropped—i almost woke joe up from a nap to tell him about it!
this sequel? *chef’s kiss*
the last 5 pages? my jaw actually dropped—i almost woke joe up from a nap to tell him about it!
4.5
1. Dioos que final tuvo el libro, me tenia con ansiedad pensando en todo y en que sabia que iba a terminar mal
2. Con este libro me di cuenta de que me dolería mucho si Clary moría, porque en la saga anterior ella nunca sentí que eso podría ser posible, y ahora que rechazo a Jace porque cree que va a morir...
3. Creo que todo el mundo vio venir que los centuriones tenían algo mal
4. Cristina al comienzo no podía importarme menos, creo que se hizo mas interesante cuando entro Kieran en el asunto, porque antes era bastante sosa
5. Yo suponía que Malcolm no estaba muerto del todo, merecía su final muerto por Annabel
6. Otro que tuvo un buen final fue Artur, en plan de que hizo bien y fue muy valiente al ser voluntario para morir
7. Ese momento en que Emma esta en su habitación en el instituto de Londres, lo sentí tan emotivo y lindo, en general ese capitulo fue hermoso con todas las conexiones a Los Orígenes
8. Y ame a Jessamine, con su sentido del humor, y siento que fue importante para que Kit se considerara un verdadero Herondale
9. Y amo a Kit y a su futura relación con Ty
10. La escena de Dru y Jaime hablando de pelis de terror no tiene sentido para mi, porque se supone que ella no esta en su casa, así que no debería tener pegatinas de pelis de terror, otra cosa sin sentido fue el cap final del libro anterior, porque eso no ocurrio en este
11. La verdad desconfiaba de Jaime, no quería leer cuando el aparecía, aun no se que pensar de el, ni de esa cosa que parecía un portar que toco Dru
12. Amo tanto a Emma y Julian, cuando estaban juntos y hacían bromas y se complementaban, y se que no va terminar bien para ellos, porque en el peor de los casos los van a separar para debilitar su vinculo
13. Sabia que en el libro había un personaje trans y tenia mis sospechas en Diana
14. Me molesto un poco que en este libro los personajes no valoraban a Magnus y que literal el los salvo mas de una vez
15. Amo a Kieran, me declaro su fan, amo su personalidad
16. El momento en que Julian lee la carta de Ty es tan hermoso, Ty puede ser tan tierno
17. Me destroza saber que Cassie profundizo mas en Livvy solo para matarla
18. Quiero a Zara muerta y que sufra, osea llamo zorra a Clary e insulto a Magnus y aparte que rabia que la consideren la próxima Jace Herondale, espero que ella y la cohote se arrepientan de sus comentarios y de ser tan conservadores, osea aparte son bastante nazis no aceptan a nadie distinto como a Ty y Diana
19. Me dio pena Alec, porque estaba sufriendo por el estado de Magnus y luego muere su padre, y se estaba comportando super bien, el no merecía eso
20. Me preocupa mucho que va a pasar con Julian, porque mataron a alguien de su familia y se que no terminara bien, y también quiero saber que pasara con el y Emma ahora que murió Robert
21. No me interesa tanto el triangulo amoroso de Mark, Kieran y Cristina, espero interesarme mas en un futuro
22. Dios y lo devastado que va a estar Ty luego de la muerte de Livvy...
1. Dioos que final tuvo el libro, me tenia con ansiedad pensando en todo y en que sabia que iba a terminar mal
2. Con este libro me di cuenta de que me dolería mucho si Clary moría, porque en la saga anterior ella nunca sentí que eso podría ser posible, y ahora que rechazo a Jace porque cree que va a morir...
3. Creo que todo el mundo vio venir que los centuriones tenían algo mal
4. Cristina al comienzo no podía importarme menos, creo que se hizo mas interesante cuando entro Kieran en el asunto, porque antes era bastante sosa
5. Yo suponía que Malcolm no estaba muerto del todo, merecía su final muerto por Annabel
6. Otro que tuvo un buen final fue Artur, en plan de que hizo bien y fue muy valiente al ser voluntario para morir
7. Ese momento en que Emma esta en su habitación en el instituto de Londres, lo sentí tan emotivo y lindo, en general ese capitulo fue hermoso con todas las conexiones a Los Orígenes
8. Y ame a Jessamine, con su sentido del humor, y siento que fue importante para que Kit se considerara un verdadero Herondale
9. Y amo a Kit y a su futura relación con Ty
10. La escena de Dru y Jaime hablando de pelis de terror no tiene sentido para mi, porque se supone que ella no esta en su casa, así que no debería tener pegatinas de pelis de terror, otra cosa sin sentido fue el cap final del libro anterior, porque eso no ocurrio en este
11. La verdad desconfiaba de Jaime, no quería leer cuando el aparecía, aun no se que pensar de el, ni de esa cosa que parecía un portar que toco Dru
12. Amo tanto a Emma y Julian, cuando estaban juntos y hacían bromas y se complementaban, y se que no va terminar bien para ellos, porque en el peor de los casos los van a separar para debilitar su vinculo
13. Sabia que en el libro había un personaje trans y tenia mis sospechas en Diana
14. Me molesto un poco que en este libro los personajes no valoraban a Magnus y que literal el los salvo mas de una vez
15. Amo a Kieran, me declaro su fan, amo su personalidad
16. El momento en que Julian lee la carta de Ty es tan hermoso, Ty puede ser tan tierno
17. Me destroza saber que Cassie profundizo mas en Livvy solo para matarla
18. Quiero a Zara muerta y que sufra, osea llamo zorra a Clary e insulto a Magnus y aparte que rabia que la consideren la próxima Jace Herondale, espero que ella y la cohote se arrepientan de sus comentarios y de ser tan conservadores, osea aparte son bastante nazis no aceptan a nadie distinto como a Ty y Diana
19. Me dio pena Alec, porque estaba sufriendo por el estado de Magnus y luego muere su padre, y se estaba comportando super bien, el no merecía eso
20. Me preocupa mucho que va a pasar con Julian, porque mataron a alguien de su familia y se que no terminara bien, y también quiero saber que pasara con el y Emma ahora que murió Robert
21. No me interesa tanto el triangulo amoroso de Mark, Kieran y Cristina, espero interesarme mas en un futuro
22. Dios y lo devastado que va a estar Ty luego de la muerte de Livvy...