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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
J'ai vraiment beaucoup aimé ce tome !! Qui est une découverte pour moi (ayant fini il y a quelques mois la saga "principale" de ce monde).
J'ai ADORé le personnage de James, et il me tarde de le retrouver ! J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé Sophie et Tessa. Mais même les autres personnages, je suis intriguée, surtout pas l'épilogue !!!!
J'ai ADORé le personnage de James, et il me tarde de le retrouver ! J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé Sophie et Tessa. Mais même les autres personnages, je suis intriguée, surtout pas l'épilogue !!!!
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
Instantly hooked. The Victorian London setting, steampunk vibes, and Shadowhunter lore blend perfectly. Tessa, Will, and Jem are such a compelling trio I couldn’t get enough. Dark, romantic, and totally addictive. One of Clare’s best.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
Re-read June 5, 2023
A little over ten years since I read this book and I decided to read it again. I think my opinion in it is about the same as it was before. I love the setting of London, love the steampunk vibe and the clockwork creatures, love Tessa's struggle with her identity, love characters like Charlotte and Jessamine, and hate Will. Sorry, but Will is awful in this and even though I vaguely remember the reason, it just feels so unnecessary for him to act the way he does. Or rather, I wouldn't mind him acting that way if that was just his personality and not an act he's putting on because of some stupid "curse".
It's like the character of Jessamine. She can come off as self-centered and selfish, and snobbish, but that's who she is. She's honest about her feelings and her attitude. Will can be horrible but a lot of it is put on because of the "curse". It's one of those things where it feels like the author did it just to have a lover's angst conflict or to do the love triangle. It's completely unnecessary and makes Will out to be awful for no reason.
I actually want to circle back to Jessamine because I was noticing the feminist angle this book was taking-- and it wasn't an overly good one. This is the nineteenth-century, so certain gender roles were more widely understood. Yet when characters speak about them, the narrative feels like it's making them either naive and ignorant (Tessa), a villain (Mortaine), or bitchy and selfish (Jessamine). Charlotte is also described as small and looking like a child almost, which kind of made me uncomfortable. I kept forgetting about it and picturing her as a normal adult woman. I find Jessamine's character treatment really ironic since she's basically acting as the Bizarro typical YA female protagonist. She's fighting against this society that's trying to tell her who she has to be, what her role in society is, how she needs to behave, etc. Instead she wants to escape that and be what she wants to be. We should be cheering her on, but because what she wants is to be a normal high-society lady, her behavior is put into a negative light. But personally I love her for it. Being a feminist should mean supporting women however they want to live their lives-- whether that be fighting alongside men or living a quiet life and being married. There's nothing wrong with either of those.
Anyway, it's pretty obvious I still have strong feelings about this ten years later. I'll probably get around to finishing the trilogy since I remember it being my favorite of the Shadowhunter series.
Original review May 22, 2013
When I first exposed myself to this world by reading City of Bones, I found it interesting but not really enough to continue reading. Plus, having learned that the reveal in that book was revoked later on made me much less eager to continue the story. But I decided to give Clare a second chance by going into a different time and place.
And I have to say I liked this story much better. I'm not sure if it's the steampunk vibe of it that got me, what with all the clockwork creatures. I'm not sure if it was just more interesting when the actual fighting took place. I'm sure both of those things played their part, as did the fact that a character's death actually moved me. I was touched enough to feel my eyes tear up a little.
What really got me, though, was the characters. And not even the main characters, even though Tessa's struggle is much more interesting than what Clary dealt with. I'm talking the minor characters like Jessamine and Henry. Henry had a delightful quirkiness that made love him, and Jessamine felt so real that I liked her. Even though I suspect she wasn't supposed to be a likeable character.
I've never been a fan of love triangles, nor do I like it when the female is attracted to the male despite him being a complete jerk to her. So I can't say I'm rooting for Tessa and Will, even though I know they'll probably end up together. I'm actually more interested in Charolette and Henry's relationship than in Tess and Will's.
All that said, I am planning to continue the trilogy in hopes that what I enjoyed about this book will keep going.
A little over ten years since I read this book and I decided to read it again. I think my opinion in it is about the same as it was before. I love the setting of London, love the steampunk vibe and the clockwork creatures, love Tessa's struggle with her identity, love characters like Charlotte and Jessamine, and hate Will. Sorry, but Will is awful in this and even though I vaguely remember the reason, it just feels so unnecessary for him to act the way he does. Or rather, I wouldn't mind him acting that way if that was just his personality and not an act he's putting on because of some stupid "curse".
It's like the character of Jessamine. She can come off as self-centered and selfish, and snobbish, but that's who she is. She's honest about her feelings and her attitude. Will can be horrible but a lot of it is put on because of the "curse". It's one of those things where it feels like the author did it just to have a lover's angst conflict or to do the love triangle. It's completely unnecessary and makes Will out to be awful for no reason.
I actually want to circle back to Jessamine because I was noticing the feminist angle this book was taking-- and it wasn't an overly good one. This is the nineteenth-century, so certain gender roles were more widely understood. Yet when characters speak about them, the narrative feels like it's making them either naive and ignorant (Tessa), a villain (Mortaine), or bitchy and selfish (Jessamine). Charlotte is also described as small and looking like a child almost, which kind of made me uncomfortable. I kept forgetting about it and picturing her as a normal adult woman. I find Jessamine's character treatment really ironic since she's basically acting as the Bizarro typical YA female protagonist. She's fighting against this society that's trying to tell her who she has to be, what her role in society is, how she needs to behave, etc. Instead she wants to escape that and be what she wants to be. We should be cheering her on, but because what she wants is to be a normal high-society lady, her behavior is put into a negative light. But personally I love her for it. Being a feminist should mean supporting women however they want to live their lives-- whether that be fighting alongside men or living a quiet life and being married. There's nothing wrong with either of those.
Anyway, it's pretty obvious I still have strong feelings about this ten years later. I'll probably get around to finishing the trilogy since I remember it being my favorite of the Shadowhunter series.
Original review May 22, 2013
When I first exposed myself to this world by reading City of Bones, I found it interesting but not really enough to continue reading. Plus, having learned that the reveal in that book was revoked later on made me much less eager to continue the story. But I decided to give Clare a second chance by going into a different time and place.
And I have to say I liked this story much better. I'm not sure if it's the steampunk vibe of it that got me, what with all the clockwork creatures. I'm not sure if it was just more interesting when the actual fighting took place. I'm sure both of those things played their part, as did the fact that a character's death actually moved me. I was touched enough to feel my eyes tear up a little.
What really got me, though, was the characters. And not even the main characters, even though Tessa's struggle is much more interesting than what Clary dealt with. I'm talking the minor characters like Jessamine and Henry. Henry had a delightful quirkiness that made love him, and Jessamine felt so real that I liked her. Even though I suspect she wasn't supposed to be a likeable character.
I've never been a fan of love triangles, nor do I like it when the female is attracted to the male despite him being a complete jerk to her. So I can't say I'm rooting for Tessa and Will, even though I know they'll probably end up together. I'm actually more interested in Charolette and Henry's relationship than in Tess and Will's.
All that said, I am planning to continue the trilogy in hopes that what I enjoyed about this book will keep going.
This was a reread as part of my quest to finish the Shadowhunter Chronicles and I forgot how creepy the plot of this book is. I'll seriously never forget the fight from Blackfriars bridge...
As usual Cassandra Clare is such a master of creating worlds and characters that feel real. Tessa, Jem and Will all feel like they step right off the page and into your heart.
As usual Cassandra Clare is such a master of creating worlds and characters that feel real. Tessa, Jem and Will all feel like they step right off the page and into your heart.
I devoured this, finished it within 12 hours SO GOOD cant wait for the second book
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is my intro to Cassandra Clare and I was very invested. Tessa, thinking she is meeting her brother Nate in London ends up kidnapped by the Dark Sisters in order to harness her newfound changling power. She discovers that the world isn’t what it seems and she is not entirely human. She meets the Shadowhunters and begins the search to find her missing brother. I loved Tessa, she was innocent but had a lot of fight to her. She did what she needed to do to survive but she had her new friends and her brother’s best interests in mind. I want to know more about Will, where is the Magistor, what is the Angel?