booking_along's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Let’s start with the two things i didn’t love since that’s faster:
i disliked the trope of two boys being interested in the same girl and behaving in ways that makes me want to smash their heads together to make them stop with their jealous postering.
and the second thing is the “forbidden” love trope that is mostly added as a shock valued. the shock could have been there without it the “love” part since being friends would have been an easier option especially with the amount of time those two characters knew each other at that point.
i just really dislike that particular trope since i have not read one book we’re it was used were it could have been done differently without issues and left the ick factor out of the entire thing.
moving in!
i liked the tiring even if the descriptions are sometimes very out there but not too extreme so that it doesn’t make sense anymore.
the world is well developed and explained for book one and gives a nice overview of what’s out there on that world and that was interesting.
the characters and the behaviors where sometimes a bit stupid but honestly they are 15-17 so i can let it slide by for the main characters even if i have to say that the adults - beside Magnus! that character deserves an entire 12 book series just for giving stories about that character and his shinanagangs please!- they behaved quite often more childish than the actual kids.
the entire book was a bit drawn out for the amount of plot it told overall but it wasn’t too bad and it kept me entertained and i wanted to keep reading so clearly nothing too bad.
so all in all?
it’s a good book.
i can actually see why so many people love it even if i strongly dislike the love-tropes used. the reader want too bad and it was overall very entertaining and a quick read!
i disliked the trope of two boys being interested in the same girl and behaving in ways that makes me want to smash their heads together to make them stop with their jealous postering.
and the second thing is the “forbidden” love trope that is mostly added as a shock valued. the shock could have been there without it the “love” part since being friends would have been an easier option especially with the amount of time those two characters knew each other at that point.
i just really dislike that particular trope since i have not read one book we’re it was used were it could have been done differently without issues and left the ick factor out of the entire thing.
moving in!
i liked the tiring even if the descriptions are sometimes very out there but not too extreme so that it doesn’t make sense anymore.
the world is well developed and explained for book one and gives a nice overview of what’s out there on that world and that was interesting.
the characters and the behaviors where sometimes a bit stupid but honestly they are 15-17 so i can let it slide by for the main characters even if i have to say that the adults - beside Magnus! that character deserves an entire 12 book series just for giving stories about that character and his shinanagangs please!- they behaved quite often more childish than the actual kids.
the entire book was a bit drawn out for the amount of plot it told overall but it wasn’t too bad and it kept me entertained and i wanted to keep reading so clearly nothing too bad.
so all in all?
it’s a good book.
i can actually see why so many people love it even if i strongly dislike the love-tropes used. the reader want too bad and it was overall very entertaining and a quick read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Injury/injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Gaslighting, Gore, and Homophobia
psliz's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
idk. lots of info-dumping. weird dialogue for a bunch of teens. the pacing was fast yet slow at the same time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail and War
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Death, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Blood, Child abuse, and Suicide
dosxhime's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Given that the Mortal Instruments series is rife with lore, world building, and characters, it makes sense that Clare stretches this series out. It was kinda a drag to read this and it makes me feel like we go from one event to another without pause.
It feels like a lot of details are just dumped onto you, without letting all this new information soak in. I would be normally fine with this, since I'm mostly into the characters for a good ol YA novel.
However, I felt that they fell flat and I really couldn't care what happened to any of them. It just felt meh. I can see the potential in the MI world and I love how Clare builds them up. So points for potential.
3.5 / 5 C-
It feels like a lot of details are just dumped onto you, without letting all this new information soak in. I would be normally fine with this, since I'm mostly into the characters for a good ol YA novel.
However, I felt that they fell flat and I really couldn't care what happened to any of them. It just felt meh. I can see the potential in the MI world and I love how Clare builds them up. So points for potential.
3.5 / 5 C-
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Murder, Violence, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
rosegoldrose's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The relief that filled me when I closed this book for the last time is immeasurable. I swear I started to believe I'd never finish it during my lifetime.
I bought it three years ago because I suddenly remembered my friends being obsessed with the Shadowhunters franchise and wanted to learn what the fuss was about.
I had to have read the first half of the book at least three times at this point, so it went a bit easier. The world-building parts, however, felt like trudging through mud and sometimes made me put the book down for days. The chapters I enjoyed the most were definitely the ones focused on the characters and their interactions, but the pace picked up toward the end, too.
I also cannot fail to mention how annoying I found Clary in the early chapters. While I appreciate the diversity of main character personalities, she was the shining example of the "not like other girls" trope and I found myself rolling my eyes every time she'd want to slap someone for merely existing.
I figured out the plot twist midway through the book, but in a way, it helped fuel me because I just had to see if I was right.
I bought it three years ago because I suddenly remembered my friends being obsessed with the Shadowhunters franchise and wanted to learn what the fuss was about.
I had to have read the first half of the book at least three times at this point, so it went a bit easier. The world-building parts, however, felt like trudging through mud and sometimes made me put the book down for days. The chapters I enjoyed the most were definitely the ones focused on the characters and their interactions, but the pace picked up toward the end, too.
I also cannot fail to mention how annoying I found Clary in the early chapters. While I appreciate the diversity of main character personalities, she was the shining example of the "not like other girls" trope and I found myself rolling my eyes every time she'd want to slap someone for merely existing.
I figured out the plot twist midway through the book, but in a way, it helped fuel me because I just had to see if I was right.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Incest
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Homophobia, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
tiana_king's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
You really hit the ground running with this book. An exciting story start to finish with an intriguing “other” world that exists within our own. The characters could have been fleshed out more but it is only the first book. I’m interested to know more about this bad guy and the plot twist at the end is a bit heartbreaking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Car accident, and Incest
_polly's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
chapter 23 is not it imo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Incest
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Child abuse
michalie's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Homophobia
saturnpersonified's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/injury detail, Blood, Death, Racism, and Hate crime
Moderate: Child death, Gaslighting, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Incest, Car accident, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
irisvdn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Racism, Kidnapping, and Incest
readwithria's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I read these books years ago, and upon a reread they do NOT disappoint. The relationships move a bit more quickly than I would typically like, but with all the other worldbuilding aspects going on at the same time it balances out the fantasy with moments more grounded in reality. I'm looking forward to revisiting the rest of these books and finally finishing the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Gaslighting, Genocide, and Child abuse