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
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
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
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
veganecurrywurst's review
adventurous
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Cassandra Clare is one of the better authors of the ya-fantasy genre and if you overlook her ripping of another writer, you can actually enjoy this book. The characters and the storyline are fine and it's easy to read. But what is that awful "is it or isn't it incest" storyline. We definitely could have done without it, ma'am.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, and Incest
mia_s_book_'s review
0.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Blood, Abandonment, Gore, Gaslighting, Incest, Kidnapping, and Murder
More...