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leisyreads's review
3.0
The book was pretty easy to read but I felt like nothing epic really happened. FMC was a bit annoying… guess I’ll continue the series to see if it gets better
stephsec's review
4.0
This book was an interesting read and is in line with all the vampire, demon, and 'magick' series that I have been reading. I will definitely be recommending this series to others and continuing on myself.
abitofmoxie's review
adventurous
lighthearted
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
4.0
boisdelaire's review against another edition
3.0
first read in 2021 : ★★★ ─── 3 stars.
second read in 2024 : ★★★ ─── 3.75 stars.
did i think i was going to enjoy it more than the first time around? clearly not. did i forget most of the tv show details so i could enjoy the book more? yes indeed. i just tried to put all my feelings and my knowledge about everything aside to start this journey anew and it was SUCH a good idea. of course, except for the final straw of clary and jace being [edited], i had a really great time!
i remember not liking jace as a character because.. i had my preconceptions from the tv show and i really hated him there. but now i could get behind him. he definitely has the bad boy attitude i’m not very fond of BUT he’s so witty, i love that every time he opens his mouth, it’s to pour out sarcasm and i find it fun most of the time. and he’s kinda complex too, he has suffered so much during his life yet he still stands for his people, protects them, he’s not a lone wolf but at the same time, he knows he’s different from the rest (izzy and alec) because he’s been adopted and he has seen horrors when he was a kid. i DEFINITELY have more empathy and fondness for him this time around. (which might come from growing up, being more mature lmao)
i have noticed from some of the other reviews that we all felt the same way. the pacing, the characters, everything was entertaining and we couldn’t put the book down until the last portion of the book. literally the expression “going downhill” because revelation after revelation, i wanted to finish the book quickly and never hear about it again. took out the 0.25 stars of the 4 stars this book would be if clace hadn’t been a thing before the THING.
oh and clary has so many internalized misogynistic thoughts it is VERY hard to read them and not throw the book down. this book is a product of its time in the "i'm not like the other girls" grand scheme of books, but still. do you think we're going to relate to your main character because she hates isabelle for clearly no reason and because she's different from clary so it's automatically a bad thing? nuh huh.
second read in 2024 : ★★★ ─── 3.75 stars.
did i think i was going to enjoy it more than the first time around? clearly not. did i forget most of the tv show details so i could enjoy the book more? yes indeed. i just tried to put all my feelings and my knowledge about everything aside to start this journey anew and it was SUCH a good idea. of course, except for the final straw of clary and jace being [edited], i had a really great time!
i remember not liking jace as a character because.. i had my preconceptions from the tv show and i really hated him there. but now i could get behind him. he definitely has the bad boy attitude i’m not very fond of BUT he’s so witty, i love that every time he opens his mouth, it’s to pour out sarcasm and i find it fun most of the time. and he’s kinda complex too, he has suffered so much during his life yet he still stands for his people, protects them, he’s not a lone wolf but at the same time, he knows he’s different from the rest (izzy and alec) because he’s been adopted and he has seen horrors when he was a kid. i DEFINITELY have more empathy and fondness for him this time around. (which might come from growing up, being more mature lmao)
i have noticed from some of the other reviews that we all felt the same way. the pacing, the characters, everything was entertaining and we couldn’t put the book down until the last portion of the book. literally the expression “going downhill” because revelation after revelation, i wanted to finish the book quickly and never hear about it again. took out the 0.25 stars of the 4 stars this book would be if clace hadn’t been a thing before the THING.
oh and clary has so many internalized misogynistic thoughts it is VERY hard to read them and not throw the book down. this book is a product of its time in the "i'm not like the other girls" grand scheme of books, but still. do you think we're going to relate to your main character because she hates isabelle for clearly no reason and because she's different from clary so it's automatically a bad thing? nuh huh.
sarahp85's review
4.0
For some reason I only ever read the first 2 books and then never continued even though I like them.
Did watch the (not so good) movie and the (much better) tv show. So now I wanted to start over and read them all this time. I have them all as audiobooks so besides my reading I'm going to listen to the mortal instruments series on the side!
Forgot how much I liked this one :)
Did watch the (not so good) movie and the (much better) tv show. So now I wanted to start over and read them all this time. I have them all as audiobooks so besides my reading I'm going to listen to the mortal instruments series on the side!
Forgot how much I liked this one :)
drridareads's review
2.0
Okay so here's the thing, I'm not sure how I feel about this book.
I was not a big fan of it, but I can see why people like it so much.
Plot:
In the start I found it kind of boring and honestly the world building was kind of confusing, but then there were so many twists that I got interested.
Characters:
I found them kind of bland, they were too one dimensional and very less developed. I also did not really feel any chemistry between between Jace and Clary.
I was interested in Magnus Bane and Luke Garroway's characters.
But overall, I wasn't emotionally invested in any of them, and I would not have cried over them.
Valentine was not the villain I expected, he had did not have that wickedness, that ferocity one expects from villains.
Writing and World Building
The witty banter would've been cool but there was too much of it. I found the writing a bit immature, but I know that it matures a lot throughout Shadowhunter Chronicles. There were so many creatures and ruins and how you could see them sometimes that it got kind of confusing, Glamour reminded me of Mist in the Percy Jackson books.
The whole pure-bloods, half-humans and mundanes reminded me of Harry Potter (but besides that I did not really see any connections, even though I've heard it to be Harry Potter fanfic).
Overall 2.5 stars, I do plan on reading the next book! and I really hope that the characters develop more!
I was not a big fan of it, but I can see why people like it so much.
Plot:
In the start I found it kind of boring and honestly the world building was kind of confusing, but then there were so many twists that I got interested.
Characters:
I found them kind of bland, they were too one dimensional and very less developed. I also did not really feel any chemistry between between Jace and Clary
Spoiler
Since these books are so popular I knew there was an incest storyline coming, so I was not shocked, I'm also aware that it resolves, not sure how, but knowing that makes me not gag at themI was interested in Magnus Bane and Luke Garroway's characters.
But overall, I wasn't emotionally invested in any of them, and I would not have cried over them.
Valentine was not the villain I expected, he had did not have that wickedness, that ferocity one expects from villains.
Writing and World Building
The witty banter would've been cool but there was too much of it. I found the writing a bit immature, but I know that it matures a lot throughout Shadowhunter Chronicles. There were so many creatures and ruins and how you could see them sometimes that it got kind of confusing, Glamour reminded me of Mist in the Percy Jackson books.
The whole pure-bloods, half-humans and mundanes reminded me of Harry Potter (but besides that I did not really see any connections, even though I've heard it to be Harry Potter fanfic).
Overall 2.5 stars, I do plan on reading the next book! and I really hope that the characters develop more!
notsonya's review against another edition
3.0
i strongly believe cassandra clare meant to keep going w the incest plotline but didn’t because of the backlash. ending it on that note is kinda crazy though.
anyway, here are my favourite quotes ‘cause this book is sooo 2007:
“clary let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.”
“i’m not like other guys.”
“she thought of isabelle’s tiny waist and suddenly felt gigantic.”
“OTAKU WENCH.”
“she would have thought there would be something feminine about a boy wearing a ring, but there wasn’t.”
“she’d never understood why some girls felt the need to smell like dessert.”
“clary wondered if there were any ugly vampires, or maybe any fat ones. maybe they didn’t make vampires out of ugly people. or maybe ugly people just didn’t want to live forever.”
“there are demons in the white house?”
“she had forgotten about simon completely.”
“simon. she had forgotten he was outside, had almost forgotten he existed.”
“i always wanted a brother.”
anyway, here are my favourite quotes ‘cause this book is sooo 2007:
“clary let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.”
“i’m not like other guys.”
“she thought of isabelle’s tiny waist and suddenly felt gigantic.”
“OTAKU WENCH.”
“she would have thought there would be something feminine about a boy wearing a ring, but there wasn’t.”
“she’d never understood why some girls felt the need to smell like dessert.”
“clary wondered if there were any ugly vampires, or maybe any fat ones. maybe they didn’t make vampires out of ugly people. or maybe ugly people just didn’t want to live forever.”
“there are demons in the white house?”
“she had forgotten about simon completely.”
“simon. she had forgotten he was outside, had almost forgotten he existed.”
“i always wanted a brother.”
softballknitter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
overthemoony's review against another edition
5.0
Starting this was what gave me strength through the quarantine, see Malec and Clace was my happy moment!!!