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janpan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
4.25
nihilisticpoptart's review against another edition
5.0
I never intended to enjoy this series as much as I do. All the characters keep me coming back. This is my first tie-in and the audiobook version was very enjoyable.
blurrypetals's review against another edition
5.0
July 10, 2019
[re-read for Shadowhunter Summer 2019]
All my Shadowhunter Summer 2019 reviews may contain untagged spoilers for all the books in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. If you wish to read a non-spoiler review for this book, you may scroll to the review I wrote on October 25, 2017.
I was compelled to re-review this in a similar fashion as I first reviewed Ghosts of the Shadow Market and just re-reviewed The Bane Chronicles, where I did mini reviews for each separate story, but the more I thought about separating these stories from one another, the weirder I felt about it.
Because, for all intents and purposes, this is basically a novel. Sure, it's structured as ten separate short stories and those stories can surely stand up by themselves, but Shadowhunter Academy is best experienced all at once, following Simon's journey as he prepares to ascend.
It's likely because this collection doesn't have the "luxury" of skipping through time in the way its brethren do, since it is the only collection that does not follow an immortal character, but it is really hard not to view this as one continuous narrative, and that is A-okay with me.
This book is up there in just about the top five best Shadowhunter books because of the ability it has to follow Simon and his philosophies on the Shadowhunter lifestyle as we still get the delight of visiting other characters we've known, be it through a class history lesson or just a good ol' fashioned wedding scene, we get the full range of characters from these books and it feels elegant, breezy, and just right.
I genuinely feel as though past-me gushed over this book more than enough, so I'm gonna call it here. I'm too excited to begin The Dark Artifices again, to get started with another Shadowhunter top five winner, Lady Midnight. Catch you then!
October 25, 2017
[re-read for my Greatest Hits Bookshelf Tour 2017]
What can I say? This collection of stories is absolutely incredible. It's absolutely funny, heartwarming, exciting, thought provoking, and a treat to any fan of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. The Bane Chronicles is also a very fun collection of stories, but it comes nowhere near being as good or cohesively great as this book. This book masterfully strings us through Simon's time preparing to ascend at the Academy while weaving in perfect, beautiful, and intriguing anecdotes from each Shadowhunter series, past, present, and future. I delighted in seeing where James Herondale's and Matthew Fairchild's friendship began while also watching Simon gain his own friend and brother in George Lovelace, who's an absolute gift of a character. I relished the bittersweetness of Helen Blackthorn's and Aline Penhallow's wedding, getting to see the Blackthorn kids, hinting at the trouble that's to come for each of them while Simon watches on, perceptive as ever, yet infuriatingly silent during Julian and Emma's parabatai ceremony, even when he knows something is wrong. I love all the new characters that were Shadowhunter Acadamy exclusives thus far, Marisol especially, with how much she tortured and teased Jon Cartwright until they fell in love. I loved seeing Will and Tessa as parents, hearing that Will called Jem in because of a broken toe. I loved seeing Simon and Izzy fall in love all over again and finally find closure in their seemingly-doomed until now relationship. I loved hearing Robert Lightwood's memories of the earlier days of the Circle as well as what happened between him and Michael Wayland. I absolutely adored it all.
Because it's a collection of short stories, the narrative as a whole didn't need to adopt the usual rise and fall of action and it makes every moment of this whole book unpredictable and deliciously strange in a way no other Shadowhunters book is (here's to hoping Ghosts of the Shadow Market is structured in a similar fashion, more like this, less like The Bane Chronicles).
I love absolutely every bit of this book and, as I indicated last February, I didn't think I would ever like this series of short stories and I certainly didn't anticipate that I'd love them as much as I do now. If you're a fan of The Shadowhunter Chronicles and you haven't read this or The Bane Chronicles I strongly, strongly recommend you remedy that. I almost didn't read them myself and I know I would have been kicking myself for skipping them before Lady Midnight or Lord of Shadows.
Just like past-me said below, these books are made of all things that are wonderful in this world. It's an absolute joy and I can't wait to finish this rereading extravaganza with Lady Midnight and Lord of Shadows and I certainly can't wait for more short stories from Ghosts of the Shadow Market, just like I can't wait to see The Dark Artifices wrap up with The Queen of Air and Darkness and see a new-old chapter opened up with The Last Hours. Every little bit of Shadowhunters love and lore I can get, I'll take, because it's honestly one of my favorite things about being alive.
February 9, 2016
Fucking glorious. This book is made of all things that are wonderful in this world. I'll probably read The Bane Chronicles sometime before March but despite the fact that I have one more book I can read before then, I REALLY CAN'T FUCKING WAIT FOR LADY MIDNIGHT ANY LONGER. IT'S TIME. I NEED IT. I LOVED THIS COLLECTION. IT'S GREAT. NEVER EVER CONSIDER SKIPPING IT
[re-read for Shadowhunter Summer 2019]
"We are all our past have made us. The accumulation of thousands of daily choices. We can change ourselves, but never erase what we've been. Forgetting those choices doesn't unmake them."
All my Shadowhunter Summer 2019 reviews may contain untagged spoilers for all the books in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. If you wish to read a non-spoiler review for this book, you may scroll to the review I wrote on October 25, 2017.
I was compelled to re-review this in a similar fashion as I first reviewed Ghosts of the Shadow Market and just re-reviewed The Bane Chronicles, where I did mini reviews for each separate story, but the more I thought about separating these stories from one another, the weirder I felt about it.
Because, for all intents and purposes, this is basically a novel. Sure, it's structured as ten separate short stories and those stories can surely stand up by themselves, but Shadowhunter Academy is best experienced all at once, following Simon's journey as he prepares to ascend.
It's likely because this collection doesn't have the "luxury" of skipping through time in the way its brethren do, since it is the only collection that does not follow an immortal character, but it is really hard not to view this as one continuous narrative, and that is A-okay with me.
This book is up there in just about the top five best Shadowhunter books because of the ability it has to follow Simon and his philosophies on the Shadowhunter lifestyle as we still get the delight of visiting other characters we've known, be it through a class history lesson or just a good ol' fashioned wedding scene, we get the full range of characters from these books and it feels elegant, breezy, and just right.
I genuinely feel as though past-me gushed over this book more than enough, so I'm gonna call it here. I'm too excited to begin The Dark Artifices again, to get started with another Shadowhunter top five winner, Lady Midnight. Catch you then!
October 25, 2017
[re-read for my Greatest Hits Bookshelf Tour 2017]
What can I say? This collection of stories is absolutely incredible. It's absolutely funny, heartwarming, exciting, thought provoking, and a treat to any fan of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. The Bane Chronicles is also a very fun collection of stories, but it comes nowhere near being as good or cohesively great as this book. This book masterfully strings us through Simon's time preparing to ascend at the Academy while weaving in perfect, beautiful, and intriguing anecdotes from each Shadowhunter series, past, present, and future. I delighted in seeing where James Herondale's and Matthew Fairchild's friendship began while also watching Simon gain his own friend and brother in George Lovelace, who's an absolute gift of a character. I relished the bittersweetness of Helen Blackthorn's and Aline Penhallow's wedding, getting to see the Blackthorn kids, hinting at the trouble that's to come for each of them while Simon watches on, perceptive as ever, yet infuriatingly silent during Julian and Emma's parabatai ceremony, even when he knows something is wrong. I love all the new characters that were Shadowhunter Acadamy exclusives thus far, Marisol especially, with how much she tortured and teased Jon Cartwright until they fell in love. I loved seeing Will and Tessa as parents, hearing that Will called Jem in because of a broken toe. I loved seeing Simon and Izzy fall in love all over again and finally find closure in their seemingly-doomed until now relationship. I loved hearing Robert Lightwood's memories of the earlier days of the Circle as well as what happened between him and Michael Wayland. I absolutely adored it all.
Because it's a collection of short stories, the narrative as a whole didn't need to adopt the usual rise and fall of action and it makes every moment of this whole book unpredictable and deliciously strange in a way no other Shadowhunters book is (here's to hoping Ghosts of the Shadow Market is structured in a similar fashion, more like this, less like The Bane Chronicles).
I love absolutely every bit of this book and, as I indicated last February, I didn't think I would ever like this series of short stories and I certainly didn't anticipate that I'd love them as much as I do now. If you're a fan of The Shadowhunter Chronicles and you haven't read this or The Bane Chronicles I strongly, strongly recommend you remedy that. I almost didn't read them myself and I know I would have been kicking myself for skipping them before Lady Midnight or Lord of Shadows.
Just like past-me said below, these books are made of all things that are wonderful in this world. It's an absolute joy and I can't wait to finish this rereading extravaganza with Lady Midnight and Lord of Shadows and I certainly can't wait for more short stories from Ghosts of the Shadow Market, just like I can't wait to see The Dark Artifices wrap up with The Queen of Air and Darkness and see a new-old chapter opened up with The Last Hours. Every little bit of Shadowhunters love and lore I can get, I'll take, because it's honestly one of my favorite things about being alive.
February 9, 2016
Fucking glorious. This book is made of all things that are wonderful in this world. I'll probably read The Bane Chronicles sometime before March but despite the fact that I have one more book I can read before then, I REALLY CAN'T FUCKING WAIT FOR LADY MIDNIGHT ANY LONGER. IT'S TIME. I NEED IT. I LOVED THIS COLLECTION. IT'S GREAT. NEVER EVER CONSIDER SKIPPING IT
eponineeurydice's review against another edition
3.0
655 PAGES?! Am I reading that wrong or is this actually that long... no wonder it took me so long to read! Um, anyway... Shadowhunters and I will always have a compplicaded relationship, as I've said, but I keep reading for some reason because... I like to suffer? But not in the fun way, more in like... the silly pointless way LOL. I will say, though, some of these stories were the best things I've ever read. The ones featuring James and Tessa, Jem and Will? Literal perfection! But the real star of this collection is Simon Lewis, my beloved D&D nerd who went through far more than he deserved in The Mortal Instruments. And ah man, I had such conflicting feelings over this one! Simon just didn't feel the same? Which, in light of recent events, is probably a fairly obvious statement. But unfortunately, many of these stories fell flat for me. The writing felt tacky and forced, which I know is an attempt at the thoughts of a modern teenager, but I know Cassie is capable of beautiful writing. And some of these characters are just kinda icky... I didn't fall in love with them the same way I'm used to, so it was a bit of a disappointment. But once again, some of these stories were everything to me! I'm still glad that I picked this up.
emperor_nero's review against another edition
4.0
my overall rating of this collection comes from the rounded average score of the novellas.
welcome to shadowhunter academy: 3.5 stars
the lost herondale: 2.5 stars
the whitechapel fiend: 5 stars
nothing but shadows: 5 stars
-i love reading about the merry thieves
the evil we love: 2.5 stars
-this novella was like “a list of
ingredients for baking a particularly
bland cake”
pale kings and princes: 4 stars
-my only issue with this is that it was
kind of slow
bitter of tongue: 4 stars
the fiery trial: 4.5 stars
born to endless night: 4.5 stars
angels twice descending: 5 stars
all in all, i am so happy to have come back to this after reading the infernal devices and chain of gold. the first time i read this, i didn’t like it too much and it took me forever to read. but reading it now, i have the background of pretty much all of the characters mentioned and can really appreciate and understand them all better.
welcome to shadowhunter academy: 3.5 stars
the lost herondale: 2.5 stars
the whitechapel fiend: 5 stars
nothing but shadows: 5 stars
-i love reading about the merry thieves
the evil we love: 2.5 stars
-this novella was like “a list of
ingredients for baking a particularly
bland cake”
pale kings and princes: 4 stars
-my only issue with this is that it was
kind of slow
bitter of tongue: 4 stars
the fiery trial: 4.5 stars
born to endless night: 4.5 stars
angels twice descending: 5 stars
all in all, i am so happy to have come back to this after reading the infernal devices and chain of gold. the first time i read this, i didn’t like it too much and it took me forever to read. but reading it now, i have the background of pretty much all of the characters mentioned and can really appreciate and understand them all better.
emma_jolee's review against another edition
5.0
simon my honey bunny baby bun pookie!!!! my favorite mortal instruments character❤️
kashish_'s review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sienna727's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.5