emotional funny fast-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: Complicated
adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This was a good book, all though during the parts where it went back in time it was a bit difficult to keep track of it all.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional funny fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy 9/10
The Lost Herondale 7/10
The Whitechapel Fiend 8/10
Nothing but Shadows 8/10
The Evil We Love 9/10
Pale Kings and Princes 8/10
Bitter of Tongue 7/10
*The Fiery Trial 7/10
*Born to Endless Night 10/10
Angels Twice Descending 9/10

Rating: 4.1/5

I AM NOT OKAY. I don't know what to say after that ending but this was everything I could have wanted.

Rating: 4.4
I LOVED ALL OF THESE SHORT STORIES!!! i loved seeing all of the OG characters from both TMI and TID. i loved hearing about simons journey in becoming a shadowhunter. overall this book was amazing and i’m so glad i read it!
adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad 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
adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ive read this book at least 3 times and yet, once again, i am crying real tears

This is another one of those things where, if I had read the books in chronological order, I feel I might've enjoyed it a lot more. Since I hadn't, a lot of what's touched on here wasn't nearly as engaging as it could've been. I knew stuff with Mark and Helen; I knew the stuff with Julian and Emma; I knew that Simon and Clary were to be parabatai. This book was more just filling in the blanks, which really isn't a bad thing.

I confess I enjoyed this book mostly because I grew to like Simon as a character and it was nice having the focus on him as he navigated the Shadowhunter world post-amnesia. I really like how he was struggling to define himself, how he worried about living up to the expectations of pre-amnesia Simon, and how he worked to form his own identity. The book also builds up the rhetoric of Shadowhunter prejudice pretty nicely, which feeds into the whole conflict of the Dark Artifices series.

I liked some of the other character development as well. I liked how they touched on Robert and explaining some of his issues a little. Not saying that it's excusing him, but it's good to understand why he acts that way. Touching on how stories can be twisted to suit the audience was really nice, too. And of course any time Isabelle and Simon were together was wonderful. They are a couple with so many issues, but I love them all the same.

The one problem I have, and I think a lot of people will agree, is with the ending of the last story. I can see the point behind it, but it still felt really stupid. Building up this enjoyable character with a strong bond to Simon only to have that happened felt like angst and tragedy for the sake of it. Again, I get it in the grand scheme of the world, but just from a writing perspective, it felt cheap.

Overall, though, I enjoyed all the stories. It would be nice if more of this was done in the future.
adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes