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A review by leahsbooks
Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I've come to notice that CC series always seem to have some things in common: strong female protagonists, characters who don't always think through the consequences of their actions, love triangles, and perhaps the most frustrating thing, CLIFFHANGERS AT THE END OF A SERIES?!?! Why? There is literally no need for that nonsense. I completely understand (although I don't always appreciate) having a cliffhanger at the end of a book IN a series. But when I come to the end of a series, I expect things to be neatly tied up with a freaking bow on top. Instead, I'm left hanging and waiting for a book that hasn't been written yet. I'm a bit frustrated, and it definitely impacted my rating. *end rant*
The story picks up right where Lord of Shadows ends. Literally, which surprised me a bit. It was so painful watching the family go through their grief in their own way, while also dealing with their own individual issues at the same time. You know, the Emma-Julian forbidden love, the Cristina-Mark-Kieran love triangle, Ty and Kit's super secret plan, Dru feeling left out of everything, and Helen trying to reintegrate back into the family.
In addition to all of this stuff, there was a lot of other chaos occurring. The situations in Faerie, the situation between the Shadowhunters and the Cohort, and the tension between the Cohort and the Downworlders all come together to create a perfect storm. It also creates a number of plots to follow in the story, all of which converge magnificently, although I was all about it up until the very end. I kind of felt like it detracted from the story in a way, which also impacted my rating.
The book is huge, but it's fast paced and features a lot of my favorite characters from previous books. I was thrilled to see them reappear and play such a big role. The whole time, I was honestly waiting for the members of the Cohort to be on the receiving end of some serious payback. This was a seriously dark book, and it really brought up some echoes of actual history. I guess I'm just going to have to go ahead and wait an unspecified amount of time for the next series to come out to find out what happens next.
The story picks up right where Lord of Shadows ends. Literally, which surprised me a bit. It was so painful watching the family go through their grief in their own way, while also dealing with their own individual issues at the same time. You know, the Emma-Julian forbidden love, the Cristina-Mark-Kieran love triangle, Ty and Kit's super secret plan, Dru feeling left out of everything, and Helen trying to reintegrate back into the family.
In addition to all of this stuff, there was a lot of other chaos occurring. The situations in Faerie, the situation between the Shadowhunters and the Cohort, and the tension between the Cohort and the Downworlders all come together to create a perfect storm. It also creates a number of plots to follow in the story, all of which converge magnificently, although I was all about it up until the very end. I kind of felt like it detracted from the story in a way, which also impacted my rating.
The book is huge, but it's fast paced and features a lot of my favorite characters from previous books. I was thrilled to see them reappear and play such a big role. The whole time, I was honestly waiting for the members of the Cohort to be on the receiving end of some serious payback. This was a seriously dark book, and it really brought up some echoes of actual history. I guess I'm just going to have to go ahead and wait an unspecified amount of time for the next series to come out to find out what happens next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Gore, and Gun violence