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A review by annachaureads
Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare
3.0
I'm going to start this review with an unpopular opinion:
I loved the Mortal Instruments saga.
I did. I'm not afraid to admit it, and until I read the reviews on here, I had no clue it was such an unpopular opinion. I read the first three as a teenager when they were first coming out. I only read the first three because when the third book ended, it ended in such a way that I did not realize there would be three more after. I recently picked the books back up and finished the series. I loved the characters still, and I felt that it was just as good as the first time I read them. The last three books were my favorite with the last being the best in my opinion. I ended up loving the side characters just as much as Clary and Jace.
Now let me get to actually reviewing this book.
First, spoilers warning. Of course.
The main thing that stuck out to me about these books were the characters. In TMI, I found myself falling in love with the characters. Isabelle and Simon were two of my favorite. The last book had me absolutely bawling my eyes out for Simon. In these books, I find myself not caring for the characters much at all. Even Emma and Julian didn't touch me. I enjoyed Christina, Ty, and Kit, but the other characters did not seem to have much weight behind them. I attribute this to two different issues. One, the amount of characters. Tavvy, Dru, Deigo, and Jamie could have been left out. I understand the need for them in the plot, but I feel like their involvement in the plot could have gone to someone else. Anytime the story changed to their point of view, I felt myself rolling my eyes and wanting to hurry through the parts. The amount of times I was reminded the Dru loves horror movies was insane. I don't know what that added to the story line, but it was mentioned at least 20 times. It was her only personality trait.
Second, I attribute the lack of care I had towards the characters to how completely one dimensional they seemed. Mark and Kieran were well thought out and I felt they had character development. Christina was almost there and had great potential, but everyone else had nothing to cling to. Emma and Julian loved each other. That was their whole personality. Ty and Livvy were twins. Ty being lucky and getting a bit more personality, but it was never truly delved into. The rest of the Blackthorns felt like NPCs just waiting to say their lines. No one changed, no one grew, it was just the same bland characters for three books.
Overall, there were too many characters and it left very little time to really explore each character. It left me feeling apathetic about them.
Another issue I had with the book (and the overall series) was the pacing. Everything seemed absolutely rushed. There was no build up to Emma and Julian falling in love. It was like they just flipped a switch and realized they loved each other. And it was suppose to be forbidden, but it never felt like it was. They had sex (or close to it) so many times. There was never any true pining for one another. When Clary and Jace thought they were siblings, I felt how forbidden it was. Emma and Julian were able to kiss, hug, flirt, and hook up with very little consequences. The new parabatai curse was so random as well. Alec thought he was in love with Jace for a long time in TMI, and it was never mentioned that it was forbidden for parabatai to love one another. At the end when Julian and Emma became the true Nephilim, I understood the need for the curse because it's how they won the battle, but it just seemed to be there to tie loose ends.
On that note, can I say I'm sick of the incest-ish romances in these books? In the Mortal Instruments, it was Jace and Clary. Then Sebastian and (a reluctant) Clary. Now Julian and Emma? Who, I'll give it to you, are not actually related, but they grew up together! Tavvy, Dru, Livvy, and Ty regarded her as a sister. Even before the death of Emma's parents, she spent all her time with the Blackthorns. Emma and Julian raised the kids together. In the TMI, there was a point where Emma eluded to having a crush on Mark. In my mind, that makes more sense because Mark was older and not as involved in their circle. Also, children should not be allowed to choose parabatai. Having 12 year olds commit themselves to one another is insane. That should only be an 18+ sort of decision.
I want to touch on Thule as well. It was a really interesting plot point to see what would have happened if Clary had not won the war in TMI. Though the whole thing seemed to be for nothing? Ash and Annabelle were interesting additions, but Annabelle just died and Ash wasn't explored at all. He just stayed in Thule. Clary said to Emma before Thule that he was manipulative and made people want to protect him. She had an obvious distrust and dislike for him. Then she was happy that he was alive and ruling Thule after Emma and Jules returned? I feel like it was a rushed part of the story that left a lot of questions.
My overall BIGGEST issues I explored above, but I have a couple smaller ones I want to mention.
I enjoy reading YA. The romance is nicer. In TMI, it was very PG. I only remember one true sex scene, and it was very mild. I prefer that when teenagers are involved. The Dark Artifices went a little more PG-13 (and I would argue R at some points). There were so many sex scenes! There was a threesome at a point. Again, I don't even understand the need for the threesome. The love triangle between Kieran, Mark, and Christina would have been better if it had been focused on Mark picking between his faerie side and his Shadowhunter side. It didn't even end up mattering because Kieran left to be king anyway.
I have gone on and on about the things about this book (and the series as a whole) that I did not like, but I finished the books. Granted it took me less than two weeks to finish the six books of TMI, and it took me over a month to finish the three books in the Dark Artifices. Here's what I did like.
I liked how right off the bat Emma was suppose to be a badass. People regarded her as the next Jace. I enjoyed that because in TMI Clary's quickness to becoming a fully trained Shadowhunter wasn't believable. Emma being an amazing fighter from the beginning made her victories more real.
I really, really enjoyed Christina as a character. I wish she had more of a use than being in Mark and Kieran's love triangle.
I loved the short cameos of old characters. It was nice to see what everyone was up to. Clary and Jace being heavily involved was nice. Alec and Magnus being vital to the the storyline was nice as well. I could've used more Simon.
Exploring Ty and the different way he navigated the world was great. The representation in these books has always made me happy. Alec and Magnus's relationship, Helen and Aline's, Diana, and Kieran were great as well. I love the struggles of the "mudane" world are the same in the Shadowhunter world. My only issue is Ty's autism (and OCD) are really his only character traits. I wish we could have seen him more as a person with these traits rather than it being his whole identity.
I did not hate this series, but after the Mortal Instruments, I felt that these were lack luster compared. There were to many POV switches, too many one dimensional/not needed characters, and a lot of unanswered questions. I realize there is another trilogy after these, but I have not started them. Here's a list of what I do want:
- I'd love a stand alone book of what Jace and Clary were up to in Faerie before being captured.
- I would love to know more about Kit and what he gets up to. His story line could be interesting though I don't think I truly understand how he is Herondale. I know the book explained but it leaves me with more questions than answers.
- I need a jump into the future. I want to see what the kids of Jace and Clary, Isabelle and Simon, and Alec and Magnus's get into.
If you made it this far, congrats! I know there was a lot of griping in this review, but I do truly enjoy Cassandra Clare's writing. I intend to read her next series. I hope you enjoyed reading my woes as much as I enjoyed writing them. :)
I loved the Mortal Instruments saga.
I did. I'm not afraid to admit it, and until I read the reviews on here, I had no clue it was such an unpopular opinion. I read the first three as a teenager when they were first coming out. I only read the first three because when the third book ended, it ended in such a way that I did not realize there would be three more after. I recently picked the books back up and finished the series. I loved the characters still, and I felt that it was just as good as the first time I read them. The last three books were my favorite with the last being the best in my opinion. I ended up loving the side characters just as much as Clary and Jace.
Now let me get to actually reviewing this book.
First, spoilers warning. Of course.
The main thing that stuck out to me about these books were the characters. In TMI, I found myself falling in love with the characters. Isabelle and Simon were two of my favorite. The last book had me absolutely bawling my eyes out for Simon. In these books, I find myself not caring for the characters much at all. Even Emma and Julian didn't touch me. I enjoyed Christina, Ty, and Kit, but the other characters did not seem to have much weight behind them. I attribute this to two different issues. One, the amount of characters. Tavvy, Dru, Deigo, and Jamie could have been left out. I understand the need for them in the plot, but I feel like their involvement in the plot could have gone to someone else. Anytime the story changed to their point of view, I felt myself rolling my eyes and wanting to hurry through the parts. The amount of times I was reminded the Dru loves horror movies was insane. I don't know what that added to the story line, but it was mentioned at least 20 times. It was her only personality trait.
Second, I attribute the lack of care I had towards the characters to how completely one dimensional they seemed. Mark and Kieran were well thought out and I felt they had character development. Christina was almost there and had great potential, but everyone else had nothing to cling to. Emma and Julian loved each other. That was their whole personality. Ty and Livvy were twins. Ty being lucky and getting a bit more personality, but it was never truly delved into. The rest of the Blackthorns felt like NPCs just waiting to say their lines. No one changed, no one grew, it was just the same bland characters for three books.
Overall, there were too many characters and it left very little time to really explore each character. It left me feeling apathetic about them.
Another issue I had with the book (and the overall series) was the pacing. Everything seemed absolutely rushed. There was no build up to Emma and Julian falling in love. It was like they just flipped a switch and realized they loved each other. And it was suppose to be forbidden, but it never felt like it was. They had sex (or close to it) so many times. There was never any true pining for one another. When Clary and Jace thought they were siblings, I felt how forbidden it was. Emma and Julian were able to kiss, hug, flirt, and hook up with very little consequences. The new parabatai curse was so random as well. Alec thought he was in love with Jace for a long time in TMI, and it was never mentioned that it was forbidden for parabatai to love one another. At the end when Julian and Emma became the true Nephilim, I understood the need for the curse because it's how they won the battle, but it just seemed to be there to tie loose ends.
On that note, can I say I'm sick of the incest-ish romances in these books? In the Mortal Instruments, it was Jace and Clary. Then Sebastian and (a reluctant) Clary. Now Julian and Emma? Who, I'll give it to you, are not actually related, but they grew up together! Tavvy, Dru, Livvy, and Ty regarded her as a sister. Even before the death of Emma's parents, she spent all her time with the Blackthorns. Emma and Julian raised the kids together. In the TMI, there was a point where Emma eluded to having a crush on Mark. In my mind, that makes more sense because Mark was older and not as involved in their circle. Also, children should not be allowed to choose parabatai. Having 12 year olds commit themselves to one another is insane. That should only be an 18+ sort of decision.
I want to touch on Thule as well. It was a really interesting plot point to see what would have happened if Clary had not won the war in TMI. Though the whole thing seemed to be for nothing? Ash and Annabelle were interesting additions, but Annabelle just died and Ash wasn't explored at all. He just stayed in Thule. Clary said to Emma before Thule that he was manipulative and made people want to protect him. She had an obvious distrust and dislike for him. Then she was happy that he was alive and ruling Thule after Emma and Jules returned? I feel like it was a rushed part of the story that left a lot of questions.
My overall BIGGEST issues I explored above, but I have a couple smaller ones I want to mention.
I enjoy reading YA. The romance is nicer. In TMI, it was very PG. I only remember one true sex scene, and it was very mild. I prefer that when teenagers are involved. The Dark Artifices went a little more PG-13 (and I would argue R at some points). There were so many sex scenes! There was a threesome at a point. Again, I don't even understand the need for the threesome. The love triangle between Kieran, Mark, and Christina would have been better if it had been focused on Mark picking between his faerie side and his Shadowhunter side. It didn't even end up mattering because Kieran left to be king anyway.
I have gone on and on about the things about this book (and the series as a whole) that I did not like, but I finished the books. Granted it took me less than two weeks to finish the six books of TMI, and it took me over a month to finish the three books in the Dark Artifices. Here's what I did like.
I liked how right off the bat Emma was suppose to be a badass. People regarded her as the next Jace. I enjoyed that because in TMI Clary's quickness to becoming a fully trained Shadowhunter wasn't believable. Emma being an amazing fighter from the beginning made her victories more real.
I really, really enjoyed Christina as a character. I wish she had more of a use than being in Mark and Kieran's love triangle.
I loved the short cameos of old characters. It was nice to see what everyone was up to. Clary and Jace being heavily involved was nice. Alec and Magnus being vital to the the storyline was nice as well. I could've used more Simon.
Exploring Ty and the different way he navigated the world was great. The representation in these books has always made me happy. Alec and Magnus's relationship, Helen and Aline's, Diana, and Kieran were great as well. I love the struggles of the "mudane" world are the same in the Shadowhunter world. My only issue is Ty's autism (and OCD) are really his only character traits. I wish we could have seen him more as a person with these traits rather than it being his whole identity.
I did not hate this series, but after the Mortal Instruments, I felt that these were lack luster compared. There were to many POV switches, too many one dimensional/not needed characters, and a lot of unanswered questions. I realize there is another trilogy after these, but I have not started them. Here's a list of what I do want:
- I'd love a stand alone book of what Jace and Clary were up to in Faerie before being captured.
- I would love to know more about Kit and what he gets up to. His story line could be interesting though I don't think I truly understand how he is Herondale. I know the book explained but it leaves me with more questions than answers.
- I need a jump into the future. I want to see what the kids of Jace and Clary, Isabelle and Simon, and Alec and Magnus's get into.
If you made it this far, congrats! I know there was a lot of griping in this review, but I do truly enjoy Cassandra Clare's writing. I intend to read her next series. I hope you enjoyed reading my woes as much as I enjoyed writing them. :)