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falling_through_the_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Part book review, part series review:
Out of all the books/trilogies in the shadowhunter world, this trilogy was easily the most enjoyable to read, though not my favorite by far.
Note: spoilers for book 1 and 2, very minor spoilers for book 3 (No major plot twist reveals.)
Surprisingly light-hearted for the fairly dark subject matter and plot, characters were hilarious and lovable, and there were so many interesting points of view to follow! Plot was wrapped up well, romance was more of a forefront than any books before, and lots of high emotion stakes. It was a fun ride.
However, this might also be the messiest/least satisfyingly written trilogy of the series (perhaps excluding the first six where I think she was still trying to find her writing style and rhythm). Ms. Clare made some odd choices in points of view and character development that had me thinking how this book could have been written a lot better. Thus, the lower stars.
She included a lot of different points of view for this book, which I think overall was not a plus, despite liking all of them. My absolute favorite was Thomas's. He has the most unique voice in the series! I could have read the entire book and his point of view. However... As much as I loved it... It made no sense that he got so much page time! His plot did very little to further the story or even play into the main plot. I felt the same way with Ari.
Then, there is Grace. She is probably my chief complaint, especially because she played such a huge role in the main characters' emotional states. I did not feel that Grace had enough page time, and she desperately needed it to pull off her redemption arc. Instead, what could have been a really interesting, dynamic redemption felt rushed and perplexing. She was set up as one of a few prominent antagonists in the first book. I might argue she was the most important antagonist for James' character development, in many ways. She actually commits SA, although it is veiled thinly by magic and the fact that it's not actual s*x. But she does take away autonomy in many significant ways that include romance. So really, she is just as much a villain as some of the big bads in the first book. By the second book, not much has changed. Except in the last quarter where she suddenly had a change of heart. But instead of focusing on her point of view and how this would have come about, we get a lot of useless background building her relationship with her brother. It humanizes her, but not in the way needed to start her redemption. By the third book, she is supposedly sorry and trying to better herself. But this falls short. Not only does she have barely any page time to make this work, but most of the redemption comes from how the main characters choose to treat her rather than us seeing that much of a change in her. There were so many ways that her development could have made more sense. They tried to say she was a pawn for her mother, which was true only by stating it, not by showing her struggle or fear of rebelling. She was continually choosing to go along with the plan, and at best we saw that she didn't like it or felt a little guilty. So by the last book, the emotional attempts to get my sympathy fell very flat. There's a perfect opportunity in her friendship with Christopher, which could have been started in the second book, to show her intellectual side (which felt like a tack-on when they introduced it). This supposedly came about from the constant neglect and opression from her mother. Which again, we barely saw. They try to use this intellect to make her into a hero and prove her worth. But it's too little too late to make it believable. They do at least take the SA/forced love seriously. The characters are horrified by it once it's revealed, and affected characters have appropriate anger for it. But without the detailed redemption from Grace, it's less than satisfactory in how it all plays out. It was brushed off with a "to be a hero we need to forgive."
I was also disappointed in the parabatai relationship between Lucie and Cordelia. It was avoided the entire book with the excuse of they were in a fight, and at the end, they make up rather hastily. By contrast, we get some great moments with James and Matthew. I was just a little disappointed to not get the same level of companionship and platonic love between two females that we got between the two male parabatai.
These of course are my complaints, But there was so much that was handled well. They took Matthew's alcoholism seriously. They at least acknowledged that what Grace did was serious. The romance is fun and swoony (although there's a bit of a love triangle and miscommunication which are two of my pet peeves). There is a nearly perfect happily ever after at the end. This book is just all around good feels.
So, the book is totally worth reading. It was such a ride and features romance a lot more than previous books (which I thoroughly enjoyed). Just be warned, that you may find some character arcs and conclusions less than satisfactory for what I have come to expect from Ms. Clare.
Out of all the books/trilogies in the shadowhunter world, this trilogy was easily the most enjoyable to read, though not my favorite by far.
Note: spoilers for book 1 and 2, very minor spoilers for book 3 (No major plot twist reveals.)
Surprisingly light-hearted for the fairly dark subject matter and plot, characters were hilarious and lovable, and there were so many interesting points of view to follow! Plot was wrapped up well, romance was more of a forefront than any books before, and lots of high emotion stakes. It was a fun ride.
However, this might also be the messiest/least satisfyingly written trilogy of the series (perhaps excluding the first six where I think she was still trying to find her writing style and rhythm). Ms. Clare made some odd choices in points of view and character development that had me thinking how this book could have been written a lot better. Thus, the lower stars.
She included a lot of different points of view for this book, which I think overall was not a plus, despite liking all of them. My absolute favorite was Thomas's. He has the most unique voice in the series! I could have read the entire book and his point of view. However... As much as I loved it... It made no sense that he got so much page time! His plot did very little to further the story or even play into the main plot. I felt the same way with Ari.
Then, there is Grace. She is probably my chief complaint, especially because she played such a huge role in the main characters' emotional states. I did not feel that Grace had enough page time, and she desperately needed it to pull off her redemption arc. Instead, what could have been a really interesting, dynamic redemption felt rushed and perplexing. She was set up as one of a few prominent antagonists in the first book. I might argue she was the most important antagonist for James' character development, in many ways. She actually commits SA, although it is veiled thinly by magic and the fact that it's not actual s*x. But she does take away autonomy in many significant ways that include romance. So really, she is just as much a villain as some of the big bads in the first book. By the second book, not much has changed. Except in the last quarter where she suddenly had a change of heart. But instead of focusing on her point of view and how this would have come about, we get a lot of useless background building her relationship with her brother. It humanizes her, but not in the way needed to start her redemption. By the third book, she is supposedly sorry and trying to better herself. But this falls short. Not only does she have barely any page time to make this work, but most of the redemption comes from how the main characters choose to treat her rather than us seeing that much of a change in her. There were so many ways that her development could have made more sense. They tried to say she was a pawn for her mother, which was true only by stating it, not by showing her struggle or fear of rebelling. She was continually choosing to go along with the plan, and at best we saw that she didn't like it or felt a little guilty. So by the last book, the emotional attempts to get my sympathy fell very flat. There's a perfect opportunity in her friendship with Christopher, which could have been started in the second book, to show her intellectual side (which felt like a tack-on when they introduced it). This supposedly came about from the constant neglect and opression from her mother. Which again, we barely saw. They try to use this intellect to make her into a hero and prove her worth. But it's too little too late to make it believable. They do at least take the SA/forced love seriously. The characters are horrified by it once it's revealed, and affected characters have appropriate anger for it. But without the detailed redemption from Grace, it's less than satisfactory in how it all plays out. It was brushed off with a "to be a hero we need to forgive."
I was also disappointed in the parabatai relationship between Lucie and Cordelia. It was avoided the entire book with the excuse of they were in a fight, and at the end, they make up rather hastily. By contrast, we get some great moments with James and Matthew. I was just a little disappointed to not get the same level of companionship and platonic love between two females that we got between the two male parabatai.
These of course are my complaints, But there was so much that was handled well. They took Matthew's alcoholism seriously. They at least acknowledged that what Grace did was serious. The romance is fun and swoony (although there's a bit of a love triangle and miscommunication which are two of my pet peeves). There is a nearly perfect happily ever after at the end. This book is just all around good feels.
So, the book is totally worth reading. It was such a ride and features romance a lot more than previous books (which I thoroughly enjoyed). Just be warned, that you may find some character arcs and conclusions less than satisfactory for what I have come to expect from Ms. Clare.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
novaeverafter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Miscarriage and Sexual content
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