Reviews

The Penultimate Hours by Cassandra Clare

Only show reviews with written explanations

jazmin's review against another edition

4.0

For a moment, Alastair looked lost, hesitant. It had been a long time since Cordelia had seen an expression so open on his face. Then he slammed shut like an iron gate. “We’re all of us alone,” he said. “In the end.”

⇢Ragnor’s Letter to Magnus
This was cute and fun! I love how Ragnor described all of the TLH crew, particularly Christopher!

⇢A Lightwood Christmas Carol
Gideon and Will’s friendship was the absolute best! It was sweet to see Gideon so concerned about Thomas’ health, and I definitely hate Tatiana more after all she said about Sophie.

⇢Lucie and Ghosts
A sweet and short story! I love all of Jessamine and Lucie’s interactions and this one was no different. I also liked that little Jesse reference at the end ;)

⇢Lucie and Cordelia
I LOVE LUCIE AND CORDELIA’S FRIENDSHIP SO MUCH. I also love the nickname Daisy for Cordelia, and it was cute to see how that name originated!

⇢Cordelia and Alastair
Cordelia and Alastair’s relationship is everything. There are so many great sibling friendships in TSC, and theirs is definitely one I want to see more of. And of course, hearing Alastair recount his experiences at the Academy was as sad as it was to hear in Chain of Gold :(

⇢The Anniversary Party
I loved this! It was cool to see Cordelia meet some of the main TLH characters for the first time and to see James interact with Alastair before attending the Academy with him.

⇢The Devil Tavern
I had always wondered how James got the Merry Thieves’ meeting spot at The Devil Tavern and this story answered that question! Of course, loved the Merry Thieves content.

⇢The City of Bones
This was so cute, but also bittersweet, just like all the stories that take place before the incident that changed Matthew. It was nice to see him so happy, but sad when you think of how his life would change soon…

⇢Christopher
THIS WAS TOO CUTE. We all know that Christopher loves his experiments and inventions, and it was so interesting to see how that came about! ICON:

“Who do you think is the Shadowhunter who has saved the most lives, boy?”
“I suppose you think it’s your papa.”
“No,” said Christopher after a moment’s thought. “I would say my Uncle Henry.” The Inquisitor appeared thunderstruck. “I performed an analysis,” Christopher said peacefully. “If Uncle Henry had not invented the Portal, there is a strong possibility that our numbers would be less by a third. I believe you yourself would have died nine years ago, during the Dantalion attack on the York Institute. Since Portals will exist long after uncle Henry is dead, I expect he will end up having saved more lives than any other Shadowhunter, including Jonathan Shadowhunter. Unless I can invent something which will be as useful. Which naturally I aspire to do.”

⇢Overall
This was such a cute collection of stories! There are always so many small details and scenes that can’t make it into the main books that you wish you could see, and these short stories answered so many of those questions!