Book Review: Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Author: Cassandra Clare

Title: Queen of Air and Darkness

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Date: 2018

Synopsis:  What if damnation is the price of true love?

Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the blight that is destroying the race of warlocks. 

Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

Book Review: Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Goodread’s Synopsis: Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?

A Shadowhunter’s life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.

Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.

Book Review: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy

Having demon amnesia isn’t fun. Not when you have a gorgeous and fierce Shadowhunter claiming you loved her. Or another claiming you were her best friend.

Life is not easy for Simon Lewis. That’s why he signs up for the Shadowhunter Academy. Initially, it is to get his memory back. But it becomes so much more than that.

With friends and (sort of) foes alike, Simon learns about being a Shadowhunter, shaped by their history.

But Simon won’t stand for any of the snobbery.

He might just be on a path to change the world.

Or, at least, Shadowhunter’s attitudes.

Book Review: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

I’m returning to the world of Shadowhunters today with Cassandra Clare’s new series, The Dark Artifices. Here’s my review on Lady Midnight, book one.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date: 2016

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Plot: It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Book Review: Lady Midnight

Plot: After the Dark War, Emma Carstairs learnt how to be the best Shadowhunter she can, determine to avenge her parents’ deaths. But it isn’t easy, not when she has no clues and the Clave do for not believe they were anything more than victims in the war.

Julian Blackthorn will do anything for Emma. She is his Parabetai, after all. But she is becoming more than that. When a trail of murders need their investigation, love and life are both put on the line. Can they solve the murders without breaking the Law? Will Emma have justice?

 

The Infernal Devices Review

Plot: Moving from New York to London to be with her brother, Tessa Gray has no idea what is waiting for her when she gets there. A world of demons, nightmares and Shadowhunters. Her very humanity is called into question when Tessa discovers her shape-shifting ability and she must fight to understand herself to escape the deadly Mortmain.

Battling against his clockwork army, Tessa’s heart is divided. But Will and Jem are not just best friends, they are parabatia. Their bond is stronger than Tessa understands. Is the love shared between the three of them enough to survive this onslaught?

 

 

The Mortal Instruments: City of Heavenly Fire

City of Heavenly Fire brings Cassandra Clare’s series, The Mortal Instruments to a close in an explosive final book. After having to wait for a few months in order to be able to read it, the only thing I can confess is that it does not disappoint.

Sebastian is winning. Shadowhunters are being turned as institute after institute is attacked. He seeks to destroy the Nephilim and their downworlders alliances, destroying those who not only stand against him, but those who have the potential to stand against him in the future. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants. But total destruction isn’t all that he desires; his love for his sister and the companionship offered by Jace means the two teenagers are in even more danger than everyone else. Sebastian doesn’t want them dead; he wants them alive.

Understanding her brother better than anyone, Clary knows they were in a hopeless situation. For all of his claims, Sebastian has no idea the true meaning of love and it is that emotion that has them all clinging to each other. Clary’s relationship with Jace only strengthens while Simon and Isabelle start to come to terms with the fact they do feel for each other. Despite the heartbreak of the final book, there even seems to be a glimmer of hope for Magnus and Alec.

But it was never going to be that straightforward. When Sebastian kidnaps representatives of the downworlders along with his own mother, Clary, Simon, Jace, Isabelle and Alec find themselves venturing where no shadowhunter has gone before in order to pull off a rescue mission. They know it is suicidal and there will be a cost to braving a demon realm, but it is the only thing they can think of that will stop the shadowhunters from completely surrendering to their enemy. Little did they know what the cost would be.

Just as gripping as the other books, the final in the series has many heartstopping moments. A true page-turner as you race through the demon realm with the heroes, praying they have a way of stopping Sebastian once and for all. There are twists and turns throughout the whole novel; nothing is ever predictable when it is Clare writing. After events of previous books, the knowledge that not all of them might make it keeps the reader right on the edge of the seat as the final battle draws closer.

Clare has a way of writing that really draws you into her worlds.

The character development throughout the series is really shown in this last book with the sacrifices the characters are prepared to make; sacrifices they wouldn’t have even dreamed of before. The change has been gradual, but now it comes to an end you realise how far you have travelled with them.

An astonishing series. I’m sad to have come to the end of it but looking forward to tracking down more of Clare’s books. Her writing style is gripping and engaging, leaving the reader just wanting more.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Lost Souls

City of Lost Souls is the penultimate book in the Mortal Instruments series, written by Cassandra Clare. Clare knows how to keep her audience gripped and wanting more. The same is true for this book as it has been for the previous four and it was a thrilling read from beginning to end.

Dangers are drawing in for the Shadowhunters now that Jace finds himself a servant of evil with no say in the matter. While the Clave are thinking only of the protection of Iridis and the world as a whole, the Lightwoods, Clary, Simon and Magnus find themselves searching for ways that they can save their brother/friend. It doesn’t help that anything that hurts Sebastian has the same effect on Jace and vice versa; it’s not as simple as just killing one and freeing the other.

Clary decides to be with Jace, being close to both him and her brother in order to find out what Sebastian’s plan is. But it is hard staying object when your brother seems to care for you and your lover wants nothing more than to be with you. Clary must constantly remind herself why she is doing this or there is the risk that she will lose herself to the same darkness that has consumed Jace. Only her descent into hell won’t be with the aid of a rune controlling her every move.

Meanwhile, the others play their own dangerous game as they search for ways to save Jace. Between summoning angels and demons alike in order to find a potential cure, Simon and Isabelle find they are feeling more for each other than they previously believed. At the same time, trouble finds paradise in Alec and Magnus’s relationship as Alec has to deal with the uncomfortable truth the warlock is immortal and he is not.

Despite the constant battle against evil in this book, there are a lot of hints about how the characters are growing up. There is more of a focus on the developing relationships in the story while they work towards a common goal, with Maia and Jordan overcoming their differences of the past as well. Clare can write the emotions of everyday people just as well as she can write the summoning of a dangerous demon by two Shadowhunters, a warlock and a vampire.

The book was just as gripping as before. Despite there not being the same level of action as in other books, the reader didn’t notice through how engaging the plot was. The darkness was just as likely to come from within as the characters strive to protect the ones they love, regardless of the cost. Somehow, that new form of threat adds another dimension to Clare’s story because you find yourself relating to the characters and what you might do given the situation.

A fantastic read with an epilogue that leaves you literally gasping for more. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the last book and what the final solution against evil will be.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Fallen Angels

City of Fallen Angels is the fourth book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Just as the first three books had proved, I knew that I was going to be in for a rollercoaster ride with this book – and I was right.

With Valentine defeated and Clary and Jace knowing the truth about their relationship with each other, things shouldn’t have been happier. Not only for those two, but for all of their friends – Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike. But a new darkness is rising; and this isn’t necessarily one they can defeat that easily.

As Jace begins to act up and pull away from Clary – from everyone – with no explanation as to why apart from the haunted look in his eyes, Simon realises that he has his own problems to deal with. Not only because he has two attractive girls both bidding for his attention, but because, perhaps more crucially, he has one of the most ancient vampires seeking his assistance while trying to battle his own longings as he tries to understand precisely what he has become.

Trust is a tentative thing for the friends now and no one can be sure about what is going on. As Jace gets worse and Clary begins to discover the truth, they realise that this is a fight against an even bigger foe than before. In part, it’s a fight against themselves; their own inner demons and fears fighting to be let lose. Can the bonds between the teenagers hold even when nothing is as it seems?

Just as the previous books, this is a gripping tale that gets you sucked into the world so hard and fast that your head is still spinning even while you are frantically reading as fast as possible. Clare knows how to build up the tension and anticipation as she builds to the climax. After events in previous books, there is no guarantee for the reader whether a happy ending will be possible or not and the knowledge that literally anything could happen makes this a real page turner.

However, despite being completely gripped, something was beginning to change for me in this book. Once again, the centre of all of the torment is Jace. The sarcastic boy from the first few books is almost gone now. While it shows good character development, there does seem to be a sense of predictability that if anything truly bad is going to happen to any of them, it is going to be Jace with the emotional backlash hitting Clary. Their on/off relationship has spanned for four books now and still doesn’t seem to have any development taking places despite the discoveries the characters themselves have uncovered.

It almost feel as if this is a beautiful broken character that Clare has created and now she wants to keep reminding everyone of that. However, that is not to say that it detracted from the book or the intensity of the plot, but it does leave me wondering where the final two books will take his character.

Once again looking forward to the next book.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Glass Review

The third book in Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, `City of Glass` is possible the best yet. Despite the ease to which I read the previous books, I was looking forward to seeing where this next one took the adventure… and it was certainly no disappointment.

Clary finds herself travelling to the city of Alicante, the central home for all of the Shadowhunters. But it is desperation that forces her hand and things only seem to go from bad to worse as the danger is revealed to be far more complicated and deadly than anyone saw coming as Valentine attacks the Clave itself with an army of demons.

Despite the excitement of the constant threats, it is Clare’s ability to weave twists and turns into her narration that the reader does not see coming that keeps the story quite so gripping. There is simply no way of knowing what is coming next, and the book reveals that Clare is not afraid to shy away from the grimy details involving war; especially the fact that innocents are hurt just as much as the guilty.

Even the twists don’t truly give enough credit to the amount of different subplots that are woven throughout this story. I’m not sure it is possible to truly describe what has happened to someone and actually do it credit. There is a battle on the surface, but underneath there is so much more than that. Forbidden love, issues of guilt and desire and the past raising its ugly head threaten to consume and destroy the characters far more than any demon could manage.

This complexity has made me realise I was wrong to think that the books were aimed at a younger audience. The amount of times I flinched, gasped and completely lost myself in the book revealed that it is just as engaging as anything else that I have read. The characters are deep and complex, with flaws and irritations that make them human; a trap that so many authors fall into by trying to make their character too good. The switch between the different narrators also helps to keep the narration fresh and flowing because it enables you to see the bigger picture; both from the perspective of those who know the world and those who are discovering it along with us.

It was this third book that helped me to realise that I had got to the stage where I cared what happened with the characters. How it was left has made more than intrigued as to where the story is going next due to a change in circumstances that I didn’t see coming. In a way, I’m glad. It will stop a fight from becoming tedious and allow the characters to truly move on now that events unfolded the way they did.

I’m thoroughly looking forward to the next book, more so than before, now I’ve realised just how involved with this world I have found myself becoming. A thoroughly enjoyable story from beginning to end.