thank you Claudia Adotey for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book as an ARC!
3.5â� honestly, i was a bit sceptical at first because tthank you Claudia Adotey for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book as an ARC!
3.5â� honestly, i was a bit sceptical at first because this is a second chance romance story which normally isn't really my thing. but luckily, I found the cover extremely cute and was actually interested after having read the blurb!
this was an easy and adorable read! I always like switches between past and present, so I was happy to find it in this book. it really showcased Isabella and Travis's growth, which made me feel kind of proud of those two.
Like some others, I found Isabella a bit annoying at first. after slowly getting to know her character and story better, I was luckily able to understand her choices and in the end actually mostly liked her! Travis was nice. I loved that he paints because found it an interesting topic! also, sometimes just wanted to hug him hahaha
overall, I'm glad I was able to read this cute book, I'd recommend it if y'all are looking for a quick and heartfelt read!! ...more
if you aren't reading this series yet, what are you doing?! because WOW i loved this just as much as i loved the first one rtc!! if you aren't reading this series yet, what are you doing?! because WOW i loved this just as much as i loved the first one rtc!! ...more
6th february: - spoiler free review - thank you so much Day Leitao for providing me with an ARC to read and review!
2.7â� I'm still feeling unsure abou6th february: - spoiler free review - thank you so much Day Leitao for providing me with an ARC to read and review!
2.7â� I'm still feeling unsure about this book. there were some parts I enjoyed but also definitely some things I really didn't enjoy... but let me tell you a bit about the plot first.
� plot
the story follows the main character astra, who grows up in a kind of school where she and other people get trained to be a substitute who will pretend to be the princess and the prince of their kingdom to save them in specific situations. additionally, she has to keep her true heritage (which i won't spoil) hidden. astra isn't really happy with her life since she wants to have a kindred one (kind of like a boyfriend but on a deeper level), who she also dreams about but isn't able to figure out who he is. after an incident where she already met him, she is forced to get married to the king's evil brother, marlak. now, she has to live with him, which leads to secrets being uncovered, discoveries of magic and other kingdoms, friendships being formed and love being found. that's kind of it.
I don't really have an issue with the plot, I liked the overall story line. I do feel like it's more of a character-driven story, since there weren't many plot twists and the main ones were solely ar the end. instead, i learned more about the characters' background story - not suuuper much though - , followed the development of different feelings, and saw them turn into the people they were in the end and followed. I have to mention that it sometimes felt more like I was told what would happen or what was happening in a way too descriptive style, not really giving me the chance to fully dive into the moment and experience the same feelings as the characters. kinda like "more tell than show". the big plot twist in the end wasn't extremely surprising since part of it got explained right away, but it still opens the opportunity for another book.
� world
the story is set in a fantasy world rather similar to for example the acotar world: there are different courts with different beings, such as fae people, nyxes and humans for example, and different rules. i enjoyed discovering that, however didn't learn that much about the courts since the story mainly played in two to three different ones. what I liked the most about the fantasy aspect were the different magical powers. It was fun to discover them and their various divisions. sadly, I feel like I again only got "surface information", never really having the chance to get a deeper understanding of how they worked and which existed.
� writing aka my biggest issue
as I already said in one of my updates, my biggest issue was the way this book was written. while reading, I made a little list of the things that bothered me along the way:
- repeated words, especially a constant use of "(and) then", "well", "perhaps", "and yet", "the truth is"/"in truth". from beginning to end, these words followed me. sometimes, a word would be repeated numerous times on only one page. this got annoying extremely fast and sadly ruined my complete reading experience. also, there was an unnecessary amount of words like "ugh" and "wow". luckily, that got better in the end. additionally, the endearments "wife" and �husband" were extremely (!!!) overused.
- the way this was written also kinda felt more like a stream of thoughts than like an organised text, which just made it feel somewhat inexperienced.
- fitting to what I just talked about is that astra's inner thoughts were constantly full of questions. while this was entertaining in the beginning, it just got annoying the more i read. it felt like an excuse to not answer the questions, maybe wanting to build suspension but then never really answering them. i think that's also the reason why I don't know much about the magic etc, I only read her questions but those just didn't get answered.
- I don't really know how to put this next thing into words because I myself don't totally understand what's happening but sentences like "Why didn't I run with Otavio? I know why, and yet..." or "your power is quite impressive. quite impressive. doesn't impress me, ..." just felt extremely contradicting, which was bothersome. why would you say something only to answer it with the opposite?!
- lastly, some parts of the writing felt lazy, such as "There's just something so comforting about it, so... I don't even know how to explain it". like, just explain it or don't mention it at all, right?!
so, as you can see, there were quite some things that irked me and made it impossible for me to completely dive into the story. I think it got better in the middle - or i just got used to it HAHA...
� characters
while Astra was the main character and I experienced everything through her pov, my feelings toward her aren't many or deep. I think I like her, despite sometimes not really enjoying her inner monologue (there was just so much of it). I mostly liked her braveness and will to fight for herself while also being okay with showing some vulnerability.
however, my favourite character was marlak - but I also don't have many thoughts about him. I really enjoyed his sweetness and utter politeness, which he showed from beginning on. he cares a lot about those he loves and tries to always protect them. his sarcasm was funny and i liked discovering his traumatic past - not because i like that he has experienced those things, but because it brings depth into his character. he's also quite hot, honestly, and wears fancy rings hihi.
the side characters were nice, but not very memorable since they don't play a big role at all.
� AstraMarlak
since their marriage was a forced one but they still learn to love each other, I got a great enemies to lovers story, which was the book's strongest aspect. I liked the sexual tension between astra and marlak, which was supported by the dreams, and their bantering. to observe them slowly accepting that tension was fun and I especially enjoyed all the small moments where marlak showed his soft spot for astra.
� conclusion
okay, now that I've said all that, I think I can say that this was a book with a lot of potential, but sadly didn't meet my expectations. I'd still say that you should give it a try, especially if you don't really mind the negative things I said about the writing style. because, as i just said, the book definitely has potential!! I don't know if I'll read the next book, but since I don't want to leave all my questions unanswered, I probably will.
------------------- having mixed feelings rn rtc! -------------------- got another arc hihi ...more
thank you so much Abigail Ehrhardt for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book as an ARC. it was31st january: - spoiler-free review -
thank you so much Abigail Ehrhardt for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book as an ARC. it was wonderful.
as some you already know, this was my first time reading an arc, so I was excited about this book from the very start. this excitement only increased the more I read and the more I learned about the world and the characters. honestly, this book feels like I’m back in 2021, discovering the acotar world � not because the books are super similar, but because they give me the same feeling of comfort, joy and thrill! as someone who isn’t really into rereading, this might become one of the few books I’ll make an exception for, just to relive the just named feelings and read a story I know I’ll enjoy again.
this is such an amazing fantasy world! it’s got kingdoms and queendoms with many secrets and inhabitants with various magical powers, fantasy animals such as dragons and monsters, magical plants with unknow effects, magical artefacts, an interesting history of how everything became the way it is now, and so much more â€� doesn’t that sounds so good?!! it gets better: ³Ù³ó±ð°ù±ð’s no info-dumping! all the information about everything is elegantly included into the story and the charactersâ€� thoughts, almost giving me the information “under coverâ€� and fitting to the moment. this is supported by the point of views from different characters, each providing new information when necessary and giving me the chance to see this world from multiple angles.
� characters
despite this being the first book about these characters, I already love so many of them as if I have known them for a much longer time. while I really, really enjoyed the complete book, these people were my favourite part to read about
analia is the main character and I got to see most of the story though her eyes. this, I enjoyed very much, especially because she undergoes a great character development and changes into a much stronger, more determined woman who is learning how to deal with what she went through. and oh my god, did she go through it. she lost her uncle whom she loved extremely and who was the only person she had ever felt save with. the reason for this is, since she hasn’t found her magic yet, she is frowned upon by the society and even by some of her own family members, specifically her father. I get so mad only thinking about the horrible things he said to her and how he openly mistreated her and how, for a very long time, nobody ever really helped her. she deserves so much better than that and I am proud of her for standing up to him in the end. but she’s also so much more than that. she’s funny, treats servants in a very nice way (I love when characters who are born into a higher position respect those “below� them), is quite selfless, always wants the best for the people she loves, and fights for what is right. I really like her!
aaron is amazing and i fell for him the moment I analia met him. already his first sentences were sarcastic and kinda cocky, showing me what would be waiting for me in the rest of the book. he’s extremely funny with his sometimes a bit out-of-pocket comments and was always able to put a smile on both mine and analia’s lips. he’s also very sweet, which he actually hides underneath that sarcasm, making his quite rare showings of his true feelings very precious. moreover, he’s extremely brave and selfless as well, always finding a way to protect those he cares for. sadly, he too has a tragic past involving a traumatic family history, which to this day still haunts him � understandably so. there were many, many moments where I wanted nothing more than be able to jump into the boom and give him a hug and tell him he deserves all the best.
Dimitri might be the funniest character of the book. he was the best comedic relief in many otherwise rather dire situations. but it wouldn’t be a fantasy book without almost every character having experienced some traumatic thing in their past, so dimitri too hasn’t had an easy life. he never really had any family and therefore doesn’t let people touch him in any ways, not even his friends. therefore, I was so happy when he allowed aaron and analia to give him a hug, it showed how much he trusts them. additionally, I feel like his actions are a bit overlooked. he played an important role in what was happening and kinda didn’t get as much praise as for example aaron and analia � but maybe that’s just me “overanalysing� everything haha.
ember is analia’s healer friend in the ash kingdom and also had her own point of view and, while she wasn’t super important and only had short chapters, I still like her. she’s very smart and supports analia and I think she may play a bigger role soon.
the side characters were nice! I disliked who I was supposed to dislike and also changed my opinions about some characters as the story continued. I actually feel a bit conflicted over some of them and am excited to see how they’ll turn out to be in the next book.
� relationships and friendships
³Ù³ó±ð°ù±ð’s only one romantic relationship, which consists of pryanth and analia. since they’re strangers in the beginning I had the opportunity to get to know pryanth the same way analia did: without knowing him at all. this was nice because I was able to understand her feelings regarding him and also relate to them since I saw exactly what she was seeing. this leads to me saying that pryanth is “tamlin-ingâ€�, if you know what I mean. he was sweet in the beginning, cared about analia and was excited to meet her. he also hasn’t had a super easy life, but compared to other charactersâ€� lifes, it’s nothing. however, he always puts himself in the victim position and became annoying the more I go to know him. I won’t say too much, but be prepared to enter a rollercoaster when meeting him and their relationship.
the total opposite to that is the friendship between aaron and analia. already now, they mean the world to me. they didn’t really get along from the first time they met, but became allies and then slowly formed the wonderful bond they now have. they are and have everything analia and pryath aren’t and haven’t, including nicknames and compliments, very entertaining bickering resulting in sexual tension, long and kinda forbidden glances. they support and comfort each other by being each other’s person they can talk to about anything, they let each other see sides of themselves that no one else has ever seen, which is just beautiful. they push each other to become better versions of their current selves and are always,and I mean always, ready to help each other. they communicate when ³Ù³ó±ð°ù±ð’s a problem and don’t shy away from that confrontation. also, aaron literally counted every single one of analia’s smiles throughout the whole book â€� EVERY SINGLE ONE. to be honest, I thought they’d get together by the end of the book â€� but they haven’t and I’m surprisingly not mad about it at all because it opens the possibility of a lovely slow burn friends-to-lovers hihi.
dimitri and analia’s bond is so precious. they found each other when they needed a person to trust and help each other with their struggles.
the found family trope is represented by the friendship between analia, aaron and dimitri. they are adorable together and are able to truly be themselves around each other. they can both joke and talk about serious topics, which is important in a friendship group. I love them so much.
� conclusion
as you can see, I loved this book very much and had such a great time reading it. you all have to read it when it gets published, especially if you love fantasy books like acotar! I’m super excited for the next book (even though it’s probably going to take some time until it gets published lmao) because, while it did end in a satisfying way, there are still some questions left unanswered and the main villain is still free.
--------------------------- 31st january: wow - this was AMAZING and i'm so excited to write this review later and tell you all about this masterpiece ...more
4.4 â� I'll be honest and say that I was kind of sceptical when starting this because I'd seen some mixed opinions about this book, but turns out that r4.4 â� I'll be honest and say that I was kind of sceptical when starting this because I'd seen some mixed opinions about this book, but turns out that reading was so much fun!
� world
for some reason, I'd thought this was only romance, so I was positively surprised when I saw that it's set in a fantasy world. there isn't any detailed world building, but it absolutely didn't matter because it's definitely a "casual" fantasy book - there is simply no need for an explanation of the world. it all makes sense just by following the story. still, there were some fantasy creatures and magic, which were fun to discover, especially because I've never read any other book where there is a magical ink lol! they definitely add to the overall experience of the book.
� plot
because this was a relatively short book, i liked that there was only one big plot twist. since it was at the almost ending of the book, the whole story was being lead to this outcome, which might sound a bit risky because the reveal could've been unsurprising. however, firstly it was kept interesting by making me suspect different people to be the traitor (they were looking for a traitor amongst their own), always having me question if the people were telling the truth. secondly, I did not expect the outcome at all! it came out of nowhere but still made so much sense, which I really love. it gave the story a kind of "refreshing kick" and had me sitting on the edge of my seet for the last few chapters - i couldn't stop reading! the final two chapters are making me so excited for the next book. I needed it like yesterday.
� writing
this book was written in such a funny and light way, making me laugh so many times! while there were some minor things I sometimes didn't reallyyyy like (like a repetitive word), it was still very easy to binge read and I especially loved the descriptions of how the magic looked. in addition, I loved that there were two point of views!
� characters
how is it that i already love so many of these characters when I've only just met them?!! thank you, HNM, for creating such amazing people.
I can't get enough of evie. she's so so sweet, clumsy and bubbly and made me smile often. her optimism paired with her humour and sarcastic remarks made me and the villain love her instantly! sadly, she's often burdened by her traumatic past, yet she's still able to smile. she has to be a parent for her little sister while she herself never really had one, which shows what a strong woman she is. additionally, she's also got a "dark" side to her. she doesn't fear the evil things the villain does and does some k1ll1ng herself(only those who deserve it, she's not weird!!), especially at the end. I really hope I'll see more if this side in the next book since it's exciting to see her "evil". she was a great embodiment of "female rage" at the ending!
same as evie, I've fallen for the villain. firstly, if anyone is worried about him being called the villain in the whole book (I was) : don't worry, he's got a hot normal name as well!! when I tell y'all this man is amazing, I'm telling the truth. he's the perfect morally grey, hot character, who has a soft spot for the female main character. he's so stubborn but then slowly melts, which was adorable to read about. he too has a traumatic past, which I feel like I don't know that much about yet, so I'm looking forward to getting to know him on a deeper level, especially because I'm excited for some explanations about why he became the villain.
Kingsley, Blade and other side characters were such a great addition to the book. i really like them all. also - am i seeing a potential for a side character relationship (or maybe even a spin-off?) between blade and Becky? I hope so hihi they'd be so cute.
� evie and the villain
they are everything and more and exactly what i mean when I say sunshine X grumpy. I can't get enough of them. I didn't even get more than only one kiss, which can't really be counted as one- y'all read that right, NOT EVEN MORE THAN ONE (1) KISS. and i love it because there's sooo much potential for an amazing slow (not super slow but like they have to become a bit more friends yet and then there could really happen something) burn. their chemistry is so good. the lingering looks, the "accidental" touches, the touching each other a second longer than necessary, the trusting each other with their traumas, the bickering and sarcastic comments, the touch her and you die - i got it all. moreover, the way they think about each other???!!? people died. they are SO cute and SO in love with each other. especially the way the villain thinks about her - he describes her with such beautiful words and compares her to the sunlight and to colours, calling her adorable nicknames.
� conclusion
I'm so glad I picked this up! it's such a feel-good, comforting book that's super addictive. I can't wait for the next book!...more
when i found out that this book existed, i had to read it. i already really enjoyed the excerpts of Simon and baz's story in fangirl and was excited twhen i found out that this book existed, i had to read it. i already really enjoyed the excerpts of Simon and baz's story in fangirl and was excited to get to know them properly.
plot and world
it took me some time to actually understand how this world worked and who exactly the people were. my biggest problem was that the story started in the last school year, i didn't get how I'd be able to catch up eight years at only the beginning of the book. i also had to read a small Wikipedia entry about this book to see what the humdrum was and how the magic system worked, because i was so confused - not a great start... but luckily, it got so much better! the more i read, the more i learned about the people i was meeting and the more i slowly understood this world. it was super satisfying to be able to connect the dots. i started loving the way spells were made by sayings know all over the world and always found it hilarious when i recognized one - it's such a creative and fun method to uniquely use a that popular fantasy element! of course, this reminded me quite a lot of harry potter, but i wasn't mad about it. on the contrary, i loved kind of revisiting a world with a mage school. also, the focus wasn't as much on the school itself and its people as it is in harry potter, but more on the adventures and problems outside of it - i didn't even spend that much time in the school.
writing
i enjoyed the writing! it was wonderfully fast paced, which fit the overall story and prevented the story from getting too boring when explaining. in addition, it was very easy to read and therefore easy to make a big progress in only short time. I couldn't stop reading, it was so addictive and finished it in four days hehe i also really enjoyed the pop culture references and all the multiple point of views!
characters
in my opinion, this was a very character driven book. while i did get some actual action in mostly the last part, i had many more chances to connect with the main characters throughout the story.
i like Simon. he is so sweet, clumsy, and so brave. he's the type of character you instantly like and may definitely relate to in some way. I'm obviously sorry he went through all this, but it also made his character and personality grow, making him realise some things about who he is as a person and getting him to finally see baz differently, which I'm very happy about because this precious boy deserves only the best.
baz is my favourite character in this book. his povs were so insightful about who he is, fulfilling their job perfectly. he's the perfect villain in the outside, but such a cinnamon roll on the inside and actually much more complicated and much smarter than you'd suspect by just looking at him. he's so in love with Simon and can't stop thinking about him, like ever - which is the most adorable thing to read about.
Penny is a nice character. she's so smart that even baz kind of looks up to her for ideas and i liked that she had her own pov so that it got the chance to watch snowbaz and generally the whole main plot from a little further distance.
Lucy's pov was such a big mystery for me in the beginning. but the more I read it, the more sense it made and I started to appreciate them! they were agreat addition to figure out more about the past.
i can't really find myself caring about Agatha and honestly found her pov a bit unnecessary. while she shows how some people deal with magic (running away from it), i didn't find her story and thoughts interesting enough...
relationship
snowbaz have all of my heart, i adore them so much. even though i didn't see that much of their rivalry because mostly happened in the past years, i still felt their enemy dynamic, making this a wonderful enemies to lovers. it was so fun to see Simon very slowly realize his feelings for baz, whereas baz's second or third pov in the whole book ended with him thinking about how madly in love he's with Simon - lol, isn't that adorable?! i loved all of their moments and couldn't get enough of them. they treat each other with so nicely and care so much about the other's wellbeing.
conclusion
overall, this was such a fun and exciting (especially the last 100 pages) book. while I did focus the most on the romance part, I still enjoyed the plot. I'm so excited to read the next one!...more
I've never read Alice in Wonderland or watched any of the movies and have literally no clue what happens, apart from that a girl falls into a whole anI've never read Alice in Wonderland or watched any of the movies and have literally no clue what happens, apart from that a girl falls into a whole and discovers Wonderland. so, you can imagine that this was quite the adventure - an adventure I loved from the beginning to the end.
�world
I really liked this world. it was such a magical experience to get to know all the different kinds of beings that exist in hearts. and oh my, there are a lot of weird ones that I couldn't really imagine, but still laughed about because they were so very creative yet so ridiculous at the same time (for example the cricket (I think it was cricket, please correct me if I remember falsely) game with the hedgehogs and flamingos). also, I liked the general "magic" system, like the thing about different objects from dreams starting to exist in the real world as soon as they were dreamt.
from now on, the rest of this review contains SPOILERS!
�plot
from reading the blurb, I obviously knew what was going to happen and I also vaguely knew that such a person as the queen of hearts existed in the original Alice in Wonderland story. still, I was so sad to see it actually happen because the smallest hope of this ending happily never really left my mind. stupid, I know. but we were so, so close to a happy end and then the story took a sudden 180 turn and everything went downhill - literally everything. I was so shocked by this change of events that I couldn't believe it, but then the book was finished and I was left feeling empty inside. additionally to the main plot, I enjoyed that there were such interesting side characters like hatta, they added a special something to the story that I wouldn't want to have missed. lastly, I also liked the jabberwock twist, it definitely kept the story exciting!
�characters
writing this part of the review hurts because no one got a happy ending (apart from Margaret meale... how great...).
I think I find cath's ending to be the most tragic. she was just a more or less happy, cute girl with a wonderful dream of opening a bakery with her best friend. I loved her never-ending passion for baking, even though it was frowned upon by her parents. she was so full of hope and fought for her dreams until the very end, which I really admire. also, she was such a brave girl, who wanted justice and cared greatly about the people of hearts. however, that girl is gone now. she was never the same after jest's death, which is one of the most painful things of this book. it hurt so much to see her in her great pain and to see her change completely into a person I couldn't recognise at all, who was consumed by a hatred that the old cath wouldn't have liked. even thinking about it hurts.
since the first moment I met jest, I loved him. his entrance was amazing! he was so fine, not only look wise (I love his eyeliner sooo much) but also personality wise. he was so funny and always knew how to cheer cath and me up. also, he said the most swoon worthy things ever - I could not stop giggling. now somebody tell me how am I supposed to get over him? am supposed to get over jest?! because I don't think I will. his death HURT like hell and I cried. I mean, I suspected it from the start of the book, but I'd thought it would happen in the very end, not so sudden and so "soon". I fear I won't recover.
as I already mentioned, the side characters were so interesting. I enjoyed getting to know hatta and loved his hats because they were so creative. he was a nice friend to jest and seemed just like an overall great character. so I actually felt sad when he eventually did turn mad, he kind of deserved better. I kind of hate the king. while he was I guess you could say a bit "cute", he was mostly annoying because of his literal blindness to what was happening around him. he was so determined to marry cath which made me so angry. in the end, he got what he wanted, but also didn't. kinda deserved, kinda not.
�jest and Cath
I LOVEd them. they were perfect for each other in every way and I'll always mourn what would've, could've, should've been. their relationship development (ignoring the ending) was so "fun" to read about. while I feel like this was a bit insta-love-ish, it actually didn't bother me at all since it fit the characters well and convinced me to love them from the first scene of them together. I loved the secret moments, the (partly angry) confessions about their feelings for each other, the letters and their willingness to leave everything behind just to be together. and then this book had the audacity to end the way it did - remind me again why I read books as a hobby??
�conclusion overall, I really enjoyed this book even though I don't know anything about the original (if there were some kind of references to it, I definitely missed them lmao). it was exactly the type of tear-worthy book I was promised!
12th january: to everyone who hasn't read this book yet and is scared by the negative reviews that I've seen lately: take this as your sign to give it 12th january: to everyone who hasn't read this book yet and is scared by the negative reviews that I've seen lately: take this as your sign to give it a try!! it's funny, deals with mental health issues that both men and women have, super cute and hot and, as the dedication already says, is for everyone who loves to be praised ...more
“Y’know, Buxbaum, someday you might see it differently.� I tilted my head, crossed my arms, and said, “I was talking about you, Wes, not kissing in ge“Y’know, Buxbaum, someday you might see it differently.� I tilted my head, crossed my arms, and said, “I was talking about you, Wes, not kissing in general.� His lips slid up into the dirtiest of smirks. “Oh, I know, Elizabeth.�
honestly, nothing Cassandra Clare writes will ever make me feel as many emotions as the The Infernal Devices series did, but this is definitely close honestly, nothing Cassandra Clare writes will ever make me feel as many emotions as the The Infernal Devices series did, but this is definitely close by. it’s my favourite out of the whole Last Hours trilogy, which I’ve realised might be kind of a controversial opinion � I’ve seen so many negative reviews for this book lol. so, if anyone who hasn’t read the series yet because of maybe the many mixed reviews for especially this one, take this as your sign to try it out!!
�plot
there happened so many things, it was such a rollercoaster of emotions. I went from the highest high to the lowest low within just a few chapters/sometimes even pages, thus there were literally no boring parts for me - and that regardless of the fact, that there wasn’t really any big, unexpected reveal, so it was all just fantastic writing and overall a great storyline!
�characters
contrary to some other reviews, I actually liked the way Cordelia handled everything from the Paris situation to the paladin thing. I liked that she distanced herself from Matthew and James after coming somewhat “clean� about her own feelings to let them figure their own feelings for her and how they would handle this regarding their friendship, so that there could be a smaller chance of a fight that’d break them all apart. moreover, in retrospect I can say that I understand much better now why she went to Paris in the first place. I really disliked her and Matthew for the way they left things at the end of book two, but as I continued reading this one, I saw that she was right in doing this trip. she couldn’t have known about the bracelet and only saw that James wasn’t really paying attention to her, so of course I get why she would feel hurt and leave him at the opportunity of maybe a better life. additionally, I generally once again liked Cordelia as a character. she was at her strongest here, really fighting for those she loves and for what she wants to achieve. it was so fun to read about her because she didn’t give up once, despite there happening the craziest things. I’m so glad she finally reached her happily ever after, she really deserves it!
the same thing counts for Matthew. same as Cordelia, he didn’t really understand the whole Grace thing, had so many own problems and on top of that, his parabatai bond was weakened, so I understand why he acted the way he did. he wanted Cordelia to have a better life, which I think is so sweet of him and nothing bad. (it also made James realise how much he actually loved Cordelia, which was very important.) furthermore, I am so unbelievably proud of him that he went through his plan of becoming sober. since I as the reader only knew him under the influence, it was wonderful to get to know the real him who doesn’t drown his feelings. it made me love him even more.
James went through literal hell in this book, both literally and figuratively. he went to hell, got possessed by a prince of hell, lost a friend, got betrayed by someone he thought he’d loved for almost his entire life and kind of died for a moment. I’m so glad he didn’t break and fought until the very end. in addition, I found it very mature of him to forgive Grace, which I don’t think he’d necessarily done in for example the first book, so this shows that he also grew and matured while living through all this.
now, let’s talk about Christopher- poor, poor Christopher. I’ll have to admit I was a bit “relieved� when he was the one it happened to because, as I already said in my review of chain of iron, I felt the least connected to his character. but then, afterwards, I actually realised that I did like him and it did feel weird not having him there, and I felt sad � not cry-worthy sad, but still quite heartbroken. what I knew from the start was that he deserved so much better. he was always such a sweetheart, had the least problems, treated grace in such a nice way and was (in my opinion at least) the most innocent one. I mean, he didn’t even get the chance to properly say his last goodbye to James and Matthew since they were elsewhere occupied. also, I really feel like he was forgotten/the characters got over him way too quickly. there was no official funeral, I didn’t get to read about Cecily and Gabriel’s reaction (I feel terribly sorry for them) and therefore it just felt like no one really grieved him long enough. I definitely feel like this is a “mistake� made by Cassandra, as I don’t think the other characters would have just brushed over it this way, so I don’t blame them here haha! I just wish I as a reader would’ve been more involved in their grief.
although I never came to like Grace as much as I like the other characters (for hopefully obvious reasons), I do sympathize with her now. I more or less understand why she did all that she did and am glad she got a chance to show that she didn’t think like Tatiana and actually wanted a new life.
the most positive character development award goes to Alastair. he started supporting and bonding so much more with Cordelia, opened up to Thomas, made sense of his own various sorts of feelings and became an important member in the OG group, which he really deserves. he’s much more nicer, such an empath and overall super sweet. I really like him!
�friendships and couples
I’ll start this with saying that the most positive thing that resulted out of the Paris trip was that the bond between Cordelia and Matthew became so strong and that they both had the chance to see what a life together would look like, even if it didn’t become reality. I love their friendship.
I’m so glad that Matthew and James finally talked about everything that they kept from each other, it was a much-needed bonding moment. while they did have a connection, it didn’t quite reach the special parabatai bond I saw with Jem and Will, which was quite sad because it was such a beautiful thing. luckily, after they talked, this bond started to form again and I’ve almost never been happier about a friendship found again.
same thing for Lucie and Cordelia, just that they hadn’t even been parabatai yet and I sometimes honestly couldn’t really see them as future parabatai. they had kept even more secrets from each other than James and Matthew, had fought and rarely talked to each other. that's why I was so happy when they finally found each other completely. I loved all of their “intimate� friendship moments so much because I could finally see the connection they’d been talking about.
Grace and Christopher’s friendship was unexpected, but warmly welcomed by me. I loved to see them have someone to talk about science with, a thing they so rarely had with anyone else. I’m so sad that there wasn’t a chance to see them together for a longer time and outside of the silent city, they could’ve come up with so many crazy experiments.
while Will and Tessa will always be my Cassandra Clare OTP, James and Cordelia definitely deserve the second place. I couldn’t wait for them James to figure out their feelings for each other, so that they’d finally be together for real. and when it then came, I was squealing from pure delight. I obviously really loved the scenes immediately after Cordelia heard the true story about the bracelet (thank you so much, Grace), just reading about them together was one of my highlights of the book. I thought I knew what they were like together as a couple, but I absolutely did not � they can’t get enough of each other and it’s the most delightful thing I’ve ever seen.
Alastair and Thomas follow close behind Cordelia and James on their way to my heart. I have been a shipper of these two from day one and I’m more than happy to see them together. I was so proud to see Thomas open up about his sexuality and I was glad to see Alastair be honest to himself about his feelings for Thomas and to see him be so open around him. they have so many tender, loving scenes. their confessions to each other were so adorable, I could cry. I adore them so much.
while Jesse and Lucie didn’t really stand out as individual characters to me in comparison to some other people (I do have to say though that I liked how Lucie dealt with the whole ghost thing, it felt quite mature), I loved them together. I’m super happy they could finally be together as humans and feel each other completely without one of them only being half there. they really love each other and I find them so cute.
surprisingly, I ended up being much more interested in Ari and Anna’s relationship than I’d anticipated. partly because I started to actually care about Ari but also because they ended up needing each other in a beautiful way. it was fun to read about their journey of finding their love again.
�overall
though there were really few parts where I didn’t always understand why the thing that were happening were happening, this was an overall satisfying ending, both to the book itself and to the series. also, I’m actually done with this series � what?! I feel like I just flew in and out of it, it was so good!
I can’t finish this review without at least once mentioning that I loved, and I mean LOVED, all the scenes I got to read with the characters from the tid series. I tapped almost every single one, just because I love them so much.
------------------------------------------------------------- I can't believe I'm already done with this wonderful series ...more
though I did enjoy the first book more, this was still very exciting, especially because if the murderer-plot.so far, this is such a good series ahh!!
though I did enjoy the first book more, this was still very exciting, especially because if the murderer-plot. it was thrilling to discover more and more about the murders, to see how they were connected and to finally find out who was behind them, which was both expected and also so not expected! I liked that in "collaboration" with the murders, I could learn new things about the Shadowhunter world (like the thing about putting runes from one person to another or new things about the princes of hell) because I had kind of believed that I knew most of it, so to be proven wrong was fun. additionally, I liked that the murders weren't the only plot, but that there was happening much more alongside that. by keeping the fantasy aspect by things such ad the necromancy plot line, it stopped the book from turning into a complete murder mystery story, which I think is good! furthermore, I really enjoyed that all the seemingly "random" side events became tied together in the end. it made the reading experience so fun and made me have an "ahhh omg that makes so much sense because of ..." moment (if you know what I mean with that haha).
I looooove that there were so many different point of views, even if it were only small passages for some! it was so much fun to see the happenings from different perspectives and made me understand (and sometimes like) some characters more. it also made the various events easier to follow because I could always associate a character with a specific situation, thereby making the book easier to read.
though this is only the second book with these characters, I already love them so much!
Cordelia is one of my favourite characters in this book. she is such a proud and fierce fighter, both with Cortana (I feel so so sorry for her about the whole paladin thing omg) and metaphorical. she went through a lot (deaths, heartbreak, secrets and betrayal) and still keeps herself together, which is very admirable. I really like that she fights for what she wants and that she loves the people around her despite some revelations.
to no one's surprise, I still love james very much. I'm SO glad he finally got to figure the thing with the bracelet out, he desperately deserved to know the truth and I hope he'll do something about it in the next book. however, I also really want to shake him so that he'll finally talk to Cordelia about everything with grace. they both deserve that happiness that could result from such a talk.
I love love LOVE James and Cordelia together. there's so much tension and angst between them. the kisses are always literally perfect and give me so many butterflies, even though they're not that detailed and spicy, which is amazing because it shows what an amazing writer Cassandra Clare is! it was so wonderful to see them both, but especially James, realise how much they care for each other. the gifts James gave Cordelia and all their private moments were heartwarming. they know each other so well and see things in their faces that even long-term friends can't recognise - as if that isn't THE sign for their true love. also, the way James thinks about Cordelia is everything I want in life, he's literally so in love with her. i can't get enough of them. which is why I'm SO MAD ABOUT THE ENDING WTF. if what I fear is coming really is going to happen in the next book, then I really don't want it to happen because it's so unnecessary argh. they all deserve their happiness asap and I don't think they'll have it this way. we were SO close to a somewhat happy ending ...more
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