Scan barcode
kristinetp's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-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
kinda ate this one up, tbh
It’s been fun to revisit these books cause there’s a lot I didn’t remember, except of course
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
minzzi's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My review of this book is basically a copy paste of what I said about City of Bones:
I have loved this series since I was thirteen and I will always love it, but the problems are very evident now that I am an adult.
The main characters, Clary and Jace, are the personification of the problem with early 2000s YA protagonists/love interests, the "not like other girls" girl and her boyfriend the rude asshat with a dark past.
The dialogue is still very exposition heavy, but this one had less pointless scenes then the first book, so points for that I guess.
In the end I have so much fun reading this books, could never give any book in this series less than 3 stars, and I think that is exactly the rating this book deserves.
I have loved this series since I was thirteen and I will always love it, but the problems are very evident now that I am an adult.
The main characters, Clary and Jace, are the personification of the problem with early 2000s YA protagonists/love interests, the "not like other girls" girl and her boyfriend the rude asshat with a dark past.
The dialogue is still very exposition heavy, but this one had less pointless scenes then the first book, so points for that I guess.
In the end I have so much fun reading this books, could never give any book in this series less than 3 stars, and I think that is exactly the rating this book deserves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
caelfind's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest and Violence
jj_janzen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
It was good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
rafacolog's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Toxic relationship
kal517's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Incest
oystersauce's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Violence, and Blood
bookthief's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
This book was soo much better than city of bones. It had multiple perspectives of the characters making the story line more interesting and allowing me to understand and connect with the characters more.
I felt really bad for Jace throughout this book because he had the right intentions the whole way through he just didn’t know how to express them. Especially with the Inquisitor. I thought he was quite blunt and could have tried harder to prove he was innocent. I thought it was really cool how he could jump really high and fall from high places and land perfectly.
When they went to the Seelie Court I thought it was really cool for them to be in a different environment and I loved how visual it was and cool the entrance was. I did think it was a bit strange and weird how the Queen made Jace and Clary kiss but I guess they aren’t actually siblings so it’s okay.
I was shocked when Simon was actually a vampire!! Like I thought it was completely unexpected but quite cool to find out how people became vampires. Also it was shocking at the end how he can be in sunlight which is really strange but I’m sure there is some sort of reasoning behind it that will be explained later.
Clary’s ability to create new runes is super cool! And she was extremely powerful and talented when she managed to destroy Valentines boat with a single rune. I loved her and Luke’s relationship!
The epilogue was really interesting with Madeline. I thought her character may return again after Clary and seen her at the Silent City. I am really curious to what the spell was!
And finally Magnus is such a great character I wish we could see more of him and his relationship with Alec!
Overall, this book is more intense and intriguing than the first book. I can’t wait to read the next one !
I felt really bad for Jace throughout this book because he had the right intentions the whole way through he just didn’t know how to express them. Especially with the Inquisitor. I thought he was quite blunt and could have tried harder to prove he was innocent. I thought it was really cool how he could jump really high and fall from high places and land perfectly.
When they went to the Seelie Court I thought it was really cool for them to be in a different environment and I loved how visual it was and cool the entrance was. I did think it was a bit strange and weird how the Queen made Jace and Clary kiss but I guess they aren’t actually siblings so it’s okay.
I was shocked when Simon was actually a vampire!! Like I thought it was completely unexpected but quite cool to find out how people became vampires. Also it was shocking at the end how he can be in sunlight which is really strange but I’m sure there is some sort of reasoning behind it that will be explained later.
Clary’s ability to create new runes is super cool! And she was extremely powerful and talented when she managed to destroy Valentines boat with a single rune. I loved her and Luke’s relationship!
The epilogue was really interesting with Madeline. I thought her character may return again after Clary and seen her at the Silent City. I am really curious to what the spell was!
And finally Magnus is such a great character I wish we could see more of him and his relationship with Alec!
Overall, this book is more intense and intriguing than the first book. I can’t wait to read the next one !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
cdo499's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i cant believe the two characters i tolerate the least are the main ones
therefore, i do have to say,i LOVE reading them get the absolute shit kicked out of them, it's so therapeutic
also, why do jace and clary have more chemistry with literally any other character in the cast than they do with each other?
like jaceand raphael when raphael lent him his motorbike, and simon drinking his blood during the climax??? there's more to that than the entire incest storyline
and i was NOT expectingthe moment of self-awareness from clary when she thought "this is why you don't have any female friends, get a grip" like damn girl!!! finally!!!!!! some character development!!!!!!!!!
im mad. not the worst thing i've ever read, i think
therefore, i do have to say,
also, why do jace and clary have more chemistry with literally any other character in the cast than they do with each other?
like jace
and i was NOT expecting
im mad. not the worst thing i've ever read, i think
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Violence
toastyghosty13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I enjoyed the 1st book of this series a lot more than this installment. I found Clary to be incredibly annoying and her antics made it difficult to get through. She was constantly rushing into danger without thinking despite having more experience as a shadow hunter since the 1st book, and was constantly putting others in danger because she would rush into situations without a second thought.
I also found the dynamic between her and Jace to be absolutely horrific. Why this type of relationship (where they are in love with each other and then find out they are long lost siblings) was included as a major plot point of Clary’s romantic interests is a complete mystery to me. It offers no value other than to make Jace a forbidden love in the ABSOLUTE WORST WAY POSSIBLE. It’s gross, especially when they have to kiss in front of the Seelie Queen and the rest of the gang just brushes it off as if it is no big deal, except for Simon who had the only normal reaction of walking away angry.
The spoiler above plus how annoying I find Clary are making it super difficult for me to want to move on to the next book, despite the fact that I am invested and interested in uncovering Valentine’s ultimate goal. I also found this book to be pretty boring for the majority of it, other than the last ~3-4 chapters where all of the action takes place. I will probably get on to the 3rd book at some point in the future since I do at least know thatit is revealed in the 3rd book that Clary and Jace are not actually related and I want to see more of what Valentine does, plus how everyone plans on stopping him. This book also ended with a pretty good cliff hanger that I want to see resolved.
Although I will be making my way through the next book eventually, I still want to emphasize that the only thing keeping this from a 1 star rating are the lovely secondary characters of Alec, Isabelle, and Magnus Bane. Magnus Bane is a mood and vibe, and I love that forAlec since he needs any semblance of normal social interactions away from Clary/Jace/only his family .
I also found the dynamic between her and
The spoiler above plus how annoying I find Clary are making it super difficult for me to want to move on to the next book, despite the fact that I am invested and interested in uncovering Valentine’s ultimate goal. I also found this book to be pretty boring for the majority of it, other than the last ~3-4 chapters where all of the action takes place. I will probably get on to the 3rd book at some point in the future since I do at least know that
Although I will be making my way through the next book eventually, I still want to emphasize that the only thing keeping this from a 1 star rating are the lovely secondary characters of Alec, Isabelle, and Magnus Bane. Magnus Bane is a mood and vibe, and I love that for
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Homophobia and Incest