angie_rbls's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
there’s a reason why i keep coming back to this series, regardless of how many years have passed. reading this book and starting this sequel trilogy to TID put all of those reasons forward for me. what i love about the idea of shadowhunters, especially in this particular time period, is that missmaam c. clare always takes this concept of love and explores its different facets. yes, this is a ya fantasy and they’re fighting this big bad left and right, but at its core, its an exploration of relationships - familial, (potential) romantic, platonic, even relationships greater than the previous three (as seen with the parabatai relationship), and relationships that we, as a society, probably dont have a clear name for its nature. its actually insane that these relationships are further elevated because of the societal rules where this trilogy and its predecessor takes place.
(basically im a hoe for period dramas and its honestly the best setting for shadowhunter stories,, it makes it even more effective, i’ve confirmed it now)
i dont want to say much because i want these characters and their intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts and relationships to swim in my mind even more. but its a fascinating thing, growing up with these books. when i started reading the shadowhunter series, i didnt know yet that i was queer. magnus bane and alec lightwood were probably the first official gay characters i’ve been exposed to. as a young preteen, i didnt think much of it, but im grateful that even in this year 2023, cassandra clare continues to write characters that feels lived in, with people they actually care about and would die for, and values they would continue to uphold up until the very end. this matters to me, not only because the queer characters are given the spotlight from time to time, but because even in the heterosexual relationships, the characters feel so much and do so much for love that the author might as well have captured the nuances of queer love and/or what it means to be human.
i may not have the attention span anymore to read these books in one sitting or in just a matter of days, but i could honestly say that this is still my comfort ya fantasy world. HANDS DOWN.
khaos1785's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
inanhourglass's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
THIS BOOK FUCKING BROKE ME FOR THE SECOND TIME
haiameh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
5.0
constantstvr's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
natatouille's review against another edition
5.0
Read it for the first time 2 years ago, reread via audiobook now and loved it still
mercyme's review against another edition
4.0
i wanted so much more than what i got... this cast of characters is one of my favorites out of all the tsc books but that's pretty much it?
i didn't care that much about the plot (but then again i don't read tsc for the plot). i liked jamescordelia but i'm not invested in their romance yet. also luciejesse and alastairthomas? they would've served if cc had given them more than 3 pages. and the love triangle is absolutely WACK it makes zero (0) sense. i'd hoped this would be on par with tid but should've known cc peaked with that trilogy nothing could compare. all that being said! i still enjoyed this and will continue to read the rest of the series because apparently i can't let these books go and honestly chain of iron has so much potential to be so good.
4 stars for the merry thieves lucie alastair cordelia jesse and the fact that will herondale, my forever boy, is alive and breathing and happy with tessa
i didn't care that much about the plot (but then again i don't read tsc for the plot). i liked jamescordelia but i'm not invested in their romance yet. also luciejesse and alastairthomas? they would've served if cc had given them more than 3 pages. and the love triangle is absolutely WACK it makes zero (0) sense. i'd hoped this would be on par with tid but should've known cc peaked with that trilogy nothing could compare. all that being said! i still enjoyed this and will continue to read the rest of the series because apparently i can't let these books go and honestly chain of iron has so much potential to be so good.
4 stars for the merry thieves lucie alastair cordelia jesse and the fact that will herondale, my forever boy, is alive and breathing and happy with tessa
zorian's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
5.0
georgiaahills's review against another edition
4.0
This book was the first book that got me back into reading after a few years of disregarding books. Man how much I loved the experience of reading this book. I would pause and laugh out loud to myself, and there were many moments that were so relatable where I would stop for a moment and just say "lol me".
Although this book certainly has the hype, there were parts of the story that were missing for me. I would find myself going days without reading a single page because I simply didn't care enough about what was going to happen next. But nevertheless, when I was reading, I was having a great time. That would be the only reason I wouldn't give it a 5. ALSO, the main characters name is Cordelia...CORDELIA!??! That's a prissy name my prissy cousin would have chosen for her Barbie doll 10 years ago. And I would have hated the girly name back then too. It annoyed me throughout the book more than I would care to admit. Anyways. Rant over.
Now for the good stuff, I LOVED the main group of characters. They were all so different and they each got a good amount of words dedicated to them. In saying that, I did have to make a character map to keep track of all the other extra characters since there are so many. And some of them have the same name...ugh. (James I am looking at you).
Lastly, AH THE ENDING!!!! It was much better than I was expecting, and it raised my star rating up .5 simply because IT WAS AMAZING. I thought the climax of the story had been and gone, and then BOOM, here's all this juicy stuff you didn't know. It was absolutely GUT-WRENCHING as well. The very thing that I wanted to happen, did happen. BUT SOMEHOW EXACTLY WHAT I DIDN'T WANT TO HAPPEN HAPPENED AT THE EXACT SAME TIME. HOWWW DID CLARE DO THIS TO MEEEE?!!! I did not think it possible. I will forever be in shock. Be careful what you wish for hahaha.
************************
*****SPOILERS BELOW*****
************************
Just had to mention that I love the unrequited romance that Matthew has for Cordelia. Truly is what makes me love him even more. Ugh I hope there's such an amazing girl coming for him BECAUSE I WANT TO SEE THAT MORE THAN ANYTHING!
Although this book certainly has the hype, there were parts of the story that were missing for me. I would find myself going days without reading a single page because I simply didn't care enough about what was going to happen next. But nevertheless, when I was reading, I was having a great time. That would be the only reason I wouldn't give it a 5. ALSO, the main characters name is Cordelia...CORDELIA!??! That's a prissy name my prissy cousin would have chosen for her Barbie doll 10 years ago. And I would have hated the girly name back then too. It annoyed me throughout the book more than I would care to admit. Anyways. Rant over.
Now for the good stuff, I LOVED the main group of characters. They were all so different and they each got a good amount of words dedicated to them. In saying that, I did have to make a character map to keep track of all the other extra characters since there are so many. And some of them have the same name...ugh. (James I am looking at you).
Lastly, AH THE ENDING!!!! It was much better than I was expecting, and it raised my star rating up .5 simply because IT WAS AMAZING. I thought the climax of the story had been and gone, and then BOOM, here's all this juicy stuff you didn't know. It was absolutely GUT-WRENCHING as well. The very thing that I wanted to happen, did happen. BUT SOMEHOW EXACTLY WHAT I DIDN'T WANT TO HAPPEN HAPPENED AT THE EXACT SAME TIME. HOWWW DID CLARE DO THIS TO MEEEE?!!! I did not think it possible. I will forever be in shock. Be careful what you wish for hahaha.
************************
*****SPOILERS BELOW*****
************************
Just had to mention that I love the unrequited romance that Matthew has for Cordelia. Truly is what makes me love him even more. Ugh I hope there's such an amazing girl coming for him BECAUSE I WANT TO SEE THAT MORE THAN ANYTHING!
wintershyacinth's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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
3.5