The Fox Den

Chain of Gold

by Cassandra Clare

I’ve been super looking forward to this book ever since I heard a new Shadowhunters book was coming out. I’ve been a fan since TMI, but life got in the way and I’m super behind on these books. However, I’ve read TID just to prepare for this book, and reading TDA will happen, probably some time this year, if I’m being honest. I’ll likely use it to help me limp until Chain of Iron releases. Don’t judge.

Just like most other books, I tried not to read anything about this book before picking it up myself. I barely knew the names Cordelia Carstairs and James Herondale.

Which is exactly how I wanted to start this book, although I would have preferred not knowing any names at all, honestly.

It was lovely seeing TID characters again, but as adults/parents. Unlike the horror stories of some other books I’ve heard about [not by Cassandra Clare, to clarify] where the characters don’t seem to have grown and matured, these characters do seem to have done just that. And I love what she’s done with them. Except Tatiana, though I do think her progression is accurate. I just don’t like it – and I’m not supposed to.

On to main characters!

I love Cordelia. I love that she’s Persian and I love her hair and nearly everything about her. I have a theory on her character arc and, if I’m right, I’m only going to love her more going forward [though I also anticipate getting frustrated at her]. I can’t wait to see her in Chain of Iron.

James Herondale. I was frustrated at and with him for a little while – until I figured out the bracelet was influencing him and making him, for lack of a better term, stupid. I hope he gets a chance at being happy. [More on that below the spoiler line!]

Matthew Fairchild. The player and scoundrel we were all led to believe Will Herondale to be at the beginning of TID. We’ll get into more of that below the spoiler line too, but I’m torn on Matthew Fairchild. It can go either way, but he comes across a tad entitled and spoiled.

Lucie Herondale. I love her, but she hits flighty and silly. Like Matthew, there’s not more I can touch on about her in Chain of Gold without going into spoilers, so we’ll touch on that below.

Anna Lightwood. I forgot, I also knew a little about Anna Lightwood, though, oddly enough, I didn’t know her name. But, once I identified her as the character I knew a bit about, I was inclined not to like her. Characters who have lifestyles like her are characters I’m inclined to dislike on principle . . . But I love Anna. I’m not sure exactly what it is about her I love because there are still things about her I don’t, but . . . I’ll take another stab below the spoiler line because I’ll slip up if I go further. I’ll leave it there for now.

Grace Blackthorn – I’m sure we’re eventually going to get a redemption from her and that she has at least a redemption character arc, but I don’t know that I’ll ever truly and completely forgive her. I get her situation, but . . . Spoiler line.

I can’t think of anyone else I feel strongly enough to comment on, so onto my recommendation!

Recommendation: if you like Shadowhunters books, I’d definitely recommend Chain of Gold. If you haven’t read any Shadowhunters books, I recommend reading The Infernal Devices first, but I still recommend Chain of Gold. Like House of Earth and Blood, it became an immediate addition to the reread list. However, I don’t recommend this book as your first introduction to fantasy or Shadowhunters. It’s a lot of brand new characters, let alone the returning characters from TID and other Shadowhunter books.

**SPOILER LINE ALERT. I HAVE SO MANY SPOILER-Y THOUGHTS SO YOU’VE BEEN SO, SO WARNED. STOP NOW TO AVOID SPOILERS. OTHERWISE – LET’S DIVE IN!**

Grace Blackthorn. I get her situation, I really, really do. But c’mon. She seems to show remorse for hurting James but can’t bring herself not to out of loyalty to her [adopted] mother? I don’t know. There’s the unconditional love of your family but with everything Grace sees and learns and everything from finally “entering society” on a quite literal level – I don’t know. She has enough in her to try to escape her mother via a marriage, but not to help James, who it seems like she cares for a rather large amount, even if not romantically?

Alright, onto – Matthew Fairchild. I’m sure we’re going to learn things about him that will make him endearing to me, like most people felt with Will Herondale [while I never swooned over Will Herondale, I also never super hated him – I knew more was at play and it would explain everything and that I’d eventually really like him], but I can only see that being a Will Herondale repeat, and I hate seeing the same character arc, especially in the same book universe. I’m hoping for better/different, but . . .

Anna Lightwood. Oh, Anna Lightwood. There are still parts about her I’m not a huge fan of, but I love her. Maybe because I see parts of Mia [c’mon, you should know which Mia I mean here] in her? But I’m DYING to learn more about Anna in the coming books.

I know a lot of people are upset at James and say he doesn’t deserve Cordelia and that they’re rooting for Matthew, but . . . No. If anything, Matthew deserves Cordelia less than James. Honestly. Is everyone really rooting for the guy that can’t dedicate and commit himself to one person for Cordelia? Seriously? That’s a no from me. Cordelia deserves better.

Maybe Cordelia will end up with someone else entirely?

While I can see Cordelia with Matthew, I ship Cordelia with James, as I’m sure I’m supposed to. I think it’s more their shared love of books than anything else, but where does Matthew come from that he thinks he deserves a chance at Cordelia when he’s been spending so much time flirting and doting on Lucie [and constantly bringing up his bad reputation in the romance department]? Also, how Cordelia even suppose to know he’s interested?

Speaking of Lucie! She has a badass [and dark and “evil”] power, and I’m excited to see what she does with it. She might come across as flighty and silly, but I have a feeling like she’s really going to become a badass and solid character in upcoming books. I’m also interested to see how she makes her basically-only-evil/bad-power and make it a tool for good.

I think I’ve gone on about these characters enough – I ended up reading Seven Deadly Shadows and Bone Crier’s Moon, so you’re likely to see reviews on them soon!

Aurora Rising

[Reread Review]

By Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Aurora Rising
@SeaFox.Adventures on Instagram

So, as I mentioned before, I’m going to give reviewing rereads a go and see what happens, and I chose Aurora Rising to be my first. I won’t dive into those reasons again for my wonderful folks who have already read them.

I do want to start off saying: I definitely enjoyed this book more the second time around.

Why?

Partially for a reason I gave a fellow reader who had, like me, read The Illuminae Files before reading Aurora Rising; there was possibly a part of me looking for Kady and Ezra and Hanna and Nik and Ella and Asha and Rhys and AIDAN, but they aren’t there. Kady isn’t Aurora – or Scarlet or Cat or Zila – and Magellan is NOT AIDAN by any stretch, and I think it might have taken keeping that in mind during this reread that helped me appreciate these characters for who they are, instead of who they aren’t.

Aurora’s adjustment to her new reality seemed a bit off to what I imagined it would be, but still possibly believable – who really knows exactly how someone would respond in a situation like hers? I just don’t think I, personally, would respond the same way. That being said, I’m excited to see more of her going forward – I’m hoping there’s more of her actual personality in Aurora Burning since I feel like Aurora Rising was more focused on her being almost suffocated with her new reality – leaving her really struggling to get a grasp on everything, pushing her personality and identity to the side. If that makes sense?

Tyler is just a slightly off-golden-boy trope, and I’m not exactly sure how I feel about him yet. In Amie and Jay’s hands, though, he has real potential!

Kal . . . I’m interested to see where they take the overly-attractive guy.

Cat . . . there’s more on my opinion of her below the spoiler line, but I was sort of excited for her, and my feelings post-read [and post-re-read] are complicated.

Zila – I’m super, super excited to see where they take her and what her backstory is! I identify a good bit across a lot of these characters, and a good chunk is in Zila. [I think – this will depend a lot on what we find out about her in future books!]

Fin. Sarcastic, witty Fin. My opinions on him are also a tad complicated, but spoiler-free. His reactions to things are obnoxious, but not in the same way as others. His obnoxious responses make more sense to me, and are, therefore, more acceptable to me. I’m really, really looking forward to his character arc going forward – he’s another character I see a good chunk of myself in.

Scarlet. More on her below the spoiler line, but I do see a little bit of myself in her. Her respect for her chosen profession and job is not only inspiring, but something I’m happy to find myself identifying with. Her work ethic is very similar to mine, and it’s nice to see it in someone who is considered way-above-average attractiveness. I hope that isn’t her only motivation for her strive to actually be intelligent and proficient at her job, but I completely understand a pretty girl trying to prove she’s more than her looks. It’s rather shallow to judge someone’s intelligence by their looks [or lack there of], and I applaud her for working hard on changing that assumption about her.

Last thing before the spoiler line – my recommendation. If you want to give Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman a try as a co-author team, haven’t yet read The Illuminae Files, and are a sci-fi fan, I definitely recommend Aurora Rising. If you’ve read Illuminae Files, enjoyed it, and are a sci-fi fan, I would recommend giving this a go – but keep in mind that it’s a rather different experience. If you didn’t like The Illuminae Files and are [or aren’t, honestly] a sci-fi fan, I’d still recommend giving this a go. While this isn’t the best sci-fi book I’ve ever read, it is a different experience from The Illuminae Files, and I want to make sure people aren’t going into Aurora Rising expecting a similar read to The Illuminae Files.

**WRITING SPOILER-FREE OF A RE-READ IS HARDER THAN I THOUGHT, SO AAAALLLLLLL THE SPOILERS AFTER THIS, SO . . . YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.**

Kal – Kal’s character arc is a delicate thing, at least in my opinion. It can follow the tired trope of pretty-boy-with-a-tragic-upbringing/past. I really hope there’s a fun Jay/Amie twist in it where it ends up not being the typical, overdone trope. I’m excited to see where they take him and what twists they throw at us!

I was hoping my negative reaction to Cat’s behavior in regards to Tyler would change, but they haven’t. Not much, anyway. I did like Cat more the second time around, but her reaction to Tyler and their complicated relationship is obnoxious. I get it, I do. But c’mon. Tyler doesn’t owe you anything because you’ve known him forever. He doesn’t even owe you anything because he seems to have feelings for you. He’s made a choice – deal with it like something other than a 5 year-old. Ugh. Buuuuuuut I am intrigued to see if/when they use Cat going forward. I have to imagine Jay and/or Amie will use her to cause Tyler more pain and maybe put him in a tough position where he has to choose between keeping someone else alive and the possibility of bringing Cat back and doing the right thing or maybe having to choose between her and someone else [maybe her and Aurora or her and Scarlet?]

I cannot get Zila out of my head! I’m super curious about her, and I’ve enjoyed the little bit of her we’ve gotten so far. We have so little to go off of, yet she has quite a bit of a personality already, and I’m so, so looking forward to learning about and seeing more of her!

I’m looking forward to the surprises and twists [and probably hurt feelings, let’s be honest] in Aurora Burning – but I’m unlikely not sure if I’ll be picking it up soon. I originally reread Aurora Rising to lead into reading Aurora Burning, but, between my copy taking awhile to get to me, my long, long TBR of things I’d rather read now than later while postponing Aurora Burning would make it easier to wait for Aurora Cycle 3! Unless I get lucky and get an early copy . . . ? [Really, really unlikely!]

I will, however, be picking up plenty of other books in the mean time! I have multiple copies of Bone Crier’s Moon because every one of my book boxes chose that as their book and Seven Deadly Shadows has been glaring at me and making me feel guilty since I got my copy from The Bookish Box – among many, many others.

We’ll have plenty to hold us over until I feel ready to pick up Aurora Burning – and I hope you stick around in the mean time!

House of Earth and Blood

by Sarah J Maas

This is one of my most anticipated reads this year [I have about three tied for first now that Empire of the Vampire is pushed to release in 2021], so I wanted to take a different approach to reviewing it.

I know a lot of people who write book reviews to publish on blogs and similar places take notes as they read. I feel like that detracts a bit from the reading experience, and I am, foremost, a book reader. I mainly review to help fellow book readers out who like to read reviews before they decide which books to read and because I’m trying to improve my book recommendation skills for when I get approached with requests.

So, this time, I thought I’d try a sort of compromise – I took notes whenever I felt inspired or motivated to, and we’ll see where it goes from there.

First off, I heard a lot of people struggled to get into this world, that it was difficult to really sink into. Maybe it’s because I’m not a stranger to adult fantasy, maybe it’s because I’ve read nearly all of Sarah J Maas’s books already, maybe it’s because I’ve read so, so many books, maybe it’s because it’s one of my most anticipated reads and that made me persistent to push through – but I’m not struggling [I didn’t struggle] at all. By page 28 [I think?], I didn’t want to stop reading. Mind you, I wasn’t dying at that point to keep reading, I just didn’t want to go back to real life. But I certainly never struggled to keep reading – though I did struggle a bit to visualize some things – mainly Danika’s wolf form on that very first page [“the wolf’s fist” was odd to me – how do wolves make fists??], but I was never pushing through a barrier to keep reading.

Before the end of Chapter 5, I was invested. I’m not yet at the point of I-can’t-put-this-down-must-keep-reading, but I wasn’t struggling, by any means.

I connected more with Danika than Bryce, though I connected more with Bryce’s half-Fae race than Danika’s wolf-shifter race. I have nothing against werewolves/wolf-shifters at all, I just prefer magic to shifting. Not that Bryce has much magic to speak of, but if I had to choose basically-no-magic or weak-shifting, I would still choose basically-no-magic.

So, I know that a lot of people kind of knew this going in, but I’m so sick of spoiling books for myself because I read the summary, so I didn’t. I get very vague details about the plot behind the book [there are Fae, other races, Houses they all “fall” into, a murder mystery, kinda-modern in technology, city-based], so I had no idea what was going to happen.

We’ll get a little more into that after the spoiler line.

I like Bryce as a character. I like her story arc, even if it’s a tad predictable, and I like her drive, her attitude, her sass/edge, all of that. I don’t know if I’d like her as a friend or person, but she doesn’t ruin my reading experience.

Hunt . . . leaves something to be desired for me. I don’t know why. I don’t think I’ve “chosen” any of Sarah J Maas’s previous male characters in a way that would make me appreciate Hunt less or anything. There’s just . . . something missing. Maybe it’ll come in later books?

Alright, I’m running out of non-spoiler things to talk about, so – onto my recommendation!

Recommendation: if you’re open-minded about the worlds and races Sarah J Maas has created in other books/worlds, if you’re open to a more modern and city setting, and if you’re open to a sort of murder-mystery thing without it being super mystery, then I’d definitely give this book a shot. That being said – this book is definitely adult. Depending on the kid/teenager, this may not be right for them. If I were a parent, I would give this a read, or at least read certain chunks before giving it to any child.

I loved it, and I think a lot of others did too. You’re likely to enjoy it too if the idea of the book sounds interesting – and especially if you’ve enjoyed Sarah J Maas’s book in the past!

**SPOILERS NEXT! I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG TO READ AND CHAT THIS BOOK, SO YOU’VE BEEN WARNED ON SPOILERS. SO. MANY. SPOILERS. SPOILER TIME!**

First and foremost, my very first reaction to this book was, “She done Up‘d me!” Very much to the confusion of my S.O., who sort of made a, “Um, what?” face at me. “You know the beginning of Up? A very short introduction of a relationship between two people and then one got ripped away by death shortly after? Yeah. The main character of this [I waved my book around here] is like the old man, and almost all her friends are the wife. Not. Cool.” [I got a very understanding, “Ahhhhhhh” in reply, in case you were curious on that exchange.]

I will say that the early banter between Bryce and Hunt is lacking to some degree, somehow. I’m not sure how – maybe because they’re hinting at falling into the painfully-obvious-but-the-author-is-trying-to-pretend-it-isn’t romance cycle and I’m annoyed with that exhausted trope? I enjoyed it, don’t get me wrong! But it wasn’t what I wanted it to be – there was something missing for me.

As much as Hunt’s history and the age gap are all weird/lacking and there are things about it that don’t quite leave holes but also don’t make for a solid story, the age gap is unsurprising for Sarah J Maas couples, and the history works enough for me.

So, if Danika is gone from being there for Bryce for the Drop, does that mean Bruce gets her “spot” back? . . . Does she even want it if Danika won’t be there? Because I did read that right, right? Danika isn’t waiting for Bryce anymore?

It’s a little cheap that two hard-to-kill beings are dead so easily and one with semi-normal means – and that Hunt was so mortally injured and then gets saved by Bruce’s Drop firstlight. I mean, you kinda saw it coming, and it isn’t THAT cheap, but it is a little too similar to ACOWAR to not note it.

Lehabah. Can we address this? How dare my feelings be hurt in that manner? How. Dare. You.

That’s all. [On that.]

I’m so glad I didn’t read the summary on this. I would have missed out on the blow that was the Pack of Devils – both the missed out stuff [them doing the Drop together, Bruce and Connor] and the deaths, as they’re really two separate things, in my opinion. I would have guessed too much before sitting down and reading it, and I hate doing that.

I’m a fan of saying that her ACOTAR series is a more mature writing style than ToG, and I stand by that. But I’m sad to say that House of Earth and Blood felt like a step back – or maybe more along the lines of having a lighter hand on the editing and revising side this time? The character development for Bryce and Hunt felt a little shallow and underdone – maybe I’ll feel different on a reread, maybe I won’t. This is definitely a book I’ll be giving a reread, so I’ll try to include that in my reread review. Ironically, the secondary characters – Danika, Connor, Ruhn and friends, Juniper, the Pack of Devils – felt more fleshed out – and more properly executed.

I don’t know, maybe that’s just me.

I read a rather scathing review on this book the other day [I like seeing opposing views on things, I feel it gives a more thorough evaluation] that I’d be up to addressing in a sort of mock debate sort of way, if that’s something that interests you guys at all. Definitely feel free to let me know!

I have a few reviews to catch up on [definitely reading faster than I can manage to get my thoughts on them down in a way that I feel is well done and accurate to my views and the book], so I’ll see you when I manage them!

In Regards to the World Today

I really don’t know how to open this post except: stay safe and stay positive.

I had originally planned to spend the last two weeks focusing on getting caught up on reviews and on getting better at being a little more regular here, but that hasn’t happened. I’d love to say it’s because I’ve been extremely impacted by COVID-19, but the truth is my day-to-day hasn’t changed too much.

I’m considered an essential employee, but I’m by no means a front-line essential employee. My work has been shifted to being remote, though I can’t do all of my job functions remotely. I was going to use the time I “saved” from not commuting to work to spend here, working on catching up on reviews [I’ll explain more on that later] and generally improving my presence here and on book-related social media.

For whatever reason, that ended up not happening.

I do think it’s partially because I dislike working from home. I don’t know what it is – I enjoy being home when I’m not working, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the idea of working-from-home. Maybe it’s because I can’t do all my job functions from home and that bothers me, and I’m sure part of it was because, before this “rotation” to working from home, I didn’t have a dedicated work-space. And I know, because I was lacking in job functions by working remotely, I’ve been working longer days, eating up my commute and some of my personal time. So, between disliking working from home [mainly because I know I can’t perform all my job functions remotely] and not having a dedicated work-space, all my planned time to dedicate to here and book-related social media was instead eaten up by work.

Before things locally got crazy, I sat down to try to write my All the Stars and Teeth review. I got just a little beyond the spoiler line when I got hit with the feeling like my review was missing something, and I wasn’t giving it my best. So I set it aside, deciding to give myself a little while away from it before I picked it back up, reviewed it, and finished it properly. I still feel like I’m missing something from the review, but, with where my head-space has been recently, I’m not sure I’ll do a better job any time soon.

Which introduces me to an idea I’ve been kicking around for a little while. I’ve been planning on rereading Aurora Rising, for three reasons. One, I didn’t give it a proper shot the first time around. When I first heard about it, the summary didn’t grab me. If someone had told me about it, without mentioning any authors tied to it, I wouldn’t have picked it up. But I was introduced to – and hooked on – The Nevernight Chronicles by the time it came out and, with everyone raving about it, I decided to give it a chance after reading The Illuminae Files and falling in love with that series as well. I think I mainly read it to check the box, to consume more of Jay Kristoff’s work, and to chase the magic that is The Illuminae Files series. At the end, I realized I hadn’t given it a proper shot, and realized it had gotten interesting, and I’d blown my first read of it. I needed to read it, from the beginning, while giving it a proper shot. Reason Two: I had arranged to go to YALLWEST [now a few weeks away] and had been chatting with the one-and-only Jay Kristoff about how he was the reason I was going [truth] and that I had gotten into bookstagramming and book reviewing purely for his ARCs [also true – I’m still dying to get my hands on the UK DarkDawn ARC!] and asked if there was a chance they’d be giving any away there. After a few messages back and forth, he had said he could hook me up with an ARC of Aurora Burning, if I wanted one. So, I had to reread Aurora Rising to read an ARC of Aurora Burning, of course! Even though YALLWEST has been canceled, I still have Reason One and Reason Three: the Magical Readathon. I missed the Magical Readathon last year [I joined the community too late to participate in the OWLs of 2019] and was dedicated to not missing it this year. I chose my career [not an easy choice, let me tell you], decided on my reading list, and Aurora Rising made the list.

Anyway, onto my new idea: reread reviews. I will not, by any means, stop doing original read reviews. However, I’ve been hit lately with a desire to reread some books I’ve enjoyed [or felt I didn’t give a proper chance], and I think that leads to a whole new experience – and probably a whole new type of review.

What do you guys think? I’ll do one for Aurora Rising soon [although I didn’t write one for my first read through], and I’ll likely be doing one for others, including House of Earth and Blood, which I will be reviewing here shortly as an original read. House of Earth and Blood had me wanting to reread it very shortly into the book itself, so it’s definitely on the reread list already.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention that my lack of presence here and on book-related social media is also because COVID-19 has come to my home. While I don’t personally have it, a loved one in my home does, and, while it hasn’t been crazy exactly, I can’t say it hasn’t made any impact at all. It’s also extended my working-from-home stretch, so we’ll see what impact that has not only on my work but my goals here and on book-related social media.

I’m endeavoring to get into a better swing and habit during this extended stretch of working-from-home, and hopefully that means more prompt reviews both here and on Goodreads [and my other platforms that allow me to review books that I didn’t get ARCs for]. You’ll be seeing a review of House of Earth and Blood and a reread review of Aurora Rising, hopefully sooner rather than later. A bookish friend of mine also wrote a book and was kind enough to give me an e-ARC of it, so I’m hoping to read and review that shortly as well!

I hope everyone is staying safe, staying healthy, and staying sane. If we’re careful without being extreme and focus on positivity and self-care, we can make it through this tough and weird time – not only just to the other side, but also better than where we were when this started! There’s so many things being isolated allows us to do, and I know, as a commuity, the book-lovers have banned together stronger than ever to be there for each other. We’re all just a reach-out away if we’re needed, and we’ll all help each other to get through our rough patches. If you find yourself unable to read, there are other hobbies to pursue or learn that you may find you’re able to do instead! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with struggling to read right now, but you should try to find something to help you. There’s nothing wrong with doing what you need to to get through this, so long as you’re also maintaining your responsibilities, as difficult as they may be to continue to complete, you’re doing just fine. It may take more breaks than normal, it may take more extensive and deep self-care to push through, but you have it in you – you just have to dig deep and trying to push aside any guilt you feel for taking care of yourself. You must take care of yourself in times like these to persevere – and you have a wonderful network of helpful people in the book community, including myself, so feel free to ask for help from us if you need it!

I think this post is plenty long enough as it is, so I’ll leave it there for now. I didn’t intend for this post to be this long, but thanks for sticking around until now, if you have!

TLDR: The world is a tad crazy, some of it is in my home, but I’m going to try to improve myself better than before and will be trying new things going forward to see what works best for me here!

Stay safe, stay positive, and keep reading [if you can]!

All The Stars And Teeth

by Adalyn Grace

Honestly, this book wasn’t at the top of my TBR – until I got my signed copy from Mysterious Galaxy. They sent me my signed copy with two purple dragon bookmarks, as pictured, the pre-order print you see there, and the book was wrapped up in their newletter thing they do, I think every month? Maybe every week?

Anyway, that cover was stunning, and the package brought me such joy that, between those things and Shelby Mahurin’s [author of Serpent & Dove’s] praise of the book, I decided to pick it up as soon as I was done with my current read at the time, which was The Guinevere Deception.

So, where to start? First of all, the soul magic the main character has is definitely a new twist on main character magic abilities. Usually the magic the main character has is beautiful and graceful and lovely – only does good, maybe a touch of bad if you use it “wrong”, etc., etc. – but this magic is different. I won’t go into too many details, because I feel like that’s kind of spoiler-y – but maybe that’s just because I didn’t read much about this book before picking it up? – but it’s definitely different.

The magic system in this book is interesting. There’s a handful of different kinds, with their own strengths and limitations. Some, when you hear about it, are clearly “good” magic, while others come across initially as “bad” – until you hear how most wielders use it. This book definitely challenges your “presumptions” of certain words and ideas, but also of the words themselves and what the magic use implies using those words.

I like the character arc of the main character, Amora, but it felt a tad predictable. While I enjoyed her and the book, it felt a little . . . off to me. That being said, I do want to read the next book, All the Tides of Fate!

I do like the main group of characters, I’ll admit. They’re fun and quirky, and I enjoy Adalyn Grace’s take on mermaids. Many times, they’re just cast as beautiful ladies with even prettier voices, and not much else, but these mermaids hail back to some of the more original – and darker – tales of mermaids, and it’s a fun twist!

A lot of the plot felt different amounts of predictable, but the twist near the end was great! I can’t go into too much more detail without spoilers so, without further ado – the spoiler line!

**SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT. DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS. SERIOUSLY. STOP HERE. I WANT TO DIVE IN TO SPOILERS, SO YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!**

Soul magic is crazy. It’s crazy what Cato turned it into pre-curse, and it’s crazy what it got turned into because of the curse.

The ending of this book wrecked Amora – her father died, she found out her magic actually doesn’t need to be so dark and cruel and brutal and lethal. I’m excited to see where Adalyn Grace takes Amora and soul magic in All the Tides of Fate.

I’m also looking forward to how Amora plans to get her soul magic back. That being said, her losing her magic felt a little forced and predictable. It was made such a big deal that Amora’s focus would be not losing her magic – and then she seemed to lose it so easily. Even if the goal was to point out how easy – and how much easier – it is to have your magic stolen, it still felt forced and predictable.

Please see my next blog post for details related to this post and some near future ones as well! I hope everyone is finding different and enjoyable ways to spend their time, stay safe, and keep reading [if you can]!

The Guinevere Deception

by Kiersten White

I’m going to start this review off by saying I have a long [and complicated] history with Guinevere. Part of me loves her, and part of me hates her [mainly for her affair with Lancelot – I’m not a fan of cheating]. But I always enjoy reading about her, to some extent, though fully I can’t explain why.

So, when I heard about The Guinevere Deception and how most people seemed to enjoy it – AND it showed up in an Owlcrate box, it got put on my TBR list.

I’ll start off by saying this is probably one of the most “YA feeling” books I’ve read in awhile. The Infernal Devices definitely pushed the edge of YA a bit, and Wicked As You Wish was about as “YA feeling” as this was, though in very different ways.

I’m going to dive into my recommendation before going further: if you enjoy King Arthur/Camelot retellings and like a bit of modern/gender twist to things, you should definitely give this a go – keeping in mind that it feels very YA. If you’re not a fan of a slight modernizing/gender-bending to King Arthur/Camelot, I suggest not picking this up.

Alright, back to the book content – I don’t know that I would call it a disconnect from the characters, but I’m not rooting and feeling for Guinevere as I have other characters, and definitely not nearly as much as I did for Tessa in The Infernal Devices or Kady [or any other “main” ladies in the series] in The Illuminae Files or Mia in the Nevernight Chronicles, even including the murderous queen thing. I do still hold some curiosity to what happens next, but it’s one of those books that . . . if I miss the release of the sequel and don’t read it shortly after release, I’m not sure I’d mind. I’m currently leaning towards wanting to pick up the sequel when it releases, but I’m not sure if that will hold.

I really can’t explain anything too much beyond that. Maybe it’s our lack of knowledge of Guinevere – how so much of her is still a mystery? Maybe if more of her was learned or explained? But maybe not, maybe it’s something else entirely. But something felt missing.

**SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT. DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS. DETAILS WILL BE DISCUSSED, AN ATTEMPT TO DISCOVER THE MISSING PIECE WILL BE PURSUED. DON’T KEEP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT IT!**

Alright, so, I get that part of the series intrigue is suppose to be her lack of knowledge about who she is and her past and whatnot. I get that. I get that she’s hinted at being a changeling, I get that her origins are suppose to be murky, I get it. But there’s literally almost nothing to go on by the end of the book – and even less than what we started with, in a way. There wasn’t a connection made to her to care about her losing part of her identity. I didn’t feel for her loses or inconveniences or even her kidnapping. Everything I felt for her, I would feel for any character, well written or poorly. I don’t feel like Mordred is a loss. I mean, a bit, but he was in no way truly vital before he’s gone. He feels more like a consolation prize when Guinevere is expecting Arthur and gets Mordred instead, almost like a back-up plan than anything. A lot about Guinevere fell short of what I expected and hoped for. She isn’t exactly a flat character, but she lacks depth that I was looking for, I guess?

Maybe that’s part of the disconnect-that-isn’t-truly-a-disconnect?

Arthur is the only character who felt appropriately established. He’s the kind of Camelot – he’s not suppose to be well known, not suppose to have a lot of screen-time – he’s even allowed to me somewhat of a mystery! If anything, we get more of a glimpse of his character than would be expected, and it’s a nice relief from the opposite happening with Guinevere.

I like that the author is reminding the readers that all the king and queen romances we usually read in times like the time of Camelot are flawed in that the king would not have nearly as much time on his hands to woo and spoil his queen like they tend to be written. Most kings don’t really have time for their queens beyond creating an heir – which has the unfortunate, sometimes side effect of killing what romance was there, if any were.

The magic system is interesting and reminds me a touch of the magic system in Serpent & Dove while still being unique from it. They’re decidedly different yet undeniably similar. I like the familiarity in the unique.

Onto my next TBR read! Can you guess what it’ll be?

Clockwork Princess

by Cassandra Clare

And the betrayal just KEEPS ON COMING.

Mortmain is as determined and motivated as ever, and, while he seems a little quiet, he’s clearly not giving up.

Again, Goodreads blurb spoilers in this paragraph. Skip to the next paragraph if you wish to avoid even those “spoilers”. Tessa is kidnapped by Mortmain, and Jem and Will will do anything to save her. While Tessa is Jem’s now, that doesn’t mean other feelings are gone. But Tessa is a strong, independent girl who doesn’t need either boy, and so she’s determined to rescue herself. But can she save everyone she loves before it’s too late?

Tessa’s identity, of course, is finally revealed – and it, of course, complicates things.

**SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT. DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS. NO RESTRICTION ON SPOILERS WILL BE MAINTAINED AFTER THIS POINT. NOW IT’S AALLLLLL THE SPOILERS. BE PREPARED.**

This series may or may not have wrecked me a bit. My poor heart.

ALRIGHT. If we didn’t already see Tessa’s kidnap and Tessa and Jem not getting married coming, Cassandra Clare kindly left a rather not-subtle hint for the readers who hadn’t yet picked up on it through Jem seeing Tessa in her potential wedding dress, which is bad luck.

Outside of that doomed wedding . . .

We kind of saw Tessa somehow getting into Mortmain’s possession to do whatever it is he needed her to do, didn’t we? We saw that the watch would come back, that Tessa would do what he wanted with it – and that it would end terribly, didn’t we?

But Benedict Lightwood turning into a worm demon was a fun twist! It also helped develop Gabriel [enter his redemption we saw coming] as well as Cecily – that she clearly was enjoying her training and life as a Shadowhunter and wasn’t going to go home, with or without Will.

Jessamine’s death, though. I wasn’t sure what I anticipated happening to her, though I knew it wasn’t going to be positive. Her fate, between her death and after-death, is actually a fairly satisfying end to her character arc. Whether her marriage to Nate was legitimate or not, she at least got her wish not to live her life as a Shadowhunter. Her ending almost makes you hope her marriage to Nate is legitimate so that she could at least have accomplished her goal to marry a mundane before her death.

What goes on between Tessa and Will when Will comes for her – it bothers me slightly that, when they finally talk about it, Tessa tells Will he is now obligated to offer her marriage because of what happens that night. Not that he wants to marry her because of his feelings for her, but that he’s obligated to because of what happened.

THE FINAL BATTLE, THOUGH. Tessa is incredible, only momentarily worrying about the possible consequences for shapeshifting into an angel before trying, absolutely destroying Mortmain as a result. While the ease of Tessa killing him would normally feel like a cheap way out, it’s almost symbolic of Mortmain’s evil plan being stopped by what he considered lesser – and maybe even to not truly exist. He deserves to be easily destroyed after spending a too-long lifetime to achieve the destruction of something he had no right to try to destroy.

I don’t know if I just don’t have book-hangovers like everyone else, or if my “cure” for book-hangovers is just to pick up a new book immediately, but I’ve already begun The Guinevere Deception, so that will be the next review!

Be kind to each other and read on!

Clockwork Prince

by Cassandra Clare

Back to Victorian London we go!

This book seems mostly centered around betrayal, which was only briefly brought up at the end of Clockwork Angel. This time, the betrayal is to the Shadowhunters rather than Tessa.

I went into this book – this whole series – without reading any summaries or the blurb on Goodreads. So, while this paragraph has spoilers for the book, I’m including the information that Goodreads blurb gives you, because that’s considered non-spoiler information. If you want to avoid, though, skip to the next paragraph. During their research to try to find Mortmain for Charlotte’s challenge to keep the Institute, they discover that Mortmain’s mission against the Shadowhunters is a personal one. The details of that personal reason are spoilers, but that changes the way the Shadowhunters approach Mortmain going forward. And the betrayal continues against the Shadowhunters – this time, amongst their own. Tessa’s draw to Jem while still longing for Will left me feeling anxious for Jem – this is typically the time when, in this case, Tessa would drop Jem for Will once Will opened up, maybe for redemption, and Tessa chooses Will, breaking Jem’s heart. This, however, doesn’t feel like a thing Tessa would do to me, so it left me very curious as to how that would unfold.

I’m dying to get into more details, so . . .

**SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT. DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS. I WILL ATTEMPT TO SPOIL THE NEXT BOOK, BUT SOME THINGS BLUR. SOME MAUNDERING POSSIBLE.**

Can we just talk about the opening of this book? If you weren’t interested in Will’s continued character arc, his depth of character exposure, this intro probably intrigued you. You get a hint of what’s going on with him, but not the story.

Basically this entire book, you are anti-Benedict. How rude – and terribly predictable. You got left with an impression this was coming in Clockwork Angel, and you’re not disappointed on that front here.

You can also tell that the Lightwood boys training Tessa and Sophie is going to lead to something. When Gideon starts paying special attention to Sophie, though not overtly obvious, you’re not surprised. Honestly, though, I was kind of rooting for them from the beginning. Sophie deserves to be recognized as a desirable girl, worth the “scandal” of a Shadowhunter and mundane couple. And I love the beginning of Sophie’s character arc, her transition in the series. How will she handle her crush on Jem, who is clearly interested in/crushing on Tessa, along with Gideon’s attention and interest? How will Sophie’s crush on Jem and Jem’s crush on Tessa impact the girls’ friendship?

Mortmain’s “parents” being exposed as warlocks isn’t terribly surprising. I love that Cassandra Clare gives the warlocks the depth of character to introduce their ability to love – which is clearly echoed in Magnus, leading us to trust Magnus more than we otherwise would, given the other knowledge the Shadowhunters have of them – and it doesn’t feel like a cheap way to further the plot.

Aloysius Starkweather introduces a welcome twist to Tessa’s identity – clearly he recognizes her. While this could mean anything, it’s clear that Tessa reminds Aloysius of his granddaughter – the one who died at her first Marking. This is our first real introduction to the idea that, despite everything, Tessa might be part-Shadowhunter. While this feels a bit convenient, it’s something that Cassandra Clare has been building up for the reader to want for Tessa. For her to truly belong to the Shadowhunter family she has come to feel apart of.

The introduction of Cecily was a long-time coming as well. Tessa’s mixed feelings on Cecily’s identity, before she’s confirmed as Will’s sister, is a tad cliché, but not terrible. After all, who wouldn’t feel at least a little jealousy on the person your crush might be crushing on? While maybe Tessa should have been able to tell that Cecily looked similar to Will [and, yes, I know it’s at a distance, but Will has been described as someone who’s features can be recognized, even at a distance], it’s not uncommon for people to crush on people with similar features, so it’s completely understandable. Especially when Will had previously established the whole cross-breed issue he supposedly has.

AND WE FINALLY GET WILL’S STORY. Why he handles Tessa the way he does, the reason why he is the way he is, despite Jem [and others’] suspicion that he’s a better person than he acts like he is, and more is explained, and rather quickly – without feeling forced or unnatural.

That leading to Will being in an ifrit den is a little low, although I think that’s exactly what was intended. It also creates enough of a rift between Will and Jem [and Tessa] for Tessa and Jem to get closer.

And closer they get.

Jessamine’s activities start to feel more and more sinister and less the fleeting desire of a girl who desperately wishes not to be a Shadowhunter.

Will deserves his tell-off, if I’m being honest. And I’m glad Tessa and Will continue their no-lies relationship they’ve been working towards. While Will has been lying, and is still lying, you can tell he’s struggling to be as honest as he feel he can be, and Tessa is [basically] always brutally honest.

Gideon asking Sophie out is adorable, and I’m here for it.

The ball scene with Tessa-Jessamine which dissolves into that scene between Tessa and Will felt like a large development step – quite a few things felt like they advanced here while also getting more complicated. While I understand Tessa’s reluctance to believe Will’s feelings for her go beyond one-night-stands, his words should have told her otherwise. Sure, maybe the kissing could be written off, but not his words. ANYWAY – Charlotte’s reaction to Jessamine’s actions and betrayal is heartbreaking, and your dislike of Jessamine only grows.

Will’s vindication after going on and on that demon pox is real just to find out that Benedict Lightwood has it is just too much. That’s something we’ve seen coming for awhile – Will’s continued mention of it and insisting it’s real while everyone else dismisses it as Will being fancifull and ridiculous and playing right into the rep he’s established for himself just screamed that, eventually, we’d discover it’s real. And Benedict having it just feels like poetic justice to me.

Charlotte and Henry discovering they’re actually in love with each other is adorable, and their announcement that they’re going to have a baby along with Jem’s announcement of his engagement to Tessa is all heartwarming and a perfect way to end the book – and the celebration that Charlotte gets to keep the Institute.

I’m also here for Cecily joining the crew, though she’s clearly only there to retrieve Will, and it’s clear that she’s not only going to fail, but also not return home herself. As usual, though, I’m anticipating Cassandra Clare to make this feel like super predictable and annoying and more smooth and natural, unforced. We’ll see, though!

I know this review was longer winded than normal, but there were SO many things I felt needed to be discussed in this one! So much seemed to happen, so much foreshadowing for Clockwork Princess, and just in general a deeper dive into these lovely characters.

Clockwork Angel

by Cassandra Clare

I read The Mortal Instruments years and years ago, when they were originally coming out, and I hadn’t visited the world of Shadowhunters since. I hadn’t stopped reading, exactly, but schoolwork and studying and otherwise competing for college admittance slots and higher GPAs left me with little free time to read, and I have never been good about keeping up with book releases.

I’ve since gotten better about keeping up and making time, and, when I heard Chain of Gold was coming out and that reading The Infernal Devices was highly recommended, I decided to snag a relatively inexpensive paperback box set and dive in. [Can you believe the ebooks for this series are MORE expensive than the paperback box set?]

I’m so, so glad I did.

Picking up Clockwork Angel was like returning to a place, a world, I had loved but hadn’t visited in awhile. This book has a “Steampunk” genre tag, and I guess that’s a genre I have a particular appeal to, because it isn’t the first book I’ve read and enjoyed with that tag. You might see more books like that going forward.

Anyway, book detail time!

This book doesn’t waste time getting you into the action. Sure, there’s a bit of an intro where Tessa isn’t in a bad situation, but it isn’t long before she is. She is immediately “tested” and put into a situation where your true colors show, and it’s a wonderful way to establish a character’s foundation quickly and efficiently without being in the reader’s face about it. Tessa’s character arc through this book doesn’t feel forced or unnatural. It’s a smooth transition from a girl who lives by societies rules to a girl who learns to live her life the way she wishes. I know I don’t usually go into the details of character arcs before the spoiler line, but that’s vague enough that you don’t really get spoiled on anything – you still are left with the mystery on how Tessa wishes to live her life, and how it differs from society’s wishes. She does, in many ways, stay traditional to her time.

Will is a bit of a stereotype, though his depth isn’t really explored in this book. Will’s saving grace is Jem. Will comes across as the stereotypical “I’m better than you, and I’ll remind you every chance I get” [and somewhat womanizing] character, which it’s hinted that he’s that way both because of his looks and his talent as a Shadowhunter. You see glimpses of the “nerd” and moments where he breaks away from his stereotype, but it’s not a common occurrence. His character arc isn’t too terribly explored nor does it advance too much in this book. This book serves more as an introduction to Will rather than exploring his depths.

Jem. So, Jem comes across in the first book as the guy you would want to end up with, but for some reason don’t. He’s the “he’s everything you want and need and everything you wish to be but gets overshadowed” character. His largest “flaw” is later explained, and you understand why people would normal go more for Will than him, even if Will is the stereotypical womanizing pretty-boy. His character arc, again, isn’t terribly explored in this book, more an introduction and foundation lay for future development.

Cassandra Clare does a wonderful job building up each of her characters as individuals, with no real confusion between characters or leaving the reading feeling like two characters are interchangeable or the same or anything of the sort.

**SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT. DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS. I WILL ATTEMPT TO NOT LEAVE SPOILERS FOR THE NEXT TWO BOOKS, BUT NO PROMISES. SLIGHT SHADOWHUNTER FAN GIRL-ING POSSIBLE.**

Alright, so, I’m not anti-Will at this point, but I’m not super pro-Tessa-and-Will, either. I get why Tessa doesn’t become as attached to Jem as she does to Will with Jem’s “condition”, but still. Cassandra Clare does a good job of not making you hate Will, but not making you annoyed that he and Tessa aren’t together yet.

I could tell, at this point, that Gabriel Lightwood is going to turn into one of those “You hate him until he redeems himself” kind of character arcs. While I don’t like being able to guess a character’s future or arc so early on, I have a little more faith in Cassandra Clare’s ability to pull that off without leaving me annoyed I had been able to figure it out. I’ll dive into that more in the future reviews.

The extra characters don’t feel extra. They feel important to the story, important to the world in the book, and in general not just fluff to fill a space of need. Sometimes, extra characters feel almost like accents to the main character, that they only exist to assist the main character and plot. But everyone feels like their own person rather than just plot assists.

I love how clever and deep Tessa has been made to be. I love her quick on-her-feet idea to Change so that she can bleed enough life’s blood to seem like she really did stab herself. And I love how that leads to Will exposing his true feelings, although we kind of knew already that Will liked her as more than his “rep for the ladies” would imply.

At the end of Clockwork Angel, I was excited to see how Tessa develops and to learn more about Will and Jem – and Charlotte and Henry and everyone, to be honest. As much as Jessamine is obnoxious, she also clearly has more of an impact going forward, and I’m glad I got the whole set at once! Up next: Clockwork Prince!

Ruthless Gods

by Emily A. Duncan

DISCLAIMER: It has come to my attention since posting this blog that this author has been identified as problematic. After doing my own research, that you can find as a report here, I have come to the same conclusion. Rather than take down this review, which I don’t believe adds any value and would just leave readers wondering if I just haven’t read the book, I’m adding this disclaimer note and a link to my research report for those who are curious. If, after reading my research report, you decide you want to hear my pre-research opinion on this book, please feel free to read it. If you also decide after educating yourself on this topic that you want to read this book anyway, I completely support your decision to do so. Everyone should have the choice, and I’d only like to give you the opportunity to make an educated choice rather than deciding for you.

Ruthless Gods. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect of this read, if I’m being honest, other than that I was glad I had it on hand when I picked up Wicked Saints. I will not be writing a review for that one, though, for multiple reasons, but not the least of which being because I immediately picked up Ruthless Gods.

Because of the rapid jump from Wicked Saints to Ruthless Gods, you will see some overlap in my review here. I won’t be warning about most spoilers for Wicked Saints, though – if you’re reading a review about Ruthless Gods, it’s implied that you’ve read Wicked Saints or, at least, don’t mind reading spoilers.

I like the jump of the god-that’s-not-a-god voice from Nadya to Serefin. I like the continued darkness and almost roughness from Wicked Saints to Ruthless Gods – and I like that it’s darker and rougher than before. I also like that it’s longer – Wicked Saints didn’t feel rushed, from my memory, but a longer book usually means a longer, more detailed story, and I’m usually here for that – to a degree, at least.

I also love the continuation of Nadya’s character arc. I love that it gets even darker, rougher, and “dirtier” than before. I love that the lines of good and evil are blurred for her, I love the challenge to what she believes, and I love the development of her relationship with the other characters.

In short, I can’t wait for this book to publish so I can add it to my shelf and be that much closer to the third and final book. I can’t wait to see how this concludes and how the characters develop, grow, and progress from here. So much has happened to them all – and there’s clearly so much more left to go.

This book almost immediately dives into changes for all the characters, so there isn’t much non-spoiler content for me to share before my typical spoiler “line” comes up.

Nadya struggles, as in the first book but on a much, much deeper level, with her faith and the identity of her gods. As you can probably guess, that also comes with a level of identity crisis, though the level of which that crisis take shape is a level you don’t really expect. Her character arc undergoes quite a change, in some ways, as the book goes on, though she somehow also stays, in some ways, very much the same.

Malachiasz. He seems to be the walking definition of theory vs practice. His theory and intentions are somewhat well intentioned, but the execution is getting messy, and he’s struggling with his own identity – and his next steps – to an anticipated but somehow still somewhat shocking degree. What happens in this book, and what happens in the next, are largely up in the air. Will he get what he’s aiming for, or will he fall short – having lost everything he’s sacrificed thus far without any of the rewards?

Serefin’s struggles in this book kinda tug at your heart a bit. While Nadya’s struggles have always tugged at your heart, Serefin’s have gotten more so in this book. He dealt with family/father issues in Wicked Saints, but, in this book, it is decidedly more person, closer to home for him. If you weren’t rooting for him to have a happy ending before, you’re more inclined to in this book. It’s not a character arc that guarantees that shift, but it’s definitely more likely.

Recommendation: if you liked Wicked Saints, you’ll almost definitely like Ruthless Gods. If you’re somehow reading this without having read Wicked Saints but this review so far sounds like a read you might be interested in, you’re unlikely to be disappointed. Ruthless Gods goes places you didn’t anticipate, and anything is on the table. Nothing is really off-limits for the characters to go through – and, if that sounds like your kind of read, I echo my statement before: this book/series is unlikely to disappoint, so long as you’re alright with reading things like questioning your faith, questioning your identity, especially in relation to the rest of the world, and if you’re open to some slightly a-typical, though not unusual, character relationships.

**SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT. DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS. I WILL NOT BE HOLDING BACK. PREPARE FOR A FLOOD OF OPINIONS – FULL OF SPOILERS.**

Alright, I’ve been thinking about this book a lot since I put it down.

I don’t know if maybe reading as often as I have has left me with me losing the ability to guess what’s going to happen next somehow or what, but I don’t know where a lot of these characters are going or what the final ending will be.

I normally would say that that’s impressive for a book but, outside my recent reads of The Infernal Devices, I’ve been struggling to guess endings and twists lately. That might also just be because Owlcrate tends to pick amazing books to feature in their boxes, and those are the books I seem to be picking up lately.

Nadya’s character arc in this, however, was something I kind of saw coming. I saw coming that her powers would end up being far greater than she thought – and not tied to her gods. I saw coming that she would question their identities, what they were, and where her powers are coming from – and why her Church is so afraid of what she’s capable of. I enjoyed her character arc of being more independent while still struggling with being that independent when her entire life she’s been tying her identity to her gods and faith. I think the run-in she has in the book with a different monastery was a tad cliché and something I easily saw coming, but necessary to the otherall development – both of her arc and the plot in general.

Serefin’s character arc, though, was quite the roller coaster. Between what’s going on in his mind and finally realizing about Kacper – it’s all quite a lot for poor Serefin, especially when we keep in mind that he died and came back in Wicked Saints – and at his father’s orders, by one of his closest friends, no less.

Malachiasz . . . I don’t really know what’s in store for him. Will all his sacrifices be in vain at the end? Will he and Nadya get to be together in the end, or does he lose out on everything? Is he playing right into someone’s plans for him – and does he continue to do so, as he has been, or will he rebel before the end, and break away from their plans for him?

I don’t even know at this point if I’m rooting for Nadya and Malachiasz to be together by the end of this. Not because their relationship isn’t one I’ve rooted for in the past – only that I can see how them not being together at the end of this can still make for a satisfactory ending. Emily A. Duncan has done a great job thus far in making her readers almost enjoy the destruction and twists she puts her characters threw. There is a certain beauty in this “dirty”, bloody darkness she’s created – and it’s leaving me wanting more.

While I have never shied away from dark books, I don’t think I truly appreciated them the way I do now, after reading The Nevernight Chronicles. That was definitely a distinct turning point in my reading choices and enjoyment that I doubt I’ll soon forget. And this Something Dark and Holy series is appealing to that new love of dark books.

Next up is The Infernal Devices trilogy – a return to the Shadowhunter world for me! Each book will be getting it’s own review, just as The Illuminae Files did. Stay tuned for those, if you’re curious for a peak into that world before Chain of Gold drops March 3rd!