A fairytale with a resonant exploration of narcissistic parenting, mother wounds, and the care and conviction it takes for a young survivor to pick up her voice and wield mighty courage.
Some of the magical mechanics seemed a bit random to me, but the themes of the story were gorgeous, as was Cordelia’s development from victim to protector. Also, there’s a wholesome little b-plot romance with a sweet pairing I adored.
Really wish this book had had more of Fox and Death's relationship sketched out. It was the most interesting piece of the story, and I'd have liked to see it explored more.
A compelling, complex story of warfare, survival, ambition, and desperation that takes place in a living, breathing world. Brutal and unforgettable, tensions around race, class, imperialism, and violence bring the story to a boiling point.
This book is cheerful, textured, and its people are vibrant. Their prejudices against one another were, oddly enough, one of the most real things about them. I would’ve liked to see that unpacked a bit more, but I suspect the subsequent volumes dig deeper on this. The ending/prince’s choice plot twist seemed rushed, and the writing here was weaker. However, I liked the protagonist’s development and how she found her role.
I’ll probably give it another go eventually, after I’m less busy. For now, this is the last thing I’m reaching for from the tbr pile, so I’m setting it free.
Update: Finally finished it on a whim. There was a lot of cringing, incredulous "what"-ing, and the like. I don't recommend this book to ANYONE with trauma from a domestic violence or infidelity history, as some of the material will likely be incredibly triggering. Probably don't read this review. It's unfiltered, my initial impressions, and slightly unhinged with frustration.
Clary proceeded to be the least likeable person in the book, still. Very much reads like something written during the era when we were judging celebs for shaving their heads or daring to be a size 10/12.
Jace's issues were incredibly frustrating, and the line of delineation between Jace's actual trauma and what's being caused by the big bad's is often unclear.
Strong points: Luke is usually the only person with some amount of common sense, and Max's prior death continued to be painful. Watching them all continue to try to go on without him was rough, and it didn't feel like it was glossed over much.
The end of it seems to create YET MORE opportunities for grossness that I'd hoped we'd left behind us, which makes me want to throw up in my mouth.
Jace is hard to like because the narrative is clearly so in love with him but he's also clearly so dysfunctional and absolutely awful at communicating about it. It's like everyone's always like "Oh, he's so HOT and TORTURED and look at his muscles and how HOT he is and how much every girl ever WANTS him" which is a bit much to take when he is ten kinds of immature and in need of serious intervention on top of being, what. Sixteen? Seventeen? A literal child. (Ugh. Can you tell I'm not the YA target audience? Even still, I don't think adolescent me would've found him all that appealing.) Gross, gross, gross. You'd at least think that the other POV's would be less complimentary to Jace, but Simon's even all "Wow. Jace is so cool and nonchalant and BROKEN INSIDE." I mean, this boy manages to be so toxic Clary thinks he's ending things because of a 24 hour gap of contact. (And that in and of itself was mind-bendingly melodramatic. Like, the text read like a parody of YA romance--like something written to make fun of it.) I just have a really difficult time believing that Clary and Jace love each other the way they're constantly thinking they do when they jump to conclusions, keep secrets, and treat each other like vipers that might strike out and cause damage at any moment.
Yet these books always sort of patch it up right at the very end so Clary and Jace can have an "us against the world" moment before the credits roll. TLDR: as an adult, I do not find teenage Jace appealing in the slightest, so it's really rough trying to slog through Clary's perpetual drooling.
And don't even get me started on Simon's nonsense this book. Totally disappointing. OH. AND the fourteen year old? Did NOT like Simon biting her. That set off so many alarm bells. Even though Simon doesn't see Maureen that way, the scene read very predatorial, and Clare wasn't careful about the way that was unpacked. The text didn't make it into something nearly as disgusting as it should've been. I also find it near-impossible to believe that Jace and Jordan would've let Simon out of the apartment had he been in that bad of shape. I don't think Simon would've neglected himself to that degree. He's not stupid. He wouldn't be like, "Oh, neglecting to feed--I can do that. It doesn't matter." No. He'd be hyper-cautious, taking all steps he could to try to mitigate the risk he presents to others.
So I don't buy that for a minute. The conflict there felt completely contrived out of a series of bad decisions to get Simon to not have agency and do something shocking and monstrous to give us a jump scare.
Why am I reading this? Mostly anthropological urge to track this cultural phenomenon from when I was a tween/teen. But every time I pick one of these books up, I'm reminded why I have to take the series in VERY. SMALL. DOSES.
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This entire book felt like I was traveling through a sixth grader's angsty after-school special. The poetry quoted in this story felt cheaper than a fourteen-year-old whispering "Wherefore art thou romeo," as she watches her boyfriend of two days laugh at another girl's joke in the school cafeteria. I couldn't bring myself to finish the series--and, I'm kind of notorious for having a soft spot for klutzy, dramatic romance sub-plots.
(This is really more of a 3.5 for me, but I have high hopes for the series).
A bit simple, but relatively solid. The tone of this book is quite young, which isn’t a bad thing, but it did have me Jim Halperting at the camera from time to time.
I would’ve liked to see more women in the story, (especially some doing adventure-y things), but the characters are multifaceted. I liked not knowing where certain people’s allegiances lay.
I read this on a couple of friends’ suggestion, and I’m excited to see where the rest of the series goes.
This book's voice outshone its plot. It is for that reason that this review has four stars, instead of three. (Edit: After some thought, I bumped it to three). Because different parts of the novel were drastically different in regards to quality, I'll split my thoughts up in a similar way.
Part I: 5/5
The protagonists' humor, fears, and relationships shone brightly. I was instantly pulled in, and it did an excellent job dealing with themes of chronic illness and the way they intersect with young adulthood. I was actually moved to weeping at one point.
Part II: 3/5
This was disappointing. After such a strong opening, the shift from the her old life to her new world was lackluster. The pieces of narrative from Jason kept things moving, but I was honestly very discouraged by Aza's sudden shallowness. The love triangle was introduced at this point in the story, and it did not fit with the plot, character dynamics, or prior depth shown in Aza /at all/. It was discouraging, and it felt a little insulting to read.
Part III/The Very End: I'm conflicted
I'm conflicted, because the story did pick back up somewhat at this point, but it was cluttered. Because the reader isn't sure about what they're rooting for in Aza's adventure plot, they simply latch on to hopes of a reunion with Jason. End result? Jason overshadow's Aza's newfound powers and environment. The elements of fantasy in this story felt like extra baggage next to Aza and Jason's relationship.
Overall, I think the book would've functioned much better without the "twist" from Aza's mother, or the love triangle. Let one thing be the primary story goal.
All that being said, I'll be watching this author. The voice is fresh and so entertaining.
