I'm sorry everybody! It's been forever since I've posted anything. One of the reasons why is because I've been reading The Mortal Instruments. Which, for your information is a total of 6 books and 3,163 pages. The last book alone is about a mile thick and 725 pages long. So basically, there's no way I could review all of this, but I'll do my best.
My overall opinion: Out of 10 stars, I'd give the Mortal Instruments a 7. Its a great idea, well-written at most parts, and besides a few, most of the plot twists are unforeseen and well, for lack of a better word, twisty. The world in which Clary and the rest of the characters live in is well-developed and practically no holes can be found. The reason I took away 3 stars is sometimes, the plot seems to twist so much it seems to get tangled. The whole 2nd book and half the 3rd is spent with Jace and Clary thinking they're siblings. And then suddenly, poof! They're not. That was such a double trick huh, Cassandra Clare. *rolls eyes* It just seemed so useless. Now, since I'm a sucker for romance, I'll talk a bit about each relationship in the book. (Since everybody seems to get paired off like a fairytale.)
Clary and Jace: The obvious pair. And for some reason, my least favorite. Its so sweet and adorable and perfect, it just annoying. Love at first sight. How…magical. *internal sigh* Yes, they most certainly they have problems, but they never really fight. And as mentioned before, they spend WAY too many pages thinking they're brother and sister, and while to be honest I didn't have much of a problem with that, I was mostly relieved when they discovered the truth because of how annoying the whole thing was. As most effectively summed up by Alec, "Look who's talking. Oh, I love her. Oh, she's my sister. Oh why, why, why-" Sounds about right.
Simon and Isabelle: I always found it a little funny how Magnus and Alec's relationship was considered more unconventional than Simon and Isabelle's. They're a vampire and a Shadowhunter together, but for some reason two gay men is weirder. (Well, given, Magnus is a warlock. But you get my point.) ANYWAY. My heart is officially broken. Of course it has to be Simon who has to forget everything about the Shadowhunter world, and of course it has to be Simon who forgets all about Clary. Clary was sad of course, but for someone who's best friend just forgot all about her, she doesn't seem that sad. For example, if Jace died, she'd be SO heartbroken, UNABLE to get out of bed, her soulmate forever gone. Yeah sure, Simon's not dead, but like Isabelle says he might as well be. Simon's and Isabelle's relationship was so realistic and sweet and amazing. It wasn't "love at first sight" and no, they couldn't tell each other they loved each other at first, but it was true to life. And then we're sitting over here crying at the end of the book, pounding our head on the table because Cassandra Clare just HAD to leave us with one big question mark! *cries uncontrollably*
Magnus and Alec: Magnus and Alec's relationship had the most turmoil of anyone's. Magnus broke up with Alec. I mean, I get that Magnus obviously was really offended by the fact that Alec thought of ending his immortality, but I still think it was a little harsh to break up with him over it. And then Magnus got captured and so on but then there was this. "Oh, my Alec,' he said. "You've been so sad. I didn't know." *sobs* SO. SWEET. My heart just burst. Although obviously I was really upset about Simon losing his memories (as seen above), I was equally as glad that Magnus didn't lose his. I could completely see Clare doing that, with no regard to the fact that Alec and Magnus are just as much a couple as Clary and Jace. It frustrates me how Clary and Jace are always considered the little angel pair, who if torn apart the world would most definitely end. Anyway, Magnus and Alec are really cute and I'm glad Robert Lightwood finally accepted Alec at the end.
Luke and Jocelyn: Not much to say here, but I just wanted to mention that their wedding took forever to happen. It was first mentioned in the first chapter of the 4th book and didn't actually happen till the LAST chapter of the 6th book. That's 1,624 pages, for your information. *facepalm*
Now, be warned. I'm mostly going to talk about the last book here because I feel like the rest either are mostly unrelated (one through three) or are leading up to the climax here (four through six). I know some of you are probably scoffing right now. "What are you talking about?!?! Valentine and Sebastian were father and son!" But I hope you, as a fellow reader, understand what I mean. Here we go.
I'm going to be totally honest right now and tell you that the only death I cried over was Sebastian/Jonathan. Sebastian was obviously a creepy, murderous weirdo but....at the end he was Jonathan. The sister that Clary never had. The son the Jocelyn always cried for. He regretted everything he did, and it was just...depressing. I can't even really put into words what I felt reading that. It was the best way for Sebastian to go, so props to Clare for that.
On the subject of death (omg right now I'm drinking a Caprisun and I just have to say these are the BEST. Sorry. Back to death.) Back when the last book was just coming out, I hadn't read any of the books but some of my friends had, and I clearly remember one of my friends breathlessly telling me, "In the last book, the author is killing off six of the main characters and there is only seven!!!" Don't ask me how she got seven main characters, I counted myself. Isabelle, Simon, Alec, Jace, Clary, uhhh..Magnus, and...Church! Exactly. Anyway, the rumor may have gotten a little convoluted, but she did kill off six main-ish characters. Lets go through them.
Jordan: I was in shock over his death for the next few chapters. I kept thinking he'd come back like "Hey guys! I didn't die!" and then Maia would break up with him. Which, by the way, was NOT ok. In the 5th book it was like oh I hate you, oh I'll just ignore you, oh actually I never stopped loving you. She SAID that. Do I need to go get evidence? And then in this book she's like yeah, never mind. I didn't love him. I feel like Clare just threw that in there. Little fun fact: whenever Maia first said she had to tell Jordan something, I thought she was pregnant. Oops. Anyway, Jordan's death was sad, but I didn't cry. (Which just so you know, I cry in every book. Every. Single. One.)
Sebastian: Sebastians death was expected, but as I said earlier it did make me sad.
Raphael: I was actually really upset about this. Nobody really ever acknowledged his death. It was just kinda like, Simon felt a pain in his chest and then later he was like oh. Raphael's dead. I always kinda liked Raphael. He was just...cool. In all senses of the word.
Maureen: Um. This. Just no. Was anybody sad about this little girl crush-on-Simon character turned rampaging murderous vampire's death? I don't even want to talk about it.
Meliorn: That lying little...ARGH. I HATE HIM. Weird that he dated Isabelle though, I feel like Clare kinda forgot about that. Again, was anybody sad?
Amatis: I know I should have been upset about Luke's sister dying, but I really wasn't. I was sad when she drank from the Cup, because she died then. But she didn't really make much an impact on anybody anyway, so while I feel bad saying this, I wasn't that sad.
So the whole six characters dying thing was a letdown. Three of these characters were either expected to die or I didn't care. Amatis wasn't really that sad, Raphael's death was only sad to maybe 7% of the population, and Jordan was the only true sad death.
About the whole Blackthorn plot. I felt like this was an advertisement for Clare's upcoming series. Think back. What did Emma really do during the series? It was more about her story and a big introduction to the new series.
Also, I know this is kinda selfish of me because I'm the one with a a book blog, but I refuse to read the Infernal Devices. It just doesn't interest me. It's set in Victorian London, which I'm SICK of. Everything is set in Victorian London. Everything I tell you. Anyway, I had my sister tell me the whole plot. *spoiler* The whole Jem and Tessa thing was boring. It was cute how Jem took Church though. :) I despise Will, even though I haven't read it. He seems like he's the type of person who gets everything he wants. Sigh. Even worse than Jace.
Anyway, so here's the final kicker. Did Colleen like the final book, a stinking 725 pages? For the most part, I did. Some parts were not OK with me, such as Simon losing his memories, or Maia wanting to break up with Jordan after his death, or Jonathan's heartbreaking death. But I thought it was a good end to the series, and I'm satisfied with the Mortal Instruments, again giving it 7 out of 10 stars, or should I say Shadowhunters. :)
Thanks for reading all the way down! Now off to read the Bane Chronicles. (Which has a terrible cover, by the way. Magnus is supposed to be slightly chubby and wearing cute orange clothes and sparkly shoes. Or at least in my mind.)
Have fun and keep reading!
Colleen
My overall opinion: Out of 10 stars, I'd give the Mortal Instruments a 7. Its a great idea, well-written at most parts, and besides a few, most of the plot twists are unforeseen and well, for lack of a better word, twisty. The world in which Clary and the rest of the characters live in is well-developed and practically no holes can be found. The reason I took away 3 stars is sometimes, the plot seems to twist so much it seems to get tangled. The whole 2nd book and half the 3rd is spent with Jace and Clary thinking they're siblings. And then suddenly, poof! They're not. That was such a double trick huh, Cassandra Clare. *rolls eyes* It just seemed so useless. Now, since I'm a sucker for romance, I'll talk a bit about each relationship in the book. (Since everybody seems to get paired off like a fairytale.)
Clary and Jace: The obvious pair. And for some reason, my least favorite. Its so sweet and adorable and perfect, it just annoying. Love at first sight. How…magical. *internal sigh* Yes, they most certainly they have problems, but they never really fight. And as mentioned before, they spend WAY too many pages thinking they're brother and sister, and while to be honest I didn't have much of a problem with that, I was mostly relieved when they discovered the truth because of how annoying the whole thing was. As most effectively summed up by Alec, "Look who's talking. Oh, I love her. Oh, she's my sister. Oh why, why, why-" Sounds about right.
Simon and Isabelle: I always found it a little funny how Magnus and Alec's relationship was considered more unconventional than Simon and Isabelle's. They're a vampire and a Shadowhunter together, but for some reason two gay men is weirder. (Well, given, Magnus is a warlock. But you get my point.) ANYWAY. My heart is officially broken. Of course it has to be Simon who has to forget everything about the Shadowhunter world, and of course it has to be Simon who forgets all about Clary. Clary was sad of course, but for someone who's best friend just forgot all about her, she doesn't seem that sad. For example, if Jace died, she'd be SO heartbroken, UNABLE to get out of bed, her soulmate forever gone. Yeah sure, Simon's not dead, but like Isabelle says he might as well be. Simon's and Isabelle's relationship was so realistic and sweet and amazing. It wasn't "love at first sight" and no, they couldn't tell each other they loved each other at first, but it was true to life. And then we're sitting over here crying at the end of the book, pounding our head on the table because Cassandra Clare just HAD to leave us with one big question mark! *cries uncontrollably*
Magnus and Alec: Magnus and Alec's relationship had the most turmoil of anyone's. Magnus broke up with Alec. I mean, I get that Magnus obviously was really offended by the fact that Alec thought of ending his immortality, but I still think it was a little harsh to break up with him over it. And then Magnus got captured and so on but then there was this. "Oh, my Alec,' he said. "You've been so sad. I didn't know." *sobs* SO. SWEET. My heart just burst. Although obviously I was really upset about Simon losing his memories (as seen above), I was equally as glad that Magnus didn't lose his. I could completely see Clare doing that, with no regard to the fact that Alec and Magnus are just as much a couple as Clary and Jace. It frustrates me how Clary and Jace are always considered the little angel pair, who if torn apart the world would most definitely end. Anyway, Magnus and Alec are really cute and I'm glad Robert Lightwood finally accepted Alec at the end.
Luke and Jocelyn: Not much to say here, but I just wanted to mention that their wedding took forever to happen. It was first mentioned in the first chapter of the 4th book and didn't actually happen till the LAST chapter of the 6th book. That's 1,624 pages, for your information. *facepalm*
Now, be warned. I'm mostly going to talk about the last book here because I feel like the rest either are mostly unrelated (one through three) or are leading up to the climax here (four through six). I know some of you are probably scoffing right now. "What are you talking about?!?! Valentine and Sebastian were father and son!" But I hope you, as a fellow reader, understand what I mean. Here we go.
I'm going to be totally honest right now and tell you that the only death I cried over was Sebastian/Jonathan. Sebastian was obviously a creepy, murderous weirdo but....at the end he was Jonathan. The sister that Clary never had. The son the Jocelyn always cried for. He regretted everything he did, and it was just...depressing. I can't even really put into words what I felt reading that. It was the best way for Sebastian to go, so props to Clare for that.
On the subject of death (omg right now I'm drinking a Caprisun and I just have to say these are the BEST. Sorry. Back to death.) Back when the last book was just coming out, I hadn't read any of the books but some of my friends had, and I clearly remember one of my friends breathlessly telling me, "In the last book, the author is killing off six of the main characters and there is only seven!!!" Don't ask me how she got seven main characters, I counted myself. Isabelle, Simon, Alec, Jace, Clary, uhhh..Magnus, and...Church! Exactly. Anyway, the rumor may have gotten a little convoluted, but she did kill off six main-ish characters. Lets go through them.
Jordan: I was in shock over his death for the next few chapters. I kept thinking he'd come back like "Hey guys! I didn't die!" and then Maia would break up with him. Which, by the way, was NOT ok. In the 5th book it was like oh I hate you, oh I'll just ignore you, oh actually I never stopped loving you. She SAID that. Do I need to go get evidence? And then in this book she's like yeah, never mind. I didn't love him. I feel like Clare just threw that in there. Little fun fact: whenever Maia first said she had to tell Jordan something, I thought she was pregnant. Oops. Anyway, Jordan's death was sad, but I didn't cry. (Which just so you know, I cry in every book. Every. Single. One.)
Sebastian: Sebastians death was expected, but as I said earlier it did make me sad.
Raphael: I was actually really upset about this. Nobody really ever acknowledged his death. It was just kinda like, Simon felt a pain in his chest and then later he was like oh. Raphael's dead. I always kinda liked Raphael. He was just...cool. In all senses of the word.
Maureen: Um. This. Just no. Was anybody sad about this little girl crush-on-Simon character turned rampaging murderous vampire's death? I don't even want to talk about it.
Meliorn: That lying little...ARGH. I HATE HIM. Weird that he dated Isabelle though, I feel like Clare kinda forgot about that. Again, was anybody sad?
Amatis: I know I should have been upset about Luke's sister dying, but I really wasn't. I was sad when she drank from the Cup, because she died then. But she didn't really make much an impact on anybody anyway, so while I feel bad saying this, I wasn't that sad.
So the whole six characters dying thing was a letdown. Three of these characters were either expected to die or I didn't care. Amatis wasn't really that sad, Raphael's death was only sad to maybe 7% of the population, and Jordan was the only true sad death.
About the whole Blackthorn plot. I felt like this was an advertisement for Clare's upcoming series. Think back. What did Emma really do during the series? It was more about her story and a big introduction to the new series.
Also, I know this is kinda selfish of me because I'm the one with a a book blog, but I refuse to read the Infernal Devices. It just doesn't interest me. It's set in Victorian London, which I'm SICK of. Everything is set in Victorian London. Everything I tell you. Anyway, I had my sister tell me the whole plot. *spoiler* The whole Jem and Tessa thing was boring. It was cute how Jem took Church though. :) I despise Will, even though I haven't read it. He seems like he's the type of person who gets everything he wants. Sigh. Even worse than Jace.
Anyway, so here's the final kicker. Did Colleen like the final book, a stinking 725 pages? For the most part, I did. Some parts were not OK with me, such as Simon losing his memories, or Maia wanting to break up with Jordan after his death, or Jonathan's heartbreaking death. But I thought it was a good end to the series, and I'm satisfied with the Mortal Instruments, again giving it 7 out of 10 stars, or should I say Shadowhunters. :)
Thanks for reading all the way down! Now off to read the Bane Chronicles. (Which has a terrible cover, by the way. Magnus is supposed to be slightly chubby and wearing cute orange clothes and sparkly shoes. Or at least in my mind.)
Have fun and keep reading!
Colleen