josephinevalor

[josephinevalor]

According to Dante, the people who belonged in the 7th circle of hell are murderers, people who committed genocide, blasphemers, usurers, people who killed themselves, and homosexuals. Yes. He judged all of those sins equally.

Dante’s Inferno was written in the 13 century and it was fiction. Sadly there are people in the 21st century who actually believe that LGBTQ deserve to be in hell.

[josephinevalor]

So it’s Valentine’s Day. Meaning hearts. And roses. And chocolates shaped like hearts and roses. And romance. Way too much romance. Like oh my God stay the hell away from me type of romance.

[josephinevalor]

The only complaint that I have about The Hobbit is that it’s too short. Like it’s so good that I wish there was more of it.

[josephinevalor]

Reading the Hobbit right now. Don’t know why but it makes me feel so comforted. Reading it feels like a warm blanket combined with hot chocolate on a winter’s day. Which makes me wish there was more of a winter and snow where I live. Which makes me want to read more of the Hobbit.

[josephinevalor]

I’m one of those people who rarely reread books. But it’s mostly because there are so many books to read that I would rather read something new.

People who don't re-read books are so funny to me. "I know what happens"..?? Gurl I know what pizza tastes like, still gonna eat another one. I know what a rainbow looks like, you think that'll stop me running outside, camera in hand, to see the next one?

[josephinevalor]

Are Shadowhunters Anti Drugs/Alcohol?

So far I have gotten to the The Bane Chronicles: The Fall of the Hotel Dumort (have been reading them in chronological order) and it got me thinking: is the series anti drugs/alcohol?

In The infernal devices series, Jem becomes addicted to a drug, Yin Fen (not by choice). And this addiction leads to him almost tragically dying.

In that same series, Mortmain gets Werewolves addicted to that same drug with similarly disastrous consequences.

In The Last Hours series, Elias is an alcoholic. Mathew also suffers from alcoholism. And the disastrous effects of alcohol are reflected in those characters' relationships with others and their own internal shame/guilt towards their behavior.

In Ghosts of the Shadow Market: Cast Long Shadows, the mistake that Mathew made was a result of a potion that he got from a fairy (which we could think of as a drug.)

In The Bane Chronicles: What Really Happened in Peru, Magnus Bane made a fool of himself from drinking. And he mostly got drunk out of a feeling of sadness not happiness. Like him getting drunk was born out of depression not celebration.

In The Bane Chronicles: The Fall of the Hotel Dumort, Magnus heavily criticizes people who do cocaine, ruminating how boring they are on his fly to New York from London.

[josephinevalor]

I feel sorry for the deal with the devil trope. It was turned from a profoundly philosophical question of what one is willing to sacrifice to achieve knowledge and power (as well as the religious cautionary tale against it) to a “character wants something so they sign a deal with the devil and then they must pay for it when rent comes due”. It used to be a cautionary tale against human ambition and never ending quest for knowledge, which the church deemed went against God (a more cynical interpretation of this is, of course, that the church would lose its power with people gaining knowledge that might not align with the church. This, in a way would actually make the devil the good guy).

And on this note, I feel sympathy for the devil. He used to grant forbidden knowledge to the scientists and the scholars of the arcane. Now his role is to help edge lord aspiring rockstars. Also, if we think of the devil as a symbol for rebellion, this would mean that the real rebels are the scientists, the scholars, the people who want to dedicate their lives to the pursuit of knowledge not teens with purple hair who skip class and smoke weed in the bathroom.

[josephinevalor]

Ghosts of the Shadow Market: Cast Long Shadows Review

The story a bit too simplistic but it was good as a short story. The plot was tighter although it still went a bit on a tangent. It was a solid short story but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. It wasn’t relatable. It wasn’t entertaining. It didn’t make me think. It didn’t have that emotional connection with me. It was pretty forgettable. For me. Doesn’t mean that it would be for you. 

Important for setting things up for the future novels (assuming you are reading it in chronological order like me), which is nice but makes the reveal in the future novel not as impactful.  

The writing style overly explains everything too much. Makes sense if you read this book as a stand alone. But if you read this book after having read all of the other books in the way that I’ve done it, the writing style comes across as annoying because it keeps on revealing information that you already know.

The main theme of the story is how "old sins cast long shadows." Or in another words, how actions have consequences and mistakes that one makes end up having negative consequences to oneself and others for years to come. The two characters who exemplify this in this novel combined with the long hours series are Mathew (more directly) and Alastair (indirectly). In the case of Mathew, the consequences were more internal, with his feelings of guilt and shame that he can't get over for years and that lead to destructive behavior. In the case of Alastair more external, with other characters distrusting, alienating, and hating him for his behavior also for years to come.

Hot Take: Henry’s a horrible father. I don’t care how much the book tries to justify it. I understand he is disabled but him forgetting to eat is not part of his disability. It should not be the responsibility of the son to take care of his father in this way. Knowing that about himself, Henry should have made different arrangements. They are wealthy for crying out loud. They have servants. Just instruct your servants to remind you to eat and take care of you in other way. It should not be your son’s job.

There was a bit of a tangent with Mathew going out with James and meeting Lucie. That part felt a bit too contrived and was just their so that we could be introduced to Lucy, who will be an important character later on but doesn’t add that much to this specific story. And Lucy talking about her parabatai Cordelia. That part felt a bit shoehorned. And the conversation that they had was also boring. They just talked about their parabatais and that’s pretty much it.

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

[josephinevalor]

Tales from the shadowhunter academy: Nothing but shadows Review (Spoilers)

This one had two plot lines. The 2008 plot line and the 1899 plot line.

The 2008 plot line:

I'm not the biggest fan of it. I really don't like Simon's character. He is just too annoying and complains way too much.

Also, the resolution of this plot line (with the basketball game) happens of the page. So we find out that the mundanes won the basketball game but we don't get to read about the actual game.

The 1899 plot line:

Over all, I loved it. Mostly because of how relatable it was to my own Middle School experience. I felt like this book nailed Middle School politics, with the bullying, the exclusion of James due to him being "different", the mundanes being friends with him just for their own social status gain and then turning their back on him the second he became too inconvenient to be friends with, etc... Mathew acting out was also hilarious.

Overall rating: due to 2008 plot line, 3.5/5 stars. If it was just the 1899 plot line, it would have been 4/5 or 5/5 stars.

[josephinevalor]

bro i think the words “hate” and “enemies” are wayyyy overused in books nowadays. like calling something enemies to lovers when it’s literally just oh the fmc hates hockey players for no reason whatsoever and the mmc is a hockey player is just not accurate at all😭 they tell eachother they hate eachother but like…you don’t though? you’ve met once before when you accidentally bumped into eachother at a party, why is that hate? this just bugs me so much

[josephinevalor]

All the books I've read in 2024

So I wanted to do a review of all the books I've read trough out 2024. Those are going to be really quick reviews.

The Bane Chronicles: What Really Happened in Peru

By: Sarah Rees Brennan and Cassandra Clare

Really did not liked this one. Only got through it because I wanted to read all of the shadowhunter's series. There was no coherent plot. Or central conflict. And Magnus just felt so flat in this one.

Rating: 2.5/5

The Bane Chronicles: The Runaway Queen 

By: Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson

I liked this one slightly more than What Really Happened in Peru. But only very slightly. There was way too much exposition and I'm still not in love with Magnus. I also found the story to be too boring and predictable.

Rating: 3/5

Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale

By: Sarah Rees Brennan and Cassandra Clare

It felt like it had 3 different plots and none of them were well developed enough. I have no idea about what actually went down as far as the Accords go, even though that's a vitally important treaty to the lore and the events in the series. I also did not like Magnus in this one either. I found him to be too shallow and too much of a passive character. Like he pretty much only observed and what he observed wasn't even that interesting.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Clockwork Angel

By: Cassandra Clare

I loved this one. The characters were amazing. All of them felt so real and now live rent free in my imagination. I couldn't help but care for them. Tessa is amazing. Will is amazing. And I can't help it but feel sorry for James and his Yin Fen addiction. There were only a couple of minor things I didn't love about it but overall, really good story.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Clockwork Prince

By: Cassandra Clare

I loved this one as well. It's a good sequel to Clockwork Angel. There was less action and more relationships/shadowhunter politics. But the relationships and shaodwhunter politics were no less interesting than the action. In some ways, I actually liked them more. So the plot is still exciting and engaging. There were also some small things that I didn't love about it but overall, once again, a really good story. I couldn't wait to start Clockwork Princess to find out what would happen next.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Clockwork Princess

By: Cassandra Clare

This one was really good as well. The strongest point of it by far had been its characters. There isn't a single character out of the main cast that I wasn't in love with by this point. Henry was amazing. Charlotte was amazing. Magnus showed up. I liked him more in this one than in the first 3 books of the Bane Chronicles. I did found some inconsistencies as far as plot goes but overall I really loved this story.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy: The Whitechapel Fiend

By: Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson

Not the biggest fan of this one. The plot for the 2008 plot line felt all over the place. And I also really did not like Simon. He just whines and complains way too much. For the 1888 plot line, it didn't feel enough like a mystery to me. Like there were no clues through out the story. There were no interesting theories I could have came up with. The events kind of just happened without much backing them up.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy: Nothing but Shadows

By: Sarah Rees Brennan and Cassandra Clare

This one had two plot lines just like the previous book. I loved the 1899 plot line with James and Mathew due to how relatable it was. I was not the biggest fan of the 2008 plot line.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Ghosts of the Shadow Market: Cast Long Shadows

By: Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

This story was not my cup of tea. I did not find it relatable or interesting to think. It was pretty forgettable and it didn't made me think. With this said, I feel like it just wasn't my type of story. It was mainly about Mathew's mistake that ends up having a profound impact on him for years to come. I thought it was pretty well written.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Ghosts of the Shadow Market: Every Exquisite Thing

By:  Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson

I really liked this story. It dealt with Anna's gender identity and how she struggled to stay true to herself while navigating her role as a woman in her society. While the story is fantasy, at the heart of it it's about Anna's internal struggle and the fantasy elements are more windows dressing. Over all, I really liked it. Couldn't find anything bad to say about it.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

The Bane Chronicles: The Midnight Heir

By: Cassandra Clare and Sarah Reese Brennan

Overall, a pretty good story. I liked Magnus in this one. He was also playing a pretty passive role but that was the point of the story: him being used and taken for granted by the Shadowhunters. The only thing that I didn't like about it was the ending. It felt too abrupt.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Jane Eyre:

By: Charlotte Bronte 

After reading loads of YA, this felt like a welcomed break. I absolutely loved the writing style in this one. Surprisingly, it was relatively easy to read while the prose felt so much more memorable and profound. I also loved the character of Jane Eyre. She is strong, independent, charitable, humble, and hard working. It's just impossible not to fall in love with her. Who I didn't like was her love interest: Mr. Rochester. I feel like my girl, Jane, deserved so much better.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Specials:

By: Scott Westerfeld

I've read this book before but I wanted to reread it again. What I liked about it was that it was almost impossible to put down. I finished it in 3 days. The plot was just so exciting. What I did not like about it was how unrealistic some of the action scenes were. I understand Tally is a special and hence can do more than a normal human being. But still. The rules of physics should apply. Even if just a little bit. I also didn't like how the book glamorized self harm. It felt weird to read about how Tally or Shay hurting herself helped make her mind clear.

Rating: 3.75/5 Stars

Inferno:

By: Dante Alighieri

This one was a challenging read. I had to look up what everything meant all the time while reading it. With this said, I really enjoyed the poem. I usually don't like poems but this one had a narrative to it. So it was a poem but also a story. I love Dante's portrayal of hell. And how the punishments in his versions of hell were the inversions of sins committed. The poem is also so incredibly quotable. There are so many lines from it that now live in my head rent free.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Chain of Gold:

By: Cassandra Clare

I did not like this one as much as I liked the Infernal Devices series. I wanted to but I just didn't. The writing style was a tad bit too repetitive. And the friendships/relationships didn't feel as close as in the Infernal Devices. And I overall did not resonate with the characters to the same extent. Also, I did not like the main conflict that much. It was still a fun read. But could have been better.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Chain of Iron:

By: Cassandra Clare

The characters grew on me more in this one. I started to like James, Mathew, and Cordelia a lot more. I was not the biggest fan of the love triangle between Cordelia, Mathew, and James mostly because it was obvious that Cordelia would end up with James. So it felt pointless. I also could not get over how Lucie defeated Belial. It was way too much the "power of love" and broke the rules previously established by Cassandra of what Lucie could do with her powers.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Chain of Thorns:

By: Cassandra Clare

I liked this one the most in the The Last Hours trilogy. I thought the idea of what happened to London and the shadowhunters having to hide from the watchers to be a really fascinating concept. I also grew more attached to the characters. The first half of the book felt a bit too boring though. Not much interesting happened. The second half of the book was a lot better. I also really liked Lilith and hope to see more of her.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Gone Girl:

By: Gillian Flynn

I loved this novel. It's one of my favorites that I've read this year. Amy's character is incredibly fascinating. She is a master manipulator who gains power through portraying herself as a victim. It's fascinating to read how she successfully pulls this off. Nick had cheated on her and he is not the most attentive husband. He has a good amount of faults. While he did not deserve to be framed for murder, Amy's rage felt understandable. While by no means I agreed with Amy's decisions, Flynn made it clear what Amy's motivations were and what drove her to be the way that she is.

This book is also definitely meant for adult readers. It is not YA.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Rise and Kill First:

By: Ronen Bergman

This one is a non fiction book that I've read as research for a novel idea that I had. It's about Israeli intelligence services. Due to me not being an expert in government intelligence or Israel or the Middle East (or anything else really), I can not review this book. I have a strong "no non fiction book reviews" policy. All I can say is: bad idea to screw around with the Mossad.

Rating: NA

The Bane Chronicles: The Rise of the Hotel Dumort

By: Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson

I thought it was a fun story. And unlike most other stories, it was directly focused on Magnus taking an active role in the events. I loved him in this one as well. He was both funny but also got things done when he had to. The only thing I didn't like about it was the ending. It felt too abrupt.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

[josephinevalor]

Merry Christmas

[josephinevalor]

Merry Christmas everyone!!! I hope you all have a great time. :)

[josephinevalor]

The Whitechapel Fiend Review (Spoilers)

I read it in the wrong order. I should have read it after Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy: the Lost Herondale not after Clockwork Princess. Because of this the introduction of new characters of Simon and George and Jayce feel disjointed. And there are references to what happened with Simon and George in the other novels that feel out of place and confusing if you read it in this order. Not to mention, it spoils some of the plot points of those other books.  But this is my fault. Not the book's' fault. 

Plot:

The plot is all over the place (unlike the infernal devices series). I’m seeing a pattern here. I like Cassandra’s novels a lot more than her short stories (by Cassandra's standards. It's 73 pages long so it's not really a short story but Cassandra thinks it is.)

First, Simon and the rest of the students doing the climbing the tree and jumping off the tree exercise in the Shadowhunter Academy. Then it cuts to the Jack the Reaper story as told by Tessa. She comes in as a lecturer to the academy in 2008 but the Jack the reaper story, itself, takes place in 1888 in London. 

Those two plot lines are disjointed and there doesn’t seem to be much of a resolution or even a point to Simon’s plot line. There isn’t much of a conflict or tension or anything else, really. It’s just too messy.

London 1888 Plot Line

It does have a central conflict and a more coherent plot. And it only got me 34 out of 73 pages to get there. So more than ⅓ of the book. 

Will and Tessa were trying to figure out who or what was causing the murders. Based on the locations of the murders and how long it would take for the murderer to get from place to place, they determined that they were demons. So they decided to get involved as a supernatural police that they are. Finally, this book is back to the shadowhunter formula. 

Tessa and Ceicely decide to patrol disguised as prostitutes. I love how absolutely miserable the lives of street prostitutes is described in the book. The poverty, the dirt, etc.. It makes the writing way more realistic and avoids glamorizing the life path that definitely should not be glamorized.

They don’t find anything interesting from the patrols.  They also Went to look at the murder, and…. Learned pretty much nothing from it. Like there were no clues. No specific suspects. The whole thing doesn’t feel like much of a "mystery" if there are no clues or theories that we can create about it. This made London 1888 plot line pretty boring and unenjoyable for me.

The Beginning:

It starts in 2008 with George and Simon in the dormroom in the Shadowhunter Academy in Idris talking about slime on the wall. The beginning is pretty well…. Boring, for a lack of a better word. In comparison with the infernal devices series, where Clockwork Angel started with Jem and Will investigating a murder, Clockwork Prince, with Will in the graveyard talking to ghosts, Clockwork Princess with Adele mysteriously dying from receiving her marks. In comparison with this, the beginning of this book is underwhelming…. 

Setting:

It takes place in the Shadowhunter Academy, which sounds like hell and a cool place at the same time. it's cool because there is magic. And hell because there is no wifi and there is shadowhunter snobbery towards the humans who are also allowed to study in the academy. Training is also described as physical torture and the instructors are mean.

Usually I like those types of stories about schools or academies, especially the one with magic in them. So this felt like it had a lot of potential but it just…. Didn’t work. The academy is minimalistic. Too minimalistic. The whole thing is described in a way that makes you think that it sucks. It’s almost like a ruin.

Simon

Simon moans and complains about everything way too much. I just find him way too annoying because of it. I wish I could like him but I really just can't.

Overall Rating:

2.5/5

[josephinevalor]

I wish I could be rich so that I could buy 3D Wooden Puzzles and book nooks. Like I would want to fill my whole room with them.

[josephinevalor]

Clockwork Princess REVIEW (SPOILER VERSION)

By: Cassandra Clare

TW: Suicide

Characters

Tessa

I already loved her from the previous books. She is assertive. She is brave. She cares for others. 

She also makes a good amount of mistakes but they are the type of mistakes that most people would have made. She agreed to help Mortmain by shape shifting into his adopted father in exchange for Yin Fen for Jem. Which since Jem is dying without it, is a reasonable thing for her to do as an attempt to help prolong one’s loved ones life.

 She forgets to hide her clockwork angel necklace while trying to fool Mrs. Black into thinking she is someone else. An oversight most people would have made in her place. Especially after just being miraculously saved from dying and walking for hours to find an abandoned house to stay at. 

She decides to rush into the fight instead of staying back in the institute. But she was always doing that. Will and the rest of the Shadowhunter gang were fighting. She couldn’t just stay back. 

Those mistakes make her more relatable. They make her more like us. 

Despite her mistakes, she is quite smart and resourceful. She makes a run for it away from Mrs. Brown’s carriage when the opportunity presents itself, she tried her best to appease Mortmain while being kept hostage by him, and she was the one who saved the day by coming up with the genius idea of turning into the angel that was imprisoned in her clockwork necklace. 

Will

He doesn’t have to pretend anymore but old habits die hard. He does start to act a lot better but he still makes rude jokes from time to time, adding a good amount of comedic relief. 

He still has his mischievous and spontaneous side to him. But he is not an outright jerk anymore.

Also we get to see a more serious and angry side of him. He was enraged when he thought his parabatai had died and then he took it out on a group of werewolves.

He starts to show how much he cares for Tessa. He goes alone on a mission to save Tessa from Mortmain despite the risks. It was not the smartest idea but it demonstrates how much she means to him. And every time, he was bringing up how important it is to get Tessa back from Mortmain whenever there was a meeting between Shadowhunters. 

I'm not as team Jem anymore.I love both Jem and Will for Tessa in this novel. Tbh, they should have just ended up as a thrupple, they are so good together. 

Jem

Jem continues to be a tragic character. He runs out of Yin Fen due to taking too much. He was trying to make himself more healthier by using it. He wanted Tessa to see he was doing well because of how much he loved her. 

The Love Triangle

Normally I don’t like love triangles. But due to how all three characters care for each other and love each other so much, this love triangle is just so precious. For example, Jem and Will were arguing about who of the two of them should have Tessa. Both of them were encouraging the other one to be with her. Which is a testament of how much the two of them care for each other.  Will also bought Yin Fen for Jem the whole time, was by his side almost every time when Jem was having his health problems, and hid the way he felt about Tessa. 

Tessa also loves both of them. At the beginning, she chose to be with Jem because she already accepted the engagement. She knew if she were to decline and go for Will, that would ruin their parabatai bond. And that would hurt both Jem and Will. So she made the hard choice to say "no" to Will. 

Tessa and Jem also where willing to go to great length for each other. Jem threw away a sample of Yin Fen he got from Mortmain in protest of Tessa wanting to willingly give herself up to Mortmain in exchange for it to help prolong Jem's life.

After Jem turned into a Silent Brother, that cured his Yin Fen problem. Btw, they fit Jem’s personality pretty well being rule followers and proper and such. But they are not allowed to get married. So Tessa started dating Will but only after Jem gave his blessing. 

Tessa did sleep with Will when he came to rescue her, but she thought that Jem was dead. So because of that, I don't really consider it "cheating". And they were also in extreme circumstances and thought they might die soon as well.

The Ending

Tessa ends up with both Jem and Will. Will in 1878 and then Jem in 2008. The book ends with the two of them getting together again. 

Theme: Loss and Grief

Tessa is immortal (Well... she doesn't age. She can still be killed). Will is Mortal. So Will died and Tessa had to go on living and dealing with the pain of losing the love of her life. And then presumably will have to go through the same thing again with Jem. Unless Jem becomes a vampire or they somehow die together in some sort of an accident or a battle. Usually this elephant in the room of immortal with mortal relationship isn’t addressed. But Cassandra tackled it head on describing it in poignant detail in the epilogue. How Tessa has to deal with loss and grief over and over again and then go on.

Jessamine

Dies in the automaton attack right in front of the institute. I feel for her despite her being a traitor due to how broken down she was in the Silent City (and how naive she was). I don't think she deserved to die. I don’t like her being “resurrected” as a ghost, though. I would have rather her stay dead. That would have made her death more impactful. 

Charlotte

She is back to being a great leader similarly to how she was in Clockwork Angel. Tough when she needs to be. Kind and comforting when she needs to be. This dynamic is especially evident with Gabriel. She has a tough conversation with him while accepting him into the institute. But then shows kindness and empathy towards him over the loss of his father.

She actually starts doing her job as a leader. She leads the attack on Mortmain. She directs the shadowhunter gang more in terms of what needs to get done.

Henry

I love him by this point as well. He joins the fight against Mortmain together with Charlotte instead of staying behind in his lab. And he is not an incompetent scientist anymore. He creates the portal together with Magnus, which allows for them to teleport from place to place and travel at “lightning speed”. It is considered an incredible invention and revolutionizes their way of life. Just goes to show how if you continue on trying, one day you might succeed and do something great, even if most of that time you were screwing everything up. I found Henry to be an inspirational character for that.

Sophie

Sophie now feels like a well developed character not just an extra. She is given her own plot line, with her love story with Gideon. And she spends more time having girl talk with Tessa. The book goes into her thoughts, dreams, feelings and opinions a lot more.

Gideon: 

He is in love with Sophie. Sophie also has feelings for him but at the same time she feels like they are inappropriate due to her being a servant. And him her employer together with Charlotte. 

Sophie and Gideon coming from different worlds as far as wealth goes is perfectly exemplified by the scone scene. Gideon ordered Sophie to bring scones just to see her more. Without realizing that it’s additional work for Sophie. So Gideon made her do pointless work.

He was a bit of a spoiled rich kid with that one. And sadly, this does happen quite often IRL. Rich people often do not see the perspective of their employees.

Gideon does learn his lesson though and they end up being together in the end. His proposal for them to get married when he blurted it out in front of Charlotte was so awkward and funny but also adorable.

Gabriel

Gabriel almost has his turn to the dark side in this one. He almost writes a condemning report on Charlotte to Wayland after he makes Gabriel believe that his father’s death was Charlotte’s fault. Which in a way it was but it had to be done. 

I mean by this is at the end of Clockwork Prince, Charlotte and the gang blackmailed Gabriel’s dad, Bennedict Lightwood, to get him to drop the charges against Charlotte. This saved Charlotte and Henry from losing the institute. Consequently, Bennedict had a fallout with Mortmain. Mortmain stopped giving the cure for his disease, which caused the disease to progress. And this eventually turned him into a warm. So in a way, it is Charlottes fault since if she didn't blackmail him about it, he likely wouldn't have turned into a warm.

At the same time, it had to be done. Not through blackmail but through notifying the clave (which would have been even worse for Gabriel and Gideon). What Bennedict was doing (helping Mortmain) was way too dangerous and bad for the rest of the Shadowhunters. So that had to be stopped somehow.

Gabriel’s almost turn to the dark side makes him feel more real. People falter and have set backs. They don’t start acting all perfect even when they are becoming better people.

Gabriel's relationship with Cecily

Their relationship is so wholesome and fun. They would joke around with each other a lot and have that fun banter. 

Cecily

She is torn between loyalty to her family and doing what she loves. She wants to bring Will home as well as return home herself (which is what her family would have wanted.) But she fell in love with being a Shaowhunter and wants to fight demons, monsters, etc.. with the rest of them. And this conflict is something that most of us experienced as teens. We didn't want to become shadowhunters, of course. But the underlying idea is the same.

Magnus Bane

He is his wise extravagant self. He continues having the wise quotes. Most people consider him more quotable in this book but I liked the “death is oblivion” quote more from the previous one more. 

Counsel Wayland

He is angry at Charlotte for not reporting the Bennedict situation which is fair. She should report that type of a thing to her boss. I don't think he is a villain. What he does is more in line with good old shadowhunter politics.

Mr. Starkweather

Our favorite racist grandpa. He gets his poetic justice with Tessa. Turns out she is her granddaughter. And he decides that family is more important than his hatred for the downworlders so not a racist grandpa anymore.

Mortmain

He is an intelligent villain. His plan with Automatons is genius. Since they are not made of heaven or hell, shadowhunter magic essentially doesn’t work on them. And by adding demons into them from the pyxis, he now has “intelligent” automatons on which magic continues not working. So they become extremely difficult to defeat. 

He also doesn’t care about anything but his goals. He killed Mrs. Black the second that he had Tessa and didn’t find her useful anymore. He doesn’t even care about those who are on his side. To him, everyone who isn't useful is disposable.  

Plot: 

Starts with Bennedict Lightwood turning into a worm due to his demon pox disease. I don’t know if this was a reference to Dune but… I like to believe that it was. It just makes the book more fun that way.

Then, for a while the plot slowed down and shifted towards the side plots with Jem’s Yin Fen and romance. Despite the slightly slower plot, the book was still extremely engaging and almost impossible to put down. The romance and Yin Fen plot lines were interesting in their own ways.

There was also Wayland sending letters to the council. The council apparently likes Charlotte, which makes no sense, since they hated her in the previous book. Those letters are quite sexist. I Do like the more “victorian english” writing style in them, though.

Around the middle of the book, the pace picks up again with Tessa getting kidnapped during the attack on the institute. It shattered that false sense of security.  It was one of those “things just got real" moments.I expected expected something like that to happen. But the way it happened was jarring enough to push me out of that sense of security. 

The Final Battle:

I loved it. Tessa defeated Mortmain through turning into the angel. It was a badass moment for her. And incredibly satisfying.

Angel, Ethereal, delivered the “though had done what is forbidden by the divine" speech through Tessa and then squashed Mortmain like a bug. I love how Tessa defeated him through the use of her powers and through doing something creative (turning into an angel from her necklace). It was an ending that both made sense and relied on Tessa's resourcefulness, skills, and intelligence.

What I didn't like

The reveal that the clockwork angel had an angel spirit imprisoned in it, the job of which was to protect Tessa’s life, didn't make a lot of sense. It made the ending of Clockwork Angel out of place. 

Mortmain new about the necklace since he was the one who gifted it to Tessa’s mom. So he would know it would protect Tessa from killing herself. Then why was he worried that she died again? Or scared of her killing herself? The angel would have stopped her. And she was wearing it while pretending to kill herself in that scene. So the angel not coming out and at least attempting to stop her should have been enough of a hint that she was pretending for Mortmain to call out her bluff.

The timeline also doesn't make a lot of sense. Based on the speed of the events, it should be around summer or maybe fall at the end of Clockwork Princess. But it's December.

[josephinevalor]

Clockwork Princess Review (SHORT VERSION)

By: Cassandra Clare

Length: 567 Pages

Overall, I loved it just like I loved the first two books. 

The strongest point of this book by far had been: characters. It made me feel for and care for every single character out of the main cast, while keeping our villain, Mortmain,  interesting. And they all feel like real people by this point. They are now leaving rent free in my imagination. All of them. 

The plot was overall engaging. The story felt fast paced. Not as fast paced as the first book but still fast paced enough to keep things exciting. 

Where it falls short is there are things within the plot that just aren’t consistent. And the timeline of events are off.  

Rating: 4/5