3.5/5
I have not read anything by Cassandra Clare since The Mortal Instruments series which I read many, many years ago. I didn't read The Infernal Devices or The Dark Artifices series, though I did read The Red Scrolls of Magic recently which I absolutely loved. I was in school, and getting my life started when they came out and I just didn't have time time or money to devote to new series. So to say I am no longer overly familiar with her writing style would be an understatement. I am still familiar with the general world of the Shadowhunters as I am a huge fan of the Netflix show, even though I do recall that the show deviated a great deal from the books after a while.
Overall, I liked the book. I liked the plot, the diverse cast of characters and familiar last names like Herondale, Fairchild, and Lightwood. I always appreciate Clare's take on love, her inclusion of LGBTQ characters (Magnus Bane is, and always will be, one of the great fictional loves of my life), and characters with diverse racial backgrounds (which is sorely lacking in the show). If I am being entirely honest, my biggest complaint about the book comes from Clare's need to rename everyone in the book two and three times! I had a very difficult time keeping a huge cast of characters straight, which was made even more difficult by the fact that everyone had one, and sometimes two nicknames. Also, being a big fan of the show and not having read the other series, I was expecting the series to be set in modern times. It is set in 1903. Not sure why the cover didn't tip me off, to be honest. Now, back to the naming debacle.
For instance: James Herondale, also known as Jamie. Okay, that I can follow. But Christopher being shortened to Kit? I've only ever heard of that once, and that was in A Discovery of Witches. It makes no sense to me as a nickname. But my favourite of all the surprise name changes: Cordelia. Our main character. She is cool, brave, has a wicked weapon, and is generally a very awesome heroine. We've established her name: Cordelia. Her nickname? Daisy. Her other nickname?! Layla. Why on Earth does one character need to go by three names. It is not mentioned in passing. It is constant switching - her family calls her Layla, her friends, Daisy. The book is third person, Cordelia. This constant renaming of characters really took me out of the experience of actually reading the book. I was constantly trying to figure out who was whom, and when I had to put the book down for a few days (less than a week) it was like starting all over trying to relearn everyone. In a book with such a huge cast of secondary characters, 99% of whom have incredibly generic names, it is really unfair of the author to then name, rename, and rename again her main characters. This incessant need for changes is the reason that I scored the book so low, compared to how much I enjoyed the plot. It pulled me fully and completely out of the experience of the read and that is not something the author should be messing around with.
Otherwise I found the plot interesting and engaging, I liked the setting, especially the Hell Ruelle which I could have used more of (though more of it wouldn't have helped the plot along at all), and the characters were relatable. I do find that I am left with a lot of questions, especially surrounding Matthew (whose name sometimes gets shortened to Math and I believe he was referred to as something else as well, though I can't recall). Understandably, as this is a new series, Clare wanted to leave things to be discovered in later books. I will definitely be picking up the rest of the series, but one can only hope I can remember who is who...
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