A Soul Full of Shadows, Derek Landy

 

Book Title: A Soul Full of Shadows

Author: Derek Landy

Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #18

Date Started: April 4th  2026

Date Completed: May 4th 2026

Genres: Fantasy, Action, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Comedy

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

Regardless of where you find yourself in the Skulduggery saga, Derek has yet to disappoint in the new chapter he's added. With more than 20 full-length novels at this point, still every book is a truly original story, always with new ideas and fresh humour to make me laugh out loud (and that never happens). Nothing is redundant in a Skulduggery story, everything comes back around, and everything comes to an end. And, of course, this wasn't the real end.

I struggle these days with the sheer scale of people, places, magic systems and (now) timelines in the Skulduggery Pleasant world. It's somewhat inevitable, 18 main books and several spin-offs down the line, and luckily the hijinks and thrills don't suffer too much from it. I did find the first half of A Soul Full of Shadows a bit of a drag with predominantly talking and lots and lots of set-up, but the second half was a pure joyride and made up for it.

The sequel series/set of trilogies is not what the original 9-book/3-part trilogy series used to be; they've evolved significantly. Some parts I like, some parts I'm not as keen on - but I don't think I'll ever stop coming back for more, so I'm here for whatever road Derek wants to send a burning Bentley down. It would be nice if Tanith got to have something nice for more than 100 pages, though.

Hell Breaks Loose

Book Title: Hell Breaks Loose

Author: Derek Landy

Series: Skulduggery Pleasant

Date Started: June 14th 2023

Date Completed: June 19th 2023

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Historical, Mystery, Horro

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

Hell Breaks Loose is a very entertaining and cleverly placed adventure with our favourite characters from the Skulduggery Pleasant universe, while we await the last book to the sequel series to release. While I would rather the multiverse would stop infiltrating literally every form of media, it's undeniably hats off to one of the few franchises that actually puts effort into its spin-offs, embedding them so well in the main overarching universe while being entirely enjoyable on their own.

This story wasn't what I expected, while simultaneously being precisely what I should have seen coming. Once it gets into the swing of things, it's the classic action-adventure I fell in love with as a child, alongside the good old-fashioned drama and comedy that my adult self appreciates even more so.

The action is always so impressively written; it flows, the chaos is vivid, the movement articulate. You can see it playing out, startingly, in your head like a movie. And, always, Derek plays with violence and conflict and pain in an accessible way without glorifying it; action scenes leave scars, people get hurt, people are conscious of their actions. Those are all factors that so often are just left behind because they're heavy, and even more so with characters who you're supposed to root for without descending your book into discussions on moral philosophy. Derek touches on the dark, but has such an appreciation for the light (be it comedy, characterisation, motivation) that he can do both.

Hell Breaks Loose isn't my favourite in the series, but it's absolutely grounded in its universe, and fully appreciates its place and opportunity. This book is fun and easy to read in a way that a series sometimes limits; it's just what I needed for a little summer holiday action.

Until the End

Book Title: Until the End

Author: Derek Landy

Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #15

Date Started: April 18th 2022

Date Completed: May 10th 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Adventure, Action, Horror, Comedy

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

I love this series - I adore it. But even I have to admit that there is a lot going on at this point. Amazingly, I can still follow most references and a lot of names, but there are some moments where I have to scan my brain. Regardless, these books are just so enjoyable to read. How many books do I get to read that just make me feel happy, make me laugh, and make me proud?

The politics is always so good in Derek's books, especially since he upped the audience's age with this sequel series. And not just the parallels to our own world, but also the empowerment of characters in smaller ways and their own agency within situations that are largely outside of their control. It's nice to know I made good choices as a young reader, and it was an honour to get to grow from a child, to a teenager, to an adult with these books.

Of course, with this being a Derek Landy book, some of the twists are satisfying. But I do want to say I'm not a fan of the trope where everyone is ultimately related to each other - I much prefer when people have their own agency to get themselves into trouble. I don't think it completely strips the characters of their own identities in Until the End, as often happens when this is used, but it was a moment where I just had to have a little sigh before I carried on. That being said, there was also another certain trope at the end and the way Derek pulled it off is the only time I've come across it done well.

Until the End seems to have tied up a lot of threads of the series ahead of what I believe is the final book. That's actually very, very clever; the last one won't need to be obsessed with finishing all these storylines and instead get to tell its own narrative focused on completing the characters' arcs rather than cleaning up in-jokes and mysteries. I'm sure it will be just as epic as we've grown to expect, and are never disappointed by.

Castle in the Air

Book Title: Castle in the Air

Author: Diana Wynne Jones

Series: Howl's Moving Castle #2

Date Started: May 4th 2020

Date Completed: May 10th 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Comedy

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

A lot of people know the story of Howl's Moving Castle, whether from the Ghibli animation or Diana Wynne Jones' book. Fewer people are aware there are sequels, I feel, and that's a shame because this was a lot of fun to read. I think I would've prefered it as a kid as opposed to a twenty-something, but it was still a nice burst of fantastical adventure and humour.

Wynne Jones' world of Ingary, Zanzib and the various other countries that make up its map is genuinely fantastic. It's an obvious parallel to our world (for those of you who've read the book, you'll know I mean this literally), but it has these tiny edges of the fantastic, these flairs of the bizarre and whimsical. Obviously, there are djinns and fire spirits and wizards and moving castles, but it comes down to the stories too: Castle in the Air begins as somewhat of a retelling of Aladdin and other 1001 Nights tales but merges other stories like The 12 Dancing Princesses and even some Wizard of Oz vibes into something new. (For a book written in the late 80s, it's also got a satisfyingly feminist twist, though it takes a while to get to it.)

I loved how large the story felt, like an epic poem, but how neatly everything tied up in a contained way. Threads from within the story itself ended up being the solutions the characters were looking for - coming from literally right under their noses. It felt even more like a fairy tale because of that. On the downside of this was the fact that, while reading it, it seemed to work far better episodically by chapter than read all at once. This is perfect (and a fair bit better than normal books) if you're reading to a child every night, just a bit slow for older readers perhaps.

Admittedly, I enjoyed Castle in the Air way more once Sophie (heroine of Howl's Moving Castle) showed up. She's such a strong character, her little involvement in the story was well crafted, and she is sadly more engaging than Abdullah - when she's in a scene, your attention is so focused on her, and she lights it up. That being said, the initial cast of this novel is still engaging in a fairytale-like way. They play off the tropes in old stories like that, but sometimes the long-winded poetic dialogue grinds you down.

I don't even know how many years it's been since I read Howl's Moving Castle, but I hope I won't take as long to get around to the last novel in this series. I didn't actually know Sophie and co from the first book were going to make an appearance, but looking at the synopsis for House of Many Ways it seems like they'll have a bigger part in the final instalment, which honestly makes me very excited.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

Book Title: The Rest of Us Just Live Here

Author: Patrick Ness

Date Started: October 7th 2015

Date Completed: October 15th 2015

Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Adventure, Comedy
Quality Rating: Five Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Five stars

Review:

It's been a while since I've felt so comforted by a book, and I think that's a sentiment for this book that quite a few people could relate to. Alan Bennett's quote fits perfectly for me here: "It is as if a hand has come out and taken yours." While it's mostly known as a book about side characters rather than heroes (something that doesn't exactly explain the story), to me it's more the message that you don't have to be the chosen one to really be worth something, and you don't have to be up against the supernatural to struggle with your situation.

It doesn't matter what landscape Ness' stories take place in because there's always something about them that just enhances whatever you're reading about so that it can become so personal, sometimes even when you can't quite relate to exactly what's happening. I've thought a lot about this and I don't know what specific element it is, but I think the honesty in the stories has to be a part of it. There's such a natural honesty in his writing that it just makes you feel safe, because it's been proven to you that it's not just you that's felt this way. And even if it isn't a particular mutual experience, the fact that there's this person on the other side of a word, or a page, or a character that is so genuine that they want to just put into words a human existence so that it help someone is hard not to appreciate.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here deliberately juxtaposes the typical fantasy adventure common in (let's be honest here) Young Adult fiction. Something I really loved was the fact that it didn't outright criticise the genre; you do get the feeling Ness respects his fellow authors that have work in this genre. Instead he parallels the formula itself between what would be the regular 'entertaining' read, and then to what the reality would actually be. (If you've read any of my other reviews of Young Adult fantasy adventures, you'll probably have noticed that this was going to go in my good books straight away.) As well as the shockwaves within the story itself, the pre-chapter summaries of what was happening to the "indie kids" (your average Clary and Jace; Tris and Four; Percy and Annabeth) were hilarious. I think most of us are well aware of the near identical patterns of these plots by now, but watching them reduced to small paragraphs with exaggeration on the comedic awareness made it seem so insignificant compared to what was happening to our protagonists.

When I try and look back to comment on events in the story I keep coming back to the same thing: there isn't so much a traditional story throughout this book, there's development of the characters over time, and there's a brilliant idea well carried out. And that's enough. Sure, events happen, and I guess you could pick out a climax and a disturbance if you want, but for me the process of reading about these characters captured my attention and quite frankly my heart strings pretty well on their own. The message of the book is essentially to call out that in the 'real world' that we're given in some books (primarily in urban fantasy I would guess) isn't real at all: issues and suffering aren't solved as easily by defeating the bad guy and getting the girl. Sometimes it isn't about getting a happy ending, it's about being happy with where you are and dealing with the bad stuff while you're there.

I became genuinely attached to everyone in this book (except perhaps Nathan, but that's more to do with the position we're placed in by the narrator). I'll keep going on about the fact that Ness actually takes reality and does it justice, but it's just because it makes me so happy to see people who have issues not be portrayed as completely vulnerable and broken. There was a part near the end of the book where I was terrified Ness was going to romanticise the mental illnesses, or trivialise the familial and political issues - but then again I really should have more faith in Patrick Ness. He is Patrick Ness after all.

Mikey was a great protagonist. Mikey was the perfect protagonist, especially to communicate the message of the book. I would also say that he was a really good way to show mental illness in a slightly less scary way: for people that haven't necessarily experienced it themselves, or aren't close to anyone who has I do sometimes think that it can be easy to feel alienated from the issue because you don't have that personal awareness of it, and when people star talking about the darker sides of it it either pushes them away or throws up defences in someone's brain to avoid it altogether. Ness normalises it to the point where you can understand how 'normal' people struggle with these things - but it doesn't make them completely different to everyone else. And it also doesn't make them special or 'the chosen one.'

I could spend pages and pages (metaphorically since electronic reviews don't have pages) talking about each member of the group individually, but quite honestly you'd get bored - and my job is to tell you about the book, not to make you bored. So to summarise the other characters I'd say that they are a brilliantly diverse group all showing a different aspect of a 'normal' life that presents tough issues, but they all prove that it doesn't have to be solved by becoming incredibly talented and special and saving the world (bit of an exaggeration, but essentially what happens in the book). I adored Mel, and related to her a lot. Her sibling relationship with Mikey really helped me invest in them early on. Henna I loved because she didn't have to have this terrible past that allowed her to now be strong. Jared was genuinely lovely and again didn't have to be all torn up over his issues for him to want to help the others.

Admittedly the beginning of this book was a bit slow for me, especially since it was more in the contemporary genre than I had first expected. But at the end of the day it does establish the 'normality' - or rather lack of it - the characters have in their lives next to these crazy but repetitive narratives about the 'special' kids that wreck the town every couple of decades.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here was exactly what I needed when I read it, but even without that perfect timing I think it can still mean so much to a lot of people. The anti-hero/ant-stereotypical adventure idea is definitely included, but to me the contemporary genre show through a lot more than the fantasy, so I wouldn't recommend going into it when you're in the mood for an entertaining adventure. In fact the whole point of the book is to look at those books and say 'yeah, they're fun. But what the end of the day they avoid the harsher realities of life.'

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22910900-the-rest-of-us-just-live-here

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Book Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Author: Jesse Andrews

Date Started: June 14th 2015

Date Completed: June 19th 2015

Genres: Contemporary, Comedy
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

Final Rating: Three stars

Review:

While at times this book felt like a stereotypical contemporary cancer story, it also had elements of something new. Of course, since I don't really think this was consistent throughout the whole story you can make your own judgements on Andrew's originality, but I personally loved the story and concept of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - but quite frankly the narration irritated me persistently.

Greg's narration harassed me for the entirety of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. For me it just pushed too hard at trying to prove its meaningfulness by expressly claiming that it was pointless and terrible. Andrews forced that so many times I actually started to believe him. On the other hand, this exaggerated a part of the writing I really enjoyed: you could see the affect the experience was having on Greg not through his narration (where he blatantly refused to talk about his own emotions) but through the way his actions evolved throughout the story, and the way other people treated him. I think this created a really solid character, even if I didn't like him that much.

Another aspect I enjoyed writing-wise was the experimentation with formatting. As a writer and filmmaker myself, I understand the desire to unpredictably switch between prose and script and notes at random. It also broke up the long passages of narration really nicely when they were in danger of becoming boring.

Quite honestly, I didn't get along with this book at first - in fact it was only around the last third of the story onwards that I was really invested in what was happening. For me, the film aspects were the most interesting; it was what I was hoping would make this contemporary engaging for me, since I don't usually enjoy modern settings with teenage drama. The problem was, this only really came into play around 200 pages in. However, from there forward I loved the book: there was suddenly more going on, and even the characters felt more genuine and the narration started to have some meaning.

One aspect that caught me off guard was the family portrayals. I've heard this book regarded as really funny and entertaining, but I didn't really get this until the family turned up. I'm not even sure what it was, but some of the reactions to grief or awkwardness or even just affection were so embarrassingly accurate it became hilarious. Even in the grim circumstances, some of the reactions were meant so well but came out so inappropriate, it was very funny.

The characters in this novel weren't sold as awkward and quirky, but actually really great people underneath: something which has come to be somewhat of a convention in teenage contemporaries. But Andrews decide to create honestly flawed characters that don't handle the situation they're in very well at all.

Though I'm not a fan of Greg as a person, I understand why he was used as the protagonist: his narration annoyed me, but his insecure way of looking at things created an atmosphere that was different to a lot of contemporaries I've read. You got the feeling that he genuinely didn't find meaning in his friend's death, and he really didn't think that anything he did was worth anything. In many ways, the ending is even more upsetting because of this - but it was honest, and I really appreciated that.

I felt like Andrews just needed to get to the point a lot faster. I appreciate the development of Greg's character and familiarising the reader with his life and the kind of world he and the other characters were growing up in - but in the end, I'm not sure it added that much to the actual story. In addition, since the main thing that attracted me to this book was the filmmaking aspects, I was quite disappointed to find it barely featured at all until the last hundred pages.

Above most else, I believe that Andrews is actually a very skilled writer: yes, I hated the narration, but the subtext of the characters, particularly Greg himself, was really impressive. Contemporary-lovers will enjoy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and I think anyone with a passion for filmmaking will enjoy the later aspects of this book. If you aren't a fan of high-school stories then you might struggle with the earlier parts of the book, and I would recommend you have an interest in the broad genre itself before picking this book up.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13558605-me-and-earl-and-the-dying-girl

The Dying of the Light

Book Title: The Dying of the Light

Author: Derek Landy

Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #9

Date Started: August 28th 2014

Date Completed: August 31st 2014

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Thriller, Mystery, Comedy, Horror

Rating: Infinite stars

Review:

I don't think I'll ever really be ready to write a review for this book.

Indescribable. Epic. The perfect end.

There's also nothing I can really say without giving the whole thing away.

If you know and love this series, know that it broke its own sky-high standards.

Mr Landy, you are an evil genius, but thank you so much. For everything.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/

show/18131799-the-dying-of-the-light

City of Heavenly Fire

Book Title: City of Heavenly Fire

Author: Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments #6

Date Started: May 29th 2014

Date Completed: May 31st 2014

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Comedy

Rating: Five stars

Review:

City of Heavenly Fire was an awesome end to the Mortal Instruments series, and even though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, it impressed me, entertained me and made me genuinely feel upset or scared or angry more than once. It's sad that the series is over, but I'm excited for the next Shadowhunter Chronicles.

'I am coming', Sebastian had said. And now, with tensions between Shadowhunters and Downworlders at its height, Clary and the others must find a way to put a stop to the slaughter of their kind and defeat the new enemy born of an old one. But he hides in a place no mortal has ever returned from, and Clary must put the lives of her friends and family at risk if they are to succeed. But it's too late: Sebastian has come.

Clare has a wonderful flow to her writing, and a humorous twist in the dialogue and narration that makes her style unique. I've always been impressed with her skill to entwine various characters and stories together in one neat bundle, and she didn't disappoint this time. With even more new faces than before, City of Heavenly Fire might seem confusing at times, when considering each character and their journey, but on a technical level it can only really be admired.

In addition, the action in this book was awesome yet again, and I was glad to see some more capability from previously quiet characters, and less arrogance from those more skilled. The trust and maturity built between the characters through the six books is clear and realistic, and I really enjoyed that. It also had me literally laughing out loud several times.

I have to say, the first part of this book didn't have me jumping for joy: it was too full of unnecessary romance for me. I might ship Malec, Heline and Sizzy, but I'm not too huge on Clace, and even so I like stories that aren't centered around love.

Having said that, once everything kicked off, I was hooked and literally couldn't put the book down. The middle part of this book was definitely the best; so much happens. I was on the edge of my seat for the action scenes; really getting into the political side of the story; and puzzling over the family ties and parabatai relationships. I think this world has so many unique elements to it, and that's what really gives Clare something to stand away from the majority of Young Adult Urban Fantasy.

On the other hand, I believe there were some genuinely good twists in the story that weren't really elaborated on enough in my opinion. Though these were little things that I suppose wouldn't have impacted on the story, I am still curious as to why they weren't answered, or if they were simply forgotten.

Moving on to the end of the book, the climax came far too early for me. Although it felt like a big deal, I thought there was going to be more events afterwards since it seemed so early, and then when it was over I was a bit surprised. Because of this I don't think I appreciated it as much as I could have, which is a shame. I was also let down by the (slight spoiler) lack of death and destruction to come from a seemingly unstoppable adversary.

Then, with a good sixty-or-so pages left for the wind down, the story started to drag a little. It didn't get boring to read, it simply just felt strange to have such a long, quiet ending to the story. I'm not entirely sure I liked it, though I can't say I dislike it either. However, despite the annoying fact that the characters really need to learn to move on, I did enjoy Jem and Tessa's appearance and everything drew together nicely at the end. It really does feel like goodbye.

Unique characters have always been Clare's strong point in her stories: her way of showing their development and the relationships built between them mirrors that of real life and gives something relatable for the audience to understand as they go into a truly fantastical world.

Clary and Jace, though sometimes annoying, do make a good pair. I have to say I did get slightly bored of them quite early on, and they didn't really develop through the story as much as I would have liked - but at least they got the ending everyone wanted them to have.

Simon was my favourite character at the start of the series, and I partly remember why now. He's the least selfish of the group and is probably the best person out of them. Character-wise there isn't much room for growing opinions, however we all love him anyway.

Alec is undeniable my favourite character of the whole series, and his sister Isabelle has joined him. The relationships they have with the other characters are by far the most interesting, and each develop as people so much every book. The main reason I love these two characters so much is because they're complicated, and they have lots of different sides: they sometimes make the wrong choices, and sometimes they feel neglected. They're the most human of the cast, in my opinion, and I will never tire of their banter and their loveable personalities and their darker moments.

Magnus was, as ever, fabulous. It was nice to see him around some of the older characters for a change - though Magnus is always moving around different people, seeing how he reacted around a reasonably tight group of people was interesting. And then, everyone loves sarcastic Magnus, but I love and admire wise and old Magnus too.

I've grown to absolutely love Aline Penhallow and Helen Blackthorn during this book, and I really hope they're included in another Shadowhunter series, because I think they're really good characters and have a great story to tell. I also loved the new inclusion of Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn. I think they're both adorable characters in themselves, but they also had a very different impact on the story and have a long way to go in a future series.

Clare's books are always reasonably fast paced with a engaging action scene here and there to keep the reader's attention, but this book impressed me in the way that even the slower, explanation scenes weren't rushed and took their time to allow the reader to understand what was happening. I think this was especially important in this novel since so many strings are tied up to conclude the series.

For fans of Clare's writing, I think this book was a perfect conclusion to the series, and demonstrated just how far the author has come since the first book. The Mortal Instruments is the kind of series where it's important to read the story in order, and I would even recommend getting through the Infernal Devices trilogy before you dive into City of Heavenly Fire, so if you're interested, try the earlier novels, but hold in mind they get far more in-depth and complex.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18137193-city-of-heavenly-fire

Here's Looking at You

Book Title: Here's Looking at You

Author: Mhairi McFarlene

Date Started: November 11th 2013

Date Completed: November 19th 2013

Genres: Romance, Comedy

Rating: Three stars

Review:

Here's Looking at You actually really surprised me. I got what I was expecting: a romantic adult chick-flick, however there was an extra bonus of some genuinely funny humour and a reasonably good storyline thrown in. I haven't had much experience with the genre, so I'm not too sure how original it is, but I definitely enjoyed it enough to finish it, and it was a nice change from my usual genre.

Anna had a hard time in school, like most of us do. Bullied for her talents, mocked for her looks and humiliated on a grand scale. But that was years ago. Now she’s got a job she loves and friends who don’t care about her unpleasant past. Even the weirdos who turn up to her blind dates aren’t fazing her. That is, until her friends force her to go to a school reunion and meet the tormentors of her childhood. But when no one recognises her, it’s time to try and start again. But is the secret of her identity really as well hidden as she hopes?

I can tell why McFarlene was so successful with her first novel. If it was anything like this, I can see how it appeals to so many people. She has quite a unique writing style: quirky and cheeky but also quite heartfelt. (I admit, sometimes a little too emotional, but I guess it’s quite hard to write a chick flick and hold in the cheese all of the time.)
It was also genuinely funny. I don’t usually find myself laughing out loud about a book, but actually some of the lines in here were quite witty, and I managed to understand quite a lot of the references, despite being younger than the target audience.
I’m not in love with the book’s style, but only because it isn’t the kind of book I love. It’s strange, but in a nice way. It was weird reading something that didn’t have my heart racing every other page (I’m afraid I don’t get that into lost love), but nonetheless, it was refreshing to read something a little different, with a writing style that is understandable relatable and worth reading.

The story didn’t amaze me as being completely different from anything I could have predicted. Of course, you can guess the ending before you even pick up the book, but it’s always the build-up that’s more exciting and engaging. (‘The thrill is in the chase, never in the capture.’)
I have to say, for the most part, I felt like there were lots of little necessary things that didn’t really need to be included because they distracted from the main plot, and just didn’t interest me. Other people might not be too bothered, but I just thought they weren’t really needed in order to get the story moving.
However, the story was cleverly choreographed to have several different stories going on at the same time as the main romance. For example, I loved Anna’s sister’s engagement and the drama surrounding those chapters, along with James’ divorce with his wife. It was all very real, but found ways to make the serious lighter and more funny.
The biggest issue I had with this book was the unrealistic extent of horrible things said and done to Anna. Especially (spoiler!) when her secret is revealed. I honestly can’t see someone reacting the way James did, and alongside making me extremely angry, I was also quite disappointed that a book that had previously been reasonably good at being believable failed at a climax in the story. This was rather quickly resolved, but I do feel that the character’s behavior at that time in the story is a weak point for the book.
(Spoiler ahead! Although, not really, because it’s kind of predictable.) Yeah, it was a cliche ending, but what was I expecting? At least I actually felt kind of happy for the couple and it was quite sweet.

The characters were all as funny and unique as the book’s style, and I could definitely see some of the author’s personality coming through in their actions and emotions.
Anna was quite fun to follow. Although she ends up only having about half of the chapters in the book, she is clearly the main character, and the person the reader feels closest to whilst reading the book. I think she’s a very relatable character, and has that headstrong ability that makes pretty much any situation either go her way or crumble down around her. She’s cheeky and funny and actually quite a nice person, so I was happy to listen to her story.
James annoyed me through pretty much the entire book. He had a very simplistic thinking pattern compared to the clearly intellectual Anna, and that stuck me as strange for such a book. I felt like a lot of the time he was being selfish, and although I understand his feelings towards his wife, I can’y help thinking that he does make himself suffer more through his actions. To be honest, in the end, I didn’t mind his happy ending, but I was more happy for his new partner than I was for him.
I started off liking Laurence, and then hating him. I think this is what was intended, although the swift change in personalities - from a reasonably laddish, but friendly boy to a snappy player - around half-way through caught me off guard a little.
Anna’s friends always had the funniest parts of the plot covered, and I especially loved Michelle.
Finally though, my favourite characters have to be Anna’s family. You can tell there’s lot of tension between them and more than enough reason for them not to get on, but they have this reinforced kind of bond that makes them stick up each other and accept them. I really liked the way that was portrayed, and I looked forward to the parts where Anna was with her sister and mother, since those were the best parts in my opinion: they had humour, drama, emotion and the most interesting conversations of the whole novel.

I have to admit, the pace did give me some issues. I hate to say it, but I did skim-read a lot of this book, merely because I got bored of certain chapters and wanted to get onto something that caught my attention. It was merely that the book is filled mostly with downplay to build up the character’s relationships and let the reader get to know them more. Unfortunately, I found it hard to stay interested in this, so I quickly read to the dramatic parts.
I don’t actually think this is a flaw so much with the writing, more that I’m used to much faster-paced stories and this just wasn’t getting my heart racing.

Despite my rather neutral star-rating of Here’s Looking at You, I do think it’s a good book and great for a nice light summer read. It’s funny and quirky and very sweet at times. I think you need to really like the genre to be able to stay fully focused throughout reading it, however if you have no qualms about taking your time, McFarlene’s novel is probably perfect for you.
I’d advise an older audience, just because there’s quite a lot of humorous references to things I don’t think many young people are aware of and this, obviously, lowers the enjoyment for the reader if they don’t always understand what the writer’s trying to get across.

Thank you to HarperFiction for supplying me with this advance copy for review.

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Clockwork Princess

Book Title: Clockwork Princess

Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices #3

Date Started: October 16th 2013

Date Completed: October 19th 2013

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Action, Historical, Thriller, Comedy

Rating: Four stars

Review:


The Infernal Devices hadn't really caught my attention as much as the Mortal Instruments for quite a lot of reasons, and so I wasn't expecting Clockwork Princess to be amazing. However, I do think that actually it was the best in the trilogy and it did tie everything off nicely, ready for the following series.

Clockwork Princess concludes Tessa, Will and Jem's battle with the Magister. With Jem and Tessa due to be married, and the horrors of the past few months behind the curtain, everything seems quiet for the time being. But with the new arrival of not only Will's sister, but Gabriel Lightwood too, tensions in the Institute are rising, and the threat of Charlotte's banishment as its carer is becoming more real every day. As things start to pile up on the Shadowhunters, it seems that there's even less of a chance any of them are going to come out alive.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm pretty sure there's a difference between Clare's writing in her Mortal Instruments series, and in this trilogy; it just feels like there's something missing here. Perhaps because I'm closer to the characters in her other series, I'm able to connect with the writing more, I don't know. I just feel like there's an enthusiasm in City of Bones, and the following books, that isn't as present in the Infernal Devices.
On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with the writing; the action is still told very well, and the detail and description is at an amount where its interesting and adds to the story, but not boring and distracting from the story. One thing that definitely is the same as her debut series is the gradual splitting of her story lines. Clare always manages to start with one story in her first book of a series, and then be able to span it into five or six or even more by the final instalment. These changes of perspective don't only give us more stories, but also give a more 3D impression of what is going on in the plot, and helps us to understand why everything is spiralling out of control when it does.
The last thing I want to mention about the writing, was the demonstration of parabatai. I've always loved the concept of two warriors connected so completely that it's as if they were brothers - but for whatever reason I never really understood just how much it meant in the Mortal Instruments (perhaps because Jace and Alec actually are technically 'brothers'). But in this trilogy, it really became clear to me just how significant an idea it is. There really was a link between Jem and Will that I've never really seen in a story before, and it benefitted the plot so well, and stopped it from becoming unrealistic (involving the romance side of things).

The story was alright. I think it's the story where Clare falls down a little in her Infernal Devices series. I love reading about the ancestors of her other characters, and a lot of the time the battles and general events that happen aren't that predictable and are genuinely interesting. However those tend to be the smaller, extra details on the side. The main plot, for me, is a bit lacking. This is mainly because it relies on a villain who I don't feel at all threatened by. You need a scary villain to make the reader get scared for the characters in the book, and want them to win rather than the evil person. But I felt like there just wasn't enough of a connection between the Magister and the main characters that made me scared of what he would do to them, I'm afraid.
I think I'll get my negatives out of the way before I go onto the really good scenes. Another thing I wasn't huge on in the story were the letters; the ones between Charlotte and the Consul and then the Clave. I expected them to go somewhere, but they kind of just disappeared into the story and weren't really talked about after a certain point. Maybe I missed some of the details surrounding that, I'm not sure.
Furthermore, Clare can't let her favourite characters die. It's something that always annoys me with books, partly because I can't tell how much I like a character until they die or get seriously - and I mean seriously - hurt (for example, I can usually only tell if I really care about a character if I get sad when they die). To be honest, Clare didn't do what most authors do, and pretend to kill of a character and then bring them back without any valid reason - so just because they couldn't handle their favourite character being dead. (If you've read the book, you'll know the obvious exception to this, but I feel like actually the reason and plot behind that particular resurrection.)
Finally, the last negative I have to say about the actual story is the fact that I was very tired of the Jem, Tessa, Will love triangle by the end. I remember not being too fond of it in the first and second books, as well. I'm not sure why I grew bored of it, but even a few chapters in, I was practically skim-reading their chapters. I think the soppy love declarations every third sentence got on my nerves a little, especially since I don't feel that much chemistry between the characters.
Okay, now that I've got my bad points out of the way, I can talk about the good things (or as much as possible without giving away any spoilers). I absolutely loved the battle. It was prolonged just as much as it needed to be, and there was loads of good action happening during it. In addition, the gradual movement of what happened impressed me, since a lot of authors tend to get ahead of themselves and want all the action and drama to happen straight away and have the actual fight over very quickly. Clare took her time, and allowed everything to play out individually.
I also want to mention the tiny section at the end of the last chapter, just before the epilogue. I will say now that my favourite character is Cecily, and I completely ship her and Gabriel. Therefore, that last little segment where the Herondale siblings visit their parents again was just lovely. It was funny and it was touching and it was great.
And then the epilogue. I liked the way it skipped to 2008, and I love the little differences in Tessa's behaviour in the modern era. I also loved the little recollection of Will's final hours. It was very touching, though I admit I spent most of it working out whose children would go on to have the heroes from the Mortal Instruments' parents. But, the most surprising thing is that I was actually content with the happy ending Clockwork Princess finished with. I don't usually get on with happy endings, because I don't believe that stories end so nicely and quickly - but I suppose knowing that their descendants go on to have many dramas in New York made me a little more open to a pleasant finish for this lot.

It took me a while to connect with these characters, but they have eventually grown on me. I'm not as in love with them as I have been with other characters before, but I do still really like them.
Tessa did annoy me a little, but by the ending of the book I had grown used to her again and was happy that she was happy for the most part. I do wish she had become a little less girly after three books with her being trained as a Shadowhunter, but I do have to remind myself that girls can be non-kick-ass if they want to be, and it worked perfectly well in the book.
I love Jem, but I do think he became a little too repetitive in this book. I do love the way his situation is portrayed, and how he and everyone reacts to it, although I did get a little tired of him saying he'd like to give up again and again and again. Although he did become a lot better around halfway through the book where he started being practical and realistic.
Will has changed, and changed for the better. I remember him being Jace in the first book (not like Jace - actually Jace, I swear) but he has definitely changed from that moody type. I think his development has been brilliant since it has been slow, and clearly had an affect on the characters around him. Furthermore, his character, by the end, really was a hero, rather than perhaps wanting to be one in the earlier books.
Cecily is my new favourite character. I love her relationship with Will, and in a way I wish she had been in more of the previous books, because I would have liked to see her build up relationships with some of the other Shadowhunters. However, the fact that she starred only in this novel did make me like her more and give me less chance to get bored of her. I was very happy to work out that she wears (slight spoiler ahead) Isabelle's necklace for a lot of the book and then goes on to be hers, Alec and Max's great great great great...great? grandmother. I also completely ship her and Gabriel. They had a very nice progression of their relationship and I always looked forward to their little segments most in the chapters.
Charlotte and Henry are adorable. I love Henry, and I wish people would accept him more. He's a genius - I mean, come on, he invented the Portal! Charlotte is also lovely and a great head of the Institute. I would have liked to know what happened to her kids.
Gabriel and Gideon were great. I've already said how I love Gabriel and Cecily, and, though I'm not quite as excited about Gideon and Sophie, I do still think they're sweet. Again, I expected their plot line to go a little further than it did, but their characters were still greatly involved after their singular story finished.
I liked Jessamine's final little inclusion and that's all I really have to say about her.
Magnus was great as always, and I believed his friendship with Tessa and I loved hearing about how he had shown Tessa New York and I could just picture him taking her to all the places in the Mortal Instruments. I'm very glad Clare wrote him into this story, because I've grown to love him even more. (Although it is slightly weird thinking about the fact that Magnus lived with and helped his future boyfriend's ancestors...it's just a weird thought.)

The pace of the book was nice and consistent, and the fights were evenly spaced throughout the story. The only issue I had with pacing was the fact that the Tessa/Will/Jem chapters were a lot longer than any of the others, and I've already said that that plot wasn't really my favourite of all the stories - however I didn't hate reading these chapters, I just wish it had swapped around a little bit more.

Clockwork Princess was a very good ending to The Infernal Devices, and I enjoyed it more than the rest of the series. You should definitely read the trilogy if you're a fan of Clare's writing, or if you want to try some historical, romantic paranormal novel. But you absolutely have to read the previous books first - but they get better as they go along, promise!

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Shift

Book Title: Shift

Author: Kathy Reichs
Series: Tory Brennan #2.5

Date Started: September 23rd 2013

Date Completed: September 23rd 2013

Genres: Mystery, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Comedy

Rating: Four stars

Review:

I really liked this novella. It was a nice quick read to remind me of Tory and her friends before the new book comes out early next year. I have to admit, the recapping of the previous adventures for people that hadn't read the actual series did get a bit boring after the first few pages, but when that died down I was able to really get into the story and enjoy the novella.


Shift takes place between Seizure and Code. Tory's great aunt Temperance Brennan (the famous anthropologist and protagonist of Reichs' bestselling series) is visiting her hometown after a break-in at the LIRI research facility where her father works. Determined to impress her idol, Tory and the rest of the Virals get on the job of solving the mystery before the adults.

Kathy Reichs writing, I know, is very good in her adult books. However, I think the transition into Young Adult fiction is a little too exaggerated. It's absolutely fine to read, and works perfectly well for its purpose - I just wish it was a little more sophisticated, since some of the language used is very technical (due to the author having forensic science experience herself).
Having said that, Reichs does know how to create suspense for not-particularly threatening situations, which is helpful in younger fiction, since it's harder for events to become truly serious whilst still being appropriate for the audience.
What I really liked about this novella was the fact we get told the story from all of the Virals' points-of-view at various points. I particularly like Ben's: I could definitely pull his personality away from the words.

The story was okay. It wasn't great, but it's hard to write a great story in such a short space of time - especially when you go into as much detail as Reichs; and have to spend a good twenty-or-so pages explaining previous events the characters have gone through.
What stopped this story from really going downhill was Tempe's inclusion. I loved seeing her function, since I have yet to read Reichs' main protagonists' adventures. I really like her attitude and charisma. She added that little incentive for the Virals to figure out the mystery as fast as they could.

I don't usually get along with typical modern-day characters because I find them kind of boring. I like fantasy and adventure and sci-fi. But I love all the characters here, despite the fact they're just normal people in the normal world. (Ignoring the fact that the protagonists here are Virals...)
Tory is a great protagonist. I love seeing a genuinely clever female lead be pretty much completely independent and without needs for looks or anything else other than her brain, and the occasional bit of support from her friends. You rarely get characters like that these days, so she's definitely a breath of fresh air. (I also love the way that the books kind of mock the mocking of liking science etc.)
Ben is great. I want to give him a hug half the time - not that he'd let me. He's like the typical male interest in Young Adult fiction, only he's insecure not about some deep, dark past or anything, but literally about normal things like liking a girl - and not in the pouting, annoying way either.
Hi is great. I've always really liked him. He's the kind of guy I'd really like to just be friends with - a complete idiot, but actually really lovely, and useful. He's probably the most sarcastic, and I think he's the one Tory's the closest to (friend-wise). Not sure why, but that's just the kind of feeling I get.
Shelton has never really stuck out that much for me, which is a shame. I got to know him more in this, since he narrated a couple of the chapters, and I really liked that. I just feel like he doesn't really stick out from the rest of them. (e.g. Hi's the computer-wizz, Tory's the pack leader, Ben's the muscle.) Having said that, I do still completely love Shelton.
Tempe was great. I'm really looking forward to reading the books that feature her as the main character now. It's also great because we've heard so much about her, and she's been included in little phone conversations before, but we've never actually met her in the Tory Brennan series. But she lived up to the expectations Tory gave the reader.

The pace was quite fast, since a whole mystery had to be solved in around 80 pages, so you weren't really given time to get bored. Despite the fact quite a lot of it was predictable, the little details and the fact we're thrown right in from the start lets the reader get into the story a lot easier.

I really liked Shift. It was less detailed than the series, but that's to be expected in a novella. But all the Tory Brennan books are really enjoyable, and quite informative most of the time. If you're not sure about the series, this could be a good taste, although I think the main books are better.

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Last Stand of Dead Men

Book Title: Last Stand of Dead Men

Author: Derek Landy
Series: Skulduggery Pleasant #8

Date Started: August 31st 2013

Date Completed: September 4th 2013

Genres: Fantasy, Action, Comedy, Thriller, Romance, Horror, Mystery

Rating: Five stars

Review:

I don't think I've ever been as completely speechless as I was when I first finished this book (and several times during). I still haven't quite come to terms with the twists, and I have no idea where the hell the story is going to go from here. But I know one thing: that was possibly the most awesome thing I have ever read to date. I had high expectations, but the final product didn't even come close - as in it overshot those expectations by...a lot.

Note - there will be a spoiler section in this review because I need to vent these feels.

Last Stand of Dead Men is the beginning of the war. But not a war between good and evil; between mortals and mages; between the good guys and the bad. This is a war between Sanctuaries. Fellow mages turning on each other. The sparks have been there the whole time, but now they've been lit and everyone is getting dragged into it. At the same time, Valkyrie and Skulduggery are desperately trying to find a way to stop Darquesse from rising and destroying the world. But time is running out and even Valkyrie's reflection knows her original copy isn't strong enough to hold back for long.

I've always loved Derek's writing. He's amazing at combining so many different genres and aspects into it. Last Stand of Dead Men did take me longer to read than the other books, because it's not only longer, but the writing is more detailed and sophisticated. I've always said that, as the stories have gone on, Landy has really developed along with them. For example, the earlier books are simpler both in plot and style of writing, but this style has adapted as the target audience (of which I am proud to be a part of) has grown up, as well as the author.
The action is flawlessly told, and amazingly exciting to visualise. I love the description, even though it's reasonably simple - but it's just right to fit into the passages and get the desired affect on the reader. The dialogue is great and everything ties in really well together.
There's a very comedic flare to the narration (on top of the hilarious dialogue running through even the serious moments) that engages the reader very well. You get to know the characters really well form whoever's story a certain chapter follows. Since the story is told in the third person, we don't get direct quotes from the character's mind, but we still get their kind of attitude and perspective though the way Landy does present it.

Where to start with the story? So, so much happened. So, so many twists. I can't even begin to describe how well though-out this book was.
I have to say, I did have a bit of trouble at the start with remembering all the characters and everything that had happened in the previous book. The first couple of chapters didn't make much sense to me, and I ended up skim-reading them again once I had reminded myself of the events of Kingdom of the Wicked. After that, however, everything fell into place and became truly awesome.
I love how much the story developed. The book isn't short, I know. But still, within 600 pages, an astonishing amount occurred. And every part of it had me utterly transfixed. When I got about halfway through, I couldn't put the book down. I lost a lot of valuable sleep over this. But it was worth it.
The twists were legendary. I didn't see them coming until they happened. And then I was literally just staring at the page. Like I said before, I have never been so utterly speechless and clueless before. The brilliant thing was also that it wasn't so completely ridiculous that it couldn't be true. Sometimes twists like the ones in this novel are just too far fetched and they just don't work. But I didn't question the revelations. There also weren't just one or two twists; they were appearing throughout the whole book. You didn't have time to process what happened until something else came up. I was shocked by a most of it - which was great because it meant I was feeling something. I very nearly cried - very nearly.
But some of the events in this book must have been thought of AGES ago. I'm talking second-or-third-book ages ago. I wouldn't have been able to keep quiet about those things for that long! Especially since they're so huge and...huge!
The ending. You couldn't leave it on a bigger cliffhanger. I'm used to the Skulduggery books ending on cliffhangers, but this was just mean. (Somewhere in Ireland, Derek Landy is sitting, grinning at his own evilness.)

One of the things I found really hard to deal with - more at the start, I admit - was the sheer amount of characters. I often mistook some of the smaller people with each other, which confused things a little. However, after the first third, I managed to get to grips with everyone.
I could go on for hours about each character, because there must be literally hundreds, but these are, in my opinion, the best and most important.
Oh Valkyrie. You are such an amazing character. So realistic; conflicted, guilty, selfish, making mistakes all the time. That's what makes her so brilliant; she is in no way a hero. Yet at the same time, she strives for what's important. She saves peoples lives and she wants to do what's right. But she makes mistakes, and good intentions fail her, like they do to so many of us (just, in our cases, not on the saving the world scale).
Skulduggery remains to be a truly amazing mystery. I love the fact, even eight books in, we still don't know him that well. And he's still shrouded in secrets. This is emphasised by the fact that we're never given a chapter following Skulduggery's story. We have one for pretty much everyone else, but Skulduggery is always portrayed through someone else's series of events. It's a great technique, and I'm not sure I ever want to learn everything about Skulduggery. I always love mysterious characters; they're interesting because we don't know everything about them.
If you were to ask me who my favourite character was from this series, I would cheat and say all the Dead Men. Because I think I might have actually fallen in love with them. (Yes. Plural.) The Dead Men alive and participating in this book are: Erkskine Ravel, Ghastly Bespoke, Dexter Vex, Saracen Rue and Anton Shudder. I could write whole essays on each of them, but I'll try and keep it quick. They each have their own certain flare, but all share their love of sarcasm, dark humour, quick wits and disturbing tempers. We've known Ghastly since the first book, and Ravel has been around for a while now. But I really loved seeing Vex, Rue and Shudder more in this book. We've met them before, but they became primary characters in this instalment of the series. It's great to see the legends Skulduggery's been telling Valkyrie for ages in real life - and even more hilarious to hear their own stories.
I was so glad Fletcher came back. Oh I love that boy. He's a complete idiot, and infernally irritating, but he's so good. I felt so sorry for him for what happened, and I don't think he did deserve it. But of course, I was glad it happened, because it was great in the storyline. He's very real to me, because you can see when his emotions are affecting him - and that's quite a lot of the time.
You gotta love Tanith and Billy Ray. They're great. They weren't in the book as much as I'd expect, but then again they did just have a 'novella' (I can't even type that with a serious face) all to themselves. But I think they're a great pair and they always add both humour and drama to the story.
I was very entertained to find Ashione Flare in the story. It was strange, because I was just thinking about the girl she's based on, and if she would ever be involved in the story since she's such good friends with the author. And then the next chapter I read featured her alias. It was strange to say the least. Apart from the fact I know the origin for the character, I really loved Ashione anyway. She's feisty and her inclusion was great.
Where is the Kenny story going? I'm so scared he's going to bring everything tumbling down (or more than it already has, anyway). He's great, and I like the way we get to see a mortal's impression of the magical world. It brings everything into perspective.

The pace was great. I found it a little slow to begin with, but that's because I was reminding myself of what had happened and the beginnings of the war had to be set up before it started. After that, however, it was fast and I couldn't put the book down.

[Spoiler Section - do NOT read if you have not read the book yet, and plan to.]
Darquesse! I have so many questions that need answering. What's going to happen there? Are they going to get Valkyrie back? Is Stephanie going to turn into Valkyrie, and then kill Darquesse? Will Skulduggery turn into Vile to help? What's going to happen? The build up to this part of the plot was so good - especially that chapter where Darquesse has taken over, and Valkyrie getting subdued and basically wiped out. Darquesse genuinely scares me, which is a first. And I think she's just as formidable and dangerous as she's been said to be throughout the last couple of books.
Stephanie. What a stroke of genius. I suspected Valkyrie's reflection was going to have a big part in her downfall, and everything that happens building up to the climax of the last book, but I didn't expect this! I admit, I was uncomfortable with Stephanie almost replacing Valkyrie, once she turned bad. Stephanie almost acts like a microcosm for the war between Sanctuaries: she's tired of being brushed aside and wants to be the important one. And if you think about it, while Valkyrie may be better when it comes to the magical side of things, Stephanie is actually superior when it comes to the mind. She remembers everything; every lessons Skulduggery or anyone else taught her; she remembers little details; she understands things to a different perspective than Valkyrie, but still in a sophisticated way. And Stephanie loves her and Valkyrie's family just as much as her original. So why shouldn't she have a life too? I love the way we're made to question this by Landy. It's awesome, and made me feel guilty about the uneasy feeling I got when Stephanie joined the gang.
I'm not going to say much about the deaths but, as much as it may hurt me, they were so vital to the story. I didn't see the coming, which made it hurt all the more. I actually just stared after Ghastly and Shudder were murdered. I didn't even know it had happened at first. Derek writes like that; so casually. It gives a strange affect of where you're detached, like it's not real. This is amazing because it's what I expect actually witnessing something like that would be.
[End of Spoiler Section.]

I recommend Last Stand of Dead Men to everyone. You MUST read the other books first, but do take into account that the story and writing develops and improves as the story goes on. The first book isn't as sophisticated as this novel - not that there's anything wrong with that - but I don't want people to be put off the books because they think the first instalment is too 'simple'.
But you should definitely go and read the series. It's one of the few stories that makes me laugh out loud, makes me nearly cry, and leaves me speechless. The action is wonderfully done, the characters are practically real and the depth and complexity of the story as it grows is indescribable. Go read. Now. If you're still reading this, then you haven't read it yet. Go.

And finally I leave you with this piece of advice: it's a very bad idea not to take the title seriously.

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Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale

Book Title: Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale

Author: Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan
Series: The Bane Chronicles #3

Date Started: July 23rd 2013

Date Completed: July 26th 2013

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Action

Rating: Five stars

Review:

I think I'm starting to enjoy these novellas more than the actual series - they're a lot more mature and Clare pays a lot more attention to the story lines. It's also not consumed by two certain characters: it may well follow Magnus, but there's a lot of other characters that share the limelight with him and that we get to know.


Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale is set at the time when the Accords between Shadowhunters and Downworlders is being produced. Magnus joins the counsel in London, along with other fellow Downworlders and a selection of Shadowhunters, But the debates aren't as straightforward as Magnus might have hoped, and as the discussion spirals out of control, he decides to distract himself with a new friend that resides in London's Institute: Edmund Herondale.

There's definitely a style to Clare's writing, that fits wonderfully with Brennan's. After two books, they've gotten into the rhythm of writing together, and their own texts have combined comfortably to suit each other. I'm curious to compare Clare's writing on her own when I get around to reading the rest of her novels.
The description is a bit lacking of vibrance for me - but I'm a description geek. It's perfectly well done, and everything does have a certain level of vividness. The action is beautifully done, and the speech includes just the right amount of humour and seriousness to keep it engaging and relevant for the reader. I think this is appropriate especially for Magnus, since he's such a sarcastic personality, yet still has a reasonably high level of maturity.
It isn't really something we have in The Mortal Instruments (I haven't read The Infernal Devices yet, so I couldn't say about them) since all the characters are actually reasonably young, and those who are older tend to get a lot less time in the story or are presented oddly. This is probably the reason I'm starting to prefer the Bane Chronicles over The Mortal Instruments: because it has a certain level of maturity and 'business' that I can't pick out in her other work. Having said that, it is still quite lighthearted (despite the violence etc).

I think this was the best story out of the Bane Chronicles so far. Mostly because there actually was one. In the other stories, it seems to be just Magnus messing around or getting into trouble; there was actually a purpose in the third novella. And it all drew to a close at the end, like an actual story, rather than just leaving a frayed edge like a lot of novellas tend to do.
Furthermore, there were two plots running at the same time. To satisfy my older mind, there was the politics of the Accords and how the disagreements were reacted to, how it affected everything etc. I really like this, and it proved to me that Clare can write really good quality writing that isn't just romance and typical Young Adult things. And then, there was the typical Magnus side of the story, with his relationship with Edmund. The thing I really love about Magnus is he is clearly easily besotted, yet he has a unique way of going about everything; he's got a very closed-off personality and he's very careful who he reveals himself to. This fascinates me, and makes these little elements in the stories catch my interest very quickly.

Another thing I really loved about this novella was reading about all the ancestors of the characters in The Mortal Instruments. It got really confusing, and I still can't work out how far back it must be (a couple of generations?) but it just gave me a little extra thrill when I could associate each of the characters with people I already know and love from her other writing.
Magnus is growing to be one of my favourite characters from Clare's creations. He's so dynamic, and has multiple sides. There's always something you can read into and he's got that attitude that makes him funny, but also hints at a darker past and inner emotions. I think he's incredibly interesting. I'm glad these novellas have been created so I can really get to know his character a lot more.
I didn't make the connection with Camille as the vampire in City of Fallen Angels (which was incredibly stupid of me), but once I did it all started to make sense. I really like the way Clare has made these little connections that start to explain things in her other work, because it really ties everything in and makes it a lot more realistic and engaging since it makes the reader work to fit the puzzle pieces together in their minds, rather than just reading and having no reaction to it. I think she's a good character and I love the twists and turns her life holds.
Edmund was really sweet. He was a jerk at first, but a funny one. By the end I felt really sorry for him - and sorry for Magnus too. I also admire Edmund for doing what he did. It must have been tough - and I know it's not real - but I think it was a very good plot twist. (I just wish there had been more about how it had affected the decision of the Accords.)
And then there's all the other families: the Morgenstens; Wayland; Fairchild; Herondale (and no Lightwoods - I assume they're either in America or Alicante?) There wasn't much detail about their connections to the protagonists of Clare's other books, but it was still really nice to just be able to connect the names to people we already knew.

This isn't your typical fast-paced, action-packed Clare story. It's a lot more thoughtful than that. It isn't slow to start, or boring at all - it's just not what you would commonly expect, and I really found that attractive. She managed to make tension and danger and climaxes without having to use action or threats to make her intents clear; she did it purely with writing.
The great thing is there still is some action in it, and there definitely are climaxes and slower parts and everything that a good story needs in order to draw everything together. It was very well balanced and spread out through the story. There was just the right amount of thoughtfulness to make the reader think and sympathise, and then there was the exciting parts to give the audience a thrill.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Clare's writing. It's also a really good introduction to her writing, and her series' - so if you're not sure her writing is your thing, you can read this and try it out. I think it's the best in the Bane Chronicles so far, so if you didn't like the other ones, you might like this. It's got action, romance, fantasy, thoughtfulness and a level of maturity that isn't obvious in Clare's other work, so older readers might find it more engaging too.

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