My name is Ardis and I am an avid reader and budding writer. I want to share my love of books with others. I work with kids and am interested in finding and creating books that will ignite the reader in everyone. Contact me at: ardis.atkins@gmail.com
Synopsis (From Goodreads): What if damnation is the price of true love?
Innocent
blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred
stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of
Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One
fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to
discover the source of the blight that is destroying the race of
warlocks.
Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to
put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to
Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the
Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a
dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race
against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters
before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and
everyone they love.
Review: Queen of Air and Darkness is a mammoth of a book. At over 900 pages, this book is a gift for fans of the Shadowhunters series. All the major characters are back, from Julian and Emma, to Jace and Clary. And they are not just making cameos! I really enjoyed all the characters, the plot, most of the romance, and the overall message of acceptance.
What I Liked:
Characters: The Blackthorns: I love that we get to really get to know all the Blackthorn children. Each sibling is mourning the death of Livvy, but also has other big issues. Helen is finally back with her family, but struggles to connect with her siblings. Mark is torn between the fairy prince, Kieran, and Emma's best friend, Christina. Julian is struggling with his romantic feelings toward Emma. Drusilla desperately wants to be valued by anyone. And Ty is deeply in denial over Livvy's death. Only Tavvy (who is maybe six years old?) seems to be doing all right, but his older siblings are constantly concerned for Tavvy's safety.
Other Beloved Characters: Jace, Clary, Alec, and Magnus are back baby!!! I would say that a tiny criticism of the other two books in The Dark Artifices series is that author Cassandra Clare would pop these characters into her books, but they weren't really part of the plots. Not so in this book. Jace and Clary are up to their superhero antics, and I couldn't be more pleased. I love that Clary really is recognized for her efforts in this book. Alec and Magnus are also a big part of the story. I love their devotion to each other and to their family. Plot: The Shadowhunter government in Idris has been taken over by extremists who want to isolate shadowhunters from downworlders and fairies. In order to do this, Horace Dearborn and The Cohort (a group of young people reminiscent of Hitler's Brownshirts) stir up fear of downworlders, and are quick to silence any opposition. I can't help but wonder if she is making parallels between the plot and the current anti-immigration sentiment throughout the world. I appreciated that Cassandra Clare makes the point that a society can go from open and inclusive to isolationist quickly, particularly if people are uninvolved and complacent. Romance: There is a lot of wildly romantic relationships in Queen of Air and Darkness. Besides Alec and Magnus's, there is the huge dilemma for Julian and Emma. They are parabatai, and have been told that romantic love for them would lead to disastrous results. Yet they can't seem to stay away from each other. This leads both Julian and Emma to extreme measures in order to either break the parabatai bonds, or stop their feelings completely.
Message: One of the most wonderful aspects of all the Shadowhunters books is the overriding message of acceptance for all kinds of love, all types of people. There are several characters who are gay, and others who are bisexual. There is also a transgendered character, and even a romantic relationship between three characters! Okay, the three person relationship did make me uncomfortable, but I understood the point of it. The author is showing many different types of genders, sexualities, and relationships in order to send the message that people need to stop judging others.I think this is a message we all need right now. Rating:
Release Date: December 4th, 2018 Author: Cassandra Clare Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books Genre: YA Fantasy Page Length: 912 pages Source: Public Library Format: E-Book Recommendation: If you are a fan of this series, you will love this grand finale. Full of beloved characters, this is a very satisfying read. Be aware that although this is a YA book, there are several very sexy scenes in this story. The descriptions never get to the level of mommy porn. But I would say this would be more appropriate for high school readers and above.
Synopsis (From GoodReads): Simon Lewis has been a human and a vampire, and now he is becoming a Shadowhunter. But the events of City of Heavenly Fire
left him stripped of his memories, and Simon isn’t sure who he is
anymore. He knows he was friends with Clary, and that he convinced the
total goddess Isabelle Lightwood to go out with him…but he doesn’t know
how. And when Clary and Isabelle look at him, expecting him to be a man
he doesn’t remember…Simon can’t take it.
So when the Shadowhunter
Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of
demon-hunting, determined to find himself again. His new self. Whomever
this new Simon might be.
But the Academy is a Shadowhunter
institution, which means it has some problems. Like the fact that
non-Shadowhunter students have to live in the basement. And that
differences—like being a former vampire—are greatly looked down upon. At
least Simon is trained in weaponry—even if it’s only from hours of
playing D&D.
Join Simon on his journey to become a
Shadowhunter, and learn about the Academy’s illustrious history along
the way, through guest lecturers such as Jace Herondale, Tessa Gray, and
Magnus Bane. These ten short stories give an epilogue to the Mortal
Instruments series and provide glimpses of what’s in store in the Dark
Artifices.
Review: When I read the first Shadowhunter book, City Of Bones, several years ago, I was not overly impressed. I thought the writing was terrible! My favorite worst line from that book was:
"The Weapons room looked exactly like a weapons room should look like".
Huh? But I loved the characters, particularly Simon and his friendship with the main character, Clary. And the writing improved, vastly, over the course of the series. I grew to love everything about these books but wished there was more about Simon in them.
This is a book centered around Simon, and I couldn't be happier!
Simon: Obviously, I adore Simon. But he really got a chance to show even more of his ironic sense of humor, and his deep love of coffee! Also, the book really showed that he was someone worthy of being a Shadowhunter. He was always concerned for others, and made sure to stand up to those who treated the mundane students as inferior.
He also had to start over again with Isabelle. At the end of the regular series, Simon loses him memories, in exchange for the lives of his friends. He got some of them back from Magnus, but he really doesn't remember being friends with Clary, Jace, and Alec. And he has no memory of being Isabelle's boyfriend! He is filled with self-doubt over why Isabelle would have wanted to be with him? Finding his value, Simon must trust that he is deserving of her love.
The School: I liked that this Shadowhunter school was not a bit like Hogwarts. The rooms are infested with critters, the plumbing is bad, and the food is gross. This makes for lots of humorous moments as Simon and his fellow students must find ways to adapt to this school.
I also liked the tension between the students who were born into Shadowhunter families, and those who were not. This is kind of like Harry Potter, as the mundanes are treated as second-class citizens (much like the muggle-born wizards and witches in HP). What I liked about this was that this changed by the end of the book.
Also, in order to become a full Shadowhunter, students had to drink from the Mortal Cup. This was dangerous, as sometimes the cup rejected the drinker and killed them! So this created a lot of tension in the story as the time for the students (Simon included) to drink from the cup drew near.
Isabelle: Isabelle is depicted throughout the books as almost a warrior goddess, and one might wonder why she is with Simon. As they try to find their way back to each other, we can see why she loves Simon, and what Isabelle gets out of the relationship. I loved that Cassandra Clare delved into this. It was wonderful to see how much Isabelle cared for Simon. And what she does to get his attention is fun to read. I laughed out loud several times due to the situations Isabelle and Simon get in as they try to date like a regular couple.
What I Didn't Like:
Although I loved this book, I think many people who are only casual fans will miss all the little references that make this such a special book for Shadowhunter fanatics, such as myself.
If you want to go to this academy, you'll need to do your homework!
So if you want to get the full enjoyment out of Tales from The Shadowhunter Academy, I suggest you hit the books. This book is a sweet treat at the end of a very satisfying feast.
Rating:
Release Date: November 15th, 2016
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: Bought by me
Format: E-Book
Recommendation: Read this if you are a super fan of the Shadowhunter series. Otherwise, you might need crib notes.
I am writing this post today, not as a rant, but to compare two wildly different representations of how people on "The Spectrum" are shown in the media. I have been thinking a lot about this lately as I read Cassandra Clare's Lady Midnight. I couldn't be more pleased with how her character Ty (short for Tiberius) is shown. When I think of the television show The Big Bang Theory, I cringe at how the character of Sheldon seems to be the butt of most jokes.
In both Lady Midnight, and The Big Bang Theory, there is never an explicit acknowledgement that Ty or Sheldon are autistic, but the signs are obvious. Ty is sensitive to noise, and textures; he needs routines and can't look people straight in the eye. Sheldon has similar issues: he can only sit in a specific chair, has routines for eating food, and doesn't understand many social norms.
BothThe Big Bang Theory and Lady Midnight seem to go to great pains to omit the term of autism in their stories. I actually went to a forum at Silicon Valley ComicCon that had the writers for the Big Bang Theory as speakers. They said Sheldon WAS on the spectrum, but that they didn't want him to be "labeled". Cassandra Clare also doesn't actually say Ty is autistic. In some ways, I can understand why both have done this. They want the audience to see these characters as real people. But I wish there wasn't such a stigma surrounding the term. There is nothing wrong with being autistic. This is just another presentation of what it is to be human. Yes, people dealing with autism have certain issues with social interactions, and some of these issues are severe. But I really wish people would stop making it a shameful term (okay, I guess I did have a mini rant inside of me). When I think about how Sheldon's issues are dealt with on The Big Bang Theory I cringe. All of his seemingly quirky behavior is his way of coping with stress. But most people just make fun of it. The only character that seems to have developed any true empathy for Sheldon is Penny. Once in a while, Sheldon will set the other characters straight and explain why he is behaving that way. But I think after nine seasons, you would think that the other characters would be more sympathetic.
Contrast that to Lady Midnight where, in his family setting, everyone just accepts Ty as he is. No one berates him for his behaviors. His older brother, Jules, constantly thinks of ways he can adapt items for Ty to use as fidget toys, and he is attuned to situations that will be upsetting to Ty. The family sees the positive things Ty contributes: he is great at solving problems, finding information and using technology. Jules worries about how Ty will be treated if he goes to the Scholomance school. He points out that instead of accepting differences in people, the Clave (the government in charge of Shadowhunters) prefers to make different people keep to the shadows. They don't want to acknowledge that there are a variety of people who may be better suited to tasks other than being a Shadowhunter.
Isn't that what our society also does? I think that if people are different there is a tendency to try and "fix" them, rather than look at how they are contributing to society in their unique way. This is why I enjoy fantasy novels so much. The authors can point out real-life issues through the mask of another universe.
I have not finished the book yet, so I am hoping that Cassandra Clare doesn't kill Tiberius off or have something awful happen to him later in the series. I just hope that people will read Lady Midnight and truly SEE Ty's character as a wonderful, unique person who will do amazing things in life. He is not a burden. He is not "special". Tiberius is simply himself, and that is enough.
Updated Note: In my post, I used both the terms Autistic and dealing with Autism. I know there is a huge debate as to what the correct phrase should be. And I struggled with the phrases to use. There is a wonderful article about the pros and cons of each term: Identity-First Language on the Autistic Self Advocacy Network if you want to learn more.
The day has come at last!!! I have watched the creation of this show via Twitter and the Shadowhunters TV Website, from casting, location photos, and costumes, to the set visits with author Cassandra Clare. I was already a total fan! Now I get to delve in to the first episode and really discuss it.
The first episode is the set up for the whole series. It introduces the characters and lets us see a glimpse of this universe. I watched the show with my "Mundane" husband. Of course, I know the story backwards and forwards. But I wanted to see if the storytelling would make sense to him. So, I quizzed him after the show. I think he was a bit puzzled trying to sort out the various groups and so he isn't sure if he liked it Shadowhunters or not. I, however, unabashedly loved it!!!
Jocelyn was such a bad-ass fighter! I loved that she kicked butt and she got a chance to show she was a true Shadowhunter.
Simon was adorable and you could see there was great chemistry between him and Clary. I loved Simon's reactions when he couldn't see who Clary was talking to. So funny!
Isabelle was as stunning as I imagined her from the books. I thought her outfits were really amazing and I liked her interactions with Clary.
Jace was arrogant, bossy, handsome, and very funny. "What? No thank you for saving your life?" Again, he is just as I thought he would be from the novels.
Clary was so sweet and cute! I loved her rapport with Simon and how she only needed a look to shoot Jace down.
Special Effects:
I was worried that the effects would be cheesy but overall I was impressed.
I thought the glowing green demon eyes were a particularly nice touch and it helped the audience figure out who was a demon and who was not.
I also enjoyed the runes on the shadowhunters. I liked that they seemed like they were formed with blood, and were not tattoos.
Dialogue:
Some of the lines were priceless, especially if you are a fan of the books!
I had a big smile on my face as Clary lamented, "My life couldn't be more mundane."
All the times Simon references how strange Clary is behaving, "Do we have a Meth problem, Clary?"
Clary's reactions were sometimes over the top. Perhaps it was the dialogue from that scene that made it seem overly dramatic, but I felt Clary's reaction was overdone in the scene where she goes through the portal and leaves her mom. I DO love the actress. I loved the tears and most of the times where she was terrified. The chemistry between her and the other characters was great. I just wish the director had dialed it down a notch in that one scene.
We didn't get to see much of Alec! I think he had about five lines in the entire episode. I know this will change in upcoming shows, but I was disappointed that there wasn't a bigger introduction.
Overall, I think that this show is off to a great start and I look forward to watching it again every Tuesday at 9pm on the Freeform channel.
Happy Monday! I am participating in a new weekly meme hosted by Jessica from Lovin' Los Libros. Check out her fun blog as she talks about books, music, television and so much more!
This Week's Musts:
Must Read:
If you read book blogs, are on Twitter, or basically live on the planet earth, you will have heard about this book. I started reading it this week and I can honestly say it is worth all the hype. With lots of action, adventure, and a fascinating new universe to explore, this book has it all. If you enjoy books like Six of Crows, you will love this book.
Must Listen:
If you know me, it is no secret that I love everything Adele does. When We Were Young is the second single released from her album 25. This seems like it was written for an older singer, yet it hits all the right notes of regret and longing.
Must See:
I am so excited for this show! This is based on the Mortal Instruments novels by Cassandra Clare. I think the casting looks close to perfect. The trailers show great chemistry between the principles and lots of humor too. Yes, the special effects look a little cheesy, but if it's a hit, I think the network will pump more money into this show and up the quality of the special effects in season two. Make sure and watch it on Tuesday, January 12 at 9pm on the Freeform Channel (formerly known as ABC Family).
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