”I love you. I love you. I love you.”
It’s no secret that The Dark Artifices are my least favorite of the Shadowhunter Chronicles. I didn’t like the first book at all and the second installment was just good. But wow. This was truly beautiful and that quote up there literally took my breath away. It’s so pure but so painful. PSA: This review is all over the place and I would just like to apologize.
This has always been Cassie’s darkest series to date, and this one definitely keeps the same energy. The Cohort is a truly disgusting group, and it brings a lot of light to hate that we see still see in the real world. The unimaginably cruel acts that they commit are honestly scary and it’s astounding how much they’re able to do. The Shadowhunter community has always had a lot of hatred in it, but this book really takes it up a notch.
What I loved about this novel was that it’s main focus is on grief. How each person deals with it in their own way. Some get over their grief quickly while some hide it completely. Others turn to rage in their grief and yet others just give up. All of Cassie’s characters have all suffered losses, sure, but nothing like the cast of this trilogy has. And yet even in such dark times, there’s that one thing that they can all still cling to, which is what TDA is all about. Family.
”Faith isn’t never having any doubts; it’s having what you need to overcome them.”
Now let’s discuss the things that I didn’t like about this, because there were definitely several issues that I had considering that this was 912 pages. (Spoilers ahead, please read at your own caution):
-So my main problem was Thule. I mean seriously, an alternate universe? We’ve kind of already been there and done that in TMI. This is such a cop out thing for authors to do.
-Annabel is supposed to be a big baddie, the book is named after her, and she’s on the cover but guess what? She’s barely even in the book.
-I wanted more Ash!!!
-Emma and Julian turning into wack giants and the only thing it effects is their parabatai bonds was way too convenient.
-Everything kept hinting at how smart and cunning Manuel was and then, nothing really big ever happened with him? So it just left me with so many questions.
What I really enjoyed:
-Literally every scene involving Jace and/or Clary. I’ve always loved them and now I love them even more that they’re grown up.
-The freaking letter from Thule Livvy. MY HEART.
-Christina, Mark, and Kieran. They’re so precious and I’ve been rooting for them since the beginning.
-Okay but this is probably the prettiest book cover that I’ve ever laid my eyes on
”every choice has a long afterlife of consequences. No one can know the eventual outcome of any decision. All you can do is make the best choice you can make in the moment.”
Characters:
♛ Emma Carstairs- I’m not gonna lie, I did not like her at all for the first two books. She seemed like a Jace 3.0 which we did not need (and while I still agree with that part) she had some serious character development in this one and I was finally able to enjoy her a little bit. Her strength and perseverance are put to the test over and over again, and yes she does have moments where she breaks down, but she’s able to overcome them and trudge on because she really can’t afford not to.
♛ Julian Blackthorn- I’ve always been indifferent to his character, but I honestly liked him best in this book when he had no emotions. Lol does that make me terrible? But Julian is dealing with the loss of his sister whom was like a daughter to him. I think that the loss is hardest on him because of that, and it’s just so sad and beautiful seeing him deal with his grief.
♛ Mark Blackthorn- Mark was literally my favorite character from the very beginning, and he’s still in my fave 3. He’s always been such a ray of light in the dark struggles that the Blackthorns face because of his naïve and innocent air. Being fae, and being gone for years, really affected him. And while he’s completely at home in the Shadowhunter world now, his othernessstill shines through.
♛ Christina Rosales- Honestly she is the purest human being out of all of Cassie’s novels and you can fight me on that. I love her.
♛ Kieran Kingson- Character development at its FINEST. I hated him in the first book, and only mildly enjoyed him in the second. But now he’s one of my favorites and I absolutely adore every single scene that he’s in. While the rest of the cast is going through the grieving stage, Kieran is dealing with a lot of guilt about all the pain he’s caused. It’s sad to see him this way, but I think it’s necessary to help him grow into the person that he’s going to be.
♛ Drusilla Blackthorn- Another character that I’d hated in the previous novels but found myself enjoying in this one. She finally comes out of her shell and we get to see her in action.
♛ Kit Herondale- I’m still not too sure how I feel about him LOL
♛ Ty Blackthorn- I can’t even discuss my feelings on the whole Ty and Livvy situation in this book because it just hurts me.
”home is always waiting for you.”
While The Dark Artifices isn’t my favorite Shadowhunter series, I can’t deny how beautiful this book was. I honestly don’t know how else to describe it. Just getting to see families dealing with tremendous grief in such a widely popular fantasy world is truly something else. If you pick this up, you definitely won’t regret it!
Rating: ★★★★★
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