Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy - Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Robin Wasserman

Book: Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy
Authors: Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Robin Wasserman
Releasedate: 17th of Februari, 2015 (first story) / 15th of November 2016 (print edition)

Since I've read the Mortal Instruments and the Dark Artifices, I was happy to read this one, because it

filled in so many gaps I experienced while reading the Dark Artifices. It follows the story of Simon Lewis (Simoooooon <3) after the Mortal Instruments when he departs for the Shadowhunter Academy. In his quest to find himself after all the events that happened.

I really liked this book, because I like Simon, lol. But seriously. It was cool to read what happens there and to also read some more history of the Shadowhunters. We even visit some old friends and stories from a different era and I love that. The more I read, the more I know of the families that transpired in the Shadowhunter World and that is pretty cool. 

To be honest, the image I have from Simon is pretty much based on the Simon from the Netflix series, because that was exactly how I pictured him, so I even got a bigger crush on him. He's such a nerd and his world is jampacked with references that are also in my world. He would've been the perfect nerd for me, weren't it that I already have my perfect nerd at home, lol. 

And to be fair, I was a bit sad and shocked when I finished the book, but what happens is part of that world and it can happen. I don't want to spoil it for people who still need to read it, but it was pretty heavy at the end of the book. 

And I got the latest book, The Red Scrolls of Magic in the Eldest Curses serie (book 1) on the mat this week, so I know what I'm gonna read next!

The Bane Chronicles - Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson

Book: The Bane Chronicles
Author: Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson
Releasedate: April 16th 2013 - March 18th 2014

Well, if you love Magnus, you're gonna love this one. The Bane Chronicles is a series of short stories involving Magnus and I really liked it. It gives so much background to the already existing stories and it makes it even more amazing. I learned a lot more about Ragnor and Catharina as well as Alec and Tessa. It was adorable to read a story involving Tessa and William setting after the Infernal Devices. Amazing. And also an encounter with the Circle, that was really interesting.

I can't tell much more actually without spoiling what happens, so I'll keep it brief:

Read it if you love Magnus.

Read it if you want to know more what happened to Magnus and whoever he encountered.

Magnus galore!

Queen of Air and Darkness - Cassandra Clare

Book: Queen of Air and Darkness
Author: Cassandra Clare
Releasedate: 4th of December, 2018

Well, it took me far too long to read this one, because it was a massive read. It took up quite some space in my bag! But where I usually read on the sub to and from work, I was tempted to read this one when I was home. And for those who know me, I don't have a lot of spare time at home. So that counts for something. I even read it while I was gaming with my husband. 

A friend of mine had some issues with the pofs in the book, but that's her bane. Lucky for me, I don't have that problem, so I had no problem at all to keep up with the switching views. I rather liked it to see what was going on in everyone else's head. For me, Queen of Darkness is a true and epic end to a trilogy. It brought some surprises with it in the story and I loved that.

What I mostly admire about Cassandra is that she is able to weave the struggles of everyday life in her story. And she is so able to do that, that it even looks normal and totally logical that it happens in the story. She touches the topics of being transgender, equality for the lgbt community itself and even a dash of polyamory. And it all sounds perfectly normal within the story. To love one another for what people are. I really admire her for that balls to put that in her stories, but to not make it a main subject. There is still the focus on the story itself and it's pure craftmanship that she is able to do so.

Back to the story. We see the story of Emma and Julian and how it ends. And I loved every single bit of it. It really took me some effort to put it down when I arrived at my station. We see some old familiars in the story and some new people. I loved the fact that we got to see what happens to the people from the Mortal Instruments series and the Infernal Devices series. If you want to enjoy the Dark Artifices series more, I advise you to read the other two series first. There are so many crossreferences that you really are going to miss if you haven't read them.

On to the next one!

Lord of Shadows - Cassandra Clare

Book: Lord of Shadows
Author: Cassandra Clare
Releasedate: 23rd of May, 2017

Where I had some trouble getting into the story with Lady Midnight, I had none whatsoever getting into Lord of Shadows. It just catched me. I'm still flabbergasted how it ended and slightly stunned, but I loved the book. it was amazing. 

Lord of Shadows is well written and it even refers back to persons we've met in the Infernal Devices series and I love that. I really love the crossovers and I really loved the fact the Blackthorns swapped environment what felt so familiar. It just weaves the story and world together. We even got a peak from a different realm!

We also get to know more of Julian and Emma as they struggle through their relationship as parabatai.

May I just say I really love the idea of parabatai? Cassandra, amazing idea!

Cassandra's choice of words is rich and you almost feel like you are there amongst all the fuss. 

I can say much more, but I'm afraid I would be leaving too much spoilers.

If you liked Lady Midnight, you're going to love Lord of Shadows. It's set in a world old and new and tells so much more history for the Shadowhunters.

*picks of Queen of Darkness*

And now to end this epic saga... 

Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare

Book: Clockwork Princess
Author: Cassandra Clare
Releasedate: 19th of March, 2013

The third and last book in the Infernal Devices series and I'm so torn that it ended and yet hopeful to read. First of all, I just LOVE the overlap we see with the Mortal Instruments and the Dark Artifices series. So much is intertwined. Familiar names, familiar characters, background stories and much much more. The stories are rich with content and I just love the fact that Cassandra did actually read all the books that were written in the time the Infernal Devices take place and that she actually visited the spots that occur throughout the series.

It feels so real and well thought of. I didn't like reading the first book in the Dark Artifices (who take place after the Mortal Instruments), but now I have read this series, it means that the story from the Dark Artifices lives a little bit more and is even more enjoyable. 

For people who just started reading one of the series from Cassandra that take place in the Shadowhunter world, I advise you to read the Infernal Devices first, to keep it chronological. Then read on to the Mortal Instruments and finish it off with the Dark Artifices. Then so much more makes sense. I loved the Mortal Instruments series and I loved the Infernal Devices thoroughly. I do have a weakness concerning everything Victorian aged style, so that definitely had some bonuspoints with me.

Now about the Clockwork Princess. It's the conclusion of this series and feels like a new beginning. We experience so many feelings. Love, betrayal, confusion, heartbreak, loss and pain. But also joy, and hope and contentment. It's wonderfully balanced and the use of Cassandra's words is just rich. You actually feel like you're there, watching over their shoulders. 

The Infernal Devices is a more than worthy prologue for the Mortal Instruments. I just loved it from beginning to the end. 

Ave atque vale. 

Kingdom of Ash - Sarah J. Maas

Book: Kingdom of Ash
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Releasedate: 23rd of October, 2018

Once upon a time, there lived a princess who loved her country.

The conclusion to the epic Throne of Glass series. First of all, I still like "the Court of" series better

then this series, but the last book really made up for it. I just loved it from the beginning until the very end. So many storylines wrapping together, entwining themselves through the very last book. You still need an awesome memory to remember everyone and what happened previously, but if you can look past that, it is amazing. I had several moments where I caught myself getting goosebumps.

Sarah manages to end the story in an epic and amazing way. We see joy, love, pain and loss, and so much beautiful moments and heartbreaking moments. This book really held me captive when I was reading it. I really can't reveal much, because it would mean I would definitely be giving spoilers and I really want to avoid that.

For the people who read "the Court of" series, you're in for a surprise at nearly the end of the book. It had me squeel while I was in the subway. People looked at me funny. I totally fangirled. 

Kingdom of Ash has so much rich content and it definitely feels like a worthy end to the amazing stories of so many people. Aelin, Rowan, Dorian, Manon, Lorcan, Elide, Aedion, Lysandra and so much much more. Ofcourse, I am curious how the future will be, but for the story itself, it is done. And it was a great conclusion. 

We lost Celaena Sardothien through the passing of time, but we gained Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius. And she is smoking! 

Wingless - Heather Trim

Book: Wingless
Author: Heather Trim
Releasedate: Will be released: 8th of November, 2018

"I must get home before someone else I love dies."

Imprisoned on a floating island, four wingless friends need to get home before an assasin strikes at the heart of Balfour. Facing the dangers of the land and sky, young Ledger must help them escape and lead them home.

But his adopted brother, Tolliver, won’t leave just yet. He is dead set on finding his winged family, the ones who threw him away at birth. Will they accept him or execute him? Either way, Tolliver intends to try."

First of all, I was and am thrilled that I got to read the second book in this amazing series of Heather Trim. I read the first one at the start of this year in advance too, so I'm honoured to do it again! 

Wingless will be released in exactly two weeks and I am going to tell you why you should read it. First; Have you read Wingbound? No? You should! Why? Read this!  How? You can buy it for only $0.99 at Amazon for your Kindle here or whatsamacallitgadget. So that's literally no money at all for such an amazing adventure.

Now, Wingless. No spoilers. Absolutely fab. To be honest, it took me some time to get into the story. You could really feel Heather was building up to something. Like being in a rollercoaster. Going up is fun. You can see the view, enjoy the start of the ride, but when you go down, it gets even better. At some point the story just captivated me and I didn't want to put it down.

I really liked the fact that we got to see the story from the point of view from Ledger and also from Tolliver. Makes you see that their minds are totally different. Where Ledger is deep down cool and calculated and logical, there is Tolliver, with his temper and want to do something about it all. The story really evolves with the mindset of the two. So intertwined and yet two different stories wrapped in one adventure. You can literally see the lines being tossed out how the story goes. Some things were cliché, and some things were not. You literally didn't know what would be there around the corner for us to read. It could be cliché, or not. 

Wingless is an easyreader, fantasyloving, well thought story that evolves the more you read it. It has some awesome twists, some gross parts, some happy moments and some splendid shenanigans. (Shenanigans, amazing word.) Oh, and have you seen that gorgeous cover? She made it herself again! Stunning! I can't wait to read more!