No spoilers! (only small part labeled at end)

When to read: You can start TSC here, but I do not recommend it. I recommend reading at least TID, TMI, and TDA first as this series does have spoilers for those. If you are reading TSC for the first time, check out my Shadowhunters Guide & Reading Order under the “more” tab.

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I honestly very much enjoyed this book. I see what others are saying in that it is VERY character driven – but I personally have no issue with that. There’s just so much character stuff to play with – because there is such great characters and histories in TLH – that I’m ok with that taking the front seat and demon hunting taking the back seat – we’ve seen a lot of demon hunting before. (Also one of my issues with TMI is that I wish we had more time with characters other than Clary & Jace). It works that the plot/action we do get ends up being very tied to issues with the characters. 

James and Lucy are immediately interesting because their mother being a warlock: James’ “power” we find out early but still don’t understand everything about it and Lucy we not even sure if she has one. But even without that they are both well-rounded and interested characters. As are the rest of the Merry Thieves and it was so much fun seeing their interaction as a group, and with those that are “honorary members” (like Anna, Cordelia, and Lucy), and then with people more outside (like Alastair, Grace, Charles, etc.), AND THEN with all their parents / the characters from TID (which I loved, of course).

Also many of the characters have secrets/past-guilts that are effecting them. A great example is Mathew (I have read Cast Long Shadows so I know what his secret is) and how that past makes him really interesting beyond just who he is, but also knowing it has changed who he is. 

Cordelia – like other TSC leads – is more on the outside to the rest of the characters (even in her family), which is why I love that we get a lot of James POV, but that leads to it feeling like Cordelia isn’t really the main character. Honestly, you could easily argue that James IS the main character (his POV is even the one to start chap 1, Cordelia doesn’t have her POV until page 23!). But she’s still a friece female character and one of the wittiest in TSC.

I also really like this flashbacks CC had been doing more and more. Overall, I don’t think even three books with be enough with these characters!

Spoilers ahead——

So many love triangles going on it’s kind of nuts! The only one I really don’t like is James/Cordelia/Mathew. We’ve seen the both boy parabatai in love with the same girl and the girl likes both of them thing before in TID. I really wish they had just set it up to be a really good friendship between Math and Cordelia as it would be really nice to see more male/female close platonic relationships in TSC. To see Math be protective of and care for Cordelia in a brotherly way – when he so hates Cordelia’s actual brother – would be really cool.

If you are a Shadowhunters fan, also check out my Shadowhunters Stories Chronological Timeline!

No Spoilers!

When to read: You can start TSC here, but I do not recommend it. I recommend reading at least both TMI and TID first. If you are reading TSC for the first time, check out my Shadowhunters Guide & Reading Order under the “more” tab.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

So I’m gonna do a review on The Dark Artifices series as a whole.

I will start off saying that I loved this series. The plot was amazing and the characters were compelling. However, I would say TDA has the most going on in TSC so far. It does a great job at balancing characters and plot, but still having so many elements there’s no way to avoid some confusion. 

Lady Midnight was the simplest of the three, which is good for starting out, with a more straight line story. I didn’t like Emma at first (I think I’m going to make a whole post about comparing the main characters in TSC soon), but as I saw more of caring side, I liked her. 

Lord of Shadows was easily my favorite of the bunch. It didn’t follow conventional storytelling but it kept me on my toes and it was done amazingly. Also, all of the characters have so many good moments and lines in this one. 

Queen of Air and Darkness is definitely the most confusing. It’s also very sad, making it hard to read. I’m not saying that it’s bad; for the most part I think it was really good and there are things I really like (and really don’t) about the ending – see full review. 

The cameos from TMI were all amazing, making me like those characters even more.  Jace’s dialogue was laugh out loud funny and only got better. I wish we got more scenes with Emma and Clary; I know Emma’s older now and has been friends with Clary for years, but we don’t really get to see Clary mentor Emma. But it was amazing how much Malec we got, which I wasn’t expecting. 

I would definitely say TDA is the most dynamic of TSC and has the some of the best villains. It might even have the best plot of TSC. I think in a lot of ways it’s better than TID, but I’m more attached to TID characters than the main characters of TDA. However, I can’t wait to see Kit, Ty, and Ash in The Wicked Powers.

Check out my individual reviews for each book!

If you are a Shadowhunters fan, also check out my Shadowhunters Stories Chronological Timeline!

Light Spoilers. Major Spoilers for TID!

When to read: Do NOT read until at least finishing TID, as all of these (even back cover) contains MAJOR SPOILERS for TID. I also recommend reading TMI and TDA as some of these contain major spoilers for those. If you want to split them up, as I recommend, or if you are reading TSC for the first time, check out my Shadowhunters Guide & Reading Order under the “more” tab. 

Cast Long Shadows: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

This one was cute at first and then ended up being heartbreaking. It was a cool first look into the Merry Thieves. I was so mad at Matthew but also felt so bad for him.

Every Exquisite Thing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

I could really relate to this character, so I really ended up enjoying this one. However, I felt like her parent’s reactions were too good; I find it hard to believe anyone was that understanding back then, but I am very happy for her and excited to see more of Anna.

Learn About Loss: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 /5

I liked seeing a iron sister, I feel like we have little insight into them. The end of this destroyed me 😢 – it’s bitter sweet because you know it isn’t real. I would like to know why Belial owed Jem.

A Deeper Love: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 /5

It was cool to finally really see Caterina as a nurse and a bit of Tessa’s life after Will. However, being right after Will’s death and the setting (that kind of takes over the story a bit) made it really depressing. Also the timeline seems a bit off bc I thought Tessa left London right after Will’s death.

The Wicked Ones: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

This one had a lot of important info for Kit’s background but it’s slow. It completely changed how I look at Jace’s mother- I feel worse for her now but I also blame her more now that we saw how she took a more active role than I originally believed. Trauma, though absolutely terrible, doesn’t excuse this. She might honestly be worse than Stephan.

I think these later ones overall were better. After “Son of The Dawn”, Jem is human again which gave the stories a bit more life and makes it to that every story isn’t completely depressing. 

Son of The Dawn: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Alec’s little crush on Raphael is so cute and I really enjoyed getting some of Izzy’s POV since we don’t get that often. I liked seeing Jace when he first meets the Lightwoods but Jem’s POV of this was a bit dull besides Lily’s names for Jem. 

The Land I Lost: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

This was the one I was talking about when I said there was one that is my favorite story from TSC so far. It was absolutely amazing from begining to end – seeing Alec struggle with wanting to be married to Magnus makes the Malec wedding so much more rewarding. The ending was so adorable it hurt. 🥰

Through Blood, Through Fire: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This was another dull one with important info. There’s a few cute Jem + Tessa scenes though and it was interesting to see the lead up to the end of LM. 

The Lost World: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Reading this right after finishing Queen, I really enjoyed it. (Though we’ve officially given up Jem being the main character and having the shadow market in each story😅). This story is completely about Ty and Livvy, so it’s both cute and sad. I finally got some ghost explaination I’ve been wanting since the ghost popped up in CP! 

Forever Fallen: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Baby Mina with Kit is so cute.😍 Alec and Magnus with their kids in the park is adorable too; I want to kill Janus. I honestly kind of like how’s there’s this juxtaposition between cute Malec and Jessa families and then Thule Jace (Janus) is a looming evil in the background. I liked getting to see a bit of what he’s up to before TWP, but I enjoyed the Kit/Jem/Tessa/Mina sections more than his parts. 

Overall:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 

These were mixed. Some were really great, one being my favorite story in TSC, but some were just ok and a few slow. It’s interesting to see what it was like for Jem as a silent brother. Hearing how he can’t feel like a human was interesting, but also got depressing and repetitive.

These a a bit all over the place, both is quality and in what they are about (some are barley about Jem or the shadow market). But overall a good read. 

If you are a Shadowhunters fan, also check out my Shadowhunters Stories Chronological Timeline!

Major Spoilers Ahead! (Read only after finishing book)

When to read: After Lord of Shadows. If you are reading TSC for the first time, check out my Shadowhunters Guide & Reading Order under the “more” tab.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 

Wow, let’s just start that the beginning, that DESTROYED me. Like somehow watching everyone grieve was worse than watching Livvy die. Honestly, this whole book destroyed me. Thule, although I knew it wasn’t their world, was killing me. And then they had to kill Cameron too! Livvy is left with like no one!!! When I read Magnus’s and Alec’s fate I had to put the book down for a second. Then In their world Magnus sick and Alec all worried that he was going to die before he could “show him how much he loved him” 😭😭😭. I rarely cry at books but this one was a killer from beginning to end. 

I didn’t enjoy Julian under the spell but I know why he did it and I do think it was better idea than if he hadn’t. I liked how once he was under the spell we rarely got his POV so he felt even more alien to us. 

Then this book got a bit… confusing. Not bad, but there was a LOT going on and stuff to keep track of. Dearborn saying that he wasn’t a true believer in hating Downworlders kind of threw me off (but maybe I read it wrong? The scene in his office). 

I LOVED the Malec wedding. It was everything I wanted, not disappointed. The rest of the ending, however, I slightly am. Like I’m glad we got to see the parabatai curse fully realized but them coming out of it bc of their family’s cheesy little speeches and them just not being parabatai anymore was a bit like, too good to be true. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. 

I know some things are being left to the wicked powers (like Kit/first heir stuff, ty&kits relationship, Ash, Livvy) but I’m kind of upset things like how the demon survived a Serph blade and, more importantly, the full explanation of the parabatai curse (which I’m starting to think we’re never going to know) were left unresolved. 

Overall, I didn’t enjoy it as much as Lord of Shadows, but it was great (but also very sad). Loved how Cortana came back to Emma, I wanted that scene so bad! I’m really glad everyone survived, I was really worried about Jace for a minute there. 😅

If you are a Shadowhunters fan, also check out my Shadowhunters Stories Chronological Timeline!

No Spoilers for this book. Spoilers for TMI!

When to read: Do NOT read this book until finishing TMI and TID as it has major spoilers for both of the final books of those series (this book also won’t make as much sense if you haven’t read those books already). If you are reading TSC for the first time, check out my Shadowhunters Guide & Reading Order under the “more” tab.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

It’s seems like most people find these stories hit or miss, but personally I loved every single one and as a whole this is one of my favorite books in TSC. 

First off, although this is a collection of short stories, it reads much like a book. It’s different than Bane Chronicles and Ghosts of The Shadow Market where the stories are far apart and aren’t very related. These stories only happen like a few months apart (except for flashbacks but those are told as if Simon is listening to a story) most of the text is told from Simon’s POV, and the side characters stay the same. Therefore, I’m going to review it as a whole. 

Going into this from COHF, I wasn’t really thinking about how hard this was for Simon. I feel like as readers, we are like Clary and everyone who knows everything that happened before Simon lost his memory. Seeing Simon struggle with self-identity and living up to a version of himself he doesn’t really know hit hard and felt very real. 

I loved getting to meet all the kids in the academy. I’m glad we finally got to see some kids who are raised in idris so we could compare them to characters from the series who are all mostly raised at insistutes. I also liked hearing more in-depth shadowhunter thoughts on Mundanes and Downworlders. 

I really enjoyed the flashback scenes,- I couldn’t put down “Whitechapel Fiend” or “Nothing but Shadows”. I know a lot of people didn’t like “The Evil We Love” but personally I found what happened to Robert as a kid really interesting to learn about and it’s something I didn’t even think about happening in the shadow world. 

The ending- people seem it hate this. I think it’s unfair, and yes I saw it coming, but it had to happen to someone. I think it was the right choice. 

Overall, as in all of Cassie’s books – but even more so in this one – the dialogue is laugh out loud funny. “Born to Endless Night” was a happy surprise for me as a Malec fan and probably my favorite.

If you are a Shadowhunters fan, also check out my Shadowhunters Stories Chronological Timeline!

Major Spoilers Ahead! (Read only after finishing book)

When to read: After Lady Midnight. If you are reading TSC for the first time, check out my Shadowhunters Guide & Reading Order under the “more” tab.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 (these special stars means it’s one of best! – even out of 5 star books)

After finishing Lord of Shadows, I was destroyed! 😭  This is not only one of the best written books by Cassandra Clare, but it also is follows a different format and takes risks. 

Firstly, it’s unlike any of her other books I’ve read, there’s no one big bad or one big mission. There’s so many antagonists with no clear main one, and so many small goals but it works so well. 

Secondly, the deaths. Oh how we all hate it when characters we love die, but if no one we care about ever dies we start to think them invincible. No protagonists ever seem to die in TSC (spoilers for TMI end TID ahead), the closest would be Max but we didn’t see that much of him before his death. Even in TID, I thought they would finally kill someone important either with Jem (though I had doubt) or Henry, but no. Arthur’s death, while noble, was not surprising and still safe. But Robert Lightwood’s death hit hard right after telling Alec to call if he needed him and after his offer to help Jemma. AND THEN LIVVY, I couldn’t believe it. As much as I wanted it, I always thought it would be unrealistic  if all the Blackthorn siblings survived TDA, so as much as it hurts, I think it was a good choice. 

Other points I enjoyed were: Diana’s reveal (not only am I happy to see a trans character, but it also really fits), the surprising amount of Malec we got, and how all the romance plots were handled. 

My few issues are:

I love the Edgar Allan Poe poems and I was really hoping about some explanation of  why he was so involved in the shadowworld and what exactly Dreamland was supposed to be about (in the context of TSC). 

I’m a bit confused by Annabel- but maybe QoA&D will clear it up. At first Magnus said she’s likely mad from being dead for so long, then she seems normal and they are talking about reinstating her as a shadowhunter, and then she goes crazy – so which is it? Is she mad from being brought back or did the ending just happen because of her trauma and having to hold the sword? If it’s the latter, I don’t understand how she could stab Livvy- her kin. 

These books just keep getting better!

If you are a Shadowhunters fan, also check out my Shadowhunters Stories Chronological Timeline!

No Spoilers! (only light spoilers at end where warning says)

When to Read: Although you can TECHNICALLY start the shadowhunter books here, I don’t recommend it at all. I think you should have read at least both The Mortal Instruments series (TMI) and The Infernal Devices series (TID) before starting Lady Midnight (I also recommend reading some of the other books like Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy first). If you are reading TSC for the first time, check out my Shadowhunters Guide & Reading Order under the “more” tab.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 

At first it took me a little to get into this book – not because it wasn’t good but because I was coming straight from finishing TMI and books with those same set of characters. It was hard for me to take this Emma that is now five years older than the Emma that we met in Heavenly Fire, and to see them as the same person but changed from the years since the end of the Dark War. She was also so headstrong and seemed selfish to me – she didn’t seem to think about how her words and actions effected the people around her, especially Julian. But either she changes over the book or it just wasn’t clear in the beginning, but she is different than I initially thought. I still don’t like her as much as I do Tessa, but I think she is a more well-formed character than Clary (at least Clary from the beginning of TMI, she got better over the books). 

Julian I immediately liked – he’s just so likable and you feel bad for all the burdens he has to carry. Also loved Christina from the beginning. Honestly this book is just filled of likable characters that are all unique. 

The characters make this book, but that doesn’t mean the plot isn’t solid. I wasn’t really sold on the “revenge” plot at first but it becomes so much more than that… and that’s all I’ll say. 

Some LIGHT SPOILERS from here———

I love Mark so much – although he has one of the saddest stories, he’s somehow the one who brought the most light to this book and much of his dialogue made me laugh out loud. Actually, pretty much all his scenes had me either laughing or wanting to cry. His relationships tho- poor Mark is shipped with half the characters in this book and I never knew which I wanted the most! 

Lastly, I have to say how much I loved the tie of this story with the poem “Annabel Lee” and using it for the chapter titles. I highly recommend you look up the whole poem and read it as I did.

If you are a Shadowhunters fan, also check out my Shadowhunters Stories Chronological Timeline!

Spoiler Warnings are labeled. Minor Spoilers for The Red Scrolls of Magic and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy.

When to read: Recommend reading TMI, TID, and The Red Scrolls of Magic prior. Can read this book before or after TDA. If you are reading TSC for the first time, check out my Shadowhunters Guide & Reading Order under the “more” tab.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 

First book Review! Please excuse it for being a bit rough and not organized the same as my others.

I’m still not sure how I feel about this book… like I can’t decide if the plot is better or worse than The Red Scrolls Of Magic (RSM), but I certainly enjoyed it less.

My issues:

Right off the bat – there were not enough Malec scenes in a Malec book. RSM has way more cute/sexy Malec scenes. I think this is partly because there are more side characters involved, which I didn’t mind, but the book to too short to give enough time to Malec and all these characters. 

I still don’t like Shinyun. She is a boring character and I have no sympathy for her even though Magnus seems to have endless sympathy for her. 

There’s somethings about the plot that just seems over-dramatic. 

MAJOR SPOILERS here on ——————————– (Skip down to “Overall” to avoid spoilers)

The throning had me stressed, yes, BUT I knew it would never kill Magnus no matter how much they said there was “no reversing” it, they were going to save Magnus. So I was just waiting to see what crazy way they would reverse it and I wasn’t very surprised or impressed. I wish it would have been threatening to do something that I could believe could actually happen – maybe like take Magnus’s magic or immortality or change him in some other way – something that I could actually be scared about it. Also, I guess I can excuse this a bit bc they were kind of busy and had a lot to worry about – but Alec does not seem scared enough about the thought of his boyfriend/co-parent dying – which again makes it so that I’m not scared as a reader. 

Then there’s the going into another hell dimension and fighting another prince of hell (Like Heavenly Fire). It just seems like to big of a task for this small group to take on and survive – all of them – WITHOUT ANY MAJOR INJURIES EVEN! Maybe because Heavenly Fire had such a build up before getting to go to a hell, which was a HUGE deal, this book just seems too short to take that on. (Also how tf did Mayrse react to that when she heard the story bc we def didn’t get to see that!)

Lastly, though this might be a bit nit-picky, I’ve never been a fan of Cassandra Clare’s titles, but The Book of the White is barley important to the story and it’s LITERALLY THE TITLE OF THE BOOK.

What I enjoyed:

I loved all the scenes with Max. One of favorite scenes in the book is Alec’s phone home with his mom watching Max. And the last scene is so cute!

I think Samuel is great. The gang don’t take him seriously enough which is kind of funny. He’s a different kind of villain than were used to which I like.

I’m really glad the whole gang made it on this trip – though I wish we saw just a little more of them and maybe a few of their POVs (Like in the Hell of The Pit of Fire). However, as I said before, I don’t want them to take away from Malec so I just wish the book was longer and included more of them.

The bonus story, In Dreams Begin, was bomb – sadly one of the best parts of the book (But it doesn’t exactly match the Wedding comic that was released in special editions of Heavenly Fire and I really don’t like it when things that are supposed to be cannon don’t match up).

Overall: This book had it’s moments, but not as many as I would have liked. Honestly, just like RSM, the best parts of the book are the very beginning and the very end. I think it tried to take on way too much in far too few pages so the whole thing feels really rushed which adds to it being unbelievable.

After RSM, I had hoped this one would be even better, but sadly it wasn’t. I could forgive more in RSM because of the restrictions with the trip and because of all the great Malec scenes we got, but at this point I’m just getting upset that The Eldest Curses series is so lacking in quality compared to the other series of TSC (I know it’s more of a spin-off than it’s own series but that doesn’t mean it should be bad – and at times not even seeming to fit into TSC timeline! See my Malec discussion post.)

If you are a Shadowhunters fan, also check out my Shadowhunters Stories Chronological Timeline!

Spoiler Warning: Light spoilers for each story (as I’m going to talk about what happens in each story but I’ve avoid the endings). No spoilers for TMI, TID, TLH, or TDA.

When to Read: This is a collection of short stories from the Shadowhunter world that follow the warlock Magnus Bane through two centuries. You can read them all before City of Heavenly Fire or right after– OR, how I recommend, is splitting them up: if you want to know when I think you should read each of these, or if you are reading TSC for the first time, check out my Shadowhunters Guide & Reading Order under the “more” tab.

What Really Happened In Peru: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

It’s a cute story, (I liked 1890 the best). I really liked seeing more of Magnus, Catarina, and Ragnar as friends. The ending made me a bit mad. 

The Runaway Queen: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 

It’s fun, but not a favorite. I like the love interest for Magnus and wish we got to see more but it does say a lot about the differences in Magnus’s love life.

*I am confused about the timeline of these first 2 stories: one says he’s been in London for 6 years but the other says he hasn’t settled in the years since he lost his last love despite them both happening in 1791. Help me out?

Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I really liked this insight into Edmund and the beginning of the Accords. Magnus and Camille’s meeting not what I expected. 

The Midnight Heir: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This is one of my favorites – though it was an interesting first look (at least for how I read it) into James which I now know is very unlike him. Makes me curious for TLH. 

The Rise Of Hotel Dumort: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I love Magnus owning a speakeasy – those scenes were so fun. The rest is a bit forgettable and the ending is a lot with little explanation. 

Saving Raphael Santiago: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I was never a Rafael fan but this made me like him way more. The scenes with Rafael and Ragnar made me laugh (especially the first thing Ragnar says when he sees Raphael).

The Fall Of The Hotel Dumort: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 

This one is a lot to unpack, and left me feeling stunned. I don’t like the ending and can’t help but wonder if this is because the story contradicts some thing else Magnus said in the books at some point. 

What To Buy A Shadowhunter Who Has Everything: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 

Love Elyaas and how he’s become a running joke. Love to hear about the beginning of Malec’s relationship. I want to know if Alec ever finds out what Magnus did. 

The Last Stand of the New York Institute:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 

This short story had to most impact on me in showing me how truly terrible Valentine is. Most of the awful things Valentine and his Circle did, we got secondhand in TMI, this shows them right at their height. It makes what the Circle did more real and more cruel, and shows you how far they were willing to go. – This one hit hard. I love Tessa standing up and speaking her truth. 

The Course Of True Love: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 YESYESYESYES😍😍😍 (enough said) but really, it had me laughing and feeling awkward and then smiling. We get probably the first really good look (if read after COB) into Alec’s personality. 

The Voicemail of Magnus Bane: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 😭😭😭 I feel so bad for Alec but I also understand Magnus. Isabelle and the last line are funny. 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 

These are very different than TftSA or GotSM as they really don’t have a story that travels through all of them. These are just fun, individual moments in Magnus‘s life. Though, I will say if there is one thing that connects them it is that Magnus‘s life has been both fun and exciting, and heartbreaking. You see this in each story, and it captures reality of the life of a immortal. 

I enjoyed getting a bit of a history lesson – I looked up all the events in history as I read about them and learned a lot I didn’t know! 

I love Magnus so I very much enjoyed them and I want more! What was his life like in the London punk scene in the 1970s (I’m mad it was mentioned but we saw none of it!)? Did he fight in any wars? What was meeting Alec’s parents like?

What would you want to see from Magnus’s life? Post your response on my instagram or tumblr!

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If you are a Shadowhunters fan, also check out my Shadowhunters Stories Chronological Timeline!