#anti tlh

[di-daynamic]

It's mourning Ghostwriter potential hours.

Like at the end of Chain of Gold Jesse giving his last freaking breath to James so he can live because Lucie loves him??? Absolute bloody peak romance.

And there are so many cute scenes of them in the other two books - the dancing one, the confession scene, and them in Malcolm's house joking about propriety and woodcutting.

But it all fell flat because of the lack of proper arc and character definition. You're telling me you have a writer like Lucie on the main cast and the author of the found family tree is some random?? You're saying there's no consequence to the necromancy except some stupid no touching thing?? What the hell happened to tearing a hole in the fabric of the world (or does Magnus not remember one of his best friend's daughter also commited necromancy in TDA - Ty's probable ancestor at that!)?? However disappointed Jesse is in Grace - and he has an absolute right to be - he wasn't even the tiniest bit understanding and supportive?? He didn't get to know his aunts and uncles at all?? No repercussions for Jesse meeting Lucie when she was a child and technically having years on her despite looking close in age?? No angst about having his girlfriend's parabatai's father's rune on him?? Lucie not losing any relationships despite all the secrets she kept and the illegal stuff she was up to??

TLH as a whole suffers from a lack of plot but I think ghostwriter really gets the short end of the stick because their romance seemed tied so closely to it. Not to mention despite being a character driven story neither of their characters seemed properly written out.

[sunnydust2003]

Me slander my least favorite characters be like:

(Also Mahiru is support be me lol).

[tamlindain]

The main argument I see about not shipping Matthew/Cordelia is that they are "better as friends" which is so funny to me because that's exactly the point? The book claims James and Cordelia are friends to lovers but they just aren't? They barely communicate, they even get together because someone else (Grace) did the communicating for them. Matthew and Cordelia would've done the friends to lovers trope so much better because they were actually friends who talked that were also attracted to each other, as opposed to childhood crushes refusing to talk the whole time.

[victoriannarwhal]

The Last Hours and especially Chain of Thorns feels so sanitized like even the slightest bit of conflict is brushed over and anything that isn't a positive emotion seems demonized. The characters are too perfect and unrelatable. Also, CC really needs to learn to kill her darlings. Nothing is really at stake.

[poppitron360]

Jason Grace, consistently telling Leo he is awesome.

Name one other character that does that. I dare you.

[pansexual-lilychen]

”we need more complex female characters“

y‘all couldn’t even handle her

[demigod-shenanigans]

Thinking about the lost trio’s mortal parents

Thinking about Esperanza and Beryl both being clear-sighted (it’s said that Beryl knew who Zeus was, both times, and Esperanza specifically talked to Leo about his powers and seemed to know who Hera was).

Thinking about Beryl, who was famous and had so much and who did everything to stay in the public eye. Who would have given it all, including sacrificing her own kids, to get Zeus’ attention back. Who only ever wanted Zeus for herself and never for her children. Who named Jason to placate Juno’s anger and ultimately gave up Jason to her. Who even in death remained bitter and blamed Thalia running away for her own choices and her death, saying she left when Beryl needed her the most, despite the fact that Thalia was nine and severely neglected and thought Beryl had killed her brother and an adult’s choices should never have been her responsibility to begin with. Beryl blamed it all on Olympus and showed no regret for her actions. Who thought she could just neglect both of her children and abandon her two year old with no consequences and that Jason would still join her. Who only cared about Jason once he was a hero and a warrior, and even then only cared for him as a tool of revenge she could use against the gods.

Thinking about Esperanza, who had nothing. Who was smart and skilled and barely scraping by despite her degree. Who would have given everything to keep her son safe. Who had a son prophecied to be a hero and tried to look the Fates in the eye and say no, because he was her son first and destined for bigger things second. Who banned Hera, the queen of the gods, from their apartment because the gods couldn’t have Leo, not yet, not when he was still so young. Who still tried to prepare Leo, with everything she had, because she knew she couldn’t keep him from his fate in the long run, but also knew there were at least tools she could give him that would help. Who, despite knowing that a god had once loved her, only wanted Hephaestus as a father for Leo, never as a partner for herself. Who only ever worried about the ways she could fail Leo, never about him failing her. Who was happiest around her son and loved him more than her own life. Who, even in death, never could have blamed Leo.

Thinking about Tristan, who is in some ways a mirror to both Beryl and Esperanza. Tristan grew up with nothing and eventually, as an adult, he suddenly had everything, except the things that really mattered to him. He couldn’t keep Aphrodite and never fell in love again after her. Tristan can’t see through the Mist, but he had his heart shattered by the mythological world anyway, even without seeing. He couldn’t save his father because at the time he didn’t have the money to pay for the treatment, he only became famous after.

His relationship with his daughter is really strained. He’s probably terrified of losing Piper like he lost his dad and Piper’s mom. Tristan works and works and works because he thinks if they just have enough he can keep Piper safe (because even if he couldn’t have kept her mom that way, enough money absolutely could have saved his dad), but that makes him unable to give Piper his attention, which is what she needs the most. Hell, he thinks he’s protecting her by keeping her away from his celebrity nonsense, and in a way he sort of is, but it’s not what Piper wants.

Thinking about Tristan seeing through the Mist in TLH and breaking. Thinking about Tristan finally seeing Piper, and her having to give up the one thing she’s wanted all this time and make him look away again because it shatters him.

Esperanza and Beryl could both see their children for who they were, one for the better, the other for the worse. Tristan can never see Piper for who she truly is. We’ve seen how it would destroy him if he did.

Thinking about Tristan losing everything until the only thing he has left to give Piper is his attention—and that’s enough. (I still wish that had been a choice on his part after realizing that’s what Piper wants and needs instead of being forced on him, but I digress.)

Tristan could have been more like Beryl. Their stories are decently similar. But even though he can never fully see Piper for who she is, and even though it took him longer than it should have, when his daughter needed him most, he turned around and learned to be more like Esperanza.

[edwin-paynes-bowtie]

RIP James Herondale. You really deserved to shine on the Chain of Thorns cover. Imagine: your back to the viewer. Long, dark shadows trailing behind you as you looked out to see London burning in blazing gold. Arms outstretched to embrace the darkness. Kickass and 100% what you deserved

[rinadragomir]

No but like talk shit about me, say that im being the meanest bitch idc but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHY WOULD SHE START ANOTHER YA FANTASY SERIES IF SHE HASN'T FINISHED WITH TSC AND SWORD CATCHER YET?!

ANOTHER! For fuck sake WOMAN PLEASE FINISH THIS ONE, your young adults have turned into actual adults with their own families. I'll get violent if that series THAT NOBODY ASKED FOR will end in second or third TWP book releasing later than it's supposed to.

"She has a right to try new things, maybe she's tired of TSC" —

WELL THEN MAYBE SHE CAN FINISH TSC, LET IT FINALLY REST IN PEACE AND MOVE ON?! Instead of being like

"ohhh I'm so tired, being rich and famous is so exhausting, I have million of books to finish and I have no idea when I'll do it BUT HEY~ maybe I should start another YA series?😋"

Please no PLEASE STOP, look at me Cassie, you've just told me that I might get one of the Seasons of Shadowhunters books in the end of 2025/ beginning of 2026. Don't do this to me, I'm genuinely happy for you and the Sword Catcher, it was great, BUT MAYBE IT'S TIME TO FOCUS ON THOSE 5346743 projects which "haven't been scheduled yet".

I defend her every single decision, so I'M CERTAINLY not a hater, I've been promoting her books way more than her "promotion bloggers". But there's no way she'll complain about being too busy to write the books we've been waiting for years and then go: so I found a solution! I'll start a new series!

This is a cursed year

[spacehero-23]

I know I always shit on Grace because of the SA scenes. But can talk about Cassandra Clare being a little FREAK for actually writing them?

Because those scenes have NO reason for existing. Why is Grace kissing James if he's already under her control? And we have to read not one, but THREE separate scenes of him being SAed? For what? What was the reason Cassie?

And the Matthew one!? She has Grace force him to kiss her, threaten to tell people that HE was the one who SA her! And then she makes him forget and it's never mentioned again. So it's not like it was important to the plot. Clare was just a freak who decided to include FOUR SA scenes in her YA series, apparently for shits and giggles!

At least when Sebastian did it in TMI it was obvious that we're meant hate him for it, and be disgusted. At least in those books it was treated with some respect. But in TLH? She gives the person who did it a redemption arc and doesn't even have the balls to write a proper confrontation or an apology.

I have A LOT of issues with Cassie but this one takes the cake.

[im-out-of-it]

“Thomas could have anyone”, said Alastair, with a righteously moping air. “He could choose better than me.”

I know I go on and on and on about Alastair pov but I feel like when we hear stuff he says, it’s just not enough. I want to hear his thoughts why he thinks he’s not good enough for Thomas. I don’t care what Cordelia is thinking. I want Alastair thoughts.

“Thomas believes his friends would accept me with open arms; I believe they would sooner abandon him. What a terrible situation that would be for him. I cannot allow it.”- Alastair a few sentences above. I hear the words he says but it’s still unfair to never provide a pov (except for one page) of his thoughts. he has so much adoration and admiration for Thomas that in the previous scene they had, he’s almost making this decision for Thomas. but I don’t think Alastair realizes who Thomas’s friends really are. it’s all blocked by their bad history and that’s why I’ll always be mad about never getting his bloody thoughts

Alastair is one of the most complex fascinating characters in TLH. he has so much trauma with Elias, how he’s protected Cordelia all his life and hides a huge part of who he is. Alastair has had one relationship and that was with Charles. but I still want his thoughts and feelings of why he assumes Thomas’s friends would abandon Thomas if they knew he was with Alastair romantically. is it their bad feud? is he so stuck on who matthew and James were in school? is it because he thinks so badly of himself? why he thinks he’s not good enough. where those emotions stem from- his childhood, having to hide with Charles, and never feeling good enough for Charles or anyone. he lost his father at a young age and lets admit, Elias was dead to him years before he died. there is a bunch of racist shit and behavior happening to him at school and he later gets labeled as a bully because he decided not to be bullied.

and does anyone find it upsetting that whenever we finally get into the thomastair stuff, it lasts a page if that and then it goes back to James and Cordelia? I JUST WANT ALASTAIR AND THOMAS’S FUCKING THOUGHTS OKAY? we just missed out on so much. the dinner scene, hardly any scenes with sona, just everything Alastair goes through with his childhood and Thomas.

I’m not okay with whenever thomastair has a scene, it’s almost always ruined with some Cordelia and James nonsense. or when CC writes an lgbtq+ couple and a straight person who has no business being the pov is the pov. it’s seriously so inconsiderate that we didn’t get more thomastair and Alastair pov. but at least it was written better than book Malec. I JUST WANT MORE THOMASTAIR

[4uru]

Charles : *breathes*

Cordelia: the lord tests me everyday with your existence.

[tamlindain]

I’m done thank fuck. Blackthorn and Fairchild supremacy. The end.

[victoriannarwhal]

Glad, Christopher "victims have to forgive their abusers" and "victims who don't forgive their abusers are just as bad" is the character that dies. Justice for being a little bitch.

[stabbydragon]

*clears throat* Can we just talk about how unfair it was that Cordelia was the one who got to kill Tatiana? Like there were a million other people who were way more qualified.

I’m pretty sure most people, like me, were rooting for Grace. After all, she was the one that Tatiana hurt most by physically abusing her, making her into a weapon, forcing her to brainwash James which made everyone she cares about mad at her, etc. Not to mention that Christopher, one of her only friends, the only person who defended her, and the one who encouraged her to pursue her passion for science, had just been MURDERED by Tatiana! And like, Grace was RIGHT THERE with a knife to Tatiana’s throat! Then CORDELIA had to come and ruin everything by summoning Lillith! WTF!?

Jesse was another person who had been hurt by Tatiana. This bitch, who he thought cared about him despite her flaws, as a mother should, SOLD HIM TO BELIAL so he could be possessed and forced to murder people which he would never do under any circumstances of his own free will! The guilt the poor boy must have gone through because of this bitch! Although personally, I don’t think he would be capable of murder, but it would have been better than fucking CORDELIA.

Also, the idea of either Jesse or Grace doing it to avenge their sibling? 😭

My second choice after Grace would be Lucie, who would be furious both because of Jesse being possessed, and because she had just found out that Tatiana had been the one to ruin James and Cordelia’s marriage, causing both her brother and parabatai a lot of pain. It would have set the scene for a fascinating conversation between her and Jesse regarding how they both felt about Tatiana’s death (the same is true for Grace) because I need more Ghostwriter scenes. Also, if she killed her partially on Grace’s behalf, it would better showcase what could have been a beautiful dynamic that desperately needs to be explored further. I need these too to become besties immediately! Lucie, unlike her boyfriend, totally deserved to be a morally ambiguous character. She had so much potential for stabbiness, so where’s all the stabbiness? It’s so unfair that she never gets to stab someone ONCE because she’s a main character and therefore needs to be morally perfect even though people who grew as rich as she did are the ones most likely to be evil. Besides, she could have ordered a ghost to do it while Lucie herself was far away, giving her an alibi, and any witnesses would not have seen the ghost. Honestly my preference would be if Lucie and Grace teamed up to do it together in Jesse’s name.

EVEN FUCKING JAMES a would have been a better option, not that I would like it much. He was the one who was brainwashed since he was fourteen after all. He was the one who kept on accidentally breaking his wife’s heart because of the gracelet.

While Cordelia was still hurt by Tatiana’s actions, she was farther removed from the situation. But because sHe’S tHe PrOtAgOnIsT, she had to be the one to do it. Not even of her own volition, but because she was being manipulated by a greater demon. Imagine all of your protagonists being so heroic and morally sound that they can’t even neutralize someone as twisted and dangerous and inhumane and this bitch without being physically magically controlled by Lillith herself. Is there anything more boring?

And what really makes me angry is that she finally gave in due to the death of one Christopher Lightwood, a character with whom she had no established dynamic. If this was CC’s plan all along, she could have made it so they had at least one single fucking conversation alone??? If the main catalyst for Tatiana’s death was Kit’s murder, then practically ANY OTHER CHARACTER a would have been better. Cecily and Gabriel and the others were in Idris but, once again, there’s Grace, Lucie, James, Thomas, Anna, Matthew, etc. Hell, even Rosamund Wentworth, who arrives pretty soon after Kit’s death, knew him longer than Cordelia!

*Ahem* Thank you for listening to my PSA

[pansexual-lilychen]

i honestly think alastair & grace should just drop their siblings and become each other’s siblings because they’re both better and more caring siblings than cordelia & jesse