#that damn gracelet

[clockwork-carstairs]

the last hours was actually so tragic. like maybe it’s the edwardian london thing that makes it seem more tragic to me but damn all that miscommunication made them all so LONELY and isolated when they didn’t have to be. in tid even when will thought he was cursed he had jem, and even when he was being awful to tessa she still had other people in her life like jem and sophie. jem and tessa had no family, but they had people they talked to and shared their fears with. in the dark artifices, they’re this really strong family unit, the tragedy is horrible but there’s a network around them all (blackthorns + emma + kit) so no one’s really alone.

but in the last hours like….these kids HAVE parents and friend groups and supposed best friends even, yet they seem more isolated than any other series mains. james doesn’t tell anyone about the gracelet and what he went through (fair enough bec it was terrible and traumatising). but then it’s not just that. cordelia isn’t telling anyone what she’s going through. lucie isn’t telling anyone what she’s going through (trying to bring someone back to life???) – and they’re supposedly best friends and future parabatai! and matthew isn’t telling anyone what he’s going through, not his parabatai either, and no one wants to address how visibly he’s suffering. and grace, she’s actually alone. and it just seems so lonely and sad and they all seem so isolated even though they shouldn’t be, because unlike the tid and tda mains, the tlh lot actually have parents and their own homes (for the most part). the start of chain of thorns especially is just really painful because they’re all suffering ALONE when they all have people around them they just don’t bridge the gap. it just feels so lonely which is almost ironic bec what about the friendship of the merry thieves and the parabatai bonds and best friendship?

[gracecarstairss]

fr!!! moment of silence for tmh!James and tlh in general 😔

the midnight heir took place 7 months before the last hours.... the same year??? that was the same year???

[pansexual-lilychen]

let's talk about the "my father was cursed. Whereas I, I'm damned" line because it was damn good and so herondale like but WHAT HAPPENED

nah for real, homeboy was in the TRENCHES

in tlh it is explained that it was because grace broke up with james and asked him to return the gracelet, which he did.

and to me it seemed like it was implied that his behaviour was the aftermath of being exposed to the gracelet for so long, however after reading chot that doesn’t make much sense to me? in chot once it breaks, it’s like a fog is lifted and jamie is totally fine?

(also going from feeling like you’re dammed to being the confident man that he is in tlh is CRAZY)

honestly i don’t get it and there is literally no point in analysing james in the short stories vs in tlh because they’re different people. i have given up.

[belle-keys]

On this week's episode of E!’s Botched: James Herondale's character (Meta)

We've now reached my meta piece on our Angel-Demon Boy Extraordinaire, James Herondale! (Not to be confused with just Angel Boy Extraordinaire, Jace Herondale).

I adore James’ character so much. He's such a sweet, comfortable, and noble main character that you absolutely can't help respect, admire, and sympathize with him in the main trilogy. James, in Chain of Thorns, is on the Jem-tier of sympathetic and lovable. That being said, I have some criticisms of the way his character arc played out in Chain of Thorns especially that I'd like to pick apart... because I can. Moreover, I have a, uh, wee problem with the way I could literally hear Cassie fiddling around with the levers and gears of the narrative as far as James is concerned in The Last Hours (which starts mainly by the end of Chain of Iron and going into Chain of Thorns but was there from the beginning). If you’re super not-in-the-mood to read any criticisms of James (even one where I’ll be blaming only the narrative and not James in any capacity at all), then feel free to not read this.

Powers Begone

James and Lucie lose their demonic powers at the very end of the story. There is no opportunity for growth in the future regarding James and Lucie's demonic heritage. James will no longer be able to use the runed gun that only he can use. This is boring insomuch as it forces the reader to acknowledge James' and Lucie's powers and their inherited darkness as something that was created for the purpose of existing as an obstacle to overcome, rather than as a portion of themselves to come to coexist with. It's not necessarily bad writing but it's just extremely cookie-cutter writing, especially as it makes the central conflict in the story something that will bear no real power in the future and nor will it have a legacy– it has no weight. If the narrative has created these demonic powers to be something that can be detached from the characters with no caveats, then James and Lucie have only managed to be victims of these powers in the story before they shed them. The Belial powers that they've inherited are like raindrops on a windscreen. Rainfall is an obstacle to driving, it's a nuisance, and it can even make you get into a car accident. But at the end of the day, once your windshield wiper is working, you can brush the raindrops away. The narrative brushes away James and Lucie's powers at the end of the story, which is fine, but it also brushes away any and all of the consequences this power should have. The narrative has wiped away any of the long-term effects of the emotional, psychological, and physical consequences or legacy that their powers could have. This isn't a plea for James and Lucie to be destroyed by their powers, but rather, I feel like this complete loss of power and "moving on", which is part of why I find the Epilogue to be so weak, sanitizes James and Lucie's line from being tinged and stained with their inheritance. And while I reiterate that this is not categorically bad writing, it’s just kinda boring to me. James' arc ends exactly where it started, but without the poetry of a "come full circle" storyline. My issue is that James' character does a complete 360 (and not a 180) in a... lame way. Considering this demonic power is what raised Jesse from the dead (a really good thing!) and was the catalyst for the creation of the gracelet too, the disappearance of it makes for, yeah, a very sweet story. And a sweet story is just never as poignant as a bittersweet story. But this last sentence is just me projecting. Maybe. Moving on.

(N.B. But another reason I didn’t think the Epilogue was good, despite it being so warm and pure amd enjoyable for me, is because we damn well know that Cassie is good at writing bittersweet endings. Your main character living with demonic poison in his veins as a mute monk for 150 years before he can finally be with the love of his life and without having forced her to choose only one of the two men she’s ever loved is peak bittersweet writing. Your other main character sacrificing his literal memory to a Demon Prince to get his close friends out of a literal Hell realm and then slowly becoming empowered after that trauma and regaining his memory is peak bittersweet writing.)

You Can’t Spell Herondale Without Hero

James’ goodness is as good as it is bad in the context of the story, and I attribute this paradox to the fact that he’s a Herondale. There’s a Herondale legacy to protect, after all, with his character, and as a result, the story is simultaneously enriched and hindered by James’ parentage and characterization. I'd even argue that said characterization is the direct result of having said parentage, which isn't a bad thing at all. But, what I have an issue with is the way James' characterization feels, you guessed it, entirely sanitized. No, I'm not saying here that there was an Original Dark James that got lost in the wind or cut from the drafts (I mean, yes, I do absolutely think that, yes, but I'm not gonna try to tear apart his character on that basis, because it'd be mean, but it's also pure speculation, and I have no desire to pick apart the Secret Dark Original Ending anyway).

The narrative spends a lot of time protecting James, his heroism, and his nobility, and its choice method of protecting James has been to strip James of his agency. James spends the whole of The Last Hours experiencing things happen to him, but not really doing things. He gets possessed by Belial, he gets blackmailed by Belial, he gets the gracelet put on him by Grace, he gets stabbed by Cortana, he had his wife run away to Paris before he could stop her… I could go on. He spends the entire series being hurt and manipulated by other people and entities because he’s just so good and loving, and he spends little of his time actually making choices that can permanently affect others, for better or for worse. Because James spends the majority of the trilogy literally not having much free will at all (gracelet followed by possession back to back), the story essentially bulletproofs him from having to be anything but a noble, good hero who simply can’t help but just have Hell and Earth constantly hurtling toward him. This goodness also hinders the story as well because James is simply too good, too noble, too innocent to be anything else but a victim by virtue of his treatment by the narrative. The way his goodness is preyed on constantly and the way he is just mainly reactive to the whole situation is quite… bland. And moreover, the other characters spin around him like he’s the sun, which, as I noted in a previous ask, makes for weak character development as you can’t fricking blow up the sun. He’s fixed in his own orbit as actions in the form of comets bounce off him. Nothing that happens and that has a negative legacy for the other characters actually manages to touch James as he becomes an increasingly passive actor in a story that is fundamentally founded on him. On top of James being, quite obviously, the perfect gentleman and husband and also being obscenely rich, fortunate, and privileged, it feels like he was robbed of the opportunity to be anything less than ideal by the way the narrative puppeteered him.

We know James Herondale always felt like he was “not cursed, but damned” and was “destined to walk among thorns and flowers”. The setup for The Last Hours in the prequel short stories was dark, and we all know Cassie was about to end off this series in a very sinister way. I won’t ramble on about that last point too much, but I do wonder if James was originally supposed to be characterized with way more darkness within him (at least, more than the amount of darkness that I'm expecting), which would lend to a very interesting contrast between his idyllic family and upbringing and whatever “damnation” he felt lived within his soul. I also wonder if simply not characterizing James like this was Cassie’s way of making sure that she didn’t taint Will and Tessa’s legacy directly and didn’t undo Wessa’s Happily Ever After. Regardless, the narrative coddles James (and Lucie, and Cordelia) and strips him of any complexity or dubiousness when, in my opinion, the foundation was laid for something exactly like that.

(N.B. Jem is kind of like this too... ish. It doesn’t really bother me, as Jem was supposed to be a foil for Will but also because Jem simply never got everything his wanted, and definitely not when he wanted it.)

Concluding Thoughts

Now let’s get something straight: As a romantic lead, James Herondale is excellent. I thought his enduring love for Cordelia and the way he exemplified the idea that goodness can literally break apart the forces of Hell was amazing as a core theme in the story, and I am so fond of my annotations for all his scenes with Cordelia, because I can barely think of anyone who deserves that kind of love and joy by the Epilogue of ChoT. But the way Cassie wrote James implies a character that is so pure, innocent, and well loved, that all he can be is the hurt prince, a target because of these very qualities, someone who sometimes does things like shoot a gun… a gun that he literally gives up by the end of the story anyway. James is warm, kind, brilliant, strong and big on loyalty. But… what did James Henry Morgan Herondale really do in The Last Hours besides serve whatever purpose the book absolutely needed him to, be beautiful, and destroy at least one (1) doorknob on a certain warm, passionate night?

[amchara]

Chain of Thorns - First Impressions

I finished the book a couple hours ago and needed to take a bit of time to formulate my thoughts. I’m a fast reader and admittedly, this can mean I skim in some places / go over some details so doubtless I’ll pick up on more when I do my reread. 

They got long so underneath the cut… but here are my first impressions of Chain of Thorns: 

I liked it a lot. I didn’t love it. It suffered from many of the same issues that plagued Queen of Air and Darkness and maybe even a bit more in this book. Namely, too big of a cast, too much plot to explore decently but more importantly -  lack of follow-through/consequences for characters’ actions or events in the book. 

Some initial points: 

SOMEONE ELSE SHOULD’VE DIED/BEEN EXILED/BEEN LOST IN ANOTHER REALM. I like the happy endings they got (I have much love for these characters). But it didn’t feel earned. :/ 

Also the pacing throughout much of the book was breakneck, bar a few quiet interludes. Some storylines - Lucie, Jesse and Malcolm’s visit to Cornwall and Matthew and Cordelia’s Paris interlude could’ve used a few more pages to really allow the characters to develop/explore why they were really there before pulling them back in service of the main plot. 

Let’s start off with what I did love: 

My love for Matthew, Cordelia and James’ characters was maintained and possibly even grew during this final book. I just - *BITES FIST* Honestly, I’m pretty damn happy where things ended up when it comes to the interpersonal relationships and dynamics between the three of them.  

I loved that we got Fairstairs in Paris, though I will pout (and almost certainly finish that one fanfic for…) it was so little. Just- James could’ve arrived later on? Not been waiting in their room? *forever mourns the lost opportunity* 

I especially appreciated the brokenness of the three of them as they returned to London. The time it took them to muddle through, process and re-discover their true feelings post-Gracelet revelation and how it shaped the course. But how they all still desperately cared about one another and it never wavered even when they were furious with each other. 

Controversial opinion - though I know Bry will back me up on this - but James and Matthew’s parabatai relationship is the best one out of all the TSC parabatai - yes, even Will and Jem, who were idealised. Matthew and James’ relationship is that perfect mix of love, frustration, co-dependency that you need for a parabatai relationship.  

It rose to new heights in Chain of Thorns, as James was finally able to break down Matthew’s walls and help him begin to heal, not only with his drinking but also his self-loathing. And Matthew finally gets his friend back who has been suppressed emotionally for three years (!!!) and you can just feel the intensity and pull of the relationship between the two of them, for good or bad, throughout the book. The scenes in Edom just killed me.

And Cordelia is - maybe not glue but it’s just - something separate but essential between the three of them. The mirror, perhaps? Reflecting their best selves upon her. And Matthew and James’ unconditional love heals the part of her that feels she has to be useful or heroic to be loved

Look romantic or platonic, you cannot convince me otherwise that they weren’t all meant to be together in some fashion, even if it’s not a classic OT3, but maybe more V-triad? <brb just thinking about a heronfairstairs fic set in the 1910s> 

UGH. I AM EMOTIONAL JUST THINKING ABOUT IT.  It’s a messier, truer to life version of the Jem-Tessa-Will situation (especially if Jem hadn’t become a Silent Brother) and you won’t be able to convince me otherwise. 

Cordelia, she broke my heart with Matthew but I accept it. I knew she was going to end up with James. But I do think- much like Tessa was with Jem, Matthew and Cordelia’s love for each other is a quieter flame than the ones they have for their respective Herondales, and it’s a shame it wasn’t explored more.  

I think the one sticking point for Cordelia and Matthew in terms of romance is Matthew’s drinking. Cordelia has trauma around her father’s drinking and to see it reflected in Matthew (even if he is successful in his sobriety) means there’s that extra hurdle if they were to enter a romantic relationship. Cordelia is pragmatic enough that she knows she does not want the same type of relationship her mother and father had.

James and Cordelia- I did enjoy their ups and downs. I do enjoy them together. I think I am always going to be slightly put out that it didn’t end more tragically. Herondales always win in love- and the way that James’ story and history has been framed and referenced in SO MANY OTHER Shadowhunter books made me think possibly there would be something different this time- that he’d lose one of his loves, either Cordelia or Matthew.

Quick points individually: 

Cordelia - My girl remains the best- she is the best combo of heroine - kind but proud, reckless but also caring and straightforward in her dealings. She can’t abide to be cruel but she can be ruthless (her cutting Tatiana’s throat- dammmmmnnnnn) 

James - *checks* Not feral enough, lol. Yes, we did get many moments… especially post-Paris and ummm, that scene where he and Cordelia consummated their marriage but could’ve used more. Will come back with more coherent thoughts later. 

Matthew… oh my darling Matthew. I’m going to have to come back to him in a separate post, I think. Having just read his arc in this book- I get why Cassie didn’t kill him off or separate him from his friends. There was already so much hopelessness woven into his storyline and a lot of uncertainty if he’s even going to succeed in remaining sober, any tragic ending would’ve felt pointlessly cruel, I think. 

Ultimately, his journey isn’t over but I appreciate the steps he took during this book. At the same time, it feels so strange we ended the book with Matthew’s future still a large question mark. Still time for him to get lost in Faerie!! I ultimately believe he has a promising yet tragic life to lead, and I want to know what it is…

Other things I loved:

The Merry Thieves relationship in Chain of Thorns >>>>>> 

Especially the scenes where they all go to help Matthew get through his first couple days of non-drinking. And of Thomas and Christopher each going to respectively check on James and Matthew. I loved their dynamic during this book, which I think we saw in Chain of Gold but less so in CHain of Iron so was happy to see its return. 

Thomas and Alastair - were perfection. No notes. 

I have to admit I might’ve skimmed over a few of their scenes that were cute but were interludes during other tense moments, when I was dying to know what happened to other characters we had just cut away from… but I am going to savour their interactions on my reread.

Alastair and Cordelia’s sibling relationship also remains amazing. As admitted before, I am a Carstairs family fan and this book definitely helped cement that.

After a few Christopher POVs, I definitely got the sinking feeling he was a goner. And yep- I was correct- as were quite a few others in fandom. He wasn’t one of my favourites but his development in the first half of Chain of Thorns before his death- his expanded interactions with the other Merry Thieves and his growing relationship with Grace were a delight to read and I am sad he didn’t make it. Also, I am such a sucker for an Orpheus and Eurydice callback so I absolutely adored the moment in the laboratory. 

I think I’ll need to reread before I can fully opine on Grace’s arc in Chain of Thorns but my first impressions were favourable. I like that she didn’t get the full redemption arc right away. I appreciated she told Cordelia what had happened with her and James but it was strange we didn’t get that scene but were told it? Hmm, this was something that bothered me a few times- there were some important conversations between characters which should’ve happened ‘on page’ but didn’t. 

Things I was relatively meh about: 

Anna and Ariadne - they were… fine? I absolutely get they are some people’s fav characters but I think out of all of the characters, many of their scenes would’ve been the easiest to cut, and it might’ve made a more cohesive, tightly-plotted story. 

Jesse and Lucie - honestly, I think the plot with Belial overshadowed the consequences of Lucie bringing Jesse back to life. No, he wasn’t just half alive, he WAS DEAD. You did necromancy, Lucie- accept it! I hate that it all seemingly was swept under the rug. :/

And sadly, Jesse as a character in Chain of Thorns was… boring. I’m sad to say it but it’s true! I appreciated him so much more as a sarky ghost.

Lucie’s plotlines… I need to reread but I think it’s a combo of Lucie’s storylines not getting a proper chance to breathe, like- what she and Malcolm were going to do to raise Annabel in Cornwall, or being too tied to what she can do with her ghost powers to help against Belial. She felt more like a plot device in this book than the others, and I disliked that for her. Maybe that will change upon reread but ehh. Wasted potential overall on both Jesse and Lucie. 

Overall plotline with Belial - less interesting this time around? Hmm. Need to pay more attention to it on reread but first views were less than favourable. That being said, I guess he and Tatiana were quite clever with the Watchers and the plotline with the Cornwall Institute.

I enjoyed all of the Lilith-Cordelia interactions though - super fun to watch them spar verbally, and loved that Lilith kept implying that if Cordelia fullfilled her oath as paladin, she could have BOTH Matthew and James. Lilith isn’t shocked by that sorta thing, lol. 

Lastly, the inherent bigotry and cruelty of the Enclave was used more as a plot device to get the adults out of the way for the big showdown and I hated that immensely- especially as all the fuss about Tessa and Lucie and James’ bloodline was again, all resolved by the end of the book. Booo, no lasting consequences. 

This is very long for first impressions but anyway… I’m glad I’ve written it all down. Happy to engage in comments/reblogs but let’s discuss civilly, and of course - tag all your spoilers!    

[lifewouldbebetteronmars]

The first time we meet chris is like right after she says that line

Before I can possibly explain how attached she is to him, I have to set the scene

1) chris' mom is dead. She died in a coma after inhaling smoke from a fire that was set by a genocidal group aiming to kill every faerie they could, chris and technically ana were the only survivors. chris' mom was andromeda's sister, they were very close, and after they lost their fathers a year previous, she was devastated by losing her sister

2) sarg is chris' biological uncle, they look very similar when it comes to eye shape and color, build, and their ears

3) andromeda has been subtly manipulated for the last 4 years by lilith, which includes occasionally being possessed by her when she won't do the things lilith wants

4) lilith possessed her in order to make her have sex with sarg

5) sarg doesn't know about the lilith thing because andromeda is barely aware of it and isn't able to talk about it(think gracelet)

6) andromeda falls pregnant but due to the fact that they are in a literal war in which she is getting shot at and stabbed on the daily, she looses it about 2 months in

7) before she can rationalize what happened enough to tell sarg, all of her friends tell her while she's in the hospital that they "can't put up with her anymore" and drop all contact with her, sarg didn't even go in person he had the friends give her a letter on his behalf

And then she gets called in on a human traffic case, in which she is reunited her nephew chris. Only thing is, because of her grief, she doesn't realize that he is her nephew because her brain automatically points out the similarities to sarg and part of her immediately connects him to being their baby

*I am noting this to say that chris does not see her as a maternal figure, and he's less of a son to andromeda and more of a replacement and representation of what she's lost due her own flaws and behaviors

Damn

That’s all I’ve got to say

[immortal-enemies]

Favorite parts about CHOT and least favorite?

OOF okay let's do this.

Fav parts:

Jesse. Enough said.

Lucie and Jesse

James and Jesse friendship

That Matthew didn't die (I think that after she already killed off one alcoholic, then she shouldn't get to just kill off the other)

How much attention was paid to the gracelet (fuck Christopher lightwood and his bs tho. Glad he's dead xo)

Thomastair (what can I say? They actually won me over 😪)

Ari (LOVE HER. AN ICON.)

Possessed!James. Should have lasted longer tho, had a lot of potential (might write a fic. We'll see)

How little Magnus was in it

Fucking, Rupert and Jesse's interaction??? Love.

The fate of the gun and Belial. It was just so fucking interesting to me.

Possessed!James picture. Don't swing that way but James always be getting me to question my sexuality.

I loved the Belial-possessing-innocent-people scene. That shit was so damn dark and creepy

The prologue (I'm sorry I just have a lot of thoughts).

That's all I can think of rn, but we'll move on to the things I didn't like:

Common complaint, but the book felt v incomplete. I wish we had gotten to see actual reactions to Christopher's death, but that's only on a "I know logically this should have happened" level. After ChoT I rightfully hate Christopher lol

Wanted literally most to see James's parents react to the gracelet and more possessed!James but we just can't have nice things.

Cordelia. My god she was the fucking WORST in the first like 400 pages??? Significantly dropped in my TSC rankings. She used to be my like 3rd fav but now she'd be lucky to make top 10 lol

Christopher. Need I say more? Good fucking riddance.

That's the bad stuff off the top of my head atm but ye :))

[cherrybomb618]

Some CoT shenanigans (?)

I know it's been only a day since I read the book but I need to do this so badlyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

Here are some thoughts about CoT that I need to get out in the open before they eat me alive. I’m just a fan of this series since 2014 and I’ve been waiting for this book to come since that year.

(Note: English is not my native language so sorry for the mistakes)

-------------------------SPOILER ALERT!!!-----------------------------

In general I can say I really enjoy the book, I liked it a lot. I mean, I did feel it a bit rushed since the Intermission chapter, and at the same time I felt it a bit slowed before the same chapter. I felt as things that were relevant (for example, the bracelet thing or finding Lucie) could be written or summarized in two or three chapters but took so long to resolve. Anyways, I’ll be breaking down some of the stuff that I can’t stop thinking about

1. The love triangle. I mean, WHY? There was already a third person in that relationship (aka Gracelet). I won’t lie, at the beginning I wanted to know what would happen or how would it be if Matthew and Cordelia kissed. But just a kiss, not the whole bridge and hotel scene. While I was reading half of it, I wanted the kissing to stop lol. I mean, you can see how much she drowns in love for James in the past books, but there are just tiny glimpses of her POV when she acknowledges Matthew’s smile, eyes, etc., but not in such a romantic way as when she talks about James, it was more friendly if anything when she talks about Math. That difference made me feel that maybe the scene was kinda out of place. Idk, I just felt as if there wasn’t enough romantic history between these two to make such a scene like that (not the way as in TID where you could see Tessa and Jem having those moments as well as Will and Tessa). Their friendship was really special, and it should have remained that way. This love triangle felt as another way to wound Matthew bc I think everyone knew how it would end.

2. Cristopher’s death. IDK HOW TO FEEL ABOUT IT (Of course I’m sad but you know). Because I really wish we could’ve been able to see more of him in the past books. I had a really strong feeling that all his potential was only shown in a few pages of CoT, in the way he helped Matthew with his abstinence and Kit’s reaction and wisdom about all the bracelet thing.  I know he’s similar to Henry’s character (in the way he’s too wrap up in scientistic stuff) but Kit is WAY CLOSER to the Merry Thieves (damn, he was one of the 4 members – and as far as I’m concerned James, Matthew and Thomas characters had similar relevance) and way more INVOLVED in the plot than Henry was on TID. I do think Kit deserved more relevance.

3. The coronation. I had hope it would have some deeper meaning to the plot, as if the coronation would allow Belial’s to take control all over the world, not only London (I can’t recall if it was mentioned, if that’s the case, I would’ve liked more elaboration as to the consequences)  – or for instance, it would had some other frikin’ dark and evil reason as to why he’s been planning all this stuff up since so long ago.

4.  There were too many characters for only three books. I mean, we followed so many storylines and that’s why I felt it was a little rushed in the end. And even in the Epilogue, it didn’t give me a sense of closure (tbh, Idk if that’s for the better) – still, I don’t know why I have this feeling as if there were things left unspoken. Like I was expecting for a conversation between James and Cordelia after everything that they went through. Same for Lucie and Cordelia (this is another thing that had me losing my mind, see next point). I was hoping that we’ll get to see Matthew’s story confession and the whole gang reaction. I thought we would see all and more scenes I wanted to read but there were only sentences that made look as if everything was so unseeingly settle.

As well, there were situations that I thought would be a little bit hard to work out (Anna and Ariadne relationship or Alastair’s confession for reference (Idk if I’m missing something but I don’t recall Sona knowing that Alastair liked men, pls forgive my bad memory if that’s the case ☹)) but at the end it was so simple. I mean, despite everything Anna and Ariadne had said in the past, I was expecting they’re relationship to develop a little more strongly. Idk if that makes sense but I felt such an absence of Anna’s usual character, Idk why (For instance, this is regarding her behavior before Kit’s death). I mean, they never really talked, there were only kisses scenes - but I wanted them to actually sit and settle things down, not in the rush of the moment, like the battle.

5. Cordelia and Lucie relationship. OMG I wanted so bad for them to be parabatai. This was one of the reasons I wanted to read TLH, but tbh I felt as if their relationship was push aside (for most of the series). I know each one of them had a secret but I’d loved to see them bonding more than for a few scenes. And in the end, IDFK when did they worked out their problems. I mean, there were pretty awful words and hurt feelings between them but I don’t know if I missed the part where they apologize – or at least talk about it. Still, I’m happy to see they did get to do the ceremony and all.

6. Grace. For most of my reading of TLH I only thought of her just as a tiny not-so-evil lovely bug that was manipulated by her mother. I didn’t exactly hate her – I felt a strange sympathy for her. It was such a complex character and I liked the way she was developing throughout the book – until the epilogue. Idk what it was but somehow, I felt her ending incomplete.

7. Tatiana’s death. I didn’t want Cordelia to kill anyone. I mean, I know they’re shadowhunters but they kill demons, no humans or someone like them. It was weird at the beginning BUT honestly Idk what other ending I can imagine for all the horrible things Tatiana had done.

Now, things I actually LOOOOOOOOOOVED.

1. The way Matthew’s problem with alcohol was handled. I was so f****** afraid he was going to die bc of it, but he didn’t so I’m happy.

2. One thing that I really loved was the fact the it was the love that James felt for Cordelia what break the bracelet and free him from its power and also overpower his grandfathers will (considering that man was a Prince of Hell). I found it rather poetic.

3. LOVED WILL SENDING FIRE MESSAGES AND THE THELEPHONE THING. THAT WAS SO FRIKIN FUNNY.

4. I didn’t know how much I needed the scene between Tessa and Lucie until I read it. (And the little fraction of sentence were Tessa and Will were fighting the Watchers).

5. This may be controversial, but I feel so conflicted about the ending. I already established that I didn’t get the closure that I’m used to regarding other CC’s books. Still, I can’t help but be happy that the couples (except for Kit and Grace) ended up being together and happy.

[polin-erospsyche]

I often find myself agreeing with your TID posts! I agree that JCM triangle is not going to be like WTJ, bc I believe that this relationship worked bc in the end CC knew that Jem would eventually have his life with Tessa. Here is different bc JCM don't have a "death sentence". I think their triangle is going to be like Clary/Simon/Jace but it's gonna be more angsty bc J and M are best friends. C may have a brief phase where she's w/Math but then she'll end up w/J after a lot of angst. lol

That’s cool! Thanks for the validation! Sorry it took me a while to answer. I started to answer on my phone before I realised that I wanted to give you a proper answer so I’m sorry if this is a bit long (actually it’s much longer than I thought it would be ooops). Also, it took me a minute to understand who was JCM and WTJ, I’m really slow 🤣 

I believe they are completely different from each other and we’ll see that in the next couple of books. We know that James and Matthew will butt head and that it won’t necessarily be about Cordelia. Honestly, I’m not surprised, when I read Chain of Gold I had a weird feeling that they were not on the same level. I felt like Matthew was more attached to James than James to Matthew. I’m not saying that James does not love Matthew, of course he does, a lot. I’m just thinking that because of the nature of their own demons James is preoccupied by being controlled by a cursed bracelet and the shadow realm and Matthew is desperately running from his own shadow, holding onto anyone who could be able to love him and James, as his parabatai, is perfect (little does Matthew know that because of the bracelet James is not able to love him fully without reservation). Once again, I’m not diminishing James’ love for Matthew, I just think that maybe it’s not as much as Mathew wants, you can totally contradict me on that. So already, from the beginning of TLH, for me, their bond is fragile. Honestly every time I was reading a passage with the both of them, I always had a weird feeling, like I was walking on egg shells and that it was a push and pull relationship, it might have only been because James was under the curse though.

Comes in Cordelia, James’ childhood friend and the girl he is in love with, although he doesn’t know it yet. Matthew falls for her or maybe he falls for the idea of her (that’s arguable). I personally think that even if he means well, he will slip at some point. From a narrative perspective it makes sense to me. You’ve got those three characters that are carefully balancing at the moment but they are at the edge of a precipice and one of them has to move to make all of them find a new state (I hope this makes sense). So, I think that at some point Matthew is either going to let it out and tell her that no, she does not need to marry someone who doesn’t love her or he’s just going to straight out kiss her. No matter how it happens I have a feeling he’s going to blame it on alcohol (I have to thank @cecilyfightwood for that). Cordelia is going to be taken aback but I don’t think she’s going to be completely against it, which is where your thought of ‘they might be together for a while’ comes in. I’ve seen people judge Daisy for maybe falling for Matthew because that just means her love for James isn’t strong enough, but I mean come on! Give the girl a break. She doesn’t know what we, as readers, know. She is persuaded that the boy she loves is in love with another and she might feel a little toyed with after what happened in the Whispering Room (although these two idiots both agreed it was just pretending, really I just want to facepalm myself repeatedly at this point). What she believes is that she’s going to have to marry someone whom she loves, who doesn’t love back and she’s going to have to see him deny his feelings every day in front of her while acting like he loves her (that’s a great storyline for us, in reality it probably feels like a personal kind of torture). So yeah, if there’s someone as kind, attentive and funny as Matthew around I’m not surprised that she’s going to try and forget about her heartbreak. However, I don’t think they’ll be together, I think they’ll toy with that line for a while. I have a feeling there might come a point where Cordelia won’t know her own feelings towards Math.

I think that James’ bracelet being taken off and his realisation of his feelings for Cordelia might come too late. He doesn’t know that Daisy loves him either, actually I reckon he probably thinks she doesn’t. And if he catches Cordelia and Matthew together (it doesn’t have to be a kiss or anything, it can just be the way they act when they are together) he might ultimately be the one to decide not to say anything and let them be happy. However, compared to Jem and Will who were never jealous of each other, we’ve seen Matthew get very jealous of James and I think we might see James try to distance himself from Matthew to better deal with his own unspoken jealousy. James believing that Cordelia likes Matthew and Matthew knowing (I think he’ll know) that Cordelia is still somewhat undecided between the two will make animosity and tension grow between them. I don’t think they’ll fight specifically about that but I think it’ll be underlying their argument. Eventually, I think Matthew will see that he does not stand a chance against James. I think Matthew will get hurt because instead of coming to terms with his own demons and learning to love himself he’ll have latched onto two people (by leaving home in Chain of Iron I have a feeling he is trying to distance himself from the people around him) who ultimately will choose each other and not him. I’d like to think that he’ll probably drink even more and then he’ll have someone shake him awake which will spur him into starting to forgive himself but not before he has a talk with Charlotte (that boy just really needs to talk to his mum not matter how impossible it might seem for him). I believe it has to get a lot worse for Matthew emotionally, before it can get better.

But yeah all of this to say that they are definitely not the same as Herongraystairs and they’re not the same as Clary/Simon/Jace either. From what I know (I’m not the best placed to talk about this) Clary chose to be with Simon to get over Jace but never actually loved Simon in this way because it was always Jace, and both Jace and Clary knew that they had feelings for each other the whole time. I don’t think Matthew is going to be used. I think that James/Cordelia/Matthew don’t know any better and ultimately whether what I say is true or not they don’t want to hurt each other, that’s not their goal and so no matter what happens the tragic thing is that none of them are to blame for whatever’s going to happen. It just eventually comes down to lack of communication, miscommunication and bad timing. Of course, if you want to blame someone Tatiana and Belial are perfect for that (I refuse to blame Grace after just one book).

Anyway, if you’ve read all of this, sorry for my long-ass answer and thanks for coming to my Ted talk. Hopefully I’ve added somethings instead of rehashing things that we already knew. And as always please let me know if you don’t agree with me and why so we can chat!

[pansyherondale]

james: hey, have you ever liked someone so much but are too scared to say anything?

cordelia: ALL the time

james: same

cordelia:

james:

everyone, including lucie: CAN YOU GUYS JUST MAKE OUT ALREADY OH MY GOD

[dreamofmysoul-tsc]

Considering the amount of people who seem to be very bored by James (which is valid, gracelet James is rough) I would just like to say that he's an oblivious idiot and I love him so much

[purplebass]

I was just thinking about the parallels between the Herondales and the Blackthorns about curses. Will thought he was cursed by a demon, but he wasn't - he had been tricked into thinking he was. James thought he was cursed because of his power. Heck, the poor guy thought he was damned. Lucie never openly discussed her power so far, so one may believe that she doesn't feel like her brother in this regard, but I just think she doesn't want others to worry about her like they worry about James. James and Lucie aren't troublemakers - quite the opposite. But they have been under scrutiny in the shadow world because of their heritage. They are half-warlocks, plus they have unusual powers. Everyone found out about James' power after the event at the Academy, but no one (except Jesse) knows that Lucie can also do something very shocking and exceptional for a shadowhunter and against their rules. Necromancy is forbidden by Shadowhunters, and it's also something against nature itself. So Lucie in this regard parallels with Will. Will never told anybody about his curse, except for Magnus and Tessa. Lucie never defined her necromancy power as a curse, and only told Jesse. Grace also participated in the 'let's bring Jesse back to life campaign' but she thinks that Lucie is helping her, and she doesn't seem to realize the extent of Lucie's involvement in the whole thing (as an animator of sorts - or better resuscitator! lol). Also, while Will didn't love anyone but Jem because he thought they would die, Lucie is in love with a person who used to be dead. Ironic, right?

While the Herondales believe they are cursed, the ones who really are damned are the Blackthorns. And, to some extent, they have been cursed by association to the rot side of the Lightwood family: Benedict and Tatiana. Benedict was cursed with demon pox and thus punished by turning into a worm, eating his son-in-law Rupert Blackthorn and damning his daughter to live a lonely life full of disdain, vengeance and bitterness. After learning Rupert is the ghost in SOBH, I want you all to read these lines from the poem opening chapter 7 of Clockwork Prince, which I believe illustrates his situation very well:

An orphan’s curse would drag to hell A spirit from on high; But oh! more horrible than that Is the curse in a dead man’s eye! Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, And yet I could not die. —Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

It's like Benedict's curse passed onto his daughter, who carried it on her children and, unknowingly to us, to her deceased husband. As we know, Tatiana's hatred brought Jesse to his death and Grace to being completely neglected. Both of them were used as a means to an end (stupid revenge). Both of them, in my opinion, are cursed. Not a literal curse. Jesse had been cursed to die young and to live half a life, while Grace had been cursed with a siren power to deprive others of their free-will. CoI ended with Jesse's life being restored into his body, although we still don't know to what extent... is he really the Jesse we've known so far or it's 'another' Jesse? As for Grace, she also seems to have realized she needed to turn to a new leaf, but we still don't know if she will do it in CoT. What I want to emphasize here is that: Will wasn't cursed but Tatiana vowed to 'curse' James with the gracelet by using Grace. James 'fell' for Grace but Cordelia, broke the curse with the power of love (sounds stupid but that's what happened bro). The question is, yet again, if Tatiana also vowed to 'curse' Lucie by pushing Jesse to make her fall for him or that was completely unexpected. I want to believe that Jesse falling for Lucie is real, as opposed to Grace 'falling' for James which was all fake, and that Lucie broke Jesse's curse with her love.

[tessa-gray-and-her-books]

Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, the angels want and need teenage shadowhunter drama. Think about it in tmi they could have sent a message or give Clary a vision for a DNA test rune or really whatever but nooo, wait for Jocelyn to wake up and Sebastian/Jonathan to tell them the truth. TLH I mean just break the damn gracelet like if u can rule heaven u can break a metal bracelet. Tid literally just save Jem and give will a sign that he isn't cursed. Tda just break the god damned curse I mean by the angel just do something with their gossip filled life. Like imagine raziel going up to ithuriel like omg malec finally kissed or clace is together again or wessa got married instead of Jessa or Kieran mark and Cristina are together or James finally woke up or even kitty sort of broke up. Like u would just save so much time. Ik u could ruin the plot but I mean still.

[belle-keys]

Incoherent Thoughts: Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare

Wow, haven't done one of these in about a year, I think. Here it is. The review of the book I've been waiting for since The Bane Chronicles. I gave my initial impressions of Chain of Thorns to my friends a couple of hours after I finished (operating on two brain cells only), and that was short and messy. This one is not short. It’s messy though, I’ll give you that.

TLDR: I loved this book so very much (despite my numerous issues with aspects of it). Here are the Incoherent Thoughts (a mix of critical and purely emotional reactions to the story. I've been waiting for this since 2014; of course, I frickin loved it despite everything).

Things that will tear me apart: The legacy of Clockwork Princess

There is nothing that could have gotten me to really hate this book. I've been waiting for it since 2014 and it was just so beautiful. It gave me the perfect mixture of comfort, nostalgia, excitement, and curiosity. These characters are my babies - probably more of my babies than Herongraystairs were, since I was 17 myself when GOTSM dropped and when the leadup to ChoG started. I was so happy to immerse myself in the same world that started when Tessa Gray popped into London in 1878 and I loved it here. Moreover, I think compared to TDA, TLH as a trilogy felt more polished and immersive. I really felt like this was a story that started in 2010 and which has grown like a vine with the generations of readers from back then (moving childhood to adulthood, like me), but also with the generation of characters in the story (who we also got to see grow up).

Moreover, Matthew's arc was perfect, and so I'm happy. Matthew was always going to be a core determining factor for me.

The core of the story: Love and Family

The Epilogue broke me, but in the good way. It really did. It was not as bittersweet or as sad or as mysterious or as all-encompassing as Cassie's other epilogues. But it was beautiful, and when I read:

Cordelia's heart was too full for speech. Without a word, she caught hold of her husband's hand. Side by side with James, Cordelia ran.

I felt so warm. The Epilogue felt like warmth, and it reminded me of the original Hyde Park picnic in Chain of Gold where Cordelia had just come to London and thought there was no future for her and when she hadn't yet come into herself. In a sense, I felt like we were reverting to that innocence and sense of peace at the start of Chain of Gold by ending off the trilogy in Hyde Park, with a dispersion of the characters to different parts of the world instead of a gathering to London. And likewise, March 2020, when ChoG dropped, is the same month when the pandemic started and all the universal awfulness on the planet turned up to 100. Now as the pandemic has retreated and I'm in a better place myself, the ending felt so fitting (as it pertains to James and Cordelia).

I mean, the book was about how the power of love and family, and unity can destroy and overcome even the most powerful forces in Hell, which is pretty powerful (meta on this coming soon). James healing Matthew for an entire night straight? Jordelia's pure love (and horniness) breaking the gracelet that was forged by a Prince of Hell? That's just so beautiful and perfect to me, the way Cassie shows how love prospers. I also think the book is about how secrecy and lies and falseness are actually more detrimental to love than massive acts of evil. Secrets and lies and the rigidity of society are the main conflicts of this series (I will update my current meta on this). Thematically, this story was an okay homage to Great Expectations but, just thematically, I thought it was perfect.

James, Cordelia, and Jordelia

Jordelia are the crux of the story. They truly love each other. Their love is so damn powerful. Like there's no doubting it. They really got back to each other through Hell and back. This is the kinda thing I read TSC for. This aspect of the story was beautiful and perfect, and at the core of James and Cordelia's relationship is something real and pure and good and strong - it's very storybookish. It succeeds in being very Layla and Majnun, in being very dramatic and earth-shattering and epic (in the Greek way). The endgame happened, and it was lovely. It reiterates the notion that goodness and love (God) will always defeat evil (Lucifer).

I now want to unequivocally state that Jordelia pissed me off for most of Chain of Thorns. Not even in the “I’m mildly frustrated” way. They're awful communicators, they lack cunning, and they both have way too much pride for their own good. They both also spent most of the series having no agency whatsoever, which is very annoying because they can only be victims who later become generic hero figures instead of anything more complex. Cordelia was tricked into becoming a paladin of Lilith and tricked into thinking her husband was being unfaithful to her. James was tricked into becoming infatuated with someone he didn't love and was literally fighting against the demonic inheritance he was born with - nothing has ever been James’ fault ever. Cordelia and James were victims for most of the trilogy, and I don't think they had to make difficult choices or ever had the need to possess any moral complexity. That pissed me off more and more throughout the story: the unwavering goodness and nobility and braveness that they inherently possessed. And I'm assuming this is by virtue of their last names being... Herondale... and... Carstairs. Cough. There is no plot armor stronger than being the children/descendants of the two most beloved characters in TSC. And boy, it fricking showed.

I'm not like, mad anymore. It's more of a me thing where I'm tired of morally perfect characters. And adding to the fact that James and Cordelia are so sheltered, rich asf, and also grew up among love and joy? James and Cordelia can... only do good, and can only be hurt by evil. They have never had enough agency in context of the narrative to choose to do something actually wrong. It's annoying. But I forgive them, it's fine. The biggest thing TLH suffers from is that James is Wessa's child (which is ironic, because that's why a lot of people even started reading TLH). James is like, great!, as a gentleman - he's attractive and well read and a great dancer and loves poetry and is rich and has manners and is handsome and is kind and is loving and is passionate and is the ideal bachelor, we get it. James Herondale is also clearly incapable of doing any wrong in his life and never had to make a single difficult choice besides to maybe self-sacrifice himself and then immediately get healed. So. Nothing bad was ever actually going to happen to James or Cordelia, or get in the way of their love. The narrative's duty was clearly to protect James in CHoT.

EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE THING! THERE WAS ONE THING THAT COULD HAVE GOTTEN IN THE WAY OF JORDELIA AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN INTERESTING AND COMPLEX AND IT DID LOWKEY KINDA PLAY OUT KIND OF THE WAY I WAS EXPECTING AND IT'S STILL KINDA UNRESOLVED BUT I WANTED MORE AND UGH CASSIE WAS SUCH A COWARD IN CHOT.

As for Cordelia, it's still a very mixed bag for me. I mean, she's one of the few brown women in YA fantasy who aren’t defined by fricking racial trauma or colonialism or genocide as part of her character arc. She's just a woman who happens to be brown. And she's so feminine and genteel and elegant and passionate and strong and loving, all qualities I live about her. She wants to come into her true self, and I see that struggle to find her place in the world and to find stability as her main internal conflict. I love her for that. But I also got tired of the fact that she lacks a single devious bone in her body. She is generally very oblivious and rather egotistical. She's simultaneously way too naive and proud for me to root for her all the time, and those qualities were never actually something she had to pay for in a significant way - Cassie has made her, like James, untouchable by the narrative. I love her, I really do, but I wanted to violently shake her.

Grace and Christopher

So, I have not properly processed that Kit is dead, and I may never. Moving on.

Anyways, I couldn't actually believe that the one person that did not hate Grace died. The one person that does not scorn Grace died. Grace's ending was... disappointing to me (I'll talk about this more in my Problems section). Grace is the most morally complex female character Cassie has written in TSC (I said what I said). All I wanted was for the gang to simply understand her. Not to forgive, or to forget, but just to see what she did and see why she did it. I wanted James to see and understand why she would do something so despicable. But James and Cordelia and the gang have simply decided to move on from Grace, not to understand her. They're brushing it off. That wasn't nearly good enough for me because I love Grace so much and I maintain she will be the most relatable character in the TLH for people in the real world.

I can't think of a good reason why Grace wasn't told about how Tatiana literally bought her, or why everyone else wasn't told that information or why that info didn't become public in the Enclave either. I can't think of a good reason why she isn't going to live with other Cartwrights or in the literal London Institute instead of among a bunch of people who will always kinda hate her. I think she has redeemed herself: she confessed what she did to Jesse, Cordelia, and Kit. Willingly. She helped them save London with science. She abandoned her mother and her mother's evil. She’s recognized what she’s done. But not enough was done in the story to close off her arc in a satisfying way, at least not for me. I also think making that one (1) Great Expectations quote about her siblingship with Jesse was a cop-out, because she should have said it platonically to James instead. But whatever.

Lucie and Jesse

Spent most of ChoG and ChoI not really caring about either of them only to start to like them both so much in ChoT? Jesse Blackthorn? What a man. And I warmed up to Lucie a lot. I feel like she didn't do all that much in this book, to be honest, but that's okay. I liked them both and I love how Jesse's meshed with the squad. On a side note, Lucie and Cordelia have the least compelling female friendship in the whole of TSC. I cannot properly grasp how or why they want to be parabatai. Like even their messiness isn't good or compelling messiness, so.

Matthew

He's getting a review post as long as this one on Friday or Saturday. It’ll be absurd for me to try to tackle his character here.

He is about to take over my life (again). His character arc was amazing. But moreover, I think he's the most... interesting character in the trilogy. Interesting in the purest sense of the word. He's the character I feel I understand best in TSC, and yet, I can't truly figure him out. He is either my No.2 or No.3 character in the whole of TSC right now. Matthew Fairchild is perfect. He is too good for everything ever. He, in his own way, carried the emotional aspect of the story for me. Which again speaks to how interesting Matthew is, as he doesn't get POVs. (I am genuinely trying to figure out how to express what I want to express right now.) Matthew could have like... changed everything, in a way, like he’s so powerful. Matthew's emotional state at the end of ChoT actually has changed everything, for me. I also think Matthew has managed to be the most subversive character in TLH, based on that ending alone. Matthew is an inherently jarring character, thematically, but also execution-wise. I hope Cassie knows how excellently he has maneuvered his character.

Everyone else

Alastair, Thomas, Anna, Ariadne, and the parents were all great. Tatiana was also a compelling villain (not as much as Malcolm or Sebastian, but I love her more than Valentine and Mortmain). That part when Jesse told her that Will, Tessa and the Enclave don’t hate her because they don’t even think of her was just *chef’s kiss*. I have to zone in on Alastair over the rest: Alastair was brilliant. He had the most perfect character arc besides Matthew, and also the ideal redemption arc. He didn’t just change his actions and compensate for them, but he became so loving and tender and protective throughout the story. I loved it. I’m so thrilled at how his story ended. I could have done with more adult Wessa. But the pieces and bits I actually got were both extremely in-character and hilarious and had me in fits of giggles. I love Will Herondale so damn much, it’s crazy.

Framework (Wessa, Charles Dickens, The Bible and Classic Literature)

The foundation of this book was responsible for its highs and lows. Starting with the great things: I think this book managed to be Cassie’s most “religious” work yet, and I adore that. That end sequence taking place in the literally Abbey was exquisite. The setup for a final battle between the Shadowhunters and Lucifer for TWP is there. The whole idea of love and goodness and self-sacrifice (manifested through Jordelia) defeating the powers of Hell is the most Judeo-Christian thing ever. The intersection between literature and religion was absolutely there too - from the Milton and Dante references to themes of Hell and reminders of the Fall. Another great thing that I enjoyed throughout the trilogy was the importance classic literature and poetry. Cordelia and James falling in love as children while she read Layla and Majnun to him is something that kinda makes me kinda tear up the more I think about it. The way the literature of the time period is integrated into the setting as well is awesome.

I think ChoT does not deliver as Dickens-inspired piece. Where was “to the last hours of my life, Daisy”? Why was the last third of the book so damn awful for Grace (the woman on the cover???)? The book also did not need any Epic Battle Sequence to begin with - TLH, like GE, is a book about the relationship between the individual and social codes. I have no idea why Hell and Heaven were raining fires over London for a third of th book. The tone and structure did not mesh well with a battle sequence, and so I felt like the romance and subtlety of TLH being a GE-inspired series was lost there. Likewise, another flaw that the story unintentionally suffers from is that this series… enumerates the events that took place in a generation that followed that of Wessa. And so neither James or Cordelia (*cough* a Carstairs and a Herondale *cough*) were never in real danger. For a moment I was hoping we’d get something dark and twisted or bittersweet, but then I realized… she’s never putting Herongraystairs’ direct lineage through something that screwy. The narrative existed to protect Jordelia. This book suffers from the fact that the narrative continuing to shelter and coddle James and Cordelia, similar to how they literally grew up sheltered and oblivious by virtue of having their specific last names and the associated plot armor.

Problems (many)

Kit’s death was a cop-out. She needed to kill someone, and it had to be someone important, but not too important. And not an obviously marginalized character. His death changed nothing in the story. I’m not saying he shouldn’t have died; I just thought it was poorly executed. It also didn’t help me that the one person who saw the good and the bad in Grace… is dead.

Grace’s character arc ended awfully. It would have made sense for her to kill Tatiana, and not Cordelia. But it also doesn’t help that she’s living on the fringes of society, given that said society literally hates her. The fact that she couldn’t even… stay at the Institute? The most negative things I have to say about the book are related to Grace’s arc. She’s like, been the most complex and compelling female character in TSC in a hot minute. I’m having trouble accepting the scorn she’s faced.

Edom - that sequence was ridiculous and unnecessary. The only good part of it was Heronchild, but they didn’t need to be specifically in Edom for that to go down the way it did. Lucie and Cordelia literally went to Edom to get in a portal which took them right back to London, because drama. There was no reason for the Edom trip.

No accountability or consequences - Grace and the gracelet? Forgiven and forgotten; no consequences. Jesse being raised from the dead and also them lying about his identity to the Enclave for most of the book? Forgiven and forgotten; no consequences. Matthew breaking Shadowhunter law with the whole potion debacle that cost a lot of people a lot of things? Forgiven and forgotten; no consequences. Cortana literally being able to do any and every thing the plot needs it to do, and Cordelia being the only one ever who can do it, is also quite convenient. Sure that isn’t coincidental. Like let’s have James stab himself and then we’ll Cortana Ex Machina as we see fit, don’t worry. James and Cordelia not having put on their second weddings runes until ages after they were expected to do so? Solved in one sentence in the Epilogue.

Not bittersweet (except for Matthew - only his ending was bittersweet). Grace’s ending was bitter, and everyone else’s, except Matthew, was sweet. None of the serious magical issues and the sinister secrets had any lasting effect or consequences. It was very much a happy ever after type of story; and everyone seems to have forgotten that Christopher’s very much unalive.

Sona just… had the baby. Everything was fine. Even after years of teasing that that would be more significant. Not even a Thomastair adoption, and none of the “mystery baby” theories she was teasing came though. What else was I supposed to say except… okay. Likewise, the whole explanation for why the Family Tree we’ve been teased about for a decade being screwy was weak. I just kind of zoned out. Like that whole Esme Hardcastle thing was stupid, since Cassie was giving a lot of hints about how that was supposed to go down, about why the Carstairs records are missing, and all of them involved Jem. But nothing actually “wow” happened. I suspect a lot of retconning happened. I’m sad.

Random Thoughts and Conclusion

It’s quite good that Will had refused Cortana in CP2 and that Cordelia will pass it on to baby Zachary instead of, uh, Owen Herondale, so it could have reached Emma. I’ve been, in my daze, entertaining ideas of “lmfao, imagine if Jace had ended up with Cortana and literally accidentally killed God with it, because that’s absolutely something Jace would do”. Jace, Angel Boy Extraordinary, would have beeen able to destroy Thanos with that sword.

Casual reminders of Matthew being rich and pretty and dainty are just… I love it here.

Jesse didn’t do much in this book, but he was quite funny. Like he’s unintentionally hilarious.

Anna asking Cordelia if she was pregnant felt like a personal attack against ME. I was like, one of the first idiots post-ChoI that started all the whatifs about Matthew and Cordelia and… Clary. Those theory posts still have like hundreds of notes. I was very wrong about all of my theories. It’s fine. I’ll be haunted by what so easily could have happened or not happened. But it’s fine. Ha.

Where was the Layla? The chess boards? Why was the fricking globe necklace A HOLDER FOR FOUR LINES OF GEORGE GORDON BYRON. JAMES PUT FOUR LINES FROM THE MOST GENERIC OF THE ROMANTIC ENGLISH ANGST LORDS INTO THE LOCKET??? No no no no no…

Oscar Wilde (doggo) was amazing. He’s a good boy. I think @lifeofbrybooks said that Oscar had a better character arc than some characterss. So accurate.

Hidden away, on Cassie’s hard drive, I really believe there’s a Secret Truer Original Chain of Thorns that exists. So many things felt like they were changed or omitted last minute…

Anyway, thanks to @eclecticdonutzippercroissant @amchara @benjamingross and @timesconvert for listening to me read this book. And for the fun calls and theorizing with me. Special thanks to Jenn for literally putting up with me when I put my clothes on and physically went for a long walk outside “to feel the Caribbean air on my face” before starting Chapter 23. Special thanks to Gill for validating me with her existence. I’m gonna have a lot of meta and memes coming up, in addition to moodboards and playlists. Stay tuned. And if you’re new here, check out my old stuff and accept my apologies (*generally speaking*).

[magnus-the-maqnificent]

Hey I was wondering. Why did James say he was damned in that short story? Like I know he was suffering but that sounds a bit too angsty.

I have forgotten bits and pieces of tlh. I need to reread it. But don’t have the time currently. But as far as I remember James wasn’t that sad in the beginning of tlh.

Like it seems as if his emotions aren’t constant. It was worse in that short story than it was in chog.

HI sorry for the late ass reply.

He's a Herondale. You know how they get with their angst. Will was literally crying about how his whole life was ruined when he found out that the curse was fake (while Magnus in the corner was like 'stfu you're 17'), Kit ran away to a wholeass other country and sjsjan don't even get me started on Jace "I just want to be an angst ridden teenager" Herondale. James is merely continuing the pattern.

YES it seems a lot worse in tbc than in chog but to be fair 1) James was drunk, so he's obviously not on his regular behavior, and literally everyone else remarked about this behavior (including the drinking) was unusual for James 2) The Midnight Heir was written several years before tlh, so there's bound to be some difference in the way these characters are written

And YES, his emotions aren’t constant at all. It's all because of the gracelet and it's effects. The gracelet suppresses his emotions, his character, so many things about him. Which is why im so glad it's finally off 🥳

[moodreadmoonchild]

“bound here by a silver band” theory

ok so i know, you know, CC knows, that she put that damn “silver band” line to all freak us out that James is bound there. but hear me out: James broke and was freed from that blasted gracelet magically. Rest In Pieces. that bitch is destroyed, it can’t still bind him because the magic was broken.

So i’m thinking it’s either

someone married into the family (silver wedding band)

someone Tessa (her magic is silver/gray in color) has bound to the house. Lucie could be tied to Jesse because of the way she brought him back so Tessa binds Jesse to the house to help (a la Ty/Livvy/Herondale necklace situation). or Tessa could have bound someone else for some other reason. Tessa may be an incredibly good person but i have no doubt she would annihilate/curse/bind someone to protect those she loves.

OR CC did mean it in the broad concept of “ties that bind” and she added that line because she thinks it’s hysterical to see us all spiral. which ok fair but also, rude.

quite frankly i have no idea who it is but for some reason i think it’s Rupert. no idea why, just do.

And yes there’s also the whole line of “easier to magically repair something that was magically broken” so it could be a hint that Belial repairs the bracelet in COT but

as absolutely dense as James can be, he’s with Magnus at the end of COI and I would hope he’d have at least said something to him about it. Magnus is a bleeding heart and would either provide him some sort of protection charm or help him dispose of the bracelet safely (maybe breaking it more with a hammer? lol)

Grace is not only currently MIA with Malcolm, Lucie and the now alive Jesse but since Jesse is alive again, that kneecaps Tatiana’s leverage over Grace to make her do her bidding. Grace is a selfish, cold-hearted, evil spawn but she is awful mostly for self preservation or to get Jesse back.

CC herself said the bracelet really only just channels Grace’s power into a form that can work on James. Part of the bracelet’s (and Grace’s) power is it prevents you from being able to connect the dots between the bracelet/Grace and your own actions. We see that when Grace forces Matthew to kiss her. He’s horrified and upset with himself for his actions even though his initial thought was “you made me do that” but James now knows of the magic and HATES Grace because of it. How effective can it truly be now that he knows for a fact of what it does?

In the letter itself Magnus says that most of the people he cared about back then would have no reason to become a ghost and much less haunt blackthorn manor so i doubt James would have been under the power of a repaired bracelet because even if James was bound to Grace again and Grace used that power over him Magnus would have known something and wouldn’t have said “much less ghosts stuck here” considering what he knows.