Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Queen of Air and Darkness (Dark Artifices, #3)

by Cassandra Clare

Dark secrets and forbidden love threaten the very survival of the Shadowhunters in Cassandra Clare’s Queen of Air and Darkness, the final novel in the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling The Dark Artifices trilogy. Queen of Air and Darkness is a Shadowhunters novel.

What if damnation is the price of true love?

Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the disease that is destroying the race of warlocks. Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Holly Black and Sarah J. Maas.

Also by Cassandra Clare:

The Dark Artifices:

Lady Midnight
Lord of Shadows


The Eldest Curses:
The Red Scrolls of Magic
The Lost Book of the White

 

Reviewed by Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub on

1 of 5 stars

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Buckle up, I'm about to annoy a lot of die-hard fans: I thought this book was a disaster. I was so disappointed, because I'd been looking forward to reading this book for so long. My sweet husband gave it to me the day it released. I smiled, opened the book and was treated to 912 pages of blah.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad. But the good was overshadowed by how bad the bad was. Let me start by saying that my lack of enjoyment in this book is at least partly my fault: I am one of the few people who don't read these books for the romance, so the fact that this installment had so much of that in it didn't interest me. That's a point against me, not the writing.

I think the best way to express my thoughts on QoAaD would be to use pro and con bullet points. So, here goes:

*Pro: The family these books follow (the Blackthorns) have varied, unique personalities, all of which are interesting in their own way. Ty, in particular, is my favorite.

*Con: The cast of characters seemed almost too big for Cassandra Clare to write well, and they all began to blur into fuzzy pictures of their previous selves. It felt as though she'd lost confidence in her ability to write these characters well, instead choosing to shoehorn in characters from the Mortal Instruments.

*Pro: The demons in this book, as in all of them, are unlike any I've read elsewhere in description. Ms. Clare is also skilled at describing battle scenes that make them easy to picture in my mind.

*Con: There was much more time spent on who should be in love with who, instead of the battle scenes I enjoy. Also, certain constants from throughout the other books seemed to ebb and flow, an example of that being the naming of the seraph blades. Sometimes they were named, sometimes not.

*Pro: The Fae are done very well, borrowing from classic faery tropes, while having an original spin on them. The Unseelie vs. Seelie drama brewing had the potential to turn into something truly exciting.

*Con: Sebastian. Again???

Despite what I see as an excruciatingly bad book, I'm still planning to read Cassandra Clare's next book. That's the thing. A misstep doesn't necessarily become a deal breaker for me, as far as reading more by a certain author. I'm just going to go into it with more caution, and less excitement.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 11 December, 2018: Finished reading
  • 11 December, 2018: Reviewed