Synopsis

Review

“Parabatai. A cruel sort of bond, he thought, that made one person out of two people, and left such devastation when half was gone.”

4,5 stars

Queen of Air and Darkness was my most awaited book of 2018. Yet it was published only in December so it was a loooooooong wait.

It took me 8 days to read it not because it was not interesting but because it came at a very difficult time for my family and I could not focus on the book for long hours as I use to do.

I think these dramatic circumstances altered my perception of the book and prevented me to be completely sucked into its universe like the two other books did. Yet I’ll do my best to do this book justice.

The Dark Artifices is my favorite series by Cassandra Clare as we follow a whole family The Blackthorn and their friends. Each “side character” is a main character in this series and Cassandra Clare switches the point of view.

What was an asset in the first book here becomes a weakness as we had too much POV and switched too often between these POV. You had maybe 3 to 5 pages sometimes from one POV then it was changing yet again. I confess that in my state of mind with my focus in shambles it heightened the difficulty to follow the story.

We followed the story alternately through the eyes of: Emma, Julian, Kit, Mar, Christina, Drusilla, Diego, Diana, Helen ….

That’s the only “flaw” I want to mention here and the reason why I gave 4,5 stars instead of 5.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s explain why this book is so amazing!

First because it was simply epic with lots of twists and turns, tricks from a magician’s hat when all seemed lost, battles and strategy!

You won’t get bored that’s for sure as our friends seem to jump from one threat to another, one quest to the next etc.

If you’ve read the other books, you know that Anabelle wreak havoc on the Blackthorn family and the Unseelie Court seems to have a hand in the drama that unfolded in the last story.

Having faeries responsible for hurting Shadowhunter is gold for the Cohort and Horace Dearborn as he seizes the power in time of fear and unrest.

Funny how Cassandra Clare distillates some basic power strategy here as all tyrants are usually put at the head of a State when hate and fear are crystallized around a common enemy and perceived threat. Find someone to put the blame on all your misfortune (like the Jews before WWII), organize a series of (un)fortunate events wearing that someone’s signature, stoke the flame and people will be putty in your hands, ready to believe any hating speech sputtering from your mouth.

That’s exactly what happened here.

Not only did the Blackthorn deal with grief but they also had to deal with the fanatism of the Cohort and the determination of the new Inquisitor to exterminate all Downworlders and imprison all “tainted” Shadowhunters.

It will be a race to find Anabelle, fight the new threat among Shadowhunter’s ranks but also find a cure for a “blight” affecting warlocks and making them extremely sick.

If it was not enough you also have some necromancy in the making as some of our young heroes are lost and desperate!

“In your world I am ashes, I am ancestors, my memories and hopes and dreams have gone to build the City of Bones. In your world, I am lucky, because I do not have to live in a world without you. But in this world, I am you. I am the twinless twin. So I can tell you this:

When your twin leaves the earth you live on, it never turns the same way again: the weight of their soul is gone, and everything is off balance. The world rocks under your feet like an unquiet sea. I can’t tell you it gets easier. But it does get steadier; you learn how to live with the new rocking of the new earth, the way sailors gain sea legs. You learn. I promise.”

As you can see our friends were extremely busy!

Julian and Emma are still in love and still cursed. Will they find a solution? You can’t fight against your feelings and emotions. Or …can you?

Desperate Julian makes for desperate measures with huge consequences. Julian became someone else and all the kindness and humanity we so loved about him disappeared.

A Julian without feelings is a dangerous weapon as he is an excellent manipulator!

And now that is family is adrift it was not the time to go all Ice King on them…

We also have our hot trio! Between Mark, Christina and Kieran it is raging fire!

“I just want to make it clear that I did not engineer the interruption of the Harpyia demon,” Mark said, “and was indeed quite eager to continue with our sexual congress.”

 I joked about the hot faery/Shadowhunter trio well it becomes a reality! Don’t say that Cassandra Clare did not try to put diversity in this book as you have homosexual relationships, M/F/M, transgender heroes, heterosexual, every color of skin blue and green included with warlocks!

You want diversity? Read this series and you’ll be in heaven.

And it works! It did not seem like an excuse to be diverse because it is “hype”. These relationships are not a prop for the story.

What I also really loved was the character’s growth.

When I talk about unfinished business it’s because I expect the next book to be about the youngers Blackthorns: Kit and Ty have a mess of a relationship to untangle but I also expect Drusilla to meet Ash and play a major role in the next instalment!

Mark is completely different from the first book more Shadowhunter and less Fae. He is less naïve and lost. He’s found who he is and what he wants. Kieran the Fae prince also had a long way to grow up. From selfish and childish he’ll morph into a selfless, caring and very adult young man.

Now I had no idea how and if Cassandra Clare would put Emma and Julian out of their misery. This was the biggest hat trick right alongside Ash! Not explaining anything about him as I don’t want to spoil your fun!

I love twists that I never see coming and Cassandra Clare sure delivered!

It is said that this series is a trilogy but I have a suspicion that we’ll either get book four and more, either another series that will capitalize on the younger Blackthorns. Mark my word the next book will follow Dru, Ash, Kit and Ty. With of course the new Clave and all its problems.

Recommend it? Of course!

“As we all have an infinite capacity to make mistakes, we all have an infinite capacity for forgiveness.”
― Cassandra Clare, Queen of Air and Darkness

Oh and special mention to the inside of the jacket as the art is fabulous!!! As well as the many drawings in this book they were a real treat!

Here are some pictures from the inside of the jacket!

Have you read The dark Artifices already?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie