why was the intermission grief chapter just Cordelia crying over James in her bed (who was alive and well in Edom chilling with Matthew having food served to them) instead of Christopher’s friends actually grieving over his death at his funeral 💀
We were cheated out of a bunch of scenes.... mourning over Christopher's death and his funeral, everyone finding out about London and how select people stayed back, the second marriage runes, the meals between the Carstairs and the Lightwoods.... we also could've used more herondaisy moments
We were robbed of a funeral. We could’ve had ragnor fell tearfully mentioning all the havoc Christopher is causing in heaven. I can’t believe we didn’t even see Cecily and Gabriel’s. At least Grace and Anna had some moments
I was ugly crying about the same thing today, and my dog was NOT having it. I had a whole rant to my mom about how tragic, especially Jem's life, is up until the dark artifices. I hope he's happy in the wicked powers. We deserve a happy Jem 😭
I think that the whole "Cordelia ran" should have been condensed to three times: the one time in ChoI, at the beginning of Chapter 23, and at the last line. It would have been like a thing where the first time she's running FROM James, then she's running TO James, and then they're running together. I think it would have had a bigger effect.
Honestly I wish we could’ve seen the remaining Merry Thieves visit the Devil Tavern one more time at the end of the book. I think it would’ve helped to just let the characters (and readers) sit and feel Kit’s loss and have some closure there
Having binged the three books in one week i can confirm that the writing was different in the third one. There were so many repetitions in the wordings but with the scenes as well. I feel like it could have benefited from editing, and maybe reworking the story, but also CC spoke on social media about feeling burnt out from writing (specifically this series) and wanting to take a break before writing the wicked powers, so that may be related...
I hope the break helps, I really want twp to end well since it’ll wrap out all of tsc. She can take as long a break as she needs imo, I’d rather wait than be disappointed
I loved the book, but was sad that they never said “Ave Atque Vale” to Christopher. That was the first time in all the books that a death did not have a proper goodbye. Also, some other things, but I love James and Cordelia too much to not have enjoyed it.
i totally agree with you on the love triangle thing. Tbh, I’m one of those people who think that it should’ve been Lucie, Jesse and Matthew since that aspect of having one lover who is alive and the other who is a ghost is something we definitely have not since before, yet cassie chose the basic route 💀
Actually this was I think the original idea Cassie had and Lord knows why she discarded it. Cause clearly Matthew and Lucie were set up as being somewhat of a ship in her novellas and extras, as well as the fact that the ARC of Lord of Shadows had an inscription of M + L in Lucie's room instead of a J + L. I think Cassie just feared greatness, cause that love triangle would've murdered us.
The way you described how normally you are lost in her books and in this one you felt you were reading a book… same. I normally am so engrossed in her books I am completely absorbed and can’t put them down. With this one, I could put it down and just didn’t feel as engaged or emotionally invested.
her writing did feel very different. i completely agree. it was also hard for me to accept as someone that has been a fan of hers for so many years😭 i’m sad this series is over thank you for the amazing videos
I also expected Matthew to be the one to die, simply because I felt that it would have been a beautiful scene where Will could help James through the death of his parabatai because he also experienced it. And just a sidenote, I felt as if Lucie and Cordelia were not best friends AT ALL. I mean they fought so much and over such unnecessary details ( for example, Lucie did not know Grace controlled James through the bracelet, and also, why was Lucie so upset that Cordelia had a crush on James for a long time? Like, sure she should have told her that, but also, it doesn't really matter all that much like come on). And yes the fact that Cecily and Gabriel did not get a grief scene is criminal. And there should have been more domestic Herondaisy content
I need to be honest, Matthew should have died. It would have been devastating, screaming crying throwing up, but it would have made sense. Killing Christopher was such BS and the family tree cop out was lazy af. She even answered a question where someone asked if she had always planned for Christopher to die and she was like yeah that's why Alex exists, to carry on the Lightwood name bc it was NEVER going to be Christopher. IT MAKES NO SENSE. Christopher should have lived, his death made angry with the author instead of sad within the context of the story bc it was confusing and weird. I need someone to write that AU bc Cassandra Clare can't be trusted with a coloring book much less a novel.
i do think the writing was different, but what most bothered me was SPOILER ALERT 1. she completely disregarded christopher's death? i think the reason this book wasn't as heartbreaking as clockwork princess or qoaad is because she just didn't *write* his death or everyone else grieving him. one second he's hurt, the next he's dead, and we barely get to see james, matthew or anna reacting to it. i felt a bit cheated, tbh, i think he deserved better. and 2. matthew's character arc that she's been building since before chog was just thrown in the trash! the whole thing of the baby and charlotte was barely revealed, we barely got to see him telling james and the scene where he tells his parents (literally what he's been dreading for years) was just skimmed over. i think she dealt with the alcoholism part of it well, but at times she focused his arc so much on him suddenly being in love with cordelia that she completely lost all the potential of heartbreak that it had with the whole story of charlotte's baby and what he did (and that has been eating him from the inside for literally years). honestly, this could have easily been cassie's best trilogy and then so many things were rushed in the last book and so much potential was lost, i'm actually sad about it.
I agree with this completely lol I was hoping for a Mathew pov when he told his family about it because I feel like she has totally been leading up to that. also, I was SO upset when Kit died, and I feel like his character deserved way more.
I'm the biggest Matthew Fairchild stan, bestie. I can't believe cc made the (bad) love triangle his only personality and didn't use him for a better subplot and then the other one he has, she doesn't develop it well
So excited to watch this! Imo there was a lot of wasted potential and it was underwhelming in places like Matthew telling Charlotte and Henry about the secret was completely glossed over, James telling his parents about the bracelet, lightwoods finding out about Jesse... Just so much. Also there was not enough herondaisy, like chess??? Second marriage runes😭😭?? Wasted too much time on the dumb love triangle. Christopher defending grace right after James just told everyone about the bracelet was so unnecessary and weird. And killing him off after just seemed like a cheap way to have his words have more impact and get everyone to give Grace a pass. Not saying she doesn't deserve some sort of happy ending but eeek. Also speaking of, nobody gave a crap kit died 😭like we didn't even see cecily and Gabriel's reactions? No funeral? Everything got resolved wayyy to easily at the end after all that set up. Still really loved some parts like the romances we did get, the James and Matthew scenes in edom and merry thieves coming to help matthew. Also the part when they sent the first fire rune got me crying. Sad tlh is over :(
Along the lines of wasted potential, was anyone else upset that we didn’t get to see Lucy come into her own power in bringing Jesse back? We were just told about it? After the buildup from Chain of Iron I was so gutted.
@@crbysrnsn And the wasted potential of the first female parabatais? Like anyone also feel that Lucie and Cordelia are the worst parabatai we ever read? Like they aren’t even friends,they don’t see each other as they safe place,Lucie didn’t told Cordelia about Jesse and Cordelia didn’t go to Lucie when she need it the most. And they are constantly fighting like why
@@Moonlightss320 100% agree!! No matter how u try to explain it, cordelia going to Matthew (James's parabati the very person who she's unhappy with) instead of Lucie at the end of choi just doesn't make any sense
INFERNAL DEVICES REREAD VLOG SERIES MAY BE THE BEST IDEA IVE EVER HEARD i know so many people doing a full tsc series or tid reread after this book the timing would be PERFECT
I think because clockwork princess was the first true finale of a series that she wrote (not really counting city of glass here) everyone was tricked into thinking that cassie clare can always write an immaculate finale, when in fact every other finale she's written always seem to have an aspect of either too much convenience plot-wise or too many open ended or unresolved questions because they all serve as some sort of setup for the next series; the latter i don't think is necessarily a bad thing, it just ends up making her finales not really feel like finales and there's always some aspect of disappointment or dissatisfaction
No, because the family tree cop-out is so bad it's laughable. And you're so right, the ending of TID is so bittersweet but in all the right places and this ending was so sloppy and messy. she went from 100 to 0 and it's so sad bc she could have easily had a better ending than whatever this mess was.
I felt disappointed by this finale 😭The writing felt off and the characters sat around for a lot of the book doing nothing. But I was happy to see almost everyone get a happy ending.
Christopher was my favourite character from the first time he appeared in „Tales of the Shadowhunter Academy“ & his death was heartbreaking. But not because of how it was written, but because of how it was overlooked and brushed off. There was no real grief, no reactions from his family (other than Anna) and everyone seemed to get over it SO quickly 💔
I felt like CC has to kill someone in the end and Christopher was close enough to make an impact but not entwined enough to ruin a ship. It felt like Christopher died to elevate Grace.
Okay I’ve officially finished the vlog and I 100% agree with everything you said. I think it’s so disappointing that this book was just so absurd plot wise. There was so much potential and I’m so sad it didn’t live up to it. I think what really got me was how she wasn’t showing us anything important. Like where was the full scene of math telling his family about the issue, James telling his parents about the gracelet, James and Cordelia’s wedding runes, Jesse’s full identity being revealed, the mortal sword being used on lucie about her powers, math getting more help with his alcoholism, a final scene with the Merry Thieves without Kit, and finally where the HELL was all the grief and mourning about Kit??????????? Like ohmygod??? She glossed over it so quickly and didn’t seem like any of them cared that he died???? Anna was the only one I sensed any sort of grief from and maybe Thomas but James and Matthew??? Where was all that? She wrote grief and mourning out SO WELL in Queen of Air and Darkness but in CoT??? Nope we’re just gonna move on. I’m confused why so many things were told to us rather than show us was my whole point lolll. One scene I had full confidence was going to show up, but didn’t, was a scene from math’s pov where he feels the Parabatai rune like start to fade or feels pain when James was stabbed and everyone who was with him runs towards him as he falls to the ground or something like that then it switches to Cordelia healing him. That would’ve had a huge impact bc there’s a pause before he’s healed. Idk this book was unfortunately super disappointing and underwhelming to me, I hope TWP wraps everything up
You have so many good points! I think especially us being told, "James explained everything that happened." Or any character doing the same for such important scenes just made those moments less impactful. It felt almost lazy? Like she wanted to us to know that those things happened/were discussed but didn't want to put the effort in to write it out. Matthew not reacting to James being stabbed was also really odd because it's been said before that parabatai that are closer can feel physical things more often. Matthew had felt James become infected with the virus in the previous book and James even felt when Matthew was winded from a fight. I thought those moments were meant to show that they are closer than most parabatai. It definitely would have added a lot of depth to the scene if we had Matthew's reaction even if we knew James would be healed after.
@@chey_daniella It felt SO lazy. This last book had so much potential and it just felt flat or that things were wrapped up so easily. Everything you mentioned is why I brought that point up and bc I haven’t seen many people bring it up. Matthew mentions he felt the rune fading, which is yet another example of us being told things rather than being shown. I believe she’s burnt out with the world, which is understandable. I hope she can take a break and come back to TWP with a clear mind and the passion she had a couple years ago.
I agree 100%! And I also don’t understand why Cordelia was the one to kill Tatiana. There was a huge opportunity missed for grace to kill her. In the bane chronicles, grace was written to be like a secret weapon/spy kind of character only for her to be useless when it comes to fighting. It would have been nice to see that part of her come out and put an end to Tatiana for everything she’s done.
fun fact: on her tumblr, cassandra clare said the og epilogue was James on his death bed seeing all his friends waiting for him bc he outlived all of them (they died "so horribly so long ago" - actual quote) so yeah, there's that!
@@affunoor4955 It was the pandemic; she couldn’t make herself write such a sad ending with the world the way it was. Though the ending being everyone but James dying…how does that work for the TMI characters? That would get rid of their ancestors?
@@TheSoundOfGeorgiaright? That would make no sense. Also, Changing the ending because we were in a pandemic sounds kind of condescending to me. Like let me decide what I can handle. Lol
The most disappointing thing for me was lack of reaction about kit death, I'm really sad and angry that cassie didn't show us Cecily and Gabriel reaction to kit's death.😞😑 And cassie PLEASE leave the Lightwoods ALONE, in every series she kill of the lightwoods. I want my lightwood_bane family, izzy and simon alive at the end of TWP. 😭😭😭
I don’t know if it was just me, but I loved Christopher soo much and that's exactly why I'm so mad that she made it extremely obvious that she does not care about him. I feel like his character was underdeveloped and that his relationship with Grace deserved a happy ending. For me personaly, seeing a character who was into science like myself has been such an amazing experience. Killing him off like that before we got a chance to get more attached to him was a violation 🙂
It was such bs. Like that on top of the Family Tree "found object" cop-out. Honestly, I'm holding it that this isn't canon, it was sloppy, messy, unnecessary...In my mind, Christopher carried on the Lightwood name, cus I don't know what Cassandra Clare was on, but I would have much rather waited YEARS for a proper book ending than getting this mess. I couldn't even get through the last 200 pages bc I was genuinely so confused and then just angry at the way this was written.
I wish the Cordelia Matthew James love triangle had been Matthew Lucie Jesse. I think Cassie always intended Matthew to end up losing the girl and I much rather would have preferred him to "lose" Lucie. It made more sense because we weren't sure Jesse could even come back to life so it might've given us hope for Math and Lucie but then Lucie and Jesse become endgame in the end. That would have been so much better than parabatais fighting over the same girl AGAIN. the Cordelia James Matthew love triangle was literally pointless
If you think this series had everything wrap up too quickly or had too much of a happy ending, just remember that no matter what, Tessa will go on to live through the deaths of both of her children!! 😃😃😃
I loved COT but I did feel something was missing. I wanted to be an emotional wreck but I just wasn’t. I feel Matthew’s story was unfinished, especially because we never got his POV in the last hours. I’m hoping something happens between now and TWP which means he’ll be in the TWP.
Girl this book let me down hella big. Yes the writing I agree was just sloppy. The plot was all over the place and there were so many times I was saying “but why not do THIS instead??” I was really frustrated that so much happened off the page that we needed pay off for- Grace telling Cordelia about the bracelet, Matthew finally talking to his parents for example. I also feel like Christopher’s death was SO glossed over. Livvys death was such a pivotal moment in LOS and I feel like his death was not given the same treatment at all. So so so much disappointment
am I the only one that didn't forget about the marriage runes cordelia and james were supposed to draw on eo? it felt like the book was building up to a scene for that after the wedding or when they finally confessed their love for eo.. but it never happened?
This!!! I was looking forward to this scene between them cuz it felt like there was an obvious buildup to their 2nd wedding runes scene but I'm so disappointed we didn't get to see it
I have so many issues with this book, and the series as a whole has lost a lot of the quality it had because of it. I'm a little scared of TWP, not gonna lie. Ty and Kit are everything to me, and I don't want to see her treat either of them the way she treated Cordelia in this book... 🥺
Same. I’m literally so excited for twin powers and scared to be disappointed now! I know she wrote this during a tough time, so hoping she just needs a moment to recharge and will be able to do well with twin powers.
I think she should just take a break from writing in this world for a bit. I would rather have to wait years in between books and have them be spectacular than be disappointed
43:45 was literally me when I read it. I came up with hundreds of reasons why he couldn't be dead and refused to believe it until the very last pages of the book. And then came my reactions of TEARS
It was such bs and the family tree cop-out was sooooo lazy. She could have just...let him live. Like it would have made sense in the world-building and in the context, how are you going to kill off a character that is canonically alive thus far IN THE LAST 200 PAGES!?
i have not read a single cassandra clare book since clockwork princess when i was in middle school but i am having the time of my life watching this. seeing people care so much about books they love makes me so unreasonably happy
I'm actually of the opposite opinion that this book/series should have been longer, imo it should have been shorter, a duology would have been enough. As much as I love these characters the truth is that the plot of of this series was very lackluster and, like you kept mentioning, it felt very repetitive. By being a duology we could have killed Beliel after the whole possessing Jesse thing (and avoid the whole pointless plot of Lilith) and also avoid the love triangle/frustrating miscommunication. It could have just been a duology with much of the same plot but without the overuse of tropes and scenes.
OMG, literally best idea i've seen so far. I don't know if CC had a contract but she literally said she was feeling burnt out and this would have saved us and her from this mess. justice for Christopher he was a victim of CC's mental health.
Hey, Hannah, I don’t know if this is in every Chain of Thorns copy, but in mine, it has a part after the epilogue. So once you finish the epilogue, there should be the “Notes on the Text” part, and right after that is a bonus story called “Aught but Death” and it does indeed show Cordelia and Lucie’s parabatai ceremony. I know you were upset that they didn’t mention the ceremony in the book, but you probably will be happy to know that Cassie Clare did add an additional story about it!
Watching this while never having read a Cassandra Clare series after mortal instruments reminds me of my friends telling me gossip of people I do not know and I love it
I liked graces and Cristopher relationship, i was pretty sad when he died and we didn’t get to see grace’s reaction to him laying there unalive. AND, i was hopping for more Anna and Aris content
I think the length of the book would have been fine if Cassie cut down on the info dumping and repeating and focused more on the relationships. Matthew and James needed more scenes, I NEEDED to see the scene where James and Cordelia gave each other their marriage runes, and Gabriel and Cecily reacting of Kit's death, and it didn't feel right when the characters barely cried over Christopher, since they were so close, and the emotional impact would have been there if we saw how the other characters reacted to the loss of one of their best friends. It just wasn't enough.
Belial's motivation for me was that he is just completely infatuated with humanity. Even though he constantly downplays his motives and appreciation for it in the presence of others. To me, this is his way of compensating for losing God's favor as a fallen angel and becoming part of the creation he is so obsessed with once again.
Spoiler alerts: but the only thing I learnd from reading Chain of Thorns is that Esme writes fanfics, and doesn't give two fs about canon. For her Christopher is alive, gets married and a happy life XD XD
I think the reason why CC became (for lack of a better word) lazy with Chain of Thorns is because she also had her newest Adult series to write as well. We all know that Shadow Hunters is and will forever be her main breadwinner when it comes to her authorial work. She'll forever earn money because of it, and so she knows that even if chain of thorns is not her best work, she'll still earn money because of it.
I felt very similar as you about this final book. There were too many characters and not everyone got fleshed out. I'm a Matthew stand and I wanted more Matthew. I was hoping for Christopher & Grace to get together. I wanted more from Lucy & Jesse's relationship. I cried when Cordelia let Matthew down. It was just so much and the book felt very chaotic. I also was confused about where the plot was going until Lilith made the comment about the sword being able to heal and I was like ah ha. I gave the book 4 stars. I think Chain of Iron was my favorite in this trilogy.
Hey Hannah I'm from India I love books I've been following you on TH-cam since 5 years And now that I've read considerate amount of books, I took inspiration from you and started my own bookstagram. Just wanted to say thank you for everything I've learnt from you❣️
i agree with pretty much everything you've said! i read the whole book within 12 hours of getting my hands on it and spent the entire time muttering curses under my breath and pacing around my room and screaming into a pillow, but overall it was definitely underwhelming as a series finale. i'd never experienced that feeling of disappointment for a book before, and i walked around in a daze for a long time after i finished it just trying to process. so thanks for the video to validate basically every thought I had about it!!!
I saw your Goodreads review and couldn’t wait for this video because I also gave this book 3 stars. I agree with everything you said, you really put what I was feeling into words. Chain of Gold might actually be my favorite shadowhunter book so it’s really disappointing that the trilogy concluded like this. Matthew and Cordelia were my favorite characters for book 1 & 2 but I felt so underwhelmed by them in this book. Also, I might be reading too much into things (and the family tree🥲) but I think that maybe CC originally planned for Matthew to die instead of Christopher. Like Matthews ending and overall arc felt a bit rushed and not complete & I don’t understand why we had the Christopher/Grace stuff if nothing was really going to come from it.
No cos I totally agree with your thoughts on this one and the writing style and everything. I binge read this series for the first time through Jan prior to the release of chain of thorns and I was OBSESSED with the first two books. Loved them. But the third one I, like you, gave it three stars and just felt like there was something missing.
I rlly appreciate your honesty and willingness to openly discuss the books you're reading. some time has passed since I finished reading cot and I think I couldn't fully process it right away. but hearing your thoughts helped me make sense of everything and look at the book from a bit of a distance. I agree with you that considering this is the final book in the series, possibly the final one set in edwardian london, it felt incomplete and lacking some depth. I admit that I had high expectations bc her series have always found a way to surprise me and tug at my heartstrings. and I'm not saying that this one didn't, but like you said there were recycled plot points. I wanted the romantic relationships to be explored some more. I wanted a character's study on matthew, a lot more could be added to his storyline. I wanted more repulsive villains that I felt strongly against, not ones that had superficial motives for their actions. selfishly, I wanted more will-jem-tessa scenes. they could've helped their children more, or at least guided them, instead they were sent off to idris. I understand this series requires a lot of consideration and time and planning to write bc the cast of characters is so numerous and vibrant. but that's why I was looking forward to it so much. I just wish there was more attention to detail and character development. nevertheless, it's still one of my favourite series with some of my favourite characters that I'm gonna miss and keep thinking about for a long time
I'm going to miss these reading vlogs so much. It's so much fun watching you go through the exact same emotions I went through while reading these books. Thank you for making these the past few years
The reason why I was hyped as I was for the COT release is because I knew this vlog would soon follow 😭😭 I unfortunately haven't finished it yet but I have read a good majority of it so I will watch until the parts that I have gone through. Thank you for your hard work on this vlog 💖💖
yes please do the reading vlogs for the infernal devices!! i’ve already skimmed them and spoiled everything for myself but i just bought them to officially read and would love to hear your thoughts
I literally loved this video you are so relatable I cried when you cried and made inhumane noises when you did too 🤧I'm gonna miss you talking about this series but hopefully you will do reading vlogs for the wicked powers when it finally comes out and we can go through this pain all over again 😫😍
I’m happy I’m not the only one who felt that this one was off. Where the hell did the parentheses in sentences come from???? I was also incredibly annoyed by how drawn out the drama was. It weighed the book down so much. The love triangle felt so forced the whole time because it was so obvious that Cordelia was not romantically interested in Matthew the whole time. I literally agree with everything you’re saying. I was just waiting for the end because of how much it DRAGGED. I am so mad that Christopher died. He brought science into everything and was the heart and soul. I thought it was ridiculous. I feel like the rush of trying to save him or find an antidote and not knowing what would happen would have been more of a rollercoaster. Okay. Rant over. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.
as someone who's loved Cassandra Clare's books for over a decade now, i can say that i didnt like this series. There were a lot of really cheesy scenes and info dumps, the plot was rushed (or non existent), and i feel like there were plot holes and a lot of characters from TID were out of charcter?? idk, but im soooo disappointed, and now im TERRIFIED of what she'll do in The Wicked Powers, bc if she messes up Kit and Ty's story i will literally have a mental breakdown
Yeah Will and Tessa were not...themselves imo and what she did to Christopher was so lazy and unnecessary. This isn't canon to me, im sorry, it was bad.
SPOILER FOR GHOSTS OF SHADOWHUNTER MARKET- The version of Belial that owes Jem a favor, the one we see in the Coda, appears in the "Learn about Loss" story in Ghosts of the Shadowhunter market. Belial tells Jem about the lost Herondales and, thanks to Sister Emilia, also gives Jem one last chance to spend time with Will, and it's heartbreakingly beautiful. Having read Ghosts, I was waiting for Belial's supposed debt to the Carstairs to be explained in The Last Hours and was definitely expecting it to be some sort of deal Jem makes with Belial to save Cordelia's life and preserve the Carstairs family (because they couldn't defeat him otherwise). This explanation was fine but a bit underwhelming and convenient- though I guess it underscores Belial's cleverness. He basically tricks Jem into it, knowing he can collect on it later and possibly gain something in return.
Thank you for reminding me about this. I had completely forgotten. I was really confused as to why CC was reviving Belial lol. Wow, she really messed TotSM with this book right?
✨SPOILERS FOR CHAIN OF THORNS✨ i can totally understand your complaints -- but at the same time i just love all these characters sm & i feel that there were so many good parts that i'm still giving it five stars! i think kit's death definitely could have been better hnadled (i did not understand at all why the death was just suddenly thrust into lucie's pov at random & it was just like "oh no, he's dead"! would have loved an anna pov instead so that we could actually experience kit dying in her arms), since it seemed like only thomas, anna, & grace cared all that much abt it?!?! but i still cried so hard when it happened (especially when thomas walked in the room & was just like "i shoulda been there for him" 😞) & it hurt smmmm 💔 i wish the love triangle between james/matthew/cordelia could have not happened at all, it just added WAY too much drama & tho we are 100% here for the drama i just...didn't love it. ALSO WHY THE HELL DID IT TAKE SO LONG FOR JAMES TO TELL EVERYONE ABT THE BRACELET?!?!?! 😭😭😭 however, i did appreciate the attention to matthew's serious alcohol problem & how much of his arc was dedicated to this. would've loved if cassie had also dedicated more of his arc to ACTUALLY TELLING PPL ABT WHAT HE DID, but overall his arc was mostly satisfying. i found that i hated grace much less in this arc, & while i still can't forgive her for what she did to james (& thus his marriage with daisy), i appreciate how kit was able to bring a new perspective to the situation & help everyone (at least partly) understand her actions mostly i just lived for the thomas & alastair relationship -- ik everyone seems to be mostly invested in jordelia but i always cared more abt thomastair personally! their relationship was just done so well (especially the explanations of alastair's hesitancy to let their relationship progress, plus all their goddamn cHeMiStRy) & i cried during one of their scenes & literally fangirl screamed through the rest! i literally can't you guys -- they're just so good & the LGBTQ+ representation was so freaking satisfying. also i relate to thomas so hard in this book -- he's so obsessed with alastair lmao & he's just my precious overthinking & kind boyyy 😍 he's always been my fav character personally i also rly love how the book kinda explored cordelia's imperfections -- she's always been such a badass & beautiful & kind & caring & thoughtful but i think this book was able to show some of her character flaws (e.g. her capacity to be angry like in her fight with lucie, & just her prideful nature in general). there are definitely some things i would change abt the book, but like i said i care abt all the relationships (with the exception of lucie & jesse tbh -- their relationship is so flat imo 😒) & characters so much & i don't think i'm ever gonna find another series that i feel this much abt! i think there's something to be said abt loving something sm but also being able to see its flaws, & while i do think that chain of thorns has some flaws i just love this series (it practically became my personality lol) & i think it was wrapped up very well! i'm so sad it's over -- i can't believe there aren't more thomastair scenes 😢😘💖 also might i say that james shooting the lock open on the door to cordelia's room so they can continue kissing is the most iconic thing i've ever witnessed
I would love an infernal devices video! I read them a long time ago but don't remember much, and I would love to relive them through a video of yours :)
The Jem/ Belial thing is addressed in one of the short stories from Ghosts of the Shadow market! Also my edition had an extra that included the Parabatai Ceremony?
the book 100% felt off in all the ways you mentioned but i just cant bring myself to think of the book badly bc its the first time we got REAL thomas and alastair content its so bad for us out here 😭 i would commit any crime i needed to for the series to have a fourth book we needed more time so BADLY youre so right about it feeling like filler almost, you can feel the burnout it felt like she was just writing it to get it over and done with. there was barely any promo as well it was CRAZY i cant believe we were all so excited for it and this is what happened. i wouldve rather waited a year for her to take a break and come back than have a conclusion that felt like she didn’t even want to be writing in the first place :(
I just finished it yesterday and I'm struggling, because of everything you said. I feel like the family tree (as much as we all knew it wasn't accurate) took away from Christopher's death, because as he died I was literally thinking that it made no sense when he was supposed to be Alec and Isabelle's ancestor, so by the time I actually accepted he was dead dead and not fake dead nobody really talked about Christopher and we moved on...the ending felt like a cop-out, so many scenes were skipped or done quickly (the marriage rune????? Or Matthew telling Charlotte and her being like: oh no biggie you poisoned me and caused me to be barren for 5+ years, I m pregnant with twins anyway so let's never talk about this again). Which I could understand except the book was so damn long and I swear the first half could have been condensed so easily. James not telling Cordelia but being heartbroken about her questioning his love (understandably so when you are not telling her the key point of what happened) made no sense. I get it, you don't want pity blah blah but no human in the history of humans would ever keep that to himself and risk losing his wife because "I don't want her to feel bad". WHAT? It's literally dragged out to keep this suspense of will they, won't they, will she go with Math instead, which we all knew wasn't gonna happen anyway. I think overall it was just so anticlimactic. Plus honestly, Belial wanting to be king because....reasons...made no sense and made him probably the dumbest villain in history
Apparently Cassie was going to make the ending sadder but she didn't want to continue with that ending because of COVID. I kinda wish she stuck with that ending
thank god this series isn’t the last time we’ll see of Will like we’d all thought😭i gasped so loud at cassie’s london event last year when she said he will make an appearance in the wicked powers😭
Finallyyyyy😭😭😭😭 The video I've been waiting for since last year😭😭😭😭 This book wrecked me I will never forgive Cassandra Clare for what she did to Kit😭😭😭😭😭
Honestly I agree with everything you said. After finishing the book I was so emotional about it mostly because it was over, but I did expect it to hurt more. I did keep track of the times that I cried/felt really emotional (16 times haha). But the points you made were valid and I think we all expected more from this series than what we actually got. Did I enjoy the series? Absolutely. Did I have fun reading this book? Of course! But the Infernal Devices will always be King. I would love to see you do a reread of them and make a series out of them like you suggested at the end! A deep dive on my favorite series would be so fun to watch!
the part about the family tree had me laughing so hard, especially the line about it was going to confuse future shadowhunters for generations i was reading in bed and POPPED up to underline that part lol. also, you mentioned no lucie/cordelia parabatai scene but there's an extra scene at the end after the epilogue of them doing their ceremony, at least in my copy from b&n and it made me tear up it was really good so idk if you saw that or not. i also wasn't super sad about kit, but i think i was just so in denial because of the family tree i just straight up didn't believe that he was actually dead until they took his body through the portal. not sure how i feel about all the random babies being born either to make up for her changing the family tree and needing family lines to carry on either, felt a little too hand wavey.
I despise the fact that the book ended on 'Cordelia ran.' Why did it take literally 150 pages for Cordelia to come back from Paris but no ave acque vale for Christopher/no funeral/no second marriage runes/matthew being useless - Christopher shouldnt have died tbh it wasn't sad enough
Throughout watching this series I've been unable to comprehend the emotions which provoke such intense reactions from Hannah, but I don't think anything has clarified it more succinctly than "I'm having a horrible great time" at 30:08
why was the intermission grief chapter just Cordelia crying over James in her bed (who was alive and well in Edom chilling with Matthew having food served to them) instead of Christopher’s friends actually grieving over his death at his funeral 💀
i was so confused!! that’s also what i thought we’d get but we just…..glossed over his death so quickly???
My thoughts exactly! I feel validated 🥲
Exactly!!!
We didn’t get to see Gabriel’s and Cecily’s reaction.
@@AClockworkReader his death makes no sense. The family tree says he marries grace and he was the sweetest character. Why did Cassandra Clare do this.
We were cheated out of a bunch of scenes.... mourning over Christopher's death and his funeral, everyone finding out about London and how select people stayed back, the second marriage runes, the meals between the Carstairs and the Lightwoods.... we also could've used more herondaisy moments
PREEACH PREACH YES
I forgot about the 2nd marriage rune !! Oh my god that would’ve been gold
i so agree with you
"am I so hard to love?" shattered my poor fragile heart to pieces.. ooh that hit deep
The way I closed the book just to sob over that line. I was screaming, crying, and throwing up
exactlyy I instantly started crying
That line hurt so bad omg
Fr I was screaming at the book like no, that's not the issue here. Matthew deserves sm better 😭
We were robbed of a funeral. We could’ve had ragnor fell tearfully mentioning all the havoc Christopher is causing in heaven. I can’t believe we didn’t even see Cecily and Gabriel’s. At least Grace and Anna had some moments
I don’t think I’ll ever get over hearing “girl is in her forest gump era”
"I'm more upset about the fact that I didnt love it" THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I FEEL OMG like I actually cried because I didnt love COT and gave it 3 stars
I gave it 2.5 😭😭😭 I wanted to love it but omg no 😭
Same ... I expected so much more from COT 😢
I never thought I’d rate a CC book under 3.5 stars (looking at you city of ashes and lost book of the white), but this book sadly took me there 😢😢😢
i'm not gonna lie i cried every single time jem and will's names were mentioned in the same sentence
you’re valid
Same! Every time they are mentioned, I get a gut punch
I was ugly crying about the same thing today, and my dog was NOT having it. I had a whole rant to my mom about how tragic, especially Jem's life, is up until the dark artifices. I hope he's happy in the wicked powers. We deserve a happy Jem 😭
I think that the whole "Cordelia ran" should have been condensed to three times: the one time in ChoI, at the beginning of Chapter 23, and at the last line. It would have been like a thing where the first time she's running FROM James, then she's running TO James, and then they're running together. I think it would have had a bigger effect.
COMPLETELY AGREE
Yesss! It was so overused that towards the end every time it came up I’d just look over to my boyfriend like “oh Cordelia ran again. What a shock.”
Chapter like 16,23, & 26 Cordelia got in her cardio unlike any other
Definitely would’ve had more impact
Saw someone mention that Chain of Thorns is the last time we’ll see Will Herondale alive and well and I had a breakdown
No why did you have to make me cry 😭
Honestly I wish we could’ve seen the remaining Merry Thieves visit the Devil Tavern one more time at the end of the book. I think it would’ve helped to just let the characters (and readers) sit and feel Kit’s loss and have some closure there
Having binged the three books in one week i can confirm that the writing was different in the third one. There were so many repetitions in the wordings but with the scenes as well. I feel like it could have benefited from editing, and maybe reworking the story, but also CC spoke on social media about feeling burnt out from writing (specifically this series) and wanting to take a break before writing the wicked powers, so that may be related...
She probably needs a break she puts out a book a year thats a lot.
I hope the break helps, I really want twp to end well since it’ll wrap out all of tsc. She can take as long a break as she needs imo, I’d rather wait than be disappointed
I think she wants to be done with shadowhunters all together and start putting out sword catcher
I loved the book, but was sad that they never said “Ave Atque Vale” to Christopher. That was the first time in all the books that a death did not have a proper goodbye. Also, some other things, but I love James and Cordelia too much to not have enjoyed it.
i totally agree with you on the love triangle thing. Tbh, I’m one of those people who think that it should’ve been Lucie, Jesse and Matthew since that aspect of having one lover who is alive and the other who is a ghost is something we definitely have not since before, yet cassie chose the basic route 💀
Well and at the beginning of the series I kinda liked the idea of Lucie and Matthew, like before Jesse comes into the picture
Actually this was I think the original idea Cassie had and Lord knows why she discarded it. Cause clearly Matthew and Lucie were set up as being somewhat of a ship in her novellas and extras, as well as the fact that the ARC of Lord of Shadows had an inscription of M + L in Lucie's room instead of a J + L. I think Cassie just feared greatness, cause that love triangle would've murdered us.
the love triangle was literally TID repeated like come on cassie
The way you described how normally you are lost in her books and in this one you felt you were reading a book… same. I normally am so engrossed in her books I am completely absorbed and can’t put them down. With this one, I could put it down and just didn’t feel as engaged or emotionally invested.
her writing did feel very different. i completely agree. it was also hard for me to accept as someone that has been a fan of hers for so many years😭 i’m sad this series is over thank you for the amazing videos
okay i’m so glad it’s not just me 😭😭
Agree!! It almost feels like she couldn’t be bothered to really complete the story or like it was a published rough draft.
Time to reread The Infernal Devices now because Will, Jem and Tessa never disappoints us ❤
Exactly what i did!
Tessa cheats on each one but okay
@@insertname2035 it’s not cheating because they all love each other.
@@jameslampley1689 it is cheating. Tessa is a certified ho*. If only she owned it
Literally. She was the only bad thing about the trilogy lol
I also expected Matthew to be the one to die, simply because I felt that it would have been a beautiful scene where Will could help James through the death of his parabatai because he also experienced it. And just a sidenote, I felt as if Lucie and Cordelia were not best friends AT ALL. I mean they fought so much and over such unnecessary details ( for example, Lucie did not know Grace controlled James through the bracelet, and also, why was Lucie so upset that Cordelia had a crush on James for a long time? Like, sure she should have told her that, but also, it doesn't really matter all that much like come on). And yes the fact that Cecily and Gabriel did not get a grief scene is criminal. And there should have been more domestic Herondaisy content
I need to be honest, Matthew should have died. It would have been devastating, screaming crying throwing up, but it would have made sense. Killing Christopher was such BS and the family tree cop out was lazy af. She even answered a question where someone asked if she had always planned for Christopher to die and she was like yeah that's why Alex exists, to carry on the Lightwood name bc it was NEVER going to be Christopher. IT MAKES NO SENSE. Christopher should have lived, his death made angry with the author instead of sad within the context of the story bc it was confusing and weird. I need someone to write that AU bc Cassandra Clare can't be trusted with a coloring book much less a novel.
i do think the writing was different, but what most bothered me was SPOILER ALERT 1. she completely disregarded christopher's death? i think the reason this book wasn't as heartbreaking as clockwork princess or qoaad is because she just didn't *write* his death or everyone else grieving him. one second he's hurt, the next he's dead, and we barely get to see james, matthew or anna reacting to it. i felt a bit cheated, tbh, i think he deserved better. and 2. matthew's character arc that she's been building since before chog was just thrown in the trash! the whole thing of the baby and charlotte was barely revealed, we barely got to see him telling james and the scene where he tells his parents (literally what he's been dreading for years) was just skimmed over. i think she dealt with the alcoholism part of it well, but at times she focused his arc so much on him suddenly being in love with cordelia that she completely lost all the potential of heartbreak that it had with the whole story of charlotte's baby and what he did (and that has been eating him from the inside for literally years). honestly, this could have easily been cassie's best trilogy and then so many things were rushed in the last book and so much potential was lost, i'm actually sad about it.
Completely agreed
I agree with this completely lol I was hoping for a Mathew pov when he told his family about it because I feel like she has totally been leading up to that. also, I was SO upset when Kit died, and I feel like his character deserved way more.
Agree 100%
I'm the biggest Matthew Fairchild stan, bestie. I can't believe cc made the (bad) love triangle his only personality and didn't use him for a better subplot and then the other one he has, she doesn't develop it well
yesss
SPOT ON!!!!
THISSSS UGH SO UPSETTING
So excited to watch this!
Imo there was a lot of wasted potential and it was underwhelming in places like Matthew telling Charlotte and Henry about the secret was completely glossed over, James telling his parents about the bracelet, lightwoods finding out about Jesse... Just so much. Also there was not enough herondaisy, like chess??? Second marriage runes😭😭?? Wasted too much time on the dumb love triangle. Christopher defending grace right after James just told everyone about the bracelet was so unnecessary and weird. And killing him off after just seemed like a cheap way to have his words have more impact and get everyone to give Grace a pass. Not saying she doesn't deserve some sort of happy ending but eeek. Also speaking of, nobody gave a crap kit died 😭like we didn't even see cecily and Gabriel's reactions? No funeral? Everything got resolved wayyy to easily at the end after all that set up. Still really loved some parts like the romances we did get, the James and Matthew scenes in edom and merry thieves coming to help matthew. Also the part when they sent the first fire rune got me crying. Sad tlh is over :(
i completely agreeeee 😭🥲💔
Along the lines of wasted potential, was anyone else upset that we didn’t get to see Lucy come into her own power in bringing Jesse back? We were just told about it? After the buildup from Chain of Iron I was so gutted.
@@crbysrnsn And the wasted potential of the first female parabatais? Like anyone also feel that Lucie and Cordelia are the worst parabatai we ever read? Like they aren’t even friends,they don’t see each other as they safe place,Lucie didn’t told Cordelia about Jesse and Cordelia didn’t go to Lucie when she need it the most. And they are constantly fighting like why
@@Moonlightss320 100% agree!! No matter how u try to explain it, cordelia going to Matthew (James's parabati the very person who she's unhappy with) instead of Lucie at the end of choi just doesn't make any sense
INFERNAL DEVICES REREAD VLOG SERIES MAY BE THE BEST IDEA IVE EVER HEARD
i know so many people doing a full tsc series or tid reread after this book the timing would be PERFECT
I think because clockwork princess was the first true finale of a series that she wrote (not really counting city of glass here) everyone was tricked into thinking that cassie clare can always write an immaculate finale, when in fact every other finale she's written always seem to have an aspect of either too much convenience plot-wise or too many open ended or unresolved questions because they all serve as some sort of setup for the next series; the latter i don't think is necessarily a bad thing, it just ends up making her finales not really feel like finales and there's always some aspect of disappointment or dissatisfaction
The fact that CoT is her first finale that doesn’t lead into another one and she fumbled it so badly makes me worried for TWP
No, because the family tree cop-out is so bad it's laughable. And you're so right, the ending of TID is so bittersweet but in all the right places and this ending was so sloppy and messy. she went from 100 to 0 and it's so sad bc she could have easily had a better ending than whatever this mess was.
@@jacklemm1518 I need to be honest, I can't read TWP after this. I wouldn't trust Cassandra Clare with a coloring book much less a novel/series.
I felt disappointed by this finale 😭The writing felt off and the characters sat around for a lot of the book doing nothing. But I was happy to see almost everyone get a happy ending.
Christopher was my favourite character from the first time he appeared in „Tales of the Shadowhunter Academy“ & his death was heartbreaking. But not because of how it was written, but because of how it was overlooked and brushed off. There was no real grief, no reactions from his family (other than Anna) and everyone seemed to get over it SO quickly 💔
I felt like CC has to kill someone in the end and Christopher was close enough to make an impact but not entwined enough to ruin a ship. It felt like Christopher died to elevate Grace.
@@Awesomeme73 Exactly, he was just a means to an end & that does not do his character justice.
Okay I’ve officially finished the vlog and I 100% agree with everything you said. I think it’s so disappointing that this book was just so absurd plot wise. There was so much potential and I’m so sad it didn’t live up to it. I think what really got me was how she wasn’t showing us anything important. Like where was the full scene of math telling his family about the issue, James telling his parents about the gracelet, James and Cordelia’s wedding runes, Jesse’s full identity being revealed, the mortal sword being used on lucie about her powers, math getting more help with his alcoholism, a final scene with the Merry Thieves without Kit, and finally where the HELL was all the grief and mourning about Kit??????????? Like ohmygod??? She glossed over it so quickly and didn’t seem like any of them cared that he died???? Anna was the only one I sensed any sort of grief from and maybe Thomas but James and Matthew??? Where was all that? She wrote grief and mourning out SO WELL in Queen of Air and Darkness but in CoT??? Nope we’re just gonna move on. I’m confused why so many things were told to us rather than show us was my whole point lolll. One scene I had full confidence was going to show up, but didn’t, was a scene from math’s pov where he feels the Parabatai rune like start to fade or feels pain when James was stabbed and everyone who was with him runs towards him as he falls to the ground or something like that then it switches to Cordelia healing him. That would’ve had a huge impact bc there’s a pause before he’s healed. Idk this book was unfortunately super disappointing and underwhelming to me, I hope TWP wraps everything up
You have so many good points! I think especially us being told, "James explained everything that happened." Or any character doing the same for such important scenes just made those moments less impactful. It felt almost lazy? Like she wanted to us to know that those things happened/were discussed but didn't want to put the effort in to write it out. Matthew not reacting to James being stabbed was also really odd because it's been said before that parabatai that are closer can feel physical things more often. Matthew had felt James become infected with the virus in the previous book and James even felt when Matthew was winded from a fight. I thought those moments were meant to show that they are closer than most parabatai. It definitely would have added a lot of depth to the scene if we had Matthew's reaction even if we knew James would be healed after.
@@chey_daniella It felt SO lazy. This last book had so much potential and it just felt flat or that things were wrapped up so easily. Everything you mentioned is why I brought that point up and bc I haven’t seen many people bring it up. Matthew mentions he felt the rune fading, which is yet another example of us being told things rather than being shown. I believe she’s burnt out with the world, which is understandable. I hope she can take a break and come back to TWP with a clear mind and the passion she had a couple years ago.
I agree 100%! And I also don’t understand why Cordelia was the one to kill Tatiana. There was a huge opportunity missed for grace to kill her. In the bane chronicles, grace was written to be like a secret weapon/spy kind of character only for her to be useless when it comes to fighting. It would have been nice to see that part of her come out and put an end to Tatiana for everything she’s done.
I have never read a Cassie Clare book in my life but I’m so excited about Hanna’s reaction to the finale 😭
fun fact: on her tumblr, cassandra clare said the og epilogue was James on his death bed seeing all his friends waiting for him bc he outlived all of them (they died "so horribly so long ago" - actual quote) so yeah, there's that!
I would’ve preferred that ending like, if it’s gonna hurt let that shit HURT
I’m so confused why she changed the book to whatever was released. This series could’ve easily been her best work but I digress.
No fuckin way, what the hell was she originally planning for this book?!?!?!
@@affunoor4955 It was the pandemic; she couldn’t make herself write such a sad ending with the world the way it was.
Though the ending being everyone but James dying…how does that work for the TMI characters? That would get rid of their ancestors?
@@TheSoundOfGeorgiaright? That would make no sense. Also, Changing the ending because we were in a pandemic sounds kind of condescending to me. Like let me decide what I can handle. Lol
The most disappointing thing for me was lack of reaction about kit death, I'm really sad and angry that cassie didn't show us Cecily and Gabriel reaction to kit's death.😞😑 And cassie PLEASE leave the Lightwoods ALONE, in every series she kill of the lightwoods. I want my lightwood_bane family, izzy and simon alive at the end of TWP. 😭😭😭
I'm so scared for Ty and Kit, they deserve a great trilogy
I don’t know if it was just me, but I loved Christopher soo much and that's exactly why I'm so mad that she made it extremely obvious that she does not care about him. I feel like his character was underdeveloped and that his relationship with Grace deserved a happy ending. For me personaly, seeing a character who was into science like myself has been such an amazing experience. Killing him off like that before we got a chance to get more attached to him was a violation 🙂
Kit deserved so much more than what Cassie gave
It was such bs. Like that on top of the Family Tree "found object" cop-out. Honestly, I'm holding it that this isn't canon, it was sloppy, messy, unnecessary...In my mind, Christopher carried on the Lightwood name, cus I don't know what Cassandra Clare was on, but I would have much rather waited YEARS for a proper book ending than getting this mess. I couldn't even get through the last 200 pages bc I was genuinely so confused and then just angry at the way this was written.
Yasss please re read TID and make a vlog too. That's my favorite series and I'd love to re read them too
I wish the Cordelia Matthew James love triangle had been Matthew Lucie Jesse. I think Cassie always intended Matthew to end up losing the girl and I much rather would have preferred him to "lose" Lucie. It made more sense because we weren't sure Jesse could even come back to life so it might've given us hope for Math and Lucie but then Lucie and Jesse become endgame in the end. That would have been so much better than parabatais fighting over the same girl AGAIN. the Cordelia James Matthew love triangle was literally pointless
If you think this series had everything wrap up too quickly or had too much of a happy ending, just remember that no matter what, Tessa will go on to live through the deaths of both of her children!! 😃😃😃
WHY WOULD U SAY THAT DO U WANT ME TO CRY
You are adding to my villain origin story
Lol
If she ever wrote those scenes and released them, I would ACTUALLY die
I loved COT but I did feel something was missing. I wanted to be an emotional wreck but I just wasn’t. I feel Matthew’s story was unfinished, especially because we never got his POV in the last hours. I’m hoping something happens between now and TWP which means he’ll be in the TWP.
IT'S HERE EVRYONE DON'T PANIC
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS EVER SINCE I FINISHED THE BOOK I NEEDED TO SEE YOUR REACTIONS TO EVERYTHING
Sameeee😭😭😭😭
ITS FINALLY TIMEEEE
Girl this book let me down hella big. Yes the writing I agree was just sloppy. The plot was all over the place and there were so many times I was saying “but why not do THIS instead??” I was really frustrated that so much happened off the page that we needed pay off for- Grace telling Cordelia about the bracelet, Matthew finally talking to his parents for example.
I also feel like Christopher’s death was SO glossed over. Livvys death was such a pivotal moment in LOS and I feel like his death was not given the same treatment at all. So so so much disappointment
am I the only one that didn't forget about the marriage runes cordelia and james were supposed to draw on eo? it felt like the book was building up to a scene for that after the wedding or when they finally confessed their love for eo.. but it never happened?
This!!! I was looking forward to this scene between them cuz it felt like there was an obvious buildup to their 2nd wedding runes scene but I'm so disappointed we didn't get to see it
I kept waiting for that too!
I have so many issues with this book, and the series as a whole has lost a lot of the quality it had because of it. I'm a little scared of TWP, not gonna lie. Ty and Kit are everything to me, and I don't want to see her treat either of them the way she treated Cordelia in this book... 🥺
Same. I’m literally so excited for twin powers and scared to be disappointed now! I know she wrote this during a tough time, so hoping she just needs a moment to recharge and will be able to do well with twin powers.
I think she should just take a break from writing in this world for a bit. I would rather have to wait years in between books and have them be spectacular than be disappointed
Yes to The Infernal Devices vlogs!! That would literally make my LIFE
43:45 was literally me when I read it. I came up with hundreds of reasons why he couldn't be dead and refused to believe it until the very last pages of the book. And then came my reactions of TEARS
It was such bs and the family tree cop-out was sooooo lazy. She could have just...let him live. Like it would have made sense in the world-building and in the context, how are you going to kill off a character that is canonically alive thus far IN THE LAST 200 PAGES!?
Also a whole segment dedicated to THE Chapter 23 WE LOVE TO SEE IT
😌💅🏼
i have not read a single cassandra clare book since clockwork princess when i was in middle school but i am having the time of my life watching this. seeing people care so much about books they love makes me so unreasonably happy
I'm actually of the opposite opinion that this book/series should have been longer, imo it should have been shorter, a duology would have been enough. As much as I love these characters the truth is that the plot of of this series was very lackluster and, like you kept mentioning, it felt very repetitive. By being a duology we could have killed Beliel after the whole possessing Jesse thing (and avoid the whole pointless plot of Lilith) and also avoid the love triangle/frustrating miscommunication. It could have just been a duology with much of the same plot but without the overuse of tropes and scenes.
Yes. So much was dragged out and it really made the last book feel like an entire different story
OMG, literally best idea i've seen so far. I don't know if CC had a contract but she literally said she was feeling burnt out and this would have saved us and her from this mess. justice for Christopher he was a victim of CC's mental health.
i’m screaming the last hours taylor’s version playlist is PERFECT 😭😭😭
🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼
I’m very sad about Christopher. He was the character that I related to the most.
Hey, Hannah, I don’t know if this is in every Chain of Thorns copy, but in mine, it has a part after the epilogue. So once you finish the epilogue, there should be the “Notes on the Text” part, and right after that is a bonus story called “Aught but Death” and it does indeed show Cordelia and Lucie’s parabatai ceremony. I know you were upset that they didn’t mention the ceremony in the book, but you probably will be happy to know that Cassie Clare did add an additional story about it!
Watching this while never having read a Cassandra Clare series after mortal instruments reminds me of my friends telling me gossip of people I do not know and I love it
I liked graces and Cristopher relationship, i was pretty sad when he died and we didn’t get to see grace’s reaction to him laying there unalive. AND, i was hopping for more Anna and Aris content
I think the length of the book would have been fine if Cassie cut down on the info dumping and repeating and focused more on the relationships. Matthew and James needed more scenes, I NEEDED to see the scene where James and Cordelia gave each other their marriage runes, and Gabriel and Cecily reacting of Kit's death, and it didn't feel right when the characters barely cried over Christopher, since they were so close, and the emotional impact would have been there if we saw how the other characters reacted to the loss of one of their best friends. It just wasn't enough.
Belial's motivation for me was that he is just completely infatuated with humanity. Even though he constantly downplays his motives and appreciation for it in the presence of others. To me, this is his way of compensating for losing God's favor as a fallen angel and becoming part of the creation he is so obsessed with once again.
Spoiler alerts: but the only thing I learnd from reading Chain of Thorns is that Esme writes fanfics, and doesn't give two fs about canon. For her Christopher is alive, gets married and a happy life XD XD
And that why she’s bae,queen behavior! Only thing bad is making Alastair and Thomas died at age 40 like girl why😭
NO
@@Moonlightss320 they probably did not answer her questions. Kings behaviour 😂😂
Esme is just like me fr. she said Christopher deserves better and refused to face the truth.
IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS SINCE THE RELEASE DATE!!!!! I'm so excited to watch this!!!!
Sameee😭😭😭
chapter 23 sent me into one of the most extreme spirals i have ever experienced and I think it changed the trajectory of my life
The way you agressively tabbed that page at 32:36 was such a mood HAHA
watch me sit down for an hour and watch this like it's a movie
enjoyyyy 🫶🏼
I think the reason why CC became (for lack of a better word) lazy with Chain of Thorns is because she also had her newest Adult series to write as well. We all know that Shadow Hunters is and will forever be her main breadwinner when it comes to her authorial work. She'll forever earn money because of it, and so she knows that even if chain of thorns is not her best work, she'll still earn money because of it.
Maybe this is just what she wanted for HER characters..
@@brooklyncurrys Girl HER characters are a mess. Like even her family tree was messed up, let's be real, this was lazy and messy af.
"I am naive to trust the tree" ... no truer words have ever been spoken. 💔💔💔💔
I felt very similar as you about this final book. There were too many characters and not everyone got fleshed out. I'm a Matthew stand and I wanted more Matthew. I was hoping for Christopher & Grace to get together. I wanted more from Lucy & Jesse's relationship. I cried when Cordelia let Matthew down. It was just so much and the book felt very chaotic. I also was confused about where the plot was going until Lilith made the comment about the sword being able to heal and I was like ah ha. I gave the book 4 stars. I think Chain of Iron was my favorite in this trilogy.
Hey Hannah
I'm from India
I love books
I've been following you on TH-cam since 5 years
And now that I've read considerate amount of books, I took inspiration from you and started my own bookstagram.
Just wanted to say thank you for everything I've learnt from you❣️
i agree with pretty much everything you've said! i read the whole book within 12 hours of getting my hands on it and spent the entire time muttering curses under my breath and pacing around my room and screaming into a pillow, but overall it was definitely underwhelming as a series finale. i'd never experienced that feeling of disappointment for a book before, and i walked around in a daze for a long time after i finished it just trying to process. so thanks for the video to validate basically every thought I had about it!!!
I am literally pausing Howl's Moving Castle to watch this because I cannot wait to hear your thoughts!!
I am so excited! I have been waiting for your reaction! I loved the book so much!!!!!
I think we can agree that Chain of Iron is the best book in this trilogy no?
I saw your Goodreads review and couldn’t wait for this video because I also gave this book 3 stars.
I agree with everything you said, you really put what I was feeling into words.
Chain of Gold might actually be my favorite shadowhunter book so it’s really disappointing that the trilogy concluded like this.
Matthew and Cordelia were my favorite characters for book 1 & 2 but I felt so underwhelmed by them in this book.
Also, I might be reading too much into things (and the family tree🥲) but I think that maybe CC originally planned for Matthew to die instead of Christopher. Like Matthews ending and overall arc felt a bit rushed and not complete & I don’t understand why we had the Christopher/Grace stuff if nothing was really going to come from it.
No cos I totally agree with your thoughts on this one and the writing style and everything.
I binge read this series for the first time through Jan prior to the release of chain of thorns and I was OBSESSED with the first two books. Loved them. But the third one I, like you, gave it three stars and just felt like there was something missing.
I rlly appreciate your honesty and willingness to openly discuss the books you're reading. some time has passed since I finished reading cot and I think I couldn't fully process it right away. but hearing your thoughts helped me make sense of everything and look at the book from a bit of a distance.
I agree with you that considering this is the final book in the series, possibly the final one set in edwardian london, it felt incomplete and lacking some depth. I admit that I had high expectations bc her series have always found a way to surprise me and tug at my heartstrings. and I'm not saying that this one didn't, but like you said there were recycled plot points. I wanted the romantic relationships to be explored some more. I wanted a character's study on matthew, a lot more could be added to his storyline. I wanted more repulsive villains that I felt strongly against, not ones that had superficial motives for their actions. selfishly, I wanted more will-jem-tessa scenes. they could've helped their children more, or at least guided them, instead they were sent off to idris.
I understand this series requires a lot of consideration and time and planning to write bc the cast of characters is so numerous and vibrant. but that's why I was looking forward to it so much. I just wish there was more attention to detail and character development. nevertheless, it's still one of my favourite series with some of my favourite characters that I'm gonna miss and keep thinking about for a long time
I'm going to miss these reading vlogs so much. It's so much fun watching you go through the exact same emotions I went through while reading these books. Thank you for making these the past few years
The reason why I was hyped as I was for the COT release is because I knew this vlog would soon follow 😭😭
I unfortunately haven't finished it yet but I have read a good majority of it so I will watch until the parts that I have gone through.
Thank you for your hard work on this vlog 💖💖
yes please do the reading vlogs for the infernal devices!! i’ve already skimmed them and spoiled everything for myself but i just bought them to officially read and would love to hear your thoughts
48:33 “he is dead” i died with him
The heartbreak thing is so true I cried when Christopher died but I expected more emptiness it was just kind of forgotten about.
i remember when i saw ur goodreads rating i was like YES EXACTLY HOW I FEEL im excited to watch this omg
I literally loved this video you are so relatable I cried when you cried and made inhumane noises when you did too 🤧I'm gonna miss you talking about this series but hopefully you will do reading vlogs for the wicked powers when it finally comes out and we can go through this pain all over again 😫😍
you knew James was going to walk in on them, a visionary
I’m happy I’m not the only one who felt that this one was off. Where the hell did the parentheses in sentences come from????
I was also incredibly annoyed by how drawn out the drama was. It weighed the book down so much. The love triangle felt so forced the whole time because it was so obvious that Cordelia was not romantically interested in Matthew the whole time. I literally agree with everything you’re saying. I was just waiting for the end because of how much it DRAGGED. I am so mad that Christopher died. He brought science into everything and was the heart and soul. I thought it was ridiculous. I feel like the rush of trying to save him or find an antidote and not knowing what would happen would have been more of a rollercoaster.
Okay. Rant over. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.
as someone who's loved Cassandra Clare's books for over a decade now, i can say that i didnt like this series. There were a lot of really cheesy scenes and info dumps, the plot was rushed (or non existent), and i feel like there were plot holes and a lot of characters from TID were out of charcter?? idk, but im soooo disappointed, and now im TERRIFIED of what she'll do in The Wicked Powers, bc if she messes up Kit and Ty's story i will literally have a mental breakdown
Yeah Will and Tessa were not...themselves imo and what she did to Christopher was so lazy and unnecessary. This isn't canon to me, im sorry, it was bad.
I know cc did the “Cordelia ran” thing on purpose but I was so sick of it at the end 💀
SPOILER FOR GHOSTS OF SHADOWHUNTER MARKET- The version of Belial that owes Jem a favor, the one we see in the Coda, appears in the "Learn about Loss" story in Ghosts of the Shadowhunter market. Belial tells Jem about the lost Herondales and, thanks to Sister Emilia, also gives Jem one last chance to spend time with Will, and it's heartbreakingly beautiful. Having read Ghosts, I was waiting for Belial's supposed debt to the Carstairs to be explained in The Last Hours and was definitely expecting it to be some sort of deal Jem makes with Belial to save Cordelia's life and preserve the Carstairs family (because they couldn't defeat him otherwise). This explanation was fine but a bit underwhelming and convenient- though I guess it underscores Belial's cleverness. He basically tricks Jem into it, knowing he can collect on it later and possibly gain something in return.
Thank you for reminding me about this. I had completely forgotten. I was really confused as to why CC was reviving Belial lol.
Wow, she really messed TotSM with this book right?
✨SPOILERS FOR CHAIN OF THORNS✨
i can totally understand your complaints -- but at the same time i just love all these characters sm & i feel that there were so many good parts that i'm still giving it five stars! i think kit's death definitely could have been better hnadled (i did not understand at all why the death was just suddenly thrust into lucie's pov at random & it was just like "oh no, he's dead"! would have loved an anna pov instead so that we could actually experience kit dying in her arms), since it seemed like only thomas, anna, & grace cared all that much abt it?!?! but i still cried so hard when it happened (especially when thomas walked in the room & was just like "i shoulda been there for him" 😞) & it hurt smmmm 💔
i wish the love triangle between james/matthew/cordelia could have not happened at all, it just added WAY too much drama & tho we are 100% here for the drama i just...didn't love it. ALSO WHY THE HELL DID IT TAKE SO LONG FOR JAMES TO TELL EVERYONE ABT THE BRACELET?!?!?! 😭😭😭
however, i did appreciate the attention to matthew's serious alcohol problem & how much of his arc was dedicated to this. would've loved if cassie had also dedicated more of his arc to ACTUALLY TELLING PPL ABT WHAT HE DID, but overall his arc was mostly satisfying. i found that i hated grace much less in this arc, & while i still can't forgive her for what she did to james (& thus his marriage with daisy), i appreciate how kit was able to bring a new perspective to the situation & help everyone (at least partly) understand her actions
mostly i just lived for the thomas & alastair relationship -- ik everyone seems to be mostly invested in jordelia but i always cared more abt thomastair personally! their relationship was just done so well (especially the explanations of alastair's hesitancy to let their relationship progress, plus all their goddamn cHeMiStRy) & i cried during one of their scenes & literally fangirl screamed through the rest! i literally can't you guys -- they're just so good & the LGBTQ+ representation was so freaking satisfying. also i relate to thomas so hard in this book -- he's so obsessed with alastair lmao & he's just my precious overthinking & kind boyyy 😍 he's always been my fav character personally
i also rly love how the book kinda explored cordelia's imperfections -- she's always been such a badass & beautiful & kind & caring & thoughtful but i think this book was able to show some of her character flaws (e.g. her capacity to be angry like in her fight with lucie, & just her prideful nature in general).
there are definitely some things i would change abt the book, but like i said i care abt all the relationships (with the exception of lucie & jesse tbh -- their relationship is so flat imo 😒) & characters so much & i don't think i'm ever gonna find another series that i feel this much abt! i think there's something to be said abt loving something sm but also being able to see its flaws, & while i do think that chain of thorns has some flaws i just love this series (it practically became my personality lol) & i think it was wrapped up very well! i'm so sad it's over -- i can't believe there aren't more thomastair scenes 😢😘💖
also might i say that james shooting the lock open on the door to cordelia's room so they can continue kissing is the most iconic thing i've ever witnessed
Thomas and Alistair were honestly all I cared about reading this lmaoo. The jordelia scenes dragged so bad that I got sick of them unfortunately
I would love an infernal devices video! I read them a long time ago but don't remember much, and I would love to relive them through a video of yours :)
i've been waiting for this for what seems like forever!!! im so excited!!!
I've been waiting for your upload ever since I finished reading the book. excited to watch your reactions!!
i hope you enjoy!! 💕
Hannah. Please, please, PLEASE make the infernal devices reread vlog series.
The Jem/ Belial thing is addressed in one of the short stories from Ghosts of the Shadow market! Also my edition had an extra that included the Parabatai Ceremony?
Ever since I saw your goodreads review I have been WAITING for this omggg
the book 100% felt off in all the ways you mentioned but i just cant bring myself to think of the book badly bc its the first time we got REAL thomas and alastair content its so bad for us out here 😭 i would commit any crime i needed to for the series to have a fourth book we needed more time so BADLY
youre so right about it feeling like filler almost, you can feel the burnout it felt like she was just writing it to get it over and done with. there was barely any promo as well it was CRAZY i cant believe we were all so excited for it and this is what happened. i wouldve rather waited a year for her to take a break and come back than have a conclusion that felt like she didn’t even want to be writing in the first place :(
I just finished it yesterday and I'm struggling, because of everything you said. I feel like the family tree (as much as we all knew it wasn't accurate) took away from Christopher's death, because as he died I was literally thinking that it made no sense when he was supposed to be Alec and Isabelle's ancestor, so by the time I actually accepted he was dead dead and not fake dead nobody really talked about Christopher and we moved on...the ending felt like a cop-out, so many scenes were skipped or done quickly (the marriage rune????? Or Matthew telling Charlotte and her being like: oh no biggie you poisoned me and caused me to be barren for 5+ years, I m pregnant with twins anyway so let's never talk about this again). Which I could understand except the book was so damn long and I swear the first half could have been condensed so easily.
James not telling Cordelia but being heartbroken about her questioning his love (understandably so when you are not telling her the key point of what happened) made no sense. I get it, you don't want pity blah blah but no human in the history of humans would ever keep that to himself and risk losing his wife because "I don't want her to feel bad". WHAT? It's literally dragged out to keep this suspense of will they, won't they, will she go with Math instead, which we all knew wasn't gonna happen anyway. I think overall it was just so anticlimactic.
Plus honestly, Belial wanting to be king because....reasons...made no sense and made him probably the dumbest villain in history
Apparently Cassie was going to make the ending sadder but she didn't want to continue with that ending because of COVID. I kinda wish she stuck with that ending
I totally agree. I probably would have liked it better if she stuck with the original ending
The world will always suck. She should’ve just kept the OG ending
thank god this series isn’t the last time we’ll see of Will like we’d all thought😭i gasped so loud at cassie’s london event last year when she said he will make an appearance in the wicked powers😭
An appearance how?? It's going to make me cry either way. I hope he isn't a ghost, that'd be too sad.
Finallyyyyy😭😭😭😭
The video I've been waiting for since last year😭😭😭😭
This book wrecked me
I will never forgive Cassandra Clare for what she did to Kit😭😭😭😭😭
every time I finish a new cassie clare book i'm like "welp time to reread the entirety of the shadowhunter chronicles!" and then i just....don't
Honestly I agree with everything you said. After finishing the book I was so emotional about it mostly because it was over, but I did expect it to hurt more. I did keep track of the times that I cried/felt really emotional (16 times haha). But the points you made were valid and I think we all expected more from this series than what we actually got. Did I enjoy the series? Absolutely. Did I have fun reading this book? Of course! But the Infernal Devices will always be King. I would love to see you do a reread of them and make a series out of them like you suggested at the end! A deep dive on my favorite series would be so fun to watch!
I still can’t believe I love Alastair so much, I hated him when I read tftsa but he’s the best
the part about the family tree had me laughing so hard, especially the line about it was going to confuse future shadowhunters for generations i was reading in bed and POPPED up to underline that part lol. also, you mentioned no lucie/cordelia parabatai scene but there's an extra scene at the end after the epilogue of them doing their ceremony, at least in my copy from b&n and it made me tear up it was really good so idk if you saw that or not. i also wasn't super sad about kit, but i think i was just so in denial because of the family tree i just straight up didn't believe that he was actually dead until they took his body through the portal. not sure how i feel about all the random babies being born either to make up for her changing the family tree and needing family lines to carry on either, felt a little too hand wavey.
It was such a cop-out. Like was it so hard to just...let him live? It would have made so much more sense.
I despise the fact that the book ended on 'Cordelia ran.' Why did it take literally 150 pages for Cordelia to come back from Paris but no ave acque vale for Christopher/no funeral/no second marriage runes/matthew being useless - Christopher shouldnt have died tbh it wasn't sad enough
i gotta say, as someone who has never read any of these books or series… these vlogs are always so entertaining to watch 😂😂😂 i’m invested through you
I LOVE watching your vlogs, it's like spending an afternoon together❤️❤️❤️
Throughout watching this series I've been unable to comprehend the emotions which provoke such intense reactions from Hannah, but I don't think anything has clarified it more succinctly than "I'm having a horrible great time" at 30:08
half of the book is just James and Cordelia crying over each other like stfu and then the other one is about the "action" (that had me falling asleep)
I also felt that this book was pretty anticlimactic. I thought it was just me. The Infernal Devices is also still my most loved Cassie Clare series.
Anticlimactic is the perfect word