Wondrous, mysterious, delightful.

As much as I love an epic fantasy, I’m also captured by the stories that have a more centred setting with unique magic systems - a cosy read vibe. This was perhaps adjacent to that, an urban fantasy - Seattle in 1929 on the edge of the financial crash, but with magic. An adventurous slow heist, difficulties of discrimination - especially from law enforcement, with some dangerous characters.

Some of the following points I first felt may be a negative, but reflecting on them it showed the true genius of the author with a dare to be a bit different. This story is quite twisty, so not much more should be said past the blurb, it’s a thrilling ride - but for the qualities of the book…

Time was a devious little aspect of this book, along with story lines which converge. It builds mystery and surprise. Increasingly you’d think you understood the plot, but the next chapter would flit about the timeline to an earlier event, to reveal the previous chapters had more at play than first appeared. It’s a novella, so as long as you’ve got a physical copy the flick between chapters headings (they state where in the timeline they are), it’s pretty easy to keep up.

It can be good to leave a few mysteries to forever be wondered once a book is put down. And this novella did that.

Therefore, I would love to know what Gabe was actually prepared to trade for his tattoo machine. Or what really happened when Comeuppance/Dolly was with the faeries and her whole story in general.

I often wish more books wouldn’t always turn any detail into a plot point. It can hint to readers where a story might be going, or be used to usefully push a plot in a desired direction or just lack reality. This book had a moment where it didn’t take the obvious book narrative plot decision, and I’m thankful for that.

Philippe and his forgotten clothes were funny and also tense. The reader would presume he’d go back for them, so not to stand out while navigating the streets back to Violet with Gabe. With the switching of narrative povs, it left me with suspended tension. But no, instead we got a giggle out of the imagery and Violet’s exasperated reaction.

And Fiona’s true character plot and her true qualities, were a delight. One I noted the author credited the need to develop Fiona into a character and not just a plot device, to crime novelist David Corbett who read her first chapter.

This story was very much centred nearly totally on the events around this job Dolly was undertaking. There were merely mentions of problems with a previous job and we closed the book on her travels towards her next adventure. This was a choice, and one I respect, and makes her character even more intriguing.

But some things weren’t explain brilliantly, or didn’t make sense, and I was left with some questions.

Going back to Dolly, the brief details we had on her previous job and how it linked to this one, I didn’t fully understand. Becoming another character for this job was one thing, by making herself appear poorer than her last identify - but willingly wasting so much of her money by making a awful trade on a dress, while having to frugally ration meals was bizarre.

There was the building mentions and references to what happened when Dolly was taken by the faeries, which was always vague. But that appeared a deliberate choice, as to put the reader in the same unsuredness the citizens had of these - believed but still folk law - stories. But if she had a heart was a question asked and never really answered, apart from maybe hints that she was growing/gaining a soul?

Unfortunately, there were some writing errors; of sentences and speech not making great sense, it not always being specified which characters said each remark, and on one occasion I found a duplicated couple of words.

The first few chapters in, I worried this novella would struggle to portray a complex and rich story. And while descriptions weren’t the most detailed due to the limited pages… This book really made a marvel of a story. The characters were all unique, and I surprisingly eventually found a familiarity and growing warmth towards the likeable ones.

This book is a companion to the reader; to reflect their difficulties and aid healing themselves. While reading the first half to three quarters of the book, I thought the story lacked plot, but this is instead a great story of the characters. For this story is heavy on the romantasy character development than the fantasy world plot. The book was long, maybe if there were a couple hundred less pages the plot would have felt more substantial. This book also reflects how long the journey can be to heal oneself. I wonder if the next standalone books will follow this heavy character development focus, with the plot slowly progressing through them.

Gwyn and Emerie are such lovely characters. As the book discussed, they were a fresh slate for Nesta to truly be herself, without the emotional backstory she has with her sisters and the rest of the inner circle. The three were unique from one another and had a great dynamic, I really enjoyed watching the trio’s friendship blossom.

The *spice* was too much for me and sometimes I felt it was at inappropriate moments. Due to the original ACOTAR series being tamer, I believe this book should have carried on similarly. I like the change, but I would have preferred less descriptions, to allow the reader to focus on their emotional development.

I feel torn with Rhys’ portrayal. It’s a great writing skill to show him differently from Nesta’s eyes. But even from Cassian’s perspective, the charming Rhys we’ve grown to love was mostly a shadow in himself at this time. The troubles Rhys faced aside, he just straight out hates Nesta most of the time, we're shown brief moments were he has some level of understanding of her.

I wish their bonds were more healed before he literally fell on his tattooed knees at her for saving her sister.

ACOFAS wasn't a cosy festive read for me; it was full of everyone's trauma and torment. Rhys and Feyre seam more settled in their conscience in this book

apart from the obvious issue that developed,

and I wish they could have been given some happiness for some time, but they were thrown straight back into troubles.

Nesta is a character that always resonated with me. I saw her pain and what her intentions were despite how her actions turned out. I understood how she knew her mistakes, hated her actions, the self-loathing and sabotage. It was so warming to finally see her beam to life (personally exasperated by the fact it's been a while since I read the previous books in the series). She was a character written with many facets, and perhaps a couple would reflect inner demons of the reader, and you'd go on the journey with her.

The further I got through the book, more and more I hoped for Nesta to explore her powers greater. Rather than hide away or be passive to them or call to them only in desperation. But this was such a refreshing change to fantasy; to have a character’s focus mostly be on themselves  than mastering their powers for whatever they face. To explore a character who is afraid of her powers - for good reason.

It's always the least 150ish pages isn't it SJM.…. I was waiting for it!

Rhys should have told Feyre before she married him - even before they got very close, about the risk to her and their potential baby's life and further extension - him when they made that bond, if it were to have wings. It doesn't matter how small a possibility it was, there is Illyrian in his blood. No one seamed to care too much about Feyre's looming fate, it was very strange to spend three books and a novella building this really close inner circle that accepted her lovingly, but then they not despair over the news. Cassian's and Nesta's perspectives read through the third person narrative, also played minimal attention to the dark fact.

Another writing issue I have is Azriel realistically didn't have the time to

train the Valkyries every morning

, everyone was way too relaxed with the war prevention efforts.

I felt the book focused more on Nesta's trauma than Cassian's. I felt the books focal character is Nesta, but Cassian's is very close second and they're a duo. Nesta only thought through her POV that Cassian would be affected by leaving his Illyrian's for her in ACOWAR. I felt that should have been discussed between them, and Cassian having some emotional troubles to heal through with Nesta on her own. Also between them, they never properly talk about their feeling for one another. Unlike Rhys and Feyre in ACOMAF, this fitted more with their characters, but they should have had moment of something more, many thoughts had still not been said allowed.

I want to give this book 4 stars, but the lack of world plot is keeping me to just below. But trust me that it is a worthy read, it has become one of my favourites. This novel soothed my soul.

A wholesome novel of roles and deceit, loyalty and honour.

An array of worlds with varying amounts of power / magic. Each deep and rich with life to the bones. An intriguing story, layered - as with its characters - created with a clever mind.

Dark, gritty; unafraid to tell the true horrors and disgusts that happen in life. And how a spark of light of a place or in a person can hold you on to be.

Balance and respect in Vitari.

Such a strange, beautiful, disturbing, cruel novel.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this short book but I was not disappointed. And there were some things I was definitely not expecting, that took me by surprise.

A really intriguing book. I cannot find enough words to describe in coherent sentences the array of worlds each student traveled to and to some extent bought back with them and shared. So here are a few words I feel best sum up the feel of the book: strange, curious, mysterious, eerie, extraordinary.

Some things the characters said confused me so much, due to how the worlds they named home changed their outlook and language. Their sentences because incomprehensible and in those small doses, that just added to the story. 

The climax at the end, although I had no problems while reading it, in hindsight lacked any amplification and was cut short. The calm afterwards, was short and peaceful, and the very end bought my to a few near tears.

But overall a wholesome read. It didn’t focus on the details of what each character looked like, or the the more general settings. The story telling was in the plot and Seanan McGuire let our imagination effortlessly do the rest.

May change this to from 3 stars to 4 stars, after I've had more of a think or read the next books in the series.

But, I watched the film years before reading this book. The film had differences that were changed for the films benefit that I preferred. I know they're two different forms of media, but its true that the film really did outshine the book in parts, mainly being its simpler timeline. However, there were things I preferred about the book, one being that it was more explained and fleshed out.

On personal issues: I DNF’d this book so many times over the last 3 years. And when I really started reading this year, I'd been reading a lot of a author of much maturer content, Sarah, J. Maas. So when Clary is 15 and complaining about her strict mum, being an adult and reading maturer content, I struggled. Meaning I did again DNF’d this book in May time. However later on in the year, I had read other authors and I was in a better place to read and enjoy it, without wanted to jump into the next book.

The world itself was lacking. They are demon hunters and you would have thought that's were the first book would start. But the focus on the story was more on Valantine's torment. This may be refreshing and different to other books, but sadly I didn't appreciate it. I feel completely uneducated on the daily lives of Shadow Hunters, the world building there was virtually non existent. How they hear about, choose, track demons and anything else, as nothing of there normal lives pre Clary really came up. There was loads of talk about special education classes for Shadow Hunters but nothing of that education really came up, other than runes.

Sentences is the book confused me at times with poor / weird grammar and mistakes. All the Jonathon names confused me a little bit,

I know there's a reason names were similar, but when your trying to learn characters it was a bit more difficult.

Many of the characters were difficult for me; unlikable and mean. And at some points I struggled to find one I liked or who was good. Made even more frustrating when a character is portrayed as good and something like murder is overlooked. Which meant I wasn't really rooting for any characters in the story and not involved like a author would want. Then suddenly at the end in the epilogue many peoples attitude had turned a 180 and it was unnatural and uncomfortable, cringy, dialogue to read.

Again on a personal note: Despite the bad things surrounding my review of this book. This was my last read of 2018, finishing on New Year's Eve. I tried to fit this book in the year completely, and enjoyed those lazy days in bed.

I feel my view of the book / world / character is really tainted by seeing the film, so I will have to read the next books to form a proper opinion on the series. Which despite this mostly negative review I will look forward to reading City of Ash. However, the thought of reading the planned 30ish books by Cassandra Clare is ridiculous, so I don't know if I would read any other series in the Shadow Hunter world even if I enjoyed this series.