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themoonwholistens's Reviews (698)
I’m going to be the first stop for this book tour!! which will be held from Nov 9th-13th. I also have a post on my bookstagram: instagram.com/themoonwholistens (November 9th GMT+8)
*I received an ARC of this book from the author to review/promote through Caffeine Book Tours. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
As a musician, the fact that the plot centers around music and performance were also very enjoyable. Aside from the Filipino environment, I loved the descriptions of those feelings before, during, and after performances as they hit close to home.
The setting felt like home to me even though the writing style was not particularly for me. It felt young, maybe too young for my taste.
However, I kept getting excited since they were talking about colleges that I’m actually familiar with and part of, as a college student.
The plot was interesting because usually in books, it’s the parents who want their kids to complete college but here it’s the opposite. Our main character is actually the one fighting to go to college. I think that it did a good job of exploring that kind of family dynamic and resolved the conflict quite well.
I love it when a book touches on topics like memories and living in the present.
Syd and I actually both go to UP (University of the Philippines) but I found it weird that they didn’t mention the campus? Because it usually goes with it. like for example for me, it’s like “UPM” which is the Manila campus... based on the context I’m assuming she’s in UPD though. De La Salle was also only plainly mentioned without the campus as well (there are so many La Salle schools in the Philippines) and as a former student there, that was also a bit off to read. It’s just details like this that, if different, would have felt more believable for me.
I didn’t care too much for the teen drama just because it’s harder for me to relate to it and it’s not something I like to read as much nowadays. Which made some parts feel like they were dragging. Something about the writing style kept pulling me out from the story at times.
Though, the characters and cast were enjoyable to follow along. They’re amusing and quirky, acting the way teenagers would. I actually think they’re somewhere around my age based on the plot but for some reason they seemed younger to me
*I received an ARC of this book from the author to review/promote through Caffeine Book Tours. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
As a musician, the fact that the plot centers around music and performance were also very enjoyable. Aside from the Filipino environment, I loved the descriptions of those feelings before, during, and after performances as they hit close to home.
The setting felt like home to me even though the writing style was not particularly for me. It felt young, maybe too young for my taste.
However, I kept getting excited since they were talking about colleges that I’m actually familiar with and part of, as a college student.
The plot was interesting because usually in books, it’s the parents who want their kids to complete college but here it’s the opposite. Our main character is actually the one fighting to go to college. I think that it did a good job of exploring that kind of family dynamic and resolved the conflict quite well.
I love it when a book touches on topics like memories and living in the present.
"I am living in the moment. I'm enjoying every single moment because I know one day, they will just be memories."
Syd and I actually both go to UP (University of the Philippines) but I found it weird that they didn’t mention the campus? Because it usually goes with it. like for example for me, it’s like “UPM” which is the Manila campus... based on the context I’m assuming she’s in UPD though. De La Salle was also only plainly mentioned without the campus as well (there are so many La Salle schools in the Philippines) and as a former student there, that was also a bit off to read. It’s just details like this that, if different, would have felt more believable for me.
I didn’t care too much for the teen drama just because it’s harder for me to relate to it and it’s not something I like to read as much nowadays. Which made some parts feel like they were dragging. Something about the writing style kept pulling me out from the story at times.
Though, the characters and cast were enjoyable to follow along. They’re amusing and quirky, acting the way teenagers would. I actually think they’re somewhere around my age based on the plot but for some reason they seemed younger to me
”Liars do make the best magicians, and he happened to be exceptional.”
FORMAT READ: Paperback & Audiobook
SIMILAR VIBES: Six of Crows, Passenger
READ FOR: great time travel plot, slow burn
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*All of my reviews are as spoiler-free as possible unless states otherwise*
OVERALL: 4.0
UPDATE: Sorry for the trash of a review but what you guys should know is that: 1. great time travel plot 2. I loved the characters 3. this is an underrated gem so you should read it
THE HEIST THE HEIST THE HEIST !!! LET US TALK ABOUT THAT… BECAUSE IT WAS SO MUCH MORE THAN A HEIST AND I LOVED IT !!!
Although book had a slow start and took some time to pick up, I was able to really appreciate it in the end because it was part of the world building. And everything just played out beautifully in the end.
Spoiler
I also suddenly understood how the cover is like a time thing.This might be my favourite time travel book yet. It had what I was looking for in a time travel plot… mix that with the Six of Crows vibes… I was in love by the end.
And I was SO INVESTED in Harte’s character and I just had no idea what was going to happen. The plot does a good job building up the suspense because we already know how everything is suppose to end but then we’re not sure if Esta is going to be successful or not. I am just so happy there was more to the heist plot than the book led be to believe and…. *sigh*… I am satisfied.
The plot intrigued me and Esta was an interesting MC. She’s not so much of a typical female MC with her being a thief and all. That made her really interesting to me because it puts her in kind of a morally gray position and I feel like I never entirely know what she’s going to do next. I was cheering Harte on from the very first page and I really like his dynamic with Esta <3 It’s one of my favorite kinds and I STAN !!
They are both far from perfect people in the beginning of the story but I really liked their character development. They seemed to both grow into their roles in the story and I think their masterfully written to intrigue you. Other than that, I thought that all of the characters were actually flushed out well and played into the story in a beautiful way.
”Who said I was you to be anything but what you are? I like your angles and edges, …I have plenty of my own, you know.”
I really liked how most of everyone’s affinities weren’t outright and plainly said. You kind of had to figure it out along the way and that just added a little something to the story for me. It honestly kind of gives me Six of Crows vibes but then everyone has powers.
And here I was thinking that itme-travelling wasn’t as explored throughout the majority of the book though which made me kind of disappointed but OH BOY WAS I WRONG!!
I really enjoyed this book and I seriously cannot wait to get my hands on the next one once they restock in my bookstore :”)
PLOT: ★★★★★
WRITING STYLE: ★★★★☆
WORLD BUILDING: ★★★★☆
CHARACTERS: ★★★★★
THEMES: ★★★★☆
PACING: ★★★☆☆
PAGE TURNER: ★★★★★
-------------------------------------
PRE READ:
time travel books always hype me up
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"He certainly asked no one to tell him stories, and yet he found it was nice to be told one. He kept that to himself too.”
i loved how this ended, i screamed. that was good.
i just love it when novellas actually add substantial context to the main series <3
— overall thoughts: 3.75 —
this novella basically follows Cardan's
I loved it. This was all the serotonin I needed. There's not that much plot tho and not much of the thought provoking aspect (which is one of the most important things to me in stories) so that's why it has the rating that I gave it. I do think it's still enjoyable if you like this series (and Cardan) :)
me to this book:
I was going through a whirlwind of heartache and heartbreaks until I found out that we're getting a whole novella about Cardan :3
Not sure what kind of fae sorcery happened but I hated this tailed man in the first book and look where we are now.
2nd Read: November 22 -November 22, 2020
why is this already better the second time around
I literally speed read that because I needed some form of happiness
1st Read: November 12 -November 18, 2020
I underestimated the amount of angst that this book was capable of.
I find it so funny that there’s a whole love square but it doesn’t even involve our two mains. Like, Julian and Emma are just chilling (not really, Julian is a stressed monkey) and living their best life while the other 4 sort-of-adults fight over each other.
— overall thoughts: 4.5 —
WRITING STYLE/PLOT
This feels like the most modern and admittedly, darkest, of CC’s works in terms of writing style and plot + character dynamics among the shadowhunter novels.
Plot-wise, I thought that this is one of her strongest books. The mystery was there and it's packed with all the secrets and yearning that I was looking for. There are cheesy moments but that was to be expected and I need that every once in a while. Fast-paced plot as usual with a lot of easter eggs dropped and revealed (or soon to be revealed).
In my opinion, all the right plot points were dropped at the right times to make me keep reading. Because I initially just wanted to get this book over with so that I can read CoG but I'm actually attached to the characters.
The thing is, I feel like CC just keeps writing more and more addicting storylines and characters with every book in this never ending series but she always manages to put unique twists in them — especially for a world that she has already embedded in my entire being for the past 5 years.
I didn’t need too much world-building because it felt like coming home. Nevertheless, I think it could have used some work if you are knew to the world but I think CC is assuming you have read at least some of the previous books before reading this since... that would make sense.
The way Poe's Annabel Lee poem was incorporated into the story felt so realistic to me and it was so clever. I have always loved the poem and the inspiration was spot on.
And of course, this was just filled with parabatai content and I think we can all agree that any kind of parabatai content, is good content.
The best friends to lovers trope? We are weak for it.
I came here for the angst and it delivered. Only the Shadowhunter books can still make me care about teenage drama this much.
CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS
I know we always talk about how much we all love the found family trope… but when those dynamics are put on actual family, especially one with a bond as strong as the blackthorns + Emma + Cristina +, we get one of the best full cast chemistry I have read and no doubt that this will build up in the second book.
A lot of Cassie Clare’s book revolves around found families and she always nails the character dynamics in my opinion. The fact that we get to see that put into play with an actual family (and still a mix of found family) was so heartwarming to read.
Something about Cassie Clare and the Shadowhunter books always makes it feel like I am just jumping back into a compartment in my brain. I can just dive right back into this world I know without having to build it all up in my head all over again.
A Very Logical Character Breakdown:
Mark ⤳ looks like kind quirky cinnamon roll, is actually kind quirky cinnamon roll
Julian ⤳ Mr. Rules because he’s committing one of the most unlawful acts ever... love *gasp*, but is capable of cold-blooded murder if you hurt anyone in his family; he could be a Will Herondale descendant in terms of brooding tendency and personality let’s be honest
Emma ⤳ greek warrior goddess of risky decisions
Christina ⤳ amazonian warrior goddess of running away from my problems
Drusilla ⤳ actually me; because she’s always just reading a book
Tiberius/Ty ⤳ can probably take me on in coding and hand-to-hand combat at the same time
Livvy ⤳ can probably take me on in fencing and
Octavian/Tavvy ⤳ lowkey reminds me of Will...
Kit ⤳ I knew it.
Julian's character... made me want to sob because of the cards he was dealt with. It's so heartbreaking to think about and even though I had some problems with the writing regarding his character, I couldn't help but appreciate everything that he does for his family. With that, I highly appreciated Ty's mental health rep and how it was handled by Julian in particular.
But we need a Mark Blackthorn appreciation section so here are my favorite MB lines from this book:
WHAT WAS OFF TO ME
That whipping scene felt unnecessarily weird. I don't know why. The intensity in the writing felt lacking and it just did not hit me like I imagine it would. There were inconsistencies in the writing that I just could not ignore so it bothered me.
And there are just lines in general that were meh to me. Which makes me see why people don't like some of these books... I really do.... but I also really don't care XD The world of the Shadowhunters is already so intricate and layered in my mind because of how I read the previous books when I was younger so everything just adds up to my love for it.
Easter eggs that I want to mention:
Now because I am once again writing this at 3 in the morning, I will now go to sleep because this series makes me too emotional to write non-ranty reviews. If only I had my own Julian or Jem.
« my emotional journey in status updates: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 »
FAQ
I get a lot of questions as to how to start reading the Shadowhunter chronicles and if they can just jump into Lady Midnight without reading anything else or just reading TID… I want to say yes but at the same time you are just going to be missing out on the 101 easter eggs that are all over this book. To me, it just adds to the experience and I would say that you should read all of the previous books but most especially “Tales to the Shadowhunter Academy” which is one of the short story bind ups before Lady Midnight. There were just so many missing pieces that I would not have been able to piece together if I did not read that book first.
Long story, short: if you don’t want to read any of the Shadowhunter series before Lady Midnight, just read “Tales to the Shadowhunter Academy” because you’ll get spoiled about everything you need to know about the world prior to TDA without actually reading the books. It will 100% affect your reading experience of all the previous books but if you have no intention of reading those… feel free to do that.
------------
I realized the reason I held off reading this was because I was spoiled and I wanted to forget the spoiler... and 2 years later I guess it worked.
-------------
PRE READ:
I feel like the reason people are surprised that I'm only now reading TDA is because I've read TID 3 times
why is this already better the second time around
I literally speed read that because I needed some form of happiness
“We all feel the same things, only the shapes of our feelings are different.”
1st Read: November 12 -November 18, 2020
I underestimated the amount of angst that this book was capable of.
Spoiler
Seeing Jem and Tessa did not help lessen the angst the smallest bit because I just miss the TID cast everytime they are mentioned. Not to mention Mr. Kit HerondaleI find it so funny that there’s a whole love square but it doesn’t even involve our two mains. Like, Julian and Emma are just chilling (not really, Julian is a stressed monkey) and living their best life while the other 4 sort-of-adults fight over each other.
Spoiler
That was what I wrote before I finished reading the last 50 pages of this book.“I don’t know where I belong,
But if you let me, I will try to belong here.”
— overall thoughts: 4.5 —
WRITING STYLE/PLOT
This feels like the most modern and admittedly, darkest, of CC’s works in terms of writing style and plot + character dynamics among the shadowhunter novels.
Plot-wise, I thought that this is one of her strongest books. The mystery was there and it's packed with all the secrets and yearning that I was looking for. There are cheesy moments but that was to be expected and I need that every once in a while. Fast-paced plot as usual with a lot of easter eggs dropped and revealed (or soon to be revealed).
In my opinion, all the right plot points were dropped at the right times to make me keep reading. Because I initially just wanted to get this book over with so that I can read CoG but I'm actually attached to the characters.
“A scientist said once that if the ocean were as clear as the sky, if we could see everything in it, no one would ever go into the sea. It’s horrifying, what lives in the water, five miles down.”
“There speaks one who does not know the terrors of the sky.”
The thing is, I feel like CC just keeps writing more and more addicting storylines and characters with every book in this never ending series but she always manages to put unique twists in them — especially for a world that she has already embedded in my entire being for the past 5 years.
I didn’t need too much world-building because it felt like coming home. Nevertheless, I think it could have used some work if you are knew to the world but I think CC is assuming you have read at least some of the previous books before reading this since... that would make sense.
The way Poe's Annabel Lee poem was incorporated into the story felt so realistic to me and it was so clever. I have always loved the poem and the inspiration was spot on.
And of course, this was just filled with parabatai content and I think we can all agree that any kind of parabatai content, is good content.
“We’re parabatai. We’re forever.”
The best friends to lovers trope? We are weak for it.
I came here for the angst and it delivered. Only the Shadowhunter books can still make me care about teenage drama this much.
“I gave the stars your names so that when I saw them wink to light in the sky I felt as if you were with me.”
CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS
I know we always talk about how much we all love the found family trope… but when those dynamics are put on actual family, especially one with a bond as strong as the blackthorns + Emma + Cristina +
Spoiler
DiegoA lot of Cassie Clare’s book revolves around found families and she always nails the character dynamics in my opinion. The fact that we get to see that put into play with an actual family (and still a mix of found family) was so heartwarming to read.
Something about Cassie Clare and the Shadowhunter books always makes it feel like I am just jumping back into a compartment in my brain. I can just dive right back into this world I know without having to build it all up in my head all over again.
A Very Logical Character Breakdown:
Mark ⤳ looks like kind quirky cinnamon roll, is actually kind quirky cinnamon roll
Julian ⤳ Mr. Rules because he’s committing one of the most unlawful acts ever... love *gasp*, but is capable of cold-blooded murder if you hurt anyone in his family; he could be a Will Herondale descendant in terms of brooding tendency and personality let’s be honest
Emma ⤳ greek warrior goddess of risky decisions
Christina ⤳ amazonian warrior goddess of running away from my problems
Drusilla ⤳ actually me; because she’s always just reading a book
Tiberius/Ty ⤳ can probably take me on in coding and hand-to-hand combat at the same time
Livvy ⤳ can probably take me on in fencing and
Spoiler
the one that I got spoiled aboutOctavian/Tavvy ⤳ lowkey reminds me of Will...
Kit ⤳ I knew it.
Julian's character... made me want to sob because of the cards he was dealt with. It's so heartbreaking to think about and even though I had some problems with the writing regarding his character, I couldn't help but appreciate everything that he does for his family. With that, I highly appreciated Ty's mental health rep and how it was handled by Julian in particular.
But we need a Mark Blackthorn appreciation section so here are my favorite MB lines from this book:
“There was beauty in the idea of freedom, but it was an illusion. Every human heart was chained by love.”
“He bumped into a pay phone and said, 'Excuse me, miss,' on our way in," said Julian.
"It's polite to apologize," said Mark with the same small voice.
“Why are you wearing a T-shirt under your other T-shirt?" Livvy asked.
"In case one of them is stolen," Marked said, as it were entirely normal.”
“This cat is looking at me with judgment.”“He’s not,” said Jules. “That’s just his face.”“You look at me the same way,” Mark said, glancing at Julian. “Judgy face.”
"Why are you calling me 'some people'?" Mark inquired. "I am only one person.”
[+ that whole scene of him ordering a plate of strawberries]
WHAT WAS OFF TO ME
That whipping scene felt unnecessarily weird. I don't know why. The intensity in the writing felt lacking and it just did not hit me like I imagine it would. There were inconsistencies in the writing that I just could not ignore so it bothered me.
And there are just lines in general that were meh to me. Which makes me see why people don't like some of these books... I really do.... but I also really don't care XD The world of the Shadowhunters is already so intricate and layered in my mind because of how I read the previous books when I was younger so everything just adds up to my love for it.
Easter eggs that I want to mention:
Spoiler
Jem's violin, Jem's cane, Church, Tessa's whole personNow because I am once again writing this at 3 in the morning, I will now go to sleep because this series makes me too emotional to write non-ranty reviews. If only I had my own Julian or Jem.
« my emotional journey in status updates: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 »
FAQ
I get a lot of questions as to how to start reading the Shadowhunter chronicles and if they can just jump into Lady Midnight without reading anything else or just reading TID… I want to say yes but at the same time you are just going to be missing out on the 101 easter eggs that are all over this book. To me, it just adds to the experience and I would say that you should read all of the previous books but most especially “Tales to the Shadowhunter Academy” which is one of the short story bind ups before Lady Midnight. There were just so many missing pieces that I would not have been able to piece together if I did not read that book first.
Long story, short: if you don’t want to read any of the Shadowhunter series before Lady Midnight, just read “Tales to the Shadowhunter Academy” because you’ll get spoiled about everything you need to know about the world prior to TDA without actually reading the books. It will 100% affect your reading experience of all the previous books but if you have no intention of reading those… feel free to do that.
------------
I realized the reason I held off reading this was because I was spoiled and I wanted to forget the spoiler... and 2 years later I guess it worked.
-------------
PRE READ:
I feel like the reason people are surprised that I'm only now reading TDA is because I've read TID 3 times
"There's no point if a dream isn't there to make it 'come true'. That's why 'failure' is the cross-road to the dream and the talent to 'despair'."
