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Synopsis:

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

What if damnation is the price of true love?

Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the blight that is destroying the race of warlocks.

Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

“When I was at my worst, you were at your best for me. I can only do the same for you.”
“All right,” she said. “All right, I’ll wait one day.”
As if it heard her voice, the color closed up at her feet, hiding the parabatai tablet beneath the protecting marble. She wanted to reach out to Julian, to touch his hands, to tell him she was grateful. She wanted to say more, say the words they were forbidden to say, but she didn’t—just looked at him silently and thought them, wondering if anyone had thought these words in the Silent City. If they had thought them like this: with equal hope and despair.
I love you. I love you. I love you.

All right, can I just say that this took me like TWO TOO MANY WEEKS TO FINISH?! That is entirely my bad though and I am so annoyed at myself for it. I feel like I have been disconnected from my previous obsession with all things Cassandra Clare and because of that, I wasn’t fully prepared for this. In the past with her other series, I would have taken the time to reread all of the previous books before the new ones came out. Guys…I literally did NOT have the time to do that/ maybe I did but I was being greedy with wanting to finish the last book and was too impatient to read the previous two first. Also, I was kind of annoyed that all of the Ghosts of the Shadow Market novellas were recently released and I was worrying about missing out on information from those but also too busy to read through those as well. Long story short I have become slightly overwhelmed with how expansive the Shadowhunter world has become.

Reading this book has immediately sucked me back into this world. It hit me like a ton of bricks how much I used to live and breathe in the world of Shadowhunters and I cannot believe I have been absent from it for what seems like forever. When I finished up with Lord of Shadows last year I was left in awe of what Clare had done with Julian’s character and with this particular set of main character’s story lines but I was also straight up annoyed with how we were still getting strung along with the problems of Clary and Jace. I did not care to hear about them because their story, in my eyes, had been over. After reading this book I can obviously see that that isn’t the case. They were an integral part of this last chapter of this series and honestly, I didn’t mind it as much. Now that I know that she plans to end the Shadowhunter Chronicles in the distant future series, The Wicked Powers, I feel a sense of relief. I mean, they were the heroes of the very first series in this world, obviously they are still going to be important. I hope that Clare is able to give all of her characters the sendoff that they deserve in that series because after being with them and their families for the last decade, they have become like family to me.

Enough about that, though. Let’s get into the real reason I came to this review. This G-d book. Um…yeah, wow. I just finished rereading City of Bones and it is literally INSANE how much Clare’s writing has grown in the last decade. I am stunned. The Blackthorns’ grief, and Julian’s cunning and wit, and Emma’s strength and their love for each other and EVERYTHING ELSE. My heart was just this throbbing, beating mess for most of the book that I literally don’t know how I put it down as much as I did. Clare creates these UNFORGETTABLE romantic and even familial ties that I would lay down my life to protect.

I also loved seeing more of both the Seelie and the Unseelie courts. Books on the Fae have really been on the up and up lately so getting to see more of how their courts were set up and learning more about the Queen and King and the heirs was very interesting… During this final installment we met more Shadowhunters from around the world. We got to see things go to shit and then be reborn with the Clave. We got to see a NEW, and possibly equally horrible other dimension…..just…it was a lot. I am so intrigued with what will happen with so many different things and people and I refuse to say more on the matter lest I spoil ANYTHING.

The ONLY complaint that I have with this book (that isn’t really anything to do with the actual book) is that there were aspects of it that I just felt like I possibly should have known more about…? Again, it goes back to me not being able to reread the previous books and not being able to read the last set of novellas though. As much as I CRAVE series that are long and drawn out and that interconnect, sometimes it can be a pain in the ass. I can see how it would be daunting if you were a newcomer to try to figure out which to pick up first and in what order, etc. Each series makes mention to events in other series and other characters and their families in other series so as you can probably guess, if you don’t have it all straight or haven’t read it all, you are going to miss out on a LOT.

That being said, I would recommend this series (& all of her series) to literally anyone who likes fantasy. These books have something for everyone and are diverse in a way that a lot of YA isn’t. I will be reading her books until the day I die, mark my words, lol.