Review: Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices #3) by Cassandra Clare
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Series: The Dark Artifices #3
Author: Cassandra Clare
Published December 4th 2018 by Simon & Schuster Children's UK
Goodreads 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. Queen of Air and Darkness is a Shadowhunters novel.
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 disease 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.
Goodreads
Review
The fact that I had bought this book back in January 2019 was the best thing past me could've done. After finishing Lord of Shadows, I knew I needed to start book 3 asap, because I couldn't believe that Cassie had actually gone there, and killed Livvy.
I dove straight into Queen of Air and Darkness, and let me tell you, it is a tome. My copy was 893 pages long, so it's understandable that it took me a few days to get through. So much happened in this book that I would be on for hours trying to recount it all, so I'll summarise (spoiler's ahead):
- Firstly, we have the fallout of the deaths of Livia Blackthorn and Imperator Lightwood, and the destruction of the Mortal Sword. The Cohort are calling for control of the Clave, and eventually they get it when Horace Dearborn is elected as Imperator. Now they're planning on bringing in a register of Downworlders, and all Institutes are honourbound to see the registrations. Aline and Helen are in charge of the Los Angeles Institute, but they try and work around the registrations in their own way.
- Julian goes to see Magnus and turns off his emotions so that the grief he feels over Livvy, and his love for Emma, doesn't complete destroy him. It backfires, and he and Emma get into some sticky situations because of this. Horace sends both Emma and Julian on neigh on a suicide mission into Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume, and, if they can, find and recover Jace and Clary.
- The entire Blackthorn brood are struggling, but all work together to stop Annabell and the Cohort, and the Seelie King from completely destroying their worlds. Parts of the Blight that they see in Faerie is starting to infect Idris, and the Warlocks are becoming ill.
- Tiberius and Kit are using a forged copy of the Black Volume to try to bring Livvy back, and Ty's really struggling to come to terms with losing his twin.
- Chrisitna, Mark, and Kieran are all struggling with their feelings for each other, and know that they lose the others as much as anything. They want to help Emma and Julian, and get themselves into Faerie to find them, especially when they hear from Diana and Gwyn that their mission is doomed to fail.
- The whole gang - Emma, Julian, Christina, Mark, Kieran, Jace and Clary - are captured by the Seelie King, which leads to Kieran killing his father, and in turn becoming the Seelie King - but it's not supported by the majority of the Fae, especially those who support his brother Oban. They escape through portals, though Emma and Julian's send them to Thule.
- Thule is a damaged world, in which Sebastian Morgenstern killed Clary and won the Dark War. Emma and Julian in this world have become Endarkened, and the Shadowhunters are neigh on no more. They realise that there is still a Mortal Sword in this world, and with the help of the Dru and Tessa from Thule, they find the sword and escape back to their own world.
- Julian breaks the curse that he asked Magnus to put on him, and all of his feelings and emotions come back. He loves Emma as much as he ever did, and both of them are now starting to feel the effects of the Parabatai curse. He calls a meeting of Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike, and they make a plan to stop the Cohort with their fake meeting with the new 'Seelie King'. However, there's a spy in their camp, and Horace and Zara know all about it.
- At the confrontation in Idris, a lot happens, including the Parabatai curse being fully enacted, and Emma and Julian become true Nephilim, nearly burning themselves out in their angelic power, and stopping the Cohort. They are only brought back by the various Blackthorn's love for them.
- It all comes to a close with Emma and Julian breaking their Parabatai bond, and being able to be with each other. Alec is elected the new Consul, and he and Magnus marry, eventually. Kit goes off to England with Tessa and Jem, wanting to be separated from Ty, and the rest of the Blackthorns. Kieran is now King of Seelie, and has found a way for him and Mark and Christina to be together, and none of them be harmed by it.
All in all, this book had a lot, and tied up basically all of the questions that needed answering. Some parts of it were a bit long, and could've been condensed, but I definitely enjoyed it, and am glad that I decided to give this series another chance. The characters in these books made me remember why I had initially falling in love with the Shadowhunter world, and I am looking forward to the next few books that Cassie will be releasing. I'm especially looking forward to the Wicked Powers series, which is said to be about Ty and Kit, who I think still have stories to be told. That won't be for another few years though, so I'll guess I have to wait for them.
Dates Read:
December 31, 2019-January 5, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
December 31, 2019-January 5, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
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