Friday, October 11, 2019

Review - Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare


Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy
Series: Shadowhunter Universe
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Age Group: YA
Hardcover- 655pgs
Source: Purchased
Published: November 2016

Rating: 4/5

Simon Lewis has been a human and a vampire, and now he is becoming a Shadowhunter. But the events of City of Heavenly Fire left him stripped of his memories, and Simon isn’t sure who he is anymore. He knows he was friends with Clary, and that he convinced the total goddess Isabelle Lightwood to go out with him…but he doesn’t know how. And when Clary and Isabelle look at him, expecting him to be a man he doesn’t remember…Simon can’t take it.

So when the Shadowhunter Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of demon-hunting, determined to find himself again. His new self. Whomever this new Simon might be.

But the Academy is a Shadowhunter institution, which means it has some problems. Like the fact that non-Shadowhunter students have to live in the basement. And that differences—like being a former vampire—are greatly looked down upon. At least Simon is trained in weaponry—even if it’s only from hours of playing D&D.

Join Simon on his journey to become a Shadowhunter, and learn about the Academy’s illustrious history along the way, through guest lecturers such as Jace Herondale, Tessa Gray, and Magnus Bane. These ten short stories give an epilogue to the Mortal Instruments series and provide glimpses of what’s in store in the Dark Artifices. 

After being away from the Shadowhunter World for several years, I was afraid of trying this short story collection or starting the Dark Artifices Series. I was sure I would forget the tiny details that I enjoy connecting in a Cassandra Clare book. This turned out to be a great refresher and a great introduction. Cassandra Clare is not my favorite writer, but she writes compelling series that I can fly through. In the end these novellas aren't that different.

Since Simon has forgotten the details of his own life, each novella reacquaints him with someone or something from The Mortal Instruments Series. I really enjoyed most of these stories. There were ones that dragged, but this was a effective collection that kept me interested. I wasn't expecting to be emotionally connected to this book, especially since I wasn't attached to anyone in the Bane Chronicles collection, but this was different. I actually loved a lot of the characters that were introduced and even though these were short stories, the world was expanded upon quite a bit.

I was pleasantly surprised by this collection, and I appreciated the fact it refreshed my memory to make me ready to dive into the next series.

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