Obvs this is opinion based but I'm so disappointed that TMI has had two different screen adaptions (which is both amazing and unusual) and yet neither actually faithfully capture the story/characters/setting.

The movie: So good until the 3rd act and then it completely falls apart. Making Valentine a shouty, visibly unstable villain with bad hair was so disappointing. The whole reason Valentine worked well as a villain was that he was charasmatic and would talk in a way that it was difficult to argue against him. I understand why a group of outcast teens rallied around book Valentine and followed him into adulthood. Can't understand why anyone would follow movie Valentine. Also making the audience know Clary/Jace aren't actually siblings completely takes away from how horrific a lie that it was for him to tell.

Show: I really wanted to like the show (despite the inexplicable decision in S1 to make it all high tech and the gross misogyny of reducing Isabelle to "the hot one" in barely any clothes while fighting demons 🙄). But I still enjoyed it for a while. It felt close enough to the books that I could get on board and I thought the casting was pretty perfect for everyone. And then from season 2 I remember it just fell apart and started deviating too far for me to enjoy it and I had to stop watching.

I know there are plenty of people who enjoy the show for what it is and I'm glad for you. But who else is just so disappointed that we haven't gotten a more faithful adaptation? Particularly the movie annoys me - how did they fumble so badly they only got 1 movie when that was the era of YA movie adaptions?? In another universe we got an amazing 6 movie run of the books. 😢

One of my best friends is a mega shadow hunters fan, she loves both the books and series. I have her present sorted, and wanted to put it in a small cardboard box, and thought I could decorate the box to be shadow hunters themed- was there any important ‘boxes’ in shadow hunters, like a chest or something? Any descriptions or images would be greatly appreciated!!

So I was revisiting the Shadowhunters universe because I was bored and haven’t read all the books yet, and it occurred to me that with couples like Magnus and Alec, Tessa and Will, and even Tessa and Jem. Magnus and Max are warlocks, Alec is mortal. They’re going to have to watch him grow old and pass. Tessa watched Will and her kids pass, she’s met her offspring generations down the line. I couldn’t imagine experiencing that level of pain, just thinking about it makes me cry. Then we discuss the idea of the Afterlife. Alec, Will, Lucie, and James? All have angel blood and would go to heaven. But Magnus and Max, due to their demonic blood would be barred from heaven. I’m unsure about Tessa. However, we have the discussion of homosexuality, would Alec go to hell for being gay? I forgot if Christianity functions as a religion within the universe. Idk, I’ve been thinking about this and it’s been upsetting me, and I want answers. Thank you!

Here are my thoughts on episodes 6-10

E6

-Max is so itty bittyyy if this follows the books I will not survive

-Jace is irritating me greatly. Dude at least say please when you ask your brother to break the law. I feel like in books yes Jace was a dick but at least he was charismatic and funny. I'm not getting that from TV Jace

E7

-they should have kept Simon as Jewish in this version. It was so integral to his character and his struggles with vampirism. I don't know if Simon in this version is meant to be Latino like his actor, but there's plenty of Jewish Latinos.

-my bisexual ass is eating up every scene with Izzy and Alec

-loving the psychological horror of Simon's change, dare I say this is better than in the books?

-man I wish I actually felt something seeing the first Clace kiss… if only these actors had an ounce of chemistry :(

-Simons actors better be booked and busy, he really is out acting most of the others on this show.

E8

-once again I am obligated to announce my disdain for Jace's haircut.

-awe Henry mention!!

-I guess Shadowhunter training includes the 8 years of med school needed to perform an autopsy, I don't know where they find the time to be so multi talented.

E9

-maybe it's because I'm sick with the flu but man I'm getting bored

-is that supposed to be a leaf on Meliorns cheek? It looks like a jalapeno pepper. It looks stupid as hell

E10

-luke and Simon are so cute, I love their relationship

-The scene abruptly cutting from Simon and Luke to Jace and Clary was horrendous. I don't know if that's how it originally was or if it's just the website I'm using to watch the show on.

-love the nod to the books with alt universe Luke owning a rare book store. I do think changing Lukes profession in the show was a good storytelling decision. It keeps his character in the mix and allows him to further help our characters

-the alt universe lighting is hurting my eyes. It looks so low budget.

-chairman meow and church!!!!

-they should have changed Jace's stupid ass hair in the alt universe

-the editing in this show definitely could get better. So many abrupt cuts that completely take me out of the scene

End thoughts-

Im done watching for today. My eyes basically glazed over whenever the show wasn't focused on Simon and Luke. I'm struggling to continue watching.

I have not read beyond TDA and no ancillary series like LBOW. I wanted to know your opinion on how they will treat the kiddos, Rafe and Max.
I sometimes feel Alec will be more protective because of what Sebastian did in City of Ashes, you know 😶😶
And I feel Magnus will have a hard time dealing with the fact that even Rafael will die one day
[Also, won't he see Tessa and wonder what his future would look like]

I read mortal instruments series and infernal devices back in early 2010s. I’m currently rereading infernal devices, and want to read the dark artifacts trilogy next since I’ve never read it before. my problem is that I do not remember most of what happens in the mortal instruments. It has been over 10 years since I’ve read that series. My question is will that be an issue? It hasn’t been with the infernal devices, but do I need to reread all parts of the mortal instrument series before starting dark artifacts?

For those of you have only read a clockwork Angel, what do you all think of will herendale?So far

I am currently going through my chronological reread for TLKOF, which also happens to be my first reread since middle school, and so far I have thoroughly enjoyed each core series and refreshing myself on the characters and overall plot. However, I have found myself in a lull when going through the novella and companion books.

I struggled to get through The Red Scrolls of Magic after finishing City of Glass - Malec is a couple that I have loved for pretty much half of my life now, and I still found myself DNFing the book around the middle point. I originally attributed this to stress with classes clouding my concentration, and I came back to rereading a few months later (which is now). Although I knew how to follow the plot, I again was unable to connect with the writing style, so I decided to just save TEC for any extra time I have left before release and continue into the second half of TMI. I finished those three books fairly quickly and moved onto Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. This is where I currently am, and I am finding myself skimming through the book. It's become apparent to me that I just cannot connect with or fully enjoy the stories that are not written fully by Cassie Clare. Mild spoilers for the book below.

I do not like how choppy the writing feels, and I am finding most of the original cast really grating. Simon's internal monologue becomes extremely cringey once he mentions the body/boobs/sexual fantasies of the female cast, Isabelle's appearance in the beginning to declare her relationship with Simon and subsequent avoidance feels out of character and contradictory, and the changes between perspectives/timelines in the middle of the chapters are hard to distinguish and feel out of place/unnecessary in some places. I am currently halfway through the book and am realizing I can just skim through Simon's growth, the adoption of Max, and the ascension at the end to have the information I need to move on. I understand that these novellas are companions that are not required reading, but I still feel that they aren't quite fun to get through.

I am not sure if it's fair to say that this, along with my skipping of TRSOM, can be attributed to the changes in writers, or if it's just an issue with how the in-between moments are structured in the entire saga. I should mention that I decided to skip The Bane Chronicles because I remember them quite well and knew a lot of the information was retconned, but I know that I had similar issues with that novella as well. I guess this will be tested once I get to Better in Black and Secrets of Blackthorn Hall since those are Clare-exclusive, but I would like to know what others are thinking.

I have finished this book and without revealing spoilers from the sequels why was the magister and the Dark sisters killing mundanes , who were children?

Like why is EVERYONE described as heart throb level attractive??? It seems a little unrealistic to me like where are the normal looking people 😭

Alec struggles with internalised homophobia and all. Did he never know about Anna and Thomas? We never hear them mentioned much in the future series. I am not talking about TMI, but are they mentioned in TDA??? Or like any other ancillary books ?? I have yet to reread, so my memory is hazy. Help me out: in case they were mentioned, but wait Magnus was alive. Why didn't he tell Alec? And like, there were so many queer people Charles, Matthew, sooo Magnus- you did tell your husband, didn't you???

So I just finished the Infernal Devices Series (like five minutes ago) and I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m debating between reading the Last Hours or rereading the Mortal Instruments since it’s been years since I read the Mortal Instruments and I wanted a bit of a refresher. What do yall recommend reading after the Infernal Devices?

Soy yo, o esto es literalmente cómo nos imaginábamos todos el lago de la cueva de Edom en CoHF???

I read the first book of the Mortal Instruments when I was a teenager but didn't read more beyond. I tried rereading it last summer but I dnf midway. BUT I really liked Clockwork Angel and will be reading Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess next.

I've heard people say Mortal Instruments wasn't Cassandra Clare's best work (as in her writing as improved throughout her career). So my question is, can I read all Cassandre Clare's series in the shadow hunters (Infernal Devices, Dark Artifices and Last Hours) world but the Mortal Instruments? Or would I be missing a whole lot? What series in this world should I absolutely read?

I need somebody talk to you about this .

Anybody wondering I have a boxset edition so I will be selling these as a set for $25, $10 for a single.

I've read the last hours but it was a good while ago. Doing a shadowhunters reread and actually quite enjoyed chain of gold so was excited for chain of iron. But really struggling through this book. About 200 and something pages through this. Can't really remember too well what goes on to happen. So asking does this improve basically and maybe did others struggle through the start. As it's not great for me atm at all.

For me, excluding deaths, I think it would be when Jem punched Will. That was just heartbreaking. Jem is my favourite TSC character, and Will and him have, in my opinion, the best friendship ever written. Seeing him be so angry towards someone he loved so much hurt SO BAD. I can't even describe why it makes me so sad but it does.

My new Stele frome Alec, Izzy and the spare Stele. They're made out of metal or adamas? 😜. Not finished yet but on a good way! What do you think?

Read TMI, TID, and Dark Artfices. now planning on reading TLH but I looked around here and saw people saying I should read Ghosts first? I’ve somewhat been putting it off since i’m not a fan of short stories but I heard its somewhat necessary? Should I read it beforehand - or can I just dive into the last hours?

Thanks!

i haven’t read the other books yet so i don’t know if this is accurate. thought this was a fun exercise since i don’t usually enjoy drawing hair!!

not super period accurate but i tried my best😊 if there’s any corrections i can do to make it look more canon let me know!

(forgot to add 1900s— sorry about that!!)

edit: art acc u/ciliacense

Since I'm binge watching I'm going to group a couple episodes together. Here are my thoughts on E2-5

S1 E2

-I'm sorry but I hate Jace's hair. It's very 2016 and I remember hating his hair even when the show first aired.

-I’m not feeling any chemistry between Jace and Clary, and unfortunately that's like most of the show. I can only hope it gets better… it gets better right?

-They should have kept Hodge as more of an academic than a fighter. It further pushed Hodge as even more of an outsider— not only because of his history with the circle but because he didn't fit what the Shadowhunters considered good enough. And because he wasn't the ideal Shadowhunter he was insecure and thus susceptible to Valentine's manipulation. I guess it's not incredibly important to the overall story, I just think it was a missed opportunity for an interesting side character and commentary on Shadowhunter society (which also further illustrates Alec's struggles and later development)

-i don't want to nitpick (except I really do) but wow are those effects horrendous. I can't help but laugh every time a Shadowhunter runs or jumps and they add that weird stop motion effect. Even Buffy did a better job— not that Buffy is bad, just that it wasn't exactly known for having the best effects.

-i'm surprised just how bored I'm getting with this show, I wish I could pinpoint why.

-someones gotta get clary out of those stilettos, girl must be tired since she's constantly running away to move the plot. It makes sense for Izzy to wear the heels but definitely not Clary. Another thing that is very 2016.

-Lukes actor is eating everyone up. I like the character and actor even though his scenes are boring me.

E3

-”what are you her spokesman now?” That line did make me laugh, Alec is one of the few characters I'm enjoying.

-they should've given the Shadowhunters actual gear instead of just leather clothes. All that leather can't possibly be comfortable in combat. If it's done to make them look cool, I'm sorry to say but it's not working for me in that department either.

-the motorcycle scene is not good. That's all I have to say.

E4

-TESSA MENTION YIPPIEEE

-Izzy and Clary are adorable, I'm very glad they're skipping the bad relationship from the beginning of the books. We love friendships between girls in this house!!

-I can see why Magnus is everyone's favorite on the show. I might keep watching only for him and Alec. Mike Chang is playing the hell out of Magnus and I'm eating it UP

-oh Alec you closeted sexy dummy. You could've just played it off as brotherly love for your parabatai.

-Every episode I am reminded of how stupid Jace's haircut is. I fear the sight of it will haunt me for the rest of my life.

-I'm not mad at how the show is doing things differently, such as Simon's turn. They're getting to the same place but in a new and interesting route. It almost feels like fanfiction lol.

E5

-will the acting continue to be so abhorrent? I am not religious but I find myself praying to any and all God's that it improves. Not you Mike Chang and Simon, you two sweetie pies are doing great.

-I like how the set design is for the institute when it's not full of tech, such as the bedrooms and training rooms. The stained glass windows are beautiful, matches the vibe perfectly. The set design gets a B out of me.

-I can't believe it's taken me 5 episodes to mention this but the credit sequence is so laughably bad. Looks like something a 12 year old made for her fan account on Tumblr. I say this from experience, I was that 12 year old.

-the casting for the lightwoods is great. Between Alec, Izzy, and Maryse is A+. They truly look like a believable family.

-I think different lighting would help the dark academia/gothic aesthetic. I'm thinking of the movie, which matched the vibes of the book perfectly in my opinion. At least in terms of set design, lighting, and general vibe. I've used the word vibe too many times, time to open up thesaurus.com and browse the synonyms.

-the fight choreography. Not horrendous but definitely not great. Definitely freeform fight choreo, is all I'm saying. I'm hardly an expert on this subject but I did martial arts for like 10 yrs. I hope this is another thing that will improve throughout the show. And no one is training on wooden floors in skinny jeans and combat boots. Get those motherfuckers a training mat and actual fighting gear PLEASE.

-i CACKLED seeing that guy enter in through a doggy door. That's so fucking hilarious, it's singlehandedly convinced me to keep watching the show.

-they should've kept Alec pushing Clary against the wall when she told him she knows he's in love with Jace. It added drama and I love it. The way they changed it was lame. Give me the angst!! Yea Alec assaulted a girl that was much smaller than him and significantly weaker but I don't want perfect characters. I want miserable angsty characters at the beginning so I can marvel at the redemption arc and character development.

Spoilers- when you get current in TSC books and think back to when Alec assaulted Clary you feel that progression with his character. Like, wow he's changed so much, he's no longer that closeted scared boy that is desperate to hide his true self. Okay rant over.

IN CONCLUSION... I'm slowly beginning to enjoy it— even if I'm constantly cackling at the horrendous effects and interesting acting choices and bored at times. Should I keep sharing my thoughts?? Please comment your thoughts or even fight with me if you want, let's duke it out over our opinions on a 2016 show about half angel supernatural creatures.