I read the first installment in The Mortal Instruments over two years ago and absolutely loved it. It was the first Shadowhunter novel I ever read and I fell in love with the premise and the world Clare had created. As soon as I'd returned it to the school library, I took out the sequel. But then something funny happened. I started it, went a couple chapters in... and stopped. I ended up returning it to the library.
If you're a die-hard TMI fan, you may be like:
To which my reply is:
I don't fully know why I put City of Ashes down, only that I returned to it about a year later after having read and loved the entire TID trilogy. The second time around I enjoyed it enough to pick up City of Glass, which I ended up really enjoying first time through.
Of course, now that I was half way through this six-part series, I decided I might as well just finish it. Though I didn't feel that invested (to my eyes, it paled in comparison to TID) and Clary was starting to get on my nerves, I was rather infatuated with the Shadowhunter world. I also didn't know where else Clare could take the plot after the seemingly resolved ending and it intrigued me.
My experience with the next book wasn't good at all. I found City of Fallen Angels SO slow, to the point I almost put it down every few pages.
But I shouldered on and continued with the series. City of Lost Souls picked up but I still just wasn't fully feeling it. I started questioning whether or not I should have continued after CoG.
But, for whatever reason, I was really excited to pick up City of Heavenly Fire after it's release. To say I'm confused with my own feelings toward this series is an understatement. And to confuse myself even further, I ended up really loving it. It made my struggles with the previous books seem worth it.
Now my goodreads ratings look like this:
City of Bones - 5 stars
City of Ashes - ? [I couldn't put my feelings toward it into a rating]
City of Glass - 4 stars
City of Fallen Angels - 2 stars
City of Lost Souls - 3 stars
City of Heavenly Fire - 5 stars
My overall average being 3.8 stars.
Overall, I'd say I enjoyed the TMI series. If I can say one thing for certain, however, it's that I LOVE the Shadowhunter world. It's definitely one of my most favourite fictional worlds of all time.
Now that I look back on this post, I don't really see where I was going with it or whether it had a point. I guess I just had to share my feelings toward the series as I hadn't reviewed most of the books and I'm just really curious as to what others think. So...
What has YOUR experience with TMI been like? Did you love it? Or not so much? Which series do you prefer? TMI or TID?
Happy Reading,
Rachel xoxo
The Mortal Instruments is one of only two series' that I've never finished. I loved the first three books howeverI stopped at the forth book in TMI because I hated it. I originally started reading it as a trilogy only to find out there was a forth book which I really regret reading as it ruined the whole series for me. However my best friend loves the series and doesn't get why I refuse to read any more of it. I haven't read the infernal devices but maybe i should give it a shot?
ReplyDeleteYes, that fourth book is tedious - so slow and boring. It's such a shame CoFA ruined it for you! :(
DeleteI LOVE TID so, of course, my answer is YES. Compared to the TMI books, it's a showstopper. I think you could really love them. To me, they're so much better than TMI! :D
I feel ya Rocky. :P THE INFERNAL DEVICES WAS SO MUCH BETTER AND WILL AND JEM AND JEM AND WILL AND WILL AND WILL AND JEM AND JEM. To be very honest, I preferred the film to the book because I love Simon..^_^ and I don't know - that usually happens with books I love but a not completely infatuated in, if there is a film I will usually like it better.
ReplyDeleteGREAT POST. And I love the gifs..*saves them all for later use*
Yay, Hershey's Bar understands! ;D For me, it's more like: WILL WILL WILL WILL WILL WILL WILL and, oh yeah, WILL. ;P Idk, I loved the CoB movie the first time I watched it but now, the more and more I watch it, the more I dislike it. Idk, stuff just irks me and... ugh.
DeleteThank you!!
I had the same sort of experience as you. I read book 1 but wasn't wowed but decided to carry on. I actually enjoyed Book 2 so wanted to read more, I struggled with Book 3 but decided to plow on. Book 4 I liked the start but then struggled toward the end. The characters started to annoy me and I didn't like where she was taking it. Book 5 I actually gave up on and sent back to the library, determined that I was done with the series. But then I got sent a free copy of book 6 in the post from the publishers so i felt like I had to finish them. I got Book 5 back and actually after a 2 week break I found myself enjoying it and read most of it in one go. Then I got stuck into Book 6 and rather enjoyed that too.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't ever re-read them though I don't think.
I totally understand your confusion, I still can't decide if i did like this series or not, there was bits i loved but at the same time bits annoyed me.
I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling torn.
I haven't read TID yet but have said I will try them. Everyone I know says they are the better series.
Great post!
Yeah, I don't think I'll be rereading the TMI series either! I do recommend TID though - I LOVE that trilogy SO much. xD
DeleteThank you!!
Oh my gosh I am the same, I read the first book and absolutely loved it but when it came to the second, I stopped reading for no apparent reason. I still haven't continued on but I will eventually. I tried the first novel of TID but for some reason I couldn't get into it either. But I'm sure I'll get around to Cassandra Clare's novels soon enough.
ReplyDeleteHaha!
DeleteReally?! You didn't like TID?! That's such a shame - it's one of my favourites! :(
I felt the same way, I was interested in the first one and flew through it, but the middle of the series fell flat for me, and I lost interest in ever finishing it. I heard the last one was phenomenal, but I'd have to read the two before it, which is way more work than I want to put in. I feel like I just have too much on my TBR shelf to spend time on something I didn't love.
ReplyDeleteCassie @ Happy Book Lovers