The Bookworm's Feast

Release Date: Nov 17 (originally 2007)
Publisher: Walker Books
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Page Count: 528
Goodreads Page
Rating: ★★★★☆

It means ‘Shadowhunters: Looking Better in Black Than the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234’.

I’ve given this book 4 stars, but it does lean on the 3 star side – I’ve kept at 4 though as a younger me would have absolutely adored this book!

Shadowhunters, also known as Nephalim, are descended from angels. They are trying to keep balance in the world of mundanes, aka humans, and the downworlders – all the other creatures, entities, beings that roam the earth and are either demons, descended from demons, or infected by demonic viruses (I think you get the picture).

We meet a wide cast of characters over the course of this book; a handful of shadowhunters, a warlock, a couple of werewolves, the ominous silent brothers, a scattering of vampires, and a mundane. We also get glimpses and descriptions of other creatures/beings that inhabit this vibrant world – Nixie’s, faeries, mermaids, demons…

There’s a lot going on – already characters are being pulled in different directions, the villain has so much colour and dimension, and we get a good overview of the kind of world that exists in this story. And the sass! I love sassy characters and there are oodles of these! Simon is my favourite so far.

I really liked the way the villain is presented when you meet him – he’s mentioned as oozing charisma and that feeling does make it to the page. After the build up he gets before finally making an appearance, you could feel let down. He doesn’t look evil, he doesn’t sound evil, and he’s well spoken etc. – he almost comes across as rational at first. But I really like this – why should the villain always look and sound like a villain? They’re normally normal people, just with a twisted or misplaced moral compass. Saying this though, I really hope the villainy ramps up – I do love a good villain.

One gripe I have with this book is how ok Clary seems to be with everything. She’s thrown into a completely new and bizarre world to the one she thought she was living in growing up. Her mother is missing, and she learns some pretty distressing news about her family and it’s history. She’s been lied to by almost all those she trusted and are close to her about fundamental things – I can keep going I reckon… And she’s just fine with it, if not a bit miffed when she first learns. I get that it’s described as something always felt it was missing and this must explain it, but you’d be totally freaking out and probably not functional for some revelations. She just seems like she brushes them off…

I am looking forward to seeing where this story goes, and I really hope we see more of Magnus. I think I’ll like this glitter loving warlock – I always love the magical.