I read this book a year ago and I've already forgotten almost everything about it... that can't be a good sign.

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I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Cassandra Clare (I should just stop reading her books, I know, I'm sorry!), but my curiosity was piqued when friends told me that this prequel series to The Mortal Instruments was much better than the original installments.

After reading it, I agree... to an extent. The historical setting makes me vibe more with the urban fantasy elements, and I enjoyed the steampunk aesthetics. I imagine this would be pretty easy to get into without much knowledge of the rest of the universe. In my opinion, there is also a noticeable improvement in Clare's prose. The imagery and atmosphere in this book are solid, and the dialogue and scenes flow together more smoothly than what I remember from the other books.

However, I was surprised that the narrative structure was VERY similar to City of Bones. Not only is this set in the same universe, but it involves many of the same character archetypes, dynamics, and story beats.

A brief list of common elements between this book and The Mortal Instruments:

1. The main character is a girl who previously believed herself to be human and newly discovered the magical world and her own latent magic abilities. This works well for the original series since the reader is also being introduced to the world for the first time. We don't NEED this formula again here because we are already familiar with the world, so why not try something new? One of my favorite subplots in <i>TMI</i> was Clary's mom's backstory of growing up as a shadowhunter, then choosing to leave. This type of story could have been great to explore in more depth.

2. Primarily set at a shadowhunter institute. I know this is part of the world-building in the shared universe, but aren't there other locations to explore? Not to mention that the two institutes are similar beyond what makes sense- as they are both run by a relatively small number of people. In <i>TMI</i> we get the impression that other institutes are larger, and the one in New York is currently understaffed and past its former glory. So why isn't the one in historical London larger and more populated? At least show us a different <i>flavor</i> of the same setting.

3. Love triangle between a bad boy and a sensitive boy... not only is Will Herondale just Jace in a different font, but they are also BLOOD RELATIVES. I'm not saying I can't appreciate some multi-generational lore (see <i>Wuthering Heights</i>), but that only works when there's a larger theme / we can see how the events of the past inform the future. Will being an angsty bad boy love interest in no way shapes Jace's arc as an angsty bad boy love interest, they just both happen.

4. Evil brother plot twist. I have no idea why this happens twice.

The most noteworthy distinction beyond the time period is that this book is significantly less unhinged than The Mortal Instruments. Did I complain about the crazy plot elements in the original series? Yes, absolutely. But those weird things-- yeah, even the

double incest fakeout jumpscare

-- made the books more dynamic and interesting to read. 

To me, the original books are winning when it comes to overall reading experience.