#12.5 “What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (and Who You’re Not Officially Dating Anyway)” by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

i. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
ii. Dracula – Bram Stoker
1.  Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
2. Holiday in Cambodia – Laura Jean McKay
3. Only Human – Gareth Roberts
4. Beautiful Chaos – Gary Russell
5. The Silent Stars – Dan Abnett
6. American Gods – Neil Gaiman
7. Every Breath – Ellie Marney
8. Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman
9. Delirium – Lauren Oliver
10. Pandemonium – Lauren Oliver
11. Requiem – Lauren Oliver
12. Venom – Fiona Paul
13. Belladonna – Fiona Paul
14. A Tale for the Time Being – Ruth Ozeki

I am thoroughly ashamed of myself. Not only has it been forever since I have posted but I am still reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

I should have turned in my bookworm badge a week ago.

I can usually find at the very least fifteen minutes a day to read, or the hour or so before bed to write. But that has been impossible over the past week. I was staying with a friend for a few days. Before that I was helping my mum move house. And before that I was packing. So I started going through bloggoing withdrawals. And don’t even get me started on my reading withdrawals…basically I’ve been sniffing books. Flicking through the pages and inhaling the glorious scent of ink and ideas on paper. Anyone that tells you that Kindles are just as good as paperbacks has obviously never basked in the olfactory goodness of said paperbacks. But, as I have said before, my screaming fangirl beats my hatred of eBooks in the case of The Magnus Bane Chronicles.

A lot of Mortal Instruments fans have boarded the Malec ship. There’s artwork and fanfiction; the whole she-bang. Fans do it for the other ships as well, but there’s something special about the S.S. Malec.

Apparently.

I never boarded. People were rushing past me, waving their tickets in the harbour-master’s face, making sure they got a seat, but I was more than happy to amble onto the S.S. Jary (or is it Clace?), take my seat, and wait for the cruise to begin. Because the way I saw it, Alec used Magnus. The whole time it seemed as though Magnus was nothing more than an experiment in distraction. Alec was so hopelessly in love with Jace, who was so hopelessly in love with Clary, that Alec never seemed to notice that Magnus was hopelessly in love with him. And I hated that. After Infernal Devices and seeing Magnus be used by Camille and then having a fling with the now late Woolsey Scott, I felt that Magnus deserved nothing less than the real thing. True L-O-V-E. And I just felt as though Alec couldn’t, or wouldn’t, give him that.
I know that after City of Glass, Alec and Magnus are finally a real couple on equal footing, but even then Alec plays with the idea of taking Magnus’ immortality away in City of Lost Souls. You can make the “love” argument all you want, but that is just downright selfishness. I don’t blame Magnus at all for walking out on Alec at the end. I mean, wouldn’t you do the same?

So this Bane installment was a lot to take in. I never saw this side of Alec in the main canon. I always saw Alec as guarded, never letting anyone in. Except Jace. But even then he couldn’t let Jace in all the way. If someone asked me to describe Alec, it wouldn’t be “open” or “honest”. It was interesting to see Alec from Magnus’ point of view. Especially the link between the Herondales and the Lightwoods.

Come to think of it, it’s probably a good thing that Jace wasn’t gay because I’m pretty sure he and Alec are distantly related.

The whole time I was reading this, all I could think of was Alec’s vehement denials that there was any Malec at all in the main series. And the looks on Magnus’ face every time Alec made those denials. It ruined the experience for me. Maybe it’s been too long since I’ve read the series but I never bought Alec’s feelings for Magnus until after the battle of Alicante. I understand that Alec was under a lot of pressure given the expectations of the Shadowhunters, but I honestly don’t think that excuses his actions towards Magnus. In case you can’t tell, I freakin’ LOVE the High Warlock of Brooklyn.

So, instead of bitching about Alec anymore, I’ll focus on Isabelle. How amazing is Isabelle? Just barging into Magnus’ apartment, ignoring the illegal demon in the corner, and trying to ensure her brother’s (her older brother’s) safety. That’s just her all over. Fiercely loyal and passionate and a little bit rebellious. Well, that and she couldn’t really say anything because of her own penchant for Downworlders. The City of Bones movie really didn’t do her justice.

Reading over what I’ve writtwn so far and I just realised what I’m talking about: characterisation. No one will ever be better than Clare at characters. We get the strongest sense of almost every character in this story. Even the minor characters of Elyaas and Ms. Connor. As for Alec…I liked seeing the way he acted with Magnus. He was a lot different to how he acts in the main canon. But instead of adding depth to his character, I feel as though it makes how he treats Magnus all the more terrible. Because he’s all lovey-dovey with Magnus behind closed doors, but out in the open all he can think about is himself. And love is supposed to be selfless. And, to me, Alec is incredibly selfish.

★★★1/2

The lowest start rating I have ever given Clare. And this is just because that, although 99% of the characters in this are flawless, I felt that the Alec represented here was inconsistent with the Alec who shoved Clary against a wall in City of Bones. No, I won’t ever forgive him for that.

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