The Midnight Heir

The Bane Chronicles #4

by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan

Magnus thought he would never return to London, but he is lured by a handsome offer from Tatiana Blackthorn, whose plans - involving her beautiful young ward - are far more sinister than Magnus even suspects. In London at the turn of the century, Magnus finds old friends, and meets a very surprising young man...the sixteen-year-old James Herondale.

This is one of ten eBook short stories in The Bane Chronicles, a series about the enigmatic warlock and fan favourite Magnus Bane from Cassandra Clare’s internationally bestselling series The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Short Stories, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Magic, Novella

64 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 16, 2013

About the author

Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Tehran, Iran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old.

Since her family moved around so much she found familiarity in books and went everywhere with a book under her arm. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles where she used to write stories to amuse her classmates, including an epic novel called “The Beautiful Cassandra” based on a Jane Austen short story of the same name (and which later inspired her current pen name).

After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favourite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.
Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.

City of Bones was her first novel. Sword Catcher is her most recent novel.

Reviews

[Emily]

JAMES HERONDALE!

COME TO ME, BABY.

Afterthoughts:
What does Tessa, Will, Jem, James, and Magnus in the same room equal to?
Heartache, that's what.

[Christine Riccio · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO MUCH BETTER than the other installments of the Bane Chronicles that i've read. We get to see the Herondales and a potential new villianess, it's great fun!

[Beenish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is mainly about James, Grace and Tatiana, and of course it's from Magnus's pov, so him.

Seeing James in this story felt like I was seeing a new person because he seemed, just . . . Very different from his Character and nature.

I keep telling myself I'm ready to not judge Grace anymore and have her side of the story too but the way she acted in front of Magnus regarding James, I Literally hated that so much! And don't even talk about Tatiana *eye roll*

Seeing all three: Jem, Tessa and Will made me wanna read about them so badly and as usual, melted my heart. The way they talk about sharing one another's heart! *Sobs*

Not only all of them, but Magnus!
Oh, Magnus Bane
He's such a sweetheart. Always there for everyone, wanting to help everyone, and suffering through all his own pain and hurt alone. I still hate what Camille did to him. Magnus should never be taken for granted!

Ps: I am SO CONFUSED with the timeline in this story. I wish Cassie just wrote a year like she did in other stories.
________________________________

(My messy thoughts on the timeline)
• Magnus met Edmund Herondale in 1857.
• He left London then and came back after a quarter century. He also mentioned later
He had, of course, been in London before, twenty-five years past.
so what year does it make?? It makes somewhere around 1882 to me.
• So did Magnus come again to London and left in 1882 or what? Because he met Will in the Infernal Devices and that was set in 1878 or so.
• And if he left in 1882 and again came back after 25 years, then it must be 1907. (Ughhh sorry just trying to make some sense. I'll remove all these paragraphs once it's clear to me)

• James was born in 1886. And when Magnus meets him, James is around 17 I think. I'm confused because if that is so, then James age must be 21 in 1907. And since he's 17, It's not "exactly" 25 years but "almost", after which Magnus came. Does that mean it was 1903?
the end
________________________________


Tatiana had learned something from the mistakes of her father. She’d had the girl trained.
Once again. Something I forgot. So in Chain of Gold, she (you know) pretended that she had no training. Wow. :/


Other short stories about The Last Hours Characters.

Cast Long Shadows
Every Exquisite Thing
The Midnight Heir
The Penultimate Hours
__________

A Wonderful Short Story!
I'm glad to have read this little story of a bigger picture.

[Melanie (meltotheany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“…For one Herondale to be saved by love, and another Herondale dammed by it.”

Oh my gosh, I loved this one so much, too! I mean, the Tessa, Will, and Jem cameos were perfection all on their own, but seeing their descendants? It still makes me feel equal parts heartbreak and love. Also, ever since finishing City of Heavenly Fire, I have been obsessed with wanting to know more about the Blackthorns! In this story, Tatiana Blackthorn has called upon Magnus to do a terrible job, but before he finds his way to her abandoned garden estate, he finds a young James Herondale and has to escort him back to the London Institute. Friends, I’m not crying over this beautiful co-parenting triad; I’m weeping the happiest of tears. I loved this story so much, and my only complaint is that I hope we get more James and Grace in the future. Also, why does every Herondale just break my heart over and over again? I honestly do not understand.

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(I read this in The Bane Chronicles!) ✨

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love you Will.

That's all I have to say.

What Really Happened in Peru - 2 Stars
The Runaway Queen - 2 Stars
Vampires, Sconces and Edmund Herondale - 4 Stars
The Midnight Heir - 5 Stars
The Rise of the Hotel Dumort - 4 Stars
Saving Raphael Santiago - 4 Stars
The Fall of the Hotel Dumort - 3 Stars
What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything - 4 Stars
The Last Stand of the New York Institute - 4 Stars
The Course of True Love [and First Dates] - 4 Stars
The Voicemail of Magnus Bane - 4 Stars

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second reading, but I didn’t review the first time. Intriguing story about Tatiana Blackthorn and her prodigy. Interested to see where their dark plans go.

[Radmila · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 STARS!!!

"Do stop flirting with my husband", said Tessa.
"I shall not", Magnus declared.



OMG!! My favorite trio is back! Jem, Will, Tessa, I missed them so much!

[Andre · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Hello Jace, were have you been? And look you once again merged with Alec to become one of Magnus' many totally interchangeable wet dreams."
That was what came into my mind after not even the first few pages of this book.

It is so bad, the first sentence made my eyes role, which might be a first for me. It's the same stuff as usual: Magnus should be pitied and sympathized with for one reason or another, but at the same time acts like an ass and lets his cock rule whenever there is someone similar to his type around.

I would give this book a negative rating if I could. But sadly lower than 1 star is not possible.

Once again the authors try to make Magnus look mature and intelligent, but end up showing an idiot whom you are better not friends with since he is a hypocritical asshole. Trust me who has friends like this doesn't need enemies.

It had bad writing, totally useless text and story wise only works if you literally believe what the book is telling you about things and people.
Small problem: The characters' actions often make no sense respectively do not fit what is stated about them. And not just them, the situations make no sense in itself and when something doesn't even make sense within the in-book universe it means the author fails.

And their writing is like they are pushing buttons to make us feel this and that and all the while what they write contradicts those buttons.
An additional problem with all their bad writing is that you cannot tell what phrases are genuine figures of speech and which complete crap.
This book reads as though these authors only throw raw ideas on paper and call that good storytelling. And that makes me doubt whether the authors are actually trying to produce something good.

Whether the whole thing is historically correct I didn't bother to check this time since it was so few and unimportant regarding the story that it didn't seem worth the effort.



Weird words and sentences

Who writes stuff like this? Clearly these people have no idea how to efficiently use similes and what actually works in general. What they write often reads like total nonsense or you have to ask yourself what sort of people would think, speak and act that way, apart from total maniacs. Half the time it's hard to know what this and that is even supposed to mean.

Look at these few examples of their "art":
blade of his shoulder
the eyes Magnus remembered being as blue as a night sky in Hell
The light of his beauty made Magnus think of cities burning
the hum and light of magic crackling along his fingers like a promise
"Perhaps I think I will enjoy going to the devil,” said James Herondale, and his eyes burned like the fires of Hell, enticing, and promising unimaginable suffering.
heard the click of a decided footstep
a surge of dark within the greater darkness of the night


Plotholes, bad writing and stop telling us, show us

Again, just a few examples.

Plotholess within the book
Nobody notices that all the iron streetlamps in the street rain down varicolored sparks.
Magnus can just enter the London Institute, no hint of any safety measures.
Tessa did not age a day despite it having been stated that she must have stopped aging a few years after he left.
Magnus and James talk without any hint of lowered voices and despite there being only 5 people in the room, nobody seems to hear them, except when it's convenient for the plot of course.
Nobody bothered that James was shooting at the chandelier for 20 minutes.

I didn't even bother with inconsistencies with other Clare books.


Bad writing that could have been done better

The authors use stupid doubles, have problems with grammar, it sounds like a bad telenovela and quite frankly we don't need to be told stuff that is obvious from the character's speech, which we would know already or is not even worth mentioning.
Look at this:
This boy’s face was a face to recall the past. This was a face from the past
Tatiana frowned a little puzzled frown
I am a warlock the Whitelaws of New York will vouch for as being quite— well, mostly—harmless.
“I” the boy announced, “am James Herondale.”
“I have taken a great many bets tonight,” James Herondale informed him.
After James was out of Magnus's arms they were left lighter if more damp.
There is nothing boring about caring, or about an open, loving heart, said Jem.
There was no explanation why Magnus shifts between the name Jem and Jem's alternative name Brother Zachariah.

The authors apparently don't get in what situations less is better.


Show us, stop telling us

The authors only tell us about the following points but they never showed them in any of the books of the Clareverse:
Magnus feels pain because of people around him dying due to old age
Magnus's age makes him smart and wise
Magnus has loved so many times and yet he never found peace like Tessa, Jem and Will
Magnus feeling genuine regret
Magnus knows how it is to feel shunned and judged
Magnus has a generally troubled past
What Magnus actually did to be such "great friends" with Will

Gosh this would not be so nauseating if these authors would actually show us instead of telling us. But they never do, not ever, we are only told, but nothing is ever shown in any book.



The Herondales (and Jem) and the rest of the Nephilim

Will, Tessa and Jem
Pure Clareverse stereotypes everything about them:

Will has no problem whatsoever that Tessa is also in love with Jem, they are all totally connected with each other, no drawbacks whatsoever. And although Will's son had obvious selfdestructive and generally suicideal tendencies, it was stated that now that Jem was there, all was right with the world. Seriously, what is wrong with these people?
We are reminded of Will's " terrible secret" and should feel sorry for him because of that fake curse, which of course is not referenced as such: Will had made an exhibition of vice in private, to drive away those nearest and dearest to him.
Despite 25 years having passed Will is neither bald nor fat and still general good looking. Living as a Shadowhunter only kept him trim, no mentioning of scars, mutilations or anything.
And all that time plus being a father has made Will not one inch less of a dick. No hint that he has any sympathy for Tatiana and apparently he thinks that her ward Grace must be ugly.

Regarding his friendship with Tessa, let me say this: There is more to friendship then "call me when you need me", but apparently Magnus is not interested in that.

Despite being technically a warlock, Tessa has special shapeshifting abilities, has no devil's mark and actually can have children. And now she became even more Mary Sue than she already was: she can also do magic.

In the author's mind both seem to be loving and caring parents, but the book portrays them as horrible. Apparently James's laugh shows someone genuinely delighted by chaos around him, furthermore he shoots things regularly, once even the hat of a woman at the Ascot Derby Day because she was wearing a hat he thought had too much wax fruit on it. And they never put an end to this? And if Will knows his son so well, why does he have to guess what is going on and why didn't he keep better track of him? And even more, the book says itself that they had given him no armor against the evil. They are Shadowhunters and they have not given him that which he needs most then anything in this world to stay sane?

Also Will only sees Jem as Jem, but shouldn't becoming a Silent Brother should have changed Jem's character? 25 years don't just go past you like this.
In reference to the bond of Jem and Will the book tells us: as if being close to the people whom he loved made him feel made of flesh and racing blood once more. That sounds as though being a Silent Brother means you are some sort of undead creature.
Also Jem has black strains in his hair here, so why on earth did it take more than 100 years for him to be cured?

The book wastes no time to portray the "common" Shadowhunters as complete assholes who think that a Downworlder must be entirely corrupt. Seriously what are the authors trying to accomplish with this crap and what excuse would they have this time for it? But of course Will was different. He always talked about his good warlock friend Magnus whenever Shadowhunters spoke slightingly of Downworlders in the presence of James, and Magnus was a better friend, and more worth trusting, than many a Nephilim warrior.
Magnus complains about the Shadowhunters’ overweening arrogance when he is no bit better. In the stories he often did his best to make sure that they had a bad impression of him and don't remember his "good deeds".
Not only that, Clare's Shadowhunters are the same incompetent and idiotic stereotypes they always were (e.g. Will and Tessa trusted the Morgensterns with important letters to Magnus).

Clare's attempts to target "racism" are once again absolutely ridiculous. Warlocks are far too useful and powerful to be treated like Magnus described ( used but then discarded, his touch avoided because it was unclean). It also clashes with what Jace stated about them. It clashes with pretty much everything she did prior to the Bane Chronicles. And if the Nephilim where that hateful on average, why on earth did it took so long for someone like Valentine to appear?

That Tatiana was evil was clear the moment it was stated that she looked in her sixties and not forties, typical for the Clareverse. And that plan of hers was so incredibly stupid. She actually got Magnus all the way from New York and now told him that he will be paid for killing 5 Shadowhunters. And even if that was for the darkest of dark spells, there must be plenty of powerful and more willing warlocks all over Europe, why not get one of them? And she wants to use him but insults him at the same time and when he refuses actually lets him go. Apparently the authors do not know that crazy doesn't equal stupid.
Her background was just plain weird (and messes up Clare's family tree) and if her son Jesse was too weak for the marks why did the Shadowhunters mark him anyway? This makes no sense, why do such a thing if he could fulfill other roles?
And when this book finally attempts to add some substance to it by having Tatiana saying My pain is all that I have left they instantly bulldoze it by making her act like a spoiled and cosseted daughter.

Grace is just there there to be a beauty unlike the beauty of most mortals and the reason for James's suicidal behavior, and to whine how badly Magnus was treated by Camille. That Magnus does not fall for her is probably simply because she has no cock, after all in all the books he is only head over heels for guys, females seem to have to spend effort.
Grace is likened several times to Camille in the book (*annoying*) and supposedly it was remarkable that a girl who looked no more than sixteen could rival a centuries-old vampire for self-possession. Is it really remarkable? Based on the last book Camille seems on the self-possession level of a sixteen year old girl.

PS. By using Grace the authors once again reveal their ignorance regarding mythology since they refer to Grace's eyes as deep alluring lakes with sirens in their depths.
Sirens are birds mixed with women (to varying degrees) and lived on islands and not in lakes. What she refers to are mermaids or water nymphs.


James's portrayal leaves no doubt that he is Jace again:
An excellent shot even when extremely drunk and his beauty is compared to that of Helen of Troy.
He has shining golden eyes that were as bright as the jewels in a dragon's hoard.
A tortured soul and his behavior is not only self-destructive but downright suicidal (Magnus had to drag him out of the water).
He supposedly does not want to trouble his parents with it, but stays nonetheless, of course before Grace came along he was a "good boy."
He is so "honorable" but promised stuff not even a drunk with honor would promise: I must perform all the terrible deeds I have promised. For am I not a man of my word? I want to preserve my honor.
And of course the biggest cliché is there as well:
Magnus knew well enough from Edmund and Will what it meant when a Herondale gave his heart away. It was not a gift that could be returned.
Wow what a subtle way of saying that Jace will never ever ever leave Clary.
In a drunken state James did not only ask whether absinthe had turned Ragnor green (or made him look green to James, bad writing again) he also made amorous advances on many people including Magnus (whom he referred to as a lady) since its custom in the Clareverse to make advances on Magnus. Or anyone else available for that matter.

PS. James has the power to turn into a shadow, which he supposedly inherited it from Tessa.



Who has Magnus as a friend does not need enemies

Magnus is totally whimsical again; you notice it early on in the book.

And he had not yet grown tired of the pageantry of ordinary life and ordinary people, despite the passage of time and the fact that people were all very much the same in the end. Also he always found mortals to be beautiful, and had seen many mortals whom anybody would have described as beautiful. This is totally out of character for Magnus, he is constantly and quickly annoyed by people and clearly only falls for certain types in all the other books (he even wastes precious time to stare at James' beauty despite the boy nearly drowning seconds before). And he absolutely never surrounded himself with ordinary people and ordinary things.

The book claims that Magnus was generally good at reading people. How can anybody be good at it when they suddenly notice that the person in front of them is extremely drunk? You would smell that the first moment you get near them; or even before that when they happen to speak in your direction. Or speak in generally since extremely drunk people are known for being unable to articulate properly, as every half-wit teenager knows. Worse, it claims Magnus to be a master observer despite the fact that it took him nearly twenty minutes to notice that James was shooting out all the lights in the room, just because he was distracted by the décor. And if the claim is true why was Camille his latest and most regrettable real love? If he were a master observer he would not have spent years imagining there was fire behind Camille’s ice, that there were hopes and dreams and love waiting for him. Would he be what he claims he would not have acted like a child, fancying there were shapes and stories to be made of the clouds in the sky in regards to his relationship with Camille.

Trust me that is not all, Magnus is more than 200 years old by the time of this book but his knowledge of human nature and intelligence seem to be on the level of Spongebob Squarepants.
He only considers his job to be suspicious when he is in front of Tatiana and she told him about her plan, no hint that he had any suspicions before, despite the fact that she got him from New York and they meet in London, seriously, of course there must be something behind it all. And there is more: after hearing that Tatiana's son must have been dead for nine years he actually thinks but perhaps a mother’s mourning never ended. And when seeing Grace's determination he says that it only then occurred to him that a child might be so grateful to be taken in that her loyalty would be fierce, that she wants to stay with Tatiana and help her with her plans. How can it be that he didn't know that already? At his age, how can he be so ignorant?

And these constant attempts to make Magnus sympathetic by claiming he gets unjustly treated and actually has morality (usually reserved for James and similar people) might be the second worst part of this book. Despite all the whining about Magnus's past and all, when Tatiana tells him that she doesn't consider herself a Shadowhunter, first thing he asks is whether she thinks she is a lamp shade. And upon her next statement he asks whether she thinks she is a pianoforte. And what he tells her later (which he claims to have said to Catherine the Great) is just cheesy, pointless and plain stupid, not a good combination in front of a person that is obviously crazy. Seriously the authors throw this crap at us to sympathize with him but whenever people antagonize Magnus in the books its usually due to his own behavior. This guy has the diplomatic sensibility of a rampaging rhino! Why is this guy still alive? Somebody must have tried to kill him already simply for being annoying.

And his attitude towards Will shifts on a moment's notice without giving Will, whom he fancied just hours before, a hint of doubt. He just states that Will back then searched for a convenient source of magic and that even the best Shadowhunters were not so different from the rest. I swear I did not manipulate this, it happens really as quickly as it sounds. But it doesn't end there, oh no, not even closely. Towards the end of the book he actually says that he could warn Downworlders to steer clear of Tatiana and her endeavors but he did not tell his oh so great friends about Tatiana and Grace. Despite saying that the two might have cast a spell on James, but he could not see why they would, and knowing full well that either way Grace has a horrific impact on James, he states that there was no reason for Magnus to tell Will and Tessa what he had learned. James’s feelings for Grace were his secret to keep. Magnus had told the boy he would never betray his secrets; he had sworn it. He had never betrayed Will’s confidence, and he would not betray James’s now. What good would it do Will and Tessa, to know the name of their son’s pain and still have no remedy for it?
I am nearly at a loss of words here:
He seriously does not tell them despite James having displayed extremely self-destructive, antisocial and downright suicidal behavior. I think they could do a lot with the information as to what the source of James' affliction and behavior is. Hell if he is really under a spell perhaps they can find someone who can break it. Heck Magnus doesn't even seem to want to try. And he justifies this behavior by saying that he would not break his word. A little bit of perspective would be nice here. But no, the word has to be kept. Not only is it totally idiotic to give that word in the first place but to actually keep it is even worse.
It even states:
It would be ironic, Magnus thought, terribly and cruelly ironic, for one Herondale to be saved by love, and another Herondale damned by it.
And yet Magnus does nothing, nothing! He just walks away. And he did not want to care what Shadowhunters thought of him. He did not want to care what would become of them or their children. He literally thought that.
Magnus Bane is the worst friend you could ever have. This guy is such a hypocritical coward it is sickening to read about him. And he is supposed to be the hero.

Gosh, can this series get any worse?

[Lia Carstairs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Istg Grace can just go to hell.😡

Also, I really should have read this before Chain of Gold.😅

[Athena ღ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μου ειναι αδύνατον να διαβάσω έστω και μια μικρή ιστορία σαν αυ��ή εδώ, για τον Γουίλ, τη Τέσα και τον Τζεμ, και να μη συγκινηθώ!

[Claudia Lomelí · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Bane Chronicle so far!

I fell for James when he proclamed himself king of the ducks (?).

BUT OMG, what made me LOVE this chronicle was the fact that it had Will, Tessa and Jem in it <3. And Will and Tessa were married and loving each other and I was so happy and full of FEELS. I love their relationship, and when James called Jem "uncle Jem" I was crying tears of joy. So beautiful. I really missed the TID crew.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 "for now" stars



Narrated by Cecil Baldwin, Jamie Bamber, George Blagden, Gareth David-Lloyd, Jordan Gavaris, Stephen Lunsford, David Oyelowo, Andrew Scott, Michael Trevino, Jesse Williams

Four of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles.

This story probably would have meant more to me IF I have read the Infernal Devices series, so I reserve the right to change my rating until I do. For now I didn't connect with it because the other characters were too new for me, having nothing to add to my already existent connection. Still I got to see the Herondales of old and Brother Zachariah :)

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Midnight Heir introduces us to James Herondale, the one and only son of Will and Tessa. Wow, he is so similar yet so different from his father. Truth be told, this is the second book of the Bane Chronicles that I have read (yes I know I said I wanted to read the third one, Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale because it has a Herondale in it but I couldn't get round to reading it. I will though) and I have to say, I enjoyed it a lot more than the first book, What Really Happened In Peru.

James Herondale is a very interesting character. He has been surrounded by love all his life (of course he has, he IS the son of Will and Tessa after all!) but when he falls for Grace, the inhumanely beautiful adoptive daughter of Tatiana Blackthorn (formally Lightwood), she shatters his heart into a million pieces.

James had given his heart to this girl, Magnus thought, and Magnus knew well enough from Edmund and Will what it meant when a Herondale gave his heart away. It was not a gift that could be returned.

Yep, that line right there just sums it up. James gave his heart away, and Grace (I'm guessing) sent it right back at him, with a blade pierced into its very core. Since then, he personality has completely changed and he begins to estrange himself from his everyone, including his family. The thing is though, only Magnus knows about this (even James doesn't know that he knows) and he chooses not to tell James's secret to anyone, as it wasn't his to tell. The book ends with Magnus halting a carriage and asking the driver to "take him home".

Immediately after I finished the novella, I grabbed Clockwork Princess off my shelf and looked to the family tree. In there, it shows that James Herondale is married Cordelia Carstairs. And even more mysterious, is that Lucie Herondale (James's sister) is shown to be married to Jesse Blackthorn, the biological son of Tatiana Blackthorn. In the novella, however, Tatiana mentions that her son was really weak and sickly, and that she was told that her son could not live anymore when he was sixteen.

I had one child, my beautiful boy, my Jesse, but he could not be trained to be a warrior. He was always so weak, so sickly. I begged them not to put the runes on him—I was certain that would kill him—but the Shadowhunters held me back and held him down as they burned the Marks into his flesh. He screamed and screamed. We all thought he would die then, but he did not. He held on for me, for his mama, but their cruelty damned him. Each year he grew sicker and weaker until it was too late. He was sixteen when they told me he could not live.

WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN?

The favourite part of the book for me has to be the part where we meet Will, Tessa and Jem again in the Institute. I love the three of them so much and it was really interesting to see the motherly side of Tessa. And Will, oh dear Will. You haven't changed a bit even after 25 years, have you?: When Magnus and Tessa both agree that James actions are very much like Will's when he was James age, this is what he replied:

“Betrayed!” Will muttered. “Cruelly maligned by my friend and now by my own cherished wife, scorned, my name blackened—”

Oh man Will, you will be the death of me.

Overall, I liked the Midnight Heir quite a lot and I'm really excited for TLH. The only thing I think I have to get used to is the writing style. I am really, really sorry Sarah but if frankly, I wish that Cassie had written the book by herself. I have NOTHING against you, I just think that I'm used to the Shadowhunter World being illustrated in Cassie's unique style.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

Was this my sneak peek into Chain of Thorns, Cassie Clare's yet to be released Shadowhunter series centered in 1903 and dealing with the next generation after TID series?? Because I need more! I really enjoyed this but was so frustrated at the end because I feel like it just opened up tons of questions...it felt like it should of been a chapter or two from a novel, not just a short story.

Ok, so it's 1903. Magnus has returned to London after 25 years spent in New York. He comes across a drunk young man doing some really stupid and dangerous things, who just happens to be James Herondale...son of Will and Tessa. Magnus takes James home to the London Institute where we see Tessa, who is pretty much the same as she was before and Will, who is now in his middle age.

"The memory of Will the boy was so fresh that it was something of a shock to see Will himself now, older, broader of shoulder, but still with the same tousled black hair and laughing blue eyes. He looked just as handsome as he had ever been -- more so perhaps, since he seemed so much happier. Magnus saw more marks of laughter than of time on his face, and found himself smiling. It was true what Will had said, he realized. They were friends."

It was so good to see Will, Tessa and Jem ( who made an appearance as well ) I miss them already!!

But seriously, I need more of this story!

[MischaS_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

And if you really want to know what that was about you have to read CC new series The Last Hours Chain of Thorns, Chain of Gold and Chain of Iron. Expected publication: 2017.

Really? I don't even want to know anymore.

[karlé · Rating 5 out of 5]

Herondales = Heartbreakers



This is one of the most moving Bane Chronicle yet! And definitely one of my faves. We get to meet another Herondale. Still not enough to convince you to read it? Well Tessa and Will are here. And obviously Jem.

Discussion:



- Mygooood that was soooo amazing!! I wish Cassandra would write about Will's life more and more and more after he and Tessa gets married I just can't. There little reunion with Magnus was so touching I just bawled.

- James Herondale's powers came from Tessa obviously. But that was so unexpected. So are we gonna see more Tessa-Will kids with powers? That would be lovely.

- And Grace screw you. According to the Clockwork Princess Family Tree you ain't part of it. So you can suck this, cause you definitely haven't sucked Jamie. Ha. Kidding.



I really wish Cassandra would write more from where CP2 left off but definitely loved this!!

[crίѕтίŋα•●Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ●• · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Trust. It is like placing a blade in someone’s hand and setting the very point against your own heart.”
- James Herondale

* * *
“The way they all love one another. I used to think everyone loved that way. The way it is in fairy tales. I used to think that love was giving and generous and good.”
- James Herondale

[luciana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

Appart from the fact that I saw my favorite characters, I don’t really see why this novella exists. It brings nothing of importance on the table when it comes to Magnus.

[Althea ☾]

brb im gonna go cry in a corner

"There is nothing boring about caring or about an open, loving heart."

-Jem

for some reason I didn't know this had the golden trio + james herondale SO THAT WAS WHIRLWIND OF EMOTIONS AND NOSTALGIA FOR ME

safe to say this is my favourite story so far 😌✨

COFFEE SHOP JAZZ AMBIENCE ROOM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0_ej...

1. What Really Happened in Peru - ★★★☆☆
2. The Runaway Queen - ★★☆☆☆
3. Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale - ★★★★★
4. The Midnight Heir - ★★★★★
5. The Rise of the Hotel Dumort - ★★☆☆☆
6. Saving Raphael Santiago - ★★★★☆
7. The Fall of the Hotel Dumort - ★★★★☆
8. What To Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything - ★★★★☆
9. The Last Stand of the New York Institute - ★★★★★
10. The Course of True Love [and First Dates] - ★★★★★
11. The Voicemail of Magnus Bane - ★★★☆☆

⟹ BLOG | SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI | BOOKSIRENS ⟸

[Lazaros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why do Magnus' short-stories just keep getting better and better? In this one Magnus returns to London where he finds Will and Tessa married with children and one of them is in trouble. I'm talking of course about James Herondale who's fallen in love. I'll put it as Magnus put it: «It would be ironic, Magnus thought, terribly and cruelly ironic, for one Herondale to be saved by love, and another Herondale damned by it.». I loved this for the most obvious reasons: there was Will, Tessa and Jem. What else do I need to say?

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 5 out of 5]

En The Midnight Heir, Cassandra Clare nos rompe el corazón al presentarnos a un atormentado James Herondale, el hijo de Tessa y Will. El chico, como su padre en sus inicios, piensa que está maldito, que no merece nada bueno en la vida y que es poco más que una escoria, así que por eso bebe, apuesta y crea grandes escándalos en las noches londinenses. Lo triste aquí es que, a diferencia de Will, James no permite que nadie lo ayude, ni siquiera sus padres o Magnus.

Los Herondale van a acabar con nuestros feels, chicos, de verdad. No saben lo duro que es leer cómo James, la misma sangre de Will, se va hundiendo más y más en un pozo de soledad y desesperación. Con este relato nos damos cuenta que el amor puede ser la salvación de unos y la muerte de otros.

"Trust. It is like placing a blade in someone's hand and setting the very point against your own heart".

[nefeli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buddy read this with Sanyam :)))


AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH
Definitely the best story so far ❗❗❗

I'm really emotional after reading this 🥺
Tessa, Will and Jem <3 the london institute, the characters from the infernal devices ahhhh so many memories (plus it's kinda sad reading about these three knowing how it's going to end)
NOW I WANT TO REREAD THE INFERNAL DEVICES AND I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE LAST HOURS!!


~ The Herondales!!!

“It would be ironic, terribly and cruelly ironic, for one Herondale to be saved by love and another Herondale to be damned by it.”

This little boy James is soo much like his father it hurts... I don't think Herondales will ever stop making me cry

“The boy was standing alone as though the broken glass all around him were a shining sea and he were an island.”

~ TESSA WILL AND JEM AHH <3
I love these three more than I can explain, seeing them together always gets me

“How they had loved each another, these three, how they had suffered for each another, and yet how much joy they clearly took from simply being in the same room. Magnus had loved before, many times, but he did not ever recall feeling the peace that radiated out from these three only from being in the others' presence.”

How dare you Cassandra Clare causing me this much pain?? This whole scene broke me 💔
The fact that it was from Magnus' point of view makes it even mroe heartbreaking...

“Tessa, Will, and their lost Jem stood together in a tight knot. Magnus knew that for a few moments nothing existed in the world but the three of them.”

Some of my favourite quotes:

"There is nothing boring about caring or about an open, loving heart."

“You’re here,” said Will, and implicit in the words was the sense that Will’s contentment was complete. Now Jem was there, all was right with the world.”

“Love was love, there was no spell to cure a broken heart that did not also destroy that heart's capacity for love forever.”

Of course, there were some funny moments too

“Do stop flirting with my husband," said Tessa.
"I shall not," Magnus declared, "but I will pause briefly so that I may catch up on your news.”

“Then I lost him for a brief period of time, and by the time I caught up with him, he had wandered into Hyde Park, waded into the Serpetine, spread his arms wide, and was shouting, 'Ducks, embrace me as your king!”

(ducks, here we go again😂)


“Oh, I'll trust you," the boy told him carelessly. "It hardly matters. We are all betrayed sooner or later—all betrayed, or traitors."
"I see that a flair for the dramatic runs in the blood," Magnus said under his breath.”

“I decided it was well past time to take him home and place him in bosom of his family. If you had rather I put him in an orphanage, I fully understand.”

“I will add that I do not believe his admiration of my person, dazzling through I am, to be sincere. He told me I was a beautiful, sparkling lady.”


😂😂😂


I LOVED this story, so much nostalgia 🥺 It was my favourite so far and I'm really excited to read the rest of "The Bane chronicles"!

[Lecheesekeyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

LET ME TELL YOU THIS. WHO COULD DO THAT TO A HERONDALE?!!!


This is actually my first favorite with Vampire, Scones and Edmund Herondale.

The thing is it's so heartbreaking so I was like.
Heartbroken all the time.
James being so vulnerable makes my heart ache because I remembered Will.
He was making a big line to separate him with the person he loves because its not that he was doing something brave but because he was actually damned.
THIS IS MORE HEARTBREAKING OKAY.
BEING DAMNED IS HEARTBREAKING.
AND I DONT LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT.

SO THIS GIRL WHO'S THE NAME... GRACE?
The first she stepped in the story I was like.
WHO IS THIS GIRL.
I HATE HER ALREADY.
My sixth sense was right.

He broke James' heart.
WHO COULD THAT TO A HERONDALE REALLY.
IF I WERE YOU GIRL, I'LL BE LIKE THANKING THE HEAVENS BECAUSE MY LIFE IS COMPLETE.
The love of a herondale is like a gift but you can never return it back.

OMGOMGOMG.

EVEN THOUGH I DONT KNOW CORDELIA I LOVE HER ALREADY.
THE FAMILY TREE OH GOD.
THEN LUCIE MARRIED JESSE BLACKTHORN RIGHT?
THE EBOOK SAYS JESSE DIED.
AND AM I LIKE.
"Dear me, I'm confuse. I'll feed the cannibal ducks with my body."
THE CURIOUSNESS.

Magnus is so perfect.
BANE PLS.
Just kill me already.

TATIANA BLACKTHORN IS CRAZY.
YOU CRAZY BISH.
DONT DO ANYTHING TO MY BABIES.
I AM SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU GHURL.

OMGOMGOMG

DONT YOU THINK JESSE IS SO CUTE? WITH HIS GREEEN EYES. I LOVE GREEN EYES THATS WHY I KINDA LIKE GABRIEL.
HEHEHHE.
OH YEAH THE TESSA AND WILL AND JEM REUNION.

THAT WAS TOO PERFECT.
JEM WAS SO CUTE WITH 'I'M ALREADY USE TO HERONDALES'
HAHAHAHAHAHAH
YOU GET IT BRO??
HEHEHE
okno.
BYE THATS ALL. \o/
THANKS LOVELIES. :-)

[Ferdy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Spoilers

What the fuck? This was less about Magnus, and more about introducing angsty teen characters from the future Infernal Devices spin off series. Yea, not impressed. The Midnight Heir was a cheap tease to get readers hooked on a series that won't even be released for another two years.

-Magnus was the same old self-pitying fool. I still have no idea why he always feels sorry for himself. He has a great life — he gets to travel, he's respected by his peers, he falls in love ALL THE TIME, and he has loads of adventures. His woe is me bullshit rings false and I'm tired of it.
It was fucked up that Magnus didn't tell Will and Tessa that their son was suicidal. James clearly needed help and looking after, but for some dumb reason Magnus didn't bother letting his old friends know of their son's suicidal state. The dick.
Also, his bitching about Will was vile. What did Will ever do to him? Will thought of Magnus as his dear friend, and it was clear he cared for him. But because of the chip on Magnus's shoulder, he acted like Will was horrible and selfish. Ugh.
I find it funny that Magnus constantly bangs on about Shadowhunters looking down at Downworlders when in actual fact he does the same thing. Magnus does nothing but complain about how vile and awful ALL the Shadowhunters are, but he's just as bad as them.
Magnus's instant judgment when he met Grace pissed me off. Just because she was beautiful and supposedly seductive, he thought she was evul. The dick.

-I wasn't impressed with James AT ALL. What a selfish, melodramatic, self-pitying, cruel git. I was disgusted that he shot at an innocent women with a wooden leg. It was fucked up.
His character was more or less a combination of Jace and Will, only he didn't have Will's likability (well, Will from book 3's likability).
I rolled my eyes at the authors heavy handed attempt to try and depict James as different in personality to both Will and Jace - yea, it didn't work on me. He was the same as Jace and Will.

-I was annoyed at the Great Expectations theme with Tatiana and Grace, it felt like Cassandra Clare stole characters from a much loved classic because it was easier than coming up with her own fully fleshed out characters, ideas, and dynamics. I wasn't impressed with that element at all.

-I liked Tatiana's character, her bitterness was completely understandable. It was sad how everyone judged her — she had no choices growing up, her dad wouldn't let her become a Shadowhunter, and she was taught to be useless fool. What did Will and co expect from her?!
I really don't understand why Tatiana wasn't able to remarry when her husband died — she was only a teenager at the time, she could have easily met someone else. I'm sure she could have moved on, and I'm sure someone would have wanted her.
It was so cliched that she was made out to be aged, ugly and hated - I'm sure she'll end up being the bad guy in the spin-off series. Ugh.

-Grace was an interesting enough character, I hope she doesn't end up being a goody two shoes Mary Sue.

-The duck jokes have to stop.

-I find it far fetched that Magnus just so happened to bump into three different generations of Herondale boys as soon as he visited London. Also, it's dumb that all ALL the Herondale boys turn out beautiful and devastating to look at.

All in all, not impressed - Magnus was still as vile and unsympathetic as ever.

[Davina Herondale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, I just finished Chain of Gold. In the book, it is referenced that James met Magnus when he was younger and I could've sworn I read that story then I remembered this short story.

AND OH BOY DO I HAVE THOUGHTS


MAGNUS LITERALLY DESCRIBED GRACE AS A PREDATOR AND HE DEADASS SAYS "He could only imagine again, with growing horror, what the effect would have been on James Herondale, a gentle boy who had been reared to believe that love, too, was gentle." IM UPSET

Grace says in Chain of Gold that she wasn't trained BUT BITCH "Grace moved with such speed that it was as if she were a bolt of lightning wrapped in muslin, the long gleaming blade flying from her skirts to her hand. She held the glimmering point against Magnus's chest, over his heart. Here was a Shadowhunter, Magnus thought. Tatiana had learned something from the mistakes of her father. She'd had the girl trained." (Pg 194 The Bane Chronicles)

About James, "They (Will and Tessa) had wrapped his heart in silks and velvet, and then he'd given it to Grace Blackthorn (EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T HE GAVE IT TO CORDELIA), and she had spun for it a cage of razor wire and broken glass, burned it to bits, and blown away the remains, another layer of ashes in this place of beautiful horrors." (PG 195 The Bane Chronicles)

[Stephanie (Bookfever) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again my heart is broken. Tessa, Will and Jem together again! <3

How they loved each other, these three, how they had suffered for each another, and yet how much joy they clearly took from simply being in the same room.

Yes, this one was pretty sad but I loved seeing Tessa, Will and Jem again. And also to have read about poor James Herondale. *sniffles*

[Bookphenomena (Micky) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novella because Magnus...but also being reunited with Tessa, Will and Jem was something of a delight. These parts were the little bit extra that I had been seeking but didn't get in the epilogue of Clockwork Princess. Having the threesome dynamic was just the best.

"Do stop flirting with my husband," said Tessa.
"I shall not," Magnus declared

This was my first sight of James Herondale and I am officially sucked into this character. Grace was an interesting character, she might or might not be a baddie, I'm unsure.

"I see a flair for the dramatic runs in the blood," Magnus said under his breath.

Roll on Chain of Gold!

[Grace (LovingDemBooks) Z. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buy this book HERE on Amazon

3 of 5 stars (Please read my rating system further below). Meeting James Herondale was beyond amazing! He's so funny and quirky, just like all of his relatives! He's definitely another reason why I absolutely am in love the with Herondale family.

My rating system: (I do use half stars.)
5 - I do not use the 5 star. Not because a book might not be worthy, but because a book is never perfect.
4 - I loved it! There weren't too many flaws, and I had no trouble getting through it. (A 4 star rating is the highest rating I've ever given a book.)
3 - I enjoyed the book, but there we're flaws that made me enjoy it less.
2 - I finished the book, but there were too many flaws for me to enjoy it.
1 - I could not finish the book, and I probably did not finish it....

[Khairiyyahb · Rating 5 out of 5]

You see them - James said. - The way they all love one another. I used to think everyone loved that way. The way it is in fairy tales. I used to think that love was giving and generous and good.

This way BY FAR the best TBC novella. I cried so bad for the characters I thought I wouldn't meet again if not re-reading the adventures I already knew. But this was a beautiful gift Cassie, Sarah and Maureen so thank you for giving me the opportunity to see my Tessa concerned for his beautiful boy and Will witty as always and sarcastic in his own fantastic way. They looked so happy - even the fact that the instute is covered in books made ME happy. And Jamie (I SEE WHAT YOU ALL DID HERE) calling my Jem uncle was the cherry on top of the cake! I can't even explain how much I loved this novella, the fact that I still shed tears of joy means how much these characters have come alive for me. Again, thank you Cassie.

[Ronda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading about Jem, Will and Tessa again, however, I would say that if you have not read The Infernal Devices and plan on doing so, do not read this episode until after - major spoilers if you do!

Love these novels!!!