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Queen of Air Darkness

"She exploded out the other side into a world of color and light and noise: green grass, blue sky, the distant sounds of the procession advancing to the tower.  She fell to her knees, still clutching Durendal."
Queen of Air and Darkness is the third book in the Dark Artifices trilogy by Cassandra Clare and it is wonderful!  Clare does a brilliant job of creating worlds and characters, as we have seen in all of her previous shadowhunter novels.  This one is no exception.
With this being the third book in the series I won't get into a lot of detail about the plot so I don't risk any spoilers.  This is the final novel featuring the Blackthorn family and Emma Carstairs, although I doubt/hope this is the last time we see them.  One of my favorite things about Cassandra Clare's writing style is that while each series works well alone (The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and The Dark Artifices) they also all work extremely well together and we often see beloved characters make a reappearance.  In Queen of Air and Darkness she was kind enough to feature plenty of scenes with Alec, Jace, and Clary and, of course, everyone's favorite warlock, Magnus Bane.
Much of this final novel revolves around love.  It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster...in a good way.  I could say so much, but, spoilers!  I will say that there is someone for everyone in this novel.  Clare leaves no relationship scenario untouched, which I think is very important in a YA novel.  It's hard enough being a teen today.  Let's make it a little easier by providing a vast array of characters that they can identify with.  She also does a fine job writing a YA novel that is age appropriate and very classy when it comes to romance scenes.  I have a lot of respect for writers who can pull that off and still write a good love scene.  But don't worry, the book isn't all love and hearts.  In true Shadowhunter fashion there's plenty of fighting and danger for all and an epic battle scene.  
Some may say that the end of the book was too happy and that she tied it up too neatly.  I don't care.  I'm all for a happy ending.  We see enough sadness in the real world.  Every now and then I like to see everyone live happily ever after.   


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