Bitter of Tongue

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy #7

by Cassandra Clare

When Simon is kidnapped by the fey, he’s amazed to find a friend in former Shadowhunter Mark Blackthorn. One of ten adventures in Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy.

After Simon is kidnapped by faeries (why is he always kidnapped?), he uncovers rumors of a secret weapon Sebastian left behind for the faerie queen. He must escape the Fey, relying on his only ally, former Shadowhunter and Dark Artifices character Mark Blackthorn.

This standalone e-only short story follows the adventures of Simon Lewis, star of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments, as he trains to become a Shadowhunter. Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy features characters from Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments, the Infernal Devices, and the upcoming Dark Artifices and Last Hours series. Bitter of Tongue is written by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan.

Read more of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter Chronicles in The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments, and The Bane Chronicles.

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

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 18, 2015

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

[Sasha Alsberg]

Poor Simon...getting kidnapped again!

[Zoë · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so dang emotional! I am so intrigued by the Blackthorn family and I'm happy that we got a glimpse of what is to come in Lady Midnight!

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pretty emotional after that. Lots of SIZZY feelings and I FEEL SO MUCH FOR MARK AND HELEN THE POOR BBYS

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Fortunate are the ones who know the name of their heart. They are the ones whose hearts are never truly lost. They can always call their heart back home".

"Afortunados aquellos que conocen el nombre de su corazón. Son ellos cuyos corazones nunca están verdaderamente perdidos. Siempre pueden hacer que su corazón vuelva a casa".

Me encantó que la figura central de Bitter of Tongue fuera Mark, el segundo hermano Blackthorn exiliado por los Shadowhunters y condenado a pertenecer a la Wild Hunt de los fae debido a su sangre. Adoré a Mark, su manera de hablar, el cómo lucha contra todas las influencias para no perder los recuerdos de su familia y, sobre todo, su cinismo sobre el mundo. Si bien Mark conserva un halo de esperanza y espera que los Cazadores de Sombras lo readmitan en su mundo y lo rescaten, en el fondo sabe que nunca va a suceder. Mark es un personaje lleno de incógnitas, dolor y, por encima de todo, amor por su familia.

Por cierto, con cada relato que pasa me emociono más por la relación #Sizzy.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Oh, Mark Blackthorn, what are they doing to you?” Simon whispered.
He could not keep the pity out of his voice, and he saw it sting Mark: the slow flush that rose to his thin cheeks, and the way he lifted his chin, holding his head high.
Mark said: “Nothing I cannot bear.”

Blurb:When Simon is kidnapped by the fey, he’s amazed to find a friend in former Shadowhunter Mark Blackthorn. One of ten adventures in Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. After Simon is kidnapped by faeries (why is he always kidnapped?), he uncovers rumors of a secret weapon Sebastian left behind for the faerie queen. He must escape the Fey, relying on his only ally, former Shadowhunter and Dark Artifices character Mark Blackthorn.



Cassandra has an amazing way of making me want to read her books.

Like, when City of Heavenly Fire was about to come out, I was going to take a break from her books. I intended to avoid reading Lady Midnight the following year but what happened?

Oh, yes, Cassie gave us Emma and Julian’s POVs and basically a great story to come. Now I need to read the book more than I need my next breath. Okay, okay, no big deal. I wasn’t in a big hurry to read The Last Hours, I was going to wait. I really need a break from the Shadowhunter world but now, after James and Matthew’s story, I fucking need to read the books okay??

So this is how Cassandra will be the end of me.



I need to read Lady Midnight, I need to see if Mark gets to be free, I need to see more of the Blackthorns and more of Emma.

Alright, moving on, I’m pretty curious about the Wild Hunt *furiously googling about it* and I’m kinda digging the way the faeries talk. Yes, just like a poem.

Anyhow, Isabelle, as amazing as always. Girl, you never disappoint.



Simon, huh.



Mark,



Julian,



I have the awful feeling George won’t survive the Ascension, I’m gonna cry.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars
Bitter of Tongue is one of the many novellas in the Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. This novella was so amazing, I can't even express how much I loved it. The places they went, the people they met, it was just beautiful. The writing was really nice; just enough description and dialogue. Simon's personality was written perfectly. He was perfect ratio of awkward to strong, witty to serious, and nerdy to shadowhuntery. Cassandra integrates new characters into her world in such a seamless way. She makes you feel as if you have known these characters for years even if you've only read their name one other time. I am very excited to finish up these novellas and dive into Lady Midnight.
If you are planning on reading Lady Midnight please you should read this collections of novellas first. There are things that happened in this novella that would probably give you insight while reading Lady Midnight.
I will write a full review on the bind up once I finish all of the novellas.

[Andie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Mark... My heart is breaking for you and the other Blackthorns :( :(

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

“I got distracted making out with a boy, and then locked up by a goblin”

Is anyone really surprised that I loved the story about a sapphic marriage between a fae girl and an Asian girl? I have loved these two since their introduction and… their ceremony was everything! Also, this was so amazing because we got to see more of the fae court! Seriously, all I want is more of Mark and Kieran and the Hunt! Please, Cassie Clare, I’m begging you! I honestly just think the Blackthorns are my favorite family. Plus, seeing Izzy and Mark both try to save Simon in very different ways was pretty perfect. This is also the first story that made me feel like Sizzy was back, and it warmed my heart and made me so excited for the final three stories!

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(I read this in Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy!) ✨

[Alina Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually I'm not up for Simon getting kidnapped....but if it means Mark Blackthorn, I'm in.

Update: IS THAT HOGWARTS?! (Just kidding.)

After reading: MARK BLACKTHORN I WILL SAVE YOU BY MYSELF I SWEAR

[Beenish · Rating 5 out of 5]

5★ | People could bear so much, but Simon did not know how much of the original you was left when the world had twisted you into a whole different shape.

The one where Simon finds himself in a cage. Again.

Now that they were Shadowhunter trainees in their second year, and in the words of Scarsbury “no longer totally hopeless and liable to cut off your own stupid heads,” they were given their own slightly more important missions. Every mission had an appointed team leader, and the team leader got double points if the mission was a success. Julie, Beatriz, Simon, and Jon had already been team leaders, and they had killed it: everyone’s mission accomplished, demons slain, people saved, Downworlders breaking the Law penalized severely but fairly.

In this story, Simon and his academy friends are on a mission to stop faeries from slipping over their borders and engaging in illicit trade, i.e. faeries tricking mortals into eating faerie fruit. The mission is led by George Lovelace, since everyone else got their turn already. George, however, screws up a little, and our hero, Simon Lewis, tries to save the day. Only in doing so, he ends up falling into faerieland and wakes up in a cage (please stop doing this to him, cassie) 💀 at least, Simon had his own hero to come for his rescue 🥹

But this is also the story in which Simon (and Izzy) meet Mark Blackthorn 💔

“What does a faerie of the Wild Hunt want with me?” Simon croaked.
“I am no faerie,” said the boy with eerie eyes, pointed ears, and leaves in his wild hair. “I am Mark Blackthorn of the Los Angeles Institute. It doesn’t matter what they say or what they do to me. I still remember who I am. I am Mark Blackthorn.”
He looked at Simon with wild hunger in his thin face. His thin fingers clutched the bars of the cage.
“Are you here to save me?” he demanded. “Have the Shadowhunters come for me at last?”

And so, my heart began to hurt. Mark Blackthorn, who was unfairly taken by the faeries and given to the Wild Hunt, having saved the shadowhunters by whatever means possible, is still holding out hope that his people might be working out a way to save him, in turn. Little does he know, saving him has never been an option. Time works differently in faerie, but it’s been almost two years the nephilim decided to leave him with the fair folk. Of course, Mark never knew.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to read about him (or any of the Blackthorns) without going to pieces 😭💔 Which reminds me, it’s not just Mark who appears in this story, all the Blackthorns do, and so does Emma Carstairs. It was too heartbreaking to hear Mark talk about his siblings and see him feeling betrayed by the nephilim that it felt like the story would end right there, with his last words to Simon and Izzy. Except, it did not, and somehow that hurt too. Mark Blackthorn, left to the wind and hardly spoken of 🥺 what a fate, indeed. It just shows that life does go on, and one person’s sacrifice while saves many, doesn’t save them all; not in every way. It just hurts, okay? 😩

Mark believes he’s the only one the nephilim don’t care for. He’s clueless about his full-blooded sister’s exile, and about Julian ending up keeping the family together in every way that matters. We see Emma helping, but we also see the younger kids looking up to Julian for everything, and him carrying all the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Helen’s presence was also tolerated for only one day (the day she got to marry Aline Penhallow), and the Clave cashed that too. How could such a family ever care for the law? How could these kids ever forget what their own people did to them?


➰️ Let’s just say I LOVE whatever Cassie had in her mind while setting up everything she did for The Dark Artifices. The way she wrote about these characters before their very own books??? ohh myy goddd!!! It’s like these stories have a SOUL 😩🤌🏼



spoilers ahead!
⚠️ If I could, I’d quote the whole story and talk about every single thing Mark says and that Simon observes about him, but that’s what I keep my tumblr for, so let’s just go through some of those things:

“You see? I have not forgotten. Every night, no matter what has happened during the day, no matter if I am torn and bloodied or so bone-tired I wish I were dead, I look up at the stars and I give each star a brother’s name or a sister’s face. I will not sleep until I remember every one. The stars will burn out before I forget.”

He did not know what they were doing to Mark in Faerie, to make his family slip away from him.

“Oh, Mark Blackthorn, what are they doing to you?” Simon whispered.
He could not keep the pity out of his voice, and he saw it sting Mark: the slow flush that rose to his thin cheeks, and the way he lifted his chin, holding his head high.
Mark said: “Nothing I cannot bear.”

and then, the part that kills me inside...

“Jace.”
Mark nodded, almost absentmindedly. “He said, ‘Show them what a Shadowhunter is made of; show them you aren’t afraid.’ I thought I was showing them, the Fair Folk and the Shadowhunters both. I could not do what he asked me. I was afraid, but I did not let it stop me. I got a message back to the Shadowhunters and I told them the Fair Folk were betraying them and allying with their enemy. I made sure they knew and could protect the City of Glass. I warned them, and the Hunters could have killed me for it, but I thought if I died I would die knowing my brothers and sisters were saved, and that everyone would know I was a true Shadowhunter.”
“You did,” said Simon. “You got the message back. Idris was protected, and your brothers and sisters were saved.”
“What a hero I am,” Mark murmured. “I proved my loyalty. And the Shadowhunters left me here to rot.”
His face twisted. In the depths of Simon’s heart, fear twined with pity.
“I tried to be a Shadowhunter, even in the depths of Faerie, and what good did it do me? ‘Show them what a Shadowhunter is made of!’ What is a Shadowhunter made of, if they desert their own, if they throw away a child’s heart like rubbish left on the side of the road? Tell me, Simon Lewis, if that is what Shadowhunters are, why would I wish to be one?”
“Because that’s not all they are,” Simon said.
“And what are faeries made of? I hear Shadowhunters say they are all evil now, barely more than demons set upon the earth to do wicked mischief.” Mark grinned, something wild and fey in the grin, like sunlight glittering through a spiderweb. “And we do love mischief, Simon Lewis, and sometimes wickedness. But it is not all bad, to ride the winds, run upon the waves, and dance upon the mountains, and it is all I have left. At least the Wild Hunt wants me. Maybe I should show Shadowhunters what a faerie is made of instead.”
“Maybe,” said Simon. “There’s more to both sides than the worst.”
Mark smiled, a faint terrible smile. “Where has the best gone? I try to remember my father’s stories, about Jonathan Shadowhunter, about all the golden heroes who have served as shields for humanity. But my father is dead. His voice fades away with the north wind, and the Law he held sacred is something written in the sand by a child. We laugh and point, that anyone should be so foolish as to think it would last. All that is good, and true, is lost.”

A moment of appreciation for Mark calling the Clave out on being what they really are, and always have been:

“For what it’s worth, I disagree with the Clave’s decision.”
“That’s the Clave, isn’t it? I mean, I like Jia Penhallow okay, and it’s not that I . . . dislike your dad,” Simon, who did not actually like Robert Lightwood, said awkwardly. “But the Clave, basically assholes, am I right? We all know that.”
Isabelle held her hand out, palm down, and rocked it back and forth in a gesture that said You’ve got a point but I refuse to agree with it out loud.
Mark laughed. “Yeah,” he said, and he sounded a little more sane, a little more human, as if the laugh had grounded him somehow. There was an accent to his words that made Simon think not faerie but: L.A. boy. “Basically assholes.”

This, though... 😩😭💔

“Come with us,” said Isabelle suddenly. “Whatever price there is to be paid, I will pay it.”
Mark gave her a look that was equal parts admiring and disdainful. He shook his fair head, leaves quivering and light lancing through the bright locks.
“What do you think would happen if I did? I would go home . . . home . . . and the Wild Hunt would follow me there. Do you imagine I have not dreamed of running home a thousand times? Every time, I see gentle Julian pierced with the spears of the Wild Hunt. I see little Dru and baby Tavvy ridden down. I see my Ty, ripped apart by their hounds. I cannot go until there is some way to go to them without bringing destruction down on them. I will not go. You go, and go fast.”

and that’s how my heart goes to pieces over Mark Blackthorn 💔😭

“Run!” he shouted. “Get home safe! Tell the Clave that I have saved more Shadowhunter lives, that I will be a Shadowhunter and be damned to them, that I will be a faerie and curse them! And tell my family that I love them, I love them, and I will never forget. One day I will go home.”

***

I loved this one on the whole. Especially where I read about the Blackthorns. They all have my heart 💓 and whenever I read about any of them, I'm just not able to get over them for quite some time.

[Souma BookAddict · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Fortunate is the one who knows the name of their heart. They are the ones whose hearts are never truly lost. They can always call their heart back home."

The Blackthorns are breaking my heart. Mark especially, I hurt so much for him, so that part alone made me like this short story.

I’m really looking forward to Lady Midnight and it was lovely to see them all again.

And why is Simon always getting kidnapped?

[Pinky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished another nouvella last night and I loved it! As the nouvellas go on, the more I read, the more favorites I get! I loved this nouvella even more than the last one. Everything is going to well and it was so fast, I didn't believe that it was finished until I turned the page. I feel like I am addicted to these!

“People could bear so much, but Simon did not know how much of the original you was left when the world had twisted you into a whole different shape.”

I think you already know what this is about but I'll say it again just in case. This takes place after City of Heavenly Fire and it follows Simon. Simon is haunted by his past, he wishes he remembers the people he loves but he doesn't. He wants to be back to himself and remember everything that went on in his life. Simon goes to Shadowhunter Academy and he goes through crazy things and adventures!

“Mark spoke like a poem and walked like a dance.”

This nouvella introduces another Blackthorn! I love the Blackthorns, we even see a little bit with Emma and Julian! I love this characters already and I can't wait to read more about them in Lady Midnight. I don't know how Julian is managing to take care of a bunch of kids but I guess I will find out more in Lady Midnight and I am so excited!

“He'd probably been born with abs. Some were born with abs, some achieved abs, and some - like Simon - had abs thrust upon them by cruel instructors.”

This was a really funny nouvella and I was happy to see Simon happy for once. He has been through a lot and he has finally found a way to smile. I loved his bond and conversations with George, they are the best! I like how weird but funny they both are, (kinda like me).

While reading their conversations, I was like:


The Sizzy feels are stronger in this nouvella! I was so excited to read more and more about their relationship. It's getting stronger and stronger and everything feels like it is ALMOST back to normal. I like how they can speak their feelings and accept each other.

“What is a Shadowhunter made of, if they desert their own, if they throw away a child’s heart like rubbish left on the side of the road? Tell me, Simon Lewis, if that is what Shadowhunters are, why would I wish to be one?”

I highly recommend this if you have read TID and TMI and want to read Lady Midnight. I highly recommend the TMI and TID series to those who haven't read it. And I guess that is all I have to say. READ ON! :)

[bec. · Rating 5 out of 5]

❝ I am no faerie,” said the boy with eerie eyes, pointed ears, and leaves in his wild hair. “I am Mark Blackthorn of the Los Angeles Institute. It doesn’t matter what they say or what they do to me. I still remember who I am. I am Mark Blackthorn.❞

❝ You see? I have not forgotten. Every night, no matter what has happened during the day, no matter if I am torn and bloodied or so bone-tired I wish I were dead, I look up at the stars and I give each star a brother’s name or a sister’s face. I will not sleep until I remember every one. The stars will burn out before I forget. ❞

❝ Fortunate is the one who knows the name of their heart. They are the ones whose hearts are never truly lost. They can always call their heart back home,” Mark said, his voice almost a chant. “Do you remember the name of your heart, Simon Lewis? ❞

❝ Songs are not blood. Blood is all that matters to Shadowhunters and faeries alike. The songs matter only to me. ❞

❝ Show them what a Shadowhunter is made of!’ What is a Shadowhunter made of, if they desert their own, if they throw away a child’s heart like rubbish left on the side of the road? Tell me, Simon Lewis, if that is what Shadowhunters are, why would I wish to be one? ❞

❝ Mark grinned, something wild and fey in the grin, like sunlight glittering through a spiderweb. “And we do love mischief, Simon Lewis, and sometimes wickedness. But it is not all bad, to ride the winds, run upon the waves, and dance upon the mountains, and it is all I have left. ❞

❝ Tell the Clave that I have saved more Shadowhunter lives, that I will be a Shadowhunter and be damned to them, that I will be a faerie and curse them! And tell my family that I love them, I love them, and I will never forget. One day I will go home. ❞

Ok I'm basically quoting this entire novella but it's just so damn beautiful. My heart aches for Mark Blackthorn. :(((

Cassandra Clare stop breaking my heart :((((

The Blackthorn family :(((((((

[manuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

my poor heart! Mark Blackthorn has ruined me. We finally get to see what he's been up to and it made me cry like a baby.

"Every night, no matter what has happened during the day, no matter if I am torn and bloodied or so bone-tired I wish I were dead, I look up at the stars and I give each star a brother's name or a sister's face. I will not sleep until I remember every one. The stars will burn out before I forget."

The Blackthorns are beautiful, their love for each other is beautiful. If I was excited for Lady Midnight before, I'm dying to read it now. We also get a glimps at the other siblings *sighs* Julian taking care of everyone. He's adorable, sweet, strong, and I'm in love with him.

People could bear so much, but Simon did not know how much of the original you was left when the world had twisted you into a whole different shape.

Simon's meeting with Mark only increases his need to change the shadowhunter world, to make it better, not only for shadowhunters, but especially for downworlders; and I couldn't love him more for it.
SIZZYYYYYYYYYYY! guys sizzy is beautiful! I'll never thank Cassie enough for giving us more sizzy!

He felt, curving against his mouth, her smile. "Why, Lord Montgomery," Isabelle murmured. "It's been such a long time. I was worried I'd never see you again."

Now I can't wait for The Fiery Trial, with Emma and Julian's parabatai ceremony!

[Angigames · Rating 4 out of 5]

La Clare ha assegnato a Simon il compito più difficile, quello di osservatore esterno della fallacia nelle Leggi Shadowhunters, assolutamente non clementi, soprattutto con i suoi guerrieri. E Simon, da mondano, a Nascosto, a non ancora Cacciatore, ha provato sulla propria pelle tutta la crudeltà del mondo che adesso vuole abbracciare. Mi sono chiesta come mai la Clare avesse scelto proprio lui… in questa bellissima novella (c’è mancato un soffio per la lacrimuccia, sappiatelo!) finalmente mi sono data una risposta: Simon è probabilmente in tutta la saga Shadowhunters, non solo l’amico, il ragazzo semplice e goffo, simpatico e scanzonato, quello sempre con la battuta pronta, è anche (e soprattutto) quello dal cuore più puro, che ha costretto persino la selvaggia Isabelle Lightwood ad ascoltare il cuore e non più il cervello. E mi sono sciolta quando ho letto di Isabelle che non ci ha pensato neanche un secondo prima di andare a salvare Simon, un Simon che comunque non ha più così bisogno di essere salvato!
Ragazze, ve lo dico, ormai sono pronta. Sono pronta a leggere tutta la serie TDA consapevole che sarà una mega valle di lacrime. Ne ho avuto la conferma assoluta sentendo parlare Mark (potrei amarti), leggendo dei Balckthorn, sentendo come lo stesso Mark si riferisce a Julian ed Emma.
Si. Sarà tosta!

[Mikee (ReadWithMikee) · Rating 3 out of 5]

My heart just broke. My heart is aching for Mark Blackthorn. What happened to him City of Heavenly Fire was just so terrible! And the fact that the Clave just decided to leave him there. GAH!

Even then, Mark holds his head high and still has hope that he will return home to his family.

Mark Blackthorn is one of the main reasons why I'm dying to finally read Lady Midnight!

[katelyn washko · Rating 4 out of 5]

MARKKKKK
that's it. the clave did not do justice at. all.

[Frannie Pan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon is the best of them all. He's growing so much as a character and as an individual and, most importantly, as a different Shadowhunter.

Shadowhunters come from angels, they're noble warriors that fight and risk their lives everyday for humans who are blind to demons but they're also proud assholes who think they're better than anyone else. The way they exiled Helen for her half-blood fairie origins is no difference from turning their backs to Mark, leaving him in Fairieland despite what he sacrificed and still sacrificing to prove himself and his worth.

After Simon is captured by Fairies during a mission, Mark happens to come by his cage and recognizes him.
Their conversation.. It made me sick. How easily SOME Shadowhunters dismissed the matter without compassion, without caring that in proceeding the way they did they would have condemned all the Blackthrone children to a life with no families yet filled so many burdens that shouldn't weigh on their shoulders.
It's shameful and despicable, with no honor whatsoever.

But then, there are SOME Shadowhunters, Shadowhunters like Clary, Jace, Izzy, Alec, Helen and Aline, and in a short time Simon, the new generation that hopefully will change everything.

For now, let's rejoice for some conquers: Aline and Helen's wedding. Congrats, girls! <3

[Alexa ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor George goofing up his leadership role I hope he doesn't take it to hard!
It was great to see Mark Blackthorn again especially in the hunt dynamic. I kind if wished Simon had told Julian about seeing Mark though.
Aline and Helen's wedding sounded lovely.
And lastly people Jace Herondale is now a hugger!

[Martina Gjomemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah! So beautiful!
Mark made me cry! Why the Shadowhunters are so stupid sometimes!?

And then seeing Juls, Ty, Dru, Tivy and Emma! Awww, so cute!
I want "Lady Midnight" now!

[Valentina M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark :(

[Hannah ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Blackthorn siblings, my precious cinnamon rolls. It feels so good to see them again!💙

[Kimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[zainab_booklover · Rating 3 out of 5]

The description of the tale isn't accurate, it got few things wrong.

After Simon is kidnapped by faeries (why is he always kidnapped?), he uncovers rumours of a secret weapon Sebastian left behind for the faerie queen. He must escape the Fey, relying on his only ally, former Shadowhunter and Dark Artifices character Mark Blackthorn.

So for accuracy:
While on a mission, Simon fell into Faerieland; Mark did indeed save him and Isabelle too. However, there was no mentioning of the faerie queen nor Sebastian, and definitely no secret weapon was mentioned.

Perhaps this is the synopsis of another upcoming tale?

[bookaholic_kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tale gives us more details to the Blackthorn family and Simon gets to meet Mark Blackthorn. I am so intrigued if their will be a chance for the nephilim to save Mark.

And I feel Simon in here. He questions the actions of the Clave in not saving Mark and exiling Helen.

This tale is more emotional than the previous tales.

And I am definitely excited for the Lady Midnight for Julian and Emma.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark and the Blackthorns are breaking my heart.

[Trina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't think this one added much.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Blackthorns and their love for each other is unlike any other. ;)

[Michaela's Archive · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel so bad for Mark :(

[kat · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5

i'm so sorry but i lowkey hated this. couldn't even tell you why tbh.