Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy

2.5 stars.

5 stars for the last 3 stories.
2 stars for the first 7 stories.

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. This chronicles Simon's time at the Shadowhunter Academy. I loved how it is told in short story format, but each story pretty much carries on from the previous story. I loved how we got to see characters from previous books most of which I really loved catching up with but there was 1 I could have done without. The most annoying thing in these stories is Simon constantly pointing out how he wasn't the old Simon. If you've read The Mortal Instruments, then you know what happens to him. I get how he was conflicted but I could have done without him constantly mentioning it.  

This is a re-read, because I originally read these as shorts when they were first released in 2015. But it's also my first time reading these stories together in one book.

This book/series was one of my favorites when it was released. I love the character of Simon, and the Shadowhunter Academy setting was really fun. I also enjoyed all of the “flashback” stories. The stories feel more tied together than the Bane Chronicles(I liked those too, but they felt more standalone). It was also nice reading about young Julian and Emma now that I've read their series as well. The cast of additional characters felt more cohesive to me on this reading.

I read this as part of my “chronological-ish” reread of Shadowhunter books. I had just finished reading The Mortal Instruments. One very important thing happens in Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy that didn't happen much in all of The Mortal Instruments books. Time passes. That's right. School years go by and the characters age! It's just really satisfying, after reading a six book series over the span of years which all took place within the span of three months. Simon turned 19? How did that happen? Time passed, characters developed, and it was amazing.

Second read, 2019

I think this is such a wonderful collection of short stories giving insight into the happenings after City of Heavenly Fire. And I honestly think everything that happens here is absolutely essential knowledge in moving on to the next books, it's crazy that it's marketed as ‘bonus material' when it literally gives you information you should know not only before reading The Dark Artifices, but also before reading The Last Hours! The academy stories gives insight into The Circle, who we mostly know as parents, and Valentine as a young adult. It tells us about Tessa and Will and James and Matthew and so many more things that you want to know.

Individual ratings

Welcome To Shadowhunter Academy - 3 stars
Feels like an introduction because it is. Too long to be entirely interesting but at the same time neccessary.
The Lost Herondale - 3.5 stars
An alternative title for this could be ‘The Clave is a bitch'. Things start picking up a little more, but we're still not entirely into it yet.
The Whitechapel Fiend - 4 stars
A flashback! Wonderful, we love going back to the TID characters and also gives way to some detective work we don't often get to see Shadowhunters do.
Nothing But Shadows - 5 stars
Fucking amazing. Babies James Herondale and Matthew Fairchild. You don't want to miss it. SO GOOD. (Features daddy Will Herondale).
The Evil We Love - 4.5 stars
Valentine is manipulative and cruel and I hate him. Gives great insight into Robert Lightwood.
Pale Kings and Princes - 4 stars
Sizzy!!!!!!! Faries shit!!!!!!! Sizzy!!!!!! In the running for the alternative title ‘The Clave is a bitch 2.0'.
Bitter of Tongue - 4.5 stars
Also in the running for ‘The Clave is a bitch 2.0'. Simon gets trapped. Mark Blackthorn. A wedding! Makes me cry with every mention of a Blackthorn.
The Fiery Trial - 3.5 stars
Parabatai stuff. Foreshadowing. It was good.
Born To Endless Night - 5 stars
MY HEART IS BURSTING I LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCH.
Angels Twice Descending - 4 stars
My girl Marisol stole the show until she didn't.



First read, 2016
This was so great! Started out a bit slow, but I loved seeing all my beloved characters after City of Heavenly Fire happened. And I adored the flashbacks, oh my goodness!!

Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy: ★★★★
The Lost Herondale: ★★★
The Whitechapel Fiend: ★★★★
Nothing But Shadows: ★★
The Evil We Love: ★★★
Pale Kings and Princes: ★★★★
Bitter of Tongue: ★★★★
The Fiery Trial: ★★★★
Born to Endless Night: ★★★★
Angels Twice Descending: ★★★★★

Overall: ★★★★

So well have I done with all the Shadowhunter world books this year that the only 2 I have left to read are the collections of novella's in Tales from The Shadowhunter Academy and The Bane Chronicles. Keen to try and reach my achievement of reading them all by the end of 2017 I decided to push on and read Tales from The Shadowhunter Academy, the book that would ultimately complete my Good Reads 2017 challenge of reading 52 books this year.

This book picks up with Simon after the end of City of Heavenly Fire so if you haven't read the mortal instruments series it's probably best you do that first to avoid any spoilers as this collection is full of references to both The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments. It also looks forward into the books that came after this one, The Dark Artifices and offers a brief glimpse at some of the new characters who Clare is going to be building her new adventures around in the Shadowhunter world so we meet Emma and Julian and Mark & Helen Blackthorn.

Set inside the school for Shadowhunters we follow Simon as he trains to become a Shadowhunter himself and the different people he meets during his journey and the friends he makes and trials he faces. Popping in and out of the school we find lots of familiar faces who are either just dropping by to see Simon such as Isabelle, Clary and Jace or we have some guest teachers who drop by to share their stories from the Shadowhunter world in the case of Magnus Bane, Tessa Grey and Robert Lightwood.

There are lots of cautionary tales in here for new Shadowhunters that give us extra glimpses into the world we've learned about through the previous series' and it's nice to revisit stories that have been touched on but never fully explored in the past. They are also great at highlighting the political and social inequalities in the Shadowhunter world, the prejudices they inflict on others and their harsh rules that they often live by and hide behind. As we have moved into The Dark Artifices this has become more important to Clare's storytelling and so this book was another great chance to explore stories that make you think about whether at its core there is something corrupt in the whole world.

I am not a lover of short stories which is effectively what this book is, all be it strung together cohesively into a sort of story. I sometimes find myself losing focus with them but I didn't find this an issue with this book. It was because of the way the stories were drawn together and fed on from each other that I think helped with this. It didn't feel so much like jumping from one time period to another without reason or hearing about tales individually from each other, they were all linked with clever storytelling and strong moral teachings from each one.

I have given this a 4 out of 5, but honestly, I'd probably lean more towards a 3.5 however this is because held up against the other Shadowhunter novels it is one that you really could take or leave and not impact your understanding of the others. It was a good read but it was really a filler book to get us from The Mortal Instruments to The Dark Artifice through the use of the short stories that had been written about the world.

2021 Reread: My thoughts after this reread are pretty much the same as from the first time I read this. I find novella bind ups to be pretty worthless for series.

There were only 3 stories in this entire bind up of 10 that I actually enjoyed and did not find completely unnecessary and boring. That is being a little harsh, but it is the truth. I have never loved Simon as a character, so I think that was my biggest issue with this book, I just did not care as much about his story as other people clearly do.

I have waited to read Lady Midnight until reading this and now that I'm finished I'm disappointed. I think I would have been fine reading LM as soon as it came out. For me there were really only 3 big things that I learned in this bind up that are vital to the overall story line.