Lady Midnight
By Cassandra Clare
DISCLAIMER: I'm not going to spoil any major plot points of Lady Midnight, but I am going to mention some minor things. You have been warned.
Synopsis: It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.
Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…
Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?
Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series. (Goodreads Summary)
My Review: My initial reaction to finishing Lady Midnight: Why Cassandra! WHYYYYY!!! Why do you feel the need to build me up, fill my heart with joy, and the just RIP IT OUT AND SHRED IT INTO A MILLION PIECES!
Now that that's over with, we can get into the actual review. Being Cassandra Clare trash, I was going into Lady Midnight with high expectations, and I was not disappointed. One thing that I especially loved about the book overall was that there was no world building required due to it taking place just a short while after City of Heavenly Fire. That is great if you'd read the previous books (no need to read annoying world building when you already know all there is to know about the world), but that also means that this isn't a book that just anyone can pick up off the shelf. You have to be familiar with the shadowhunter world or else you are going to be extremely confused as it drops you right in to the middle of the action. Another overall thing I loved about Lady Midnight was even though it was another shadowhunter book, it wasn't just ANOTHER shadowhunter book. It had its own plot, characters, and locations that were unique and all their own.
The premise of the book is interesting in itself, but, at least for me, what made the book was the characters. Clare makes you fall in love with the entire Blackthorn clan (including the extended family): Emma, Julian, Mark, Christina, Ty (Oh my god...ESPECIALLY TY), Livy, Tavvy, Dru, and Malcolm. I found myself relating to several of the characters because instead of just focusing in on one or two specific characters, Cassandra went above and beyond, giving you an inside look on everyone. The only character I felt that we weren't told a lot about was Diana, and I hope that we get to understand her more in the next book. I especially love when Emma takes Christina on a tour of the Blackthorn bedrooms which gives you a look from the outside in on each of the Blackthorn children. I also really like how Cassandra incorporates characters that are not only straight, but also gay and bisexual along with characters that posses mental illnesses, because we need to see more of those characters in Young Adult novels.
I know this topic I'm going to talk about really should go under the characters paragraph, but I believe it truly deserves a paragraph of its own: Emma and Julian's forbidden romance. OH MY GODDDDD! WHYYYYY CASSANDRA! WHY!!!! This beats Clace, this beats Sizzy, this beats both Jessa and Wessa, this almost beats Malec (almost. I said almost. Nothing can truly beat Malec. Ever). Even from the beginning you can tell both characters feel something beyond friendship for each other and are trying to suppress their emotions, and (if you're trash like me) you can't help but ship their forbidden love and squeal every time something happens, and let me tell you, SHIT GOES DOWN. I can't wait to see what happens between them in the future.
Perhaps an unpopular opinion: I love the villain of this book. Now, I can't say much without spilling major points of this book, but there are a few things I can say. I love the reason why they are doing what they are doing; I think that are.....amazing; I love that they were not who I expected. Yeah, that's all I can say without ruining anything. I can't really say a lot about the plot besides the fact that they are looking for the people who killed Emma's parents, who are actually involved in a scheme of things that are killing more people, without spoiling anything.
Another thing I can't talk about without spilling is the ending, but BY THE ANGEL I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THE ENDING....AND THE FINAL LINE....TAKE ME NOW CASSANDRA! TAKE ME NOW! (If you've read it and you want to talk about just leave a comment, send me an email, or contact me on tumblr because.....I NEED TO LET THESE FEELINGS OUT!)
I give Lady Midnight 5 stars (I would give it more if I could) because of the characters, the amazing story line, and the fact that I am, and forever will be, Cassandra Clare trash.
If you would like to purchase Lady Midnight
-CG
Now that that's over with, we can get into the actual review. Being Cassandra Clare trash, I was going into Lady Midnight with high expectations, and I was not disappointed. One thing that I especially loved about the book overall was that there was no world building required due to it taking place just a short while after City of Heavenly Fire. That is great if you'd read the previous books (no need to read annoying world building when you already know all there is to know about the world), but that also means that this isn't a book that just anyone can pick up off the shelf. You have to be familiar with the shadowhunter world or else you are going to be extremely confused as it drops you right in to the middle of the action. Another overall thing I loved about Lady Midnight was even though it was another shadowhunter book, it wasn't just ANOTHER shadowhunter book. It had its own plot, characters, and locations that were unique and all their own.
The premise of the book is interesting in itself, but, at least for me, what made the book was the characters. Clare makes you fall in love with the entire Blackthorn clan (including the extended family): Emma, Julian, Mark, Christina, Ty (Oh my god...ESPECIALLY TY), Livy, Tavvy, Dru, and Malcolm. I found myself relating to several of the characters because instead of just focusing in on one or two specific characters, Cassandra went above and beyond, giving you an inside look on everyone. The only character I felt that we weren't told a lot about was Diana, and I hope that we get to understand her more in the next book. I especially love when Emma takes Christina on a tour of the Blackthorn bedrooms which gives you a look from the outside in on each of the Blackthorn children. I also really like how Cassandra incorporates characters that are not only straight, but also gay and bisexual along with characters that posses mental illnesses, because we need to see more of those characters in Young Adult novels.
I know this topic I'm going to talk about really should go under the characters paragraph, but I believe it truly deserves a paragraph of its own: Emma and Julian's forbidden romance. OH MY GODDDDD! WHYYYYY CASSANDRA! WHY!!!! This beats Clace, this beats Sizzy, this beats both Jessa and Wessa, this almost beats Malec (almost. I said almost. Nothing can truly beat Malec. Ever). Even from the beginning you can tell both characters feel something beyond friendship for each other and are trying to suppress their emotions, and (if you're trash like me) you can't help but ship their forbidden love and squeal every time something happens, and let me tell you, SHIT GOES DOWN. I can't wait to see what happens between them in the future.
Perhaps an unpopular opinion: I love the villain of this book. Now, I can't say much without spilling major points of this book, but there are a few things I can say. I love the reason why they are doing what they are doing; I think that are.....amazing; I love that they were not who I expected. Yeah, that's all I can say without ruining anything. I can't really say a lot about the plot besides the fact that they are looking for the people who killed Emma's parents, who are actually involved in a scheme of things that are killing more people, without spoiling anything.
Another thing I can't talk about without spilling is the ending, but BY THE ANGEL I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THE ENDING....AND THE FINAL LINE....TAKE ME NOW CASSANDRA! TAKE ME NOW! (If you've read it and you want to talk about just leave a comment, send me an email, or contact me on tumblr because.....I NEED TO LET THESE FEELINGS OUT!)
I give Lady Midnight 5 stars (I would give it more if I could) because of the characters, the amazing story line, and the fact that I am, and forever will be, Cassandra Clare trash.
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