REVIEW: Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Dark Artifices
Pages: 720
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: May 23rd 2017
Buy The Book: A Great Read - Book Depository

Sunny Los Angeles can be a dark place indeed in Cassandra Clare’s Lord of Shadows, the sequel to the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Lady Midnight. Lord of Shadows is a Shadowhunters novel.

Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she’d be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again?

And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace, and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters’ demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear—before it’s too late.

My Thoughts:
*trying to write coherent review through my stream of tears*

Actual footage of me after this book

Every book by Cassandra Clare, every single book, ruins me emotionally. And Lord of Shadows is no exception. So as difficult as it might be, I'm going to keep this review spoiler free, but I will have a video on my channel at some point to discuss everything in-depth because OH BOY THERE'S A LOT TO DISCUSS. For now though, no spoilers.

Lord of Shadows picks up shortly after the events in Lady Midnight. The Blackthorns are trying to come to terms with everything that has happened with Malcolm, and his death hasn't solved their problems. A high number of sea demons are appearing and the Shadowhunters have to work alongside the Centurions to find out what's causing them to show. Along with the growing threat, the characters each have their own personal demons to battle.

Emma and Julian continue to struggle with their forbidden feelings throughout this book. Emma is trying her best to make her parabatai fall out of love with her, as much as it pains her to do so. These poor characters, honestly. I felt for them so much. What I love about The Dark Artifices is how it's exploring a love story between parabatai. It's new territory for readers, so it's interesting to discover new facts we didn't previously know about the Shadow world. With Emma and Julian, I appreciate the history between them. I enjoyed having the main romance be between two people who've known each other since childhood, so instead of focusing on building their relationship, we're witnessing how it's changing.

What I love about the Cassandra Clare's books is that no matter how many stories she writes that are set in Shadow World, there is always something new to learn about, or a new area to focus on, so it doesn't feel repetitive. In Lord of Shadows, we got to explore a little more about the attitudes that Shadowhunters have towards mental health and mundane treatment, which is something we've barely touched upon in previous stories but it's something I've been interested in. Can I also take a moment to talk about Ty and his autism because I'm so happy that this is a fantasy series that has an autistic boy as one of the main characters. I loved the way Kit thought about Ty's autism in the story, and how showing his reactions to Ty reminded us just how little the Shadowhunters understand about these things. THESE CHARACTERS ARE JUST SO GREAT.

I need to take a moment to talk about the romantic relationships in this book because OH BOY. I'm always complaining about love triangles and how they aren't necessary, but I almost missed the simplicity of them whilst reading this book because it completely throws triangles out of the window. THERE ARE SO MANY CHARACTERS WITH SO MANY FEELINGS FOR OTHER CHARACTERS AND I'M EMOTIONALLY RUINED. I don't want to say too much or I'll risk running into Spoiler Zone, but I don't envy Cristina's situation in this book and I honestly have no idea where her love life is going to go.

Okay, so the ending. Haha. I never want to read an ending like that ever again. It's been weeks and I'm still traumatised. The writing throughout the final couple of chapters is incredible at building the tension and showing emotions. Also the action scenes, as always, are vividly described. I honestly can't believe I have to wait (I don't know how long) to find out what happens next!

Royal Rating: