Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare Pages: 668
Series: The Dark Artifices #1
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult
Narrator: Morena Baccarin
Also in this series: Lord of Shadows, Queen of Air and Darkness
Also by this author: Lord of Shadows, Queen of Air and Darkness
Goodreads
In a kingdom by the sea…
In a secret world where half-angel warriors are sworn to fight demons, parabatai is a sacred word.
A parabatai is your partner in battle. A parabatai is your best friend. Parabatai can be everything to each other—but they can never fall in love.
Emma Carstairs is a warrior, a Shadowhunter, and the best in her generation. She lives for battle. Shoulder to shoulder with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, she patrols the streets of Los Angeles, where vampires party on the Sunset Strip, and faeries—the most powerful of supernatural creatures—teeter on the edge of open war with Shadowhunters. When the bodies of humans and faeries turn up murdered in the same way Emma’s parents were when she was a child, an uneasy alliance is formed. This is Emma’s chance for revenge—and Julian’s chance to get back his brother Mark, who is being held prisoner by the faerie Courts. All Emma, Mark, and Julian have to do is solve the murders within two weeks…and before the murderer targets them.
Their search takes Emma from sea caves full of sorcery to a dark lottery where death is dispensed. And each clue she unravels uncovers more secrets. What has Julian been hiding from her all these years? Why does Shadowhunter Law forbid parabatai to fall in love? Who really killed her parents—and can she bear to know the truth?
The darkly magical world of Shadowhunters has captured the imaginations of millions of readers across the globe. Join the adventure in Lady Midnight, the long-awaited first volume of a new trilogy from Cassandra Clare.
Lady Midnight
Cassandra Clare
I loved the Mortal Instruments series. I mean, Jace and Clary are like my favorite OTP. I enjoy Clare’s writing even though she can be verbose. Sometimes it makes her book feel long (They are in fact LONG but sometimes the beginnings feel very long as well!). But, the end of the Mortal Instruments series was satisfying to me and I wasn’t sure I was going to dive into Lady Midnight. I mean, Clare’s books are angsty. She doesn’t just do love triangles-they are like love circles with infinite points. But, I caved thanks to some fellow bloggers I trust implicitly (Nick at Nick and Neyreda’s if .
So, you get a little bit of backstory in the final book of the Mortal Instruments but its not necessary to read that series to understand this one. The book starts long after Emma and Julian have become parabatai. Its obvious they have feelings for each other but its forbidden for parabatai to be in love. So, you know there will be angst there! Then Julian’s brother Mark returns from the wild hunt and you start to think maybe Cristina is into him and he into her. Then you find Mark kissing a guy…So, that love triangle was unexpected. Then perfect Diego comes back and its a square! A love square!!! And by the end, oh my gosh. You guys. The ship drama was no joke.
So, relationships aside, there is a mystery to be solved. All the Blackthorn children are involved. I love all the siblings. They are so unique and interesting. They each have such a specific function for the family. I love how they interact with each other. This provides the book with the main plot line-finding out who is murdering people (both mundanes and faeries) and why. Also, Emma feels its connected to her parents murder, so she really wants to know what is going on. Who would do something like this and what does it have to do with the Blackthorn family?? Who is the wolf amongst them?
Lady Midnight is everything I expect from Clare. You have teenage angst, young love, character development, mystery, danger, and suspense.
I also listened to this book and it was an amazing narration. Seriously, she did an amazing job. She doesn’t overdo the various voices, and because she is fluent in Spanish, her reading in both Spanish and with an accent is flawless! Seriously, I will probably listen to this one repeatedly!
- POV: 3rd person omniscient
- Tears: I did tear up a few times!
- Trope: supernatural, whodunit
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: Book 1 in the Dark Artifices series
- Cliffhanger: Sort of…
- HEA: View Spoiler »
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard…then you will probably like Lady Midnight!
Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books. Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction. She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts.
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I’m really happy you liked this one, Samantha! The angst was done really well. But OMG that love square. Haha! I ship Mark with Christina, though I liked Kieran from time to time too. I’m super curious as to how that will wrap up.
I do hope no one else comes in between Emma and Julian though. I love their love for each other too much.
I might have to invest in the audiobook since I’ll definitely want to re-read this one.
Great review, Samantha!
If someone/something gets in-between Julian and Emma I will cut a bitch! I kind of like Cristina with Perfect Diego…I liked Mark and Kieran. But, now, with that ending when Mark closes the door with you know who and says “Why fake it” I about died!!!!!
And get the audio. Its AMAZING!!!
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