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- Title: Lady Midnight (Dark Artifices #1)
- Author: Cassandra Clare
- Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
- Publication Date: March 8, 2016
- Pages: 668
- Genre: YA/Fantasy
- Recommended Age(s): 13+
- First Read: 2016
- Source: Purchase
- Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 stars
It has been five years since the Great War and Emma Carstairs is no longer a child. She is a capable shadowhunter who has been obsessed with finding out who or what really killed her parents all those years ago and is constantly on patrol to fight off the demons that dare to disturb her beloved city of Los Angeles.
However, since the Dark War, tensions with the faeries have been escalating to almost unimaginable heights. When dead faeries are discovered with the same markings that covered Emma's dead parents five years ago, Emma and the Blackthorns embark on an investigation that takes them from the depths of the ocean to the bowels of humanity.
However, since the Dark War, tensions with the faeries have been escalating to almost unimaginable heights. When dead faeries are discovered with the same markings that covered Emma's dead parents five years ago, Emma and the Blackthorns embark on an investigation that takes them from the depths of the ocean to the bowels of humanity.
I cannot even begin to explain how excited I was for this book, and how even more excited I was when it was everything I hoped it was and more. I fell in love with Emma Carstairs and her parabatai Julian, as well as the entire Blackthorn family. It was like being welcomed back into a world that I had left for a while, but when I returned, I found that just enough had changed to keep everything interesting. I really liked the fact that five years have passed so that all the characters have had time to grow up a little bit from when we last left them. It gave an air of maturity to the characters, especially since I had first met Emma and Julian when they were only 12 years old.
My favorite aspect of this book was the fact that it included my all-time favorite poem interwoven into the plot (which I won't tell you, because of possible spoilers!). The plot itself was familiar a sense, yet it still kept you guessing, which made me read this almost 700 page book in two days-yup-I got sucked in again! I also really liked that I felt my familiar rollercoaster of emotions that only happens when I'm reading something really good. There is a greater amount of diversity of characters in this book too-if you can get any more diverse than the world already is, I guess. Shadowhunters are represented in a more human way, I felt like I connected with the characters more because of that.
If I did have any qualms about this book though, I felt as if though the twists and turns barely masked the all-too familiar plot that had already been explored in the other two Shadowhunter series. But I was willing to overlook this fact because I am a sucker for this entire world and anything new I can find out about the characters always gets me excited. If you are one of those people who get bored after a while, I might suggest taking a break from this book, but if you love the shadow world just as much as I do, then by all means, please come back!
For fans of the other books within the Shadowhunters universe, don't worry; all of your favorite characters make a cameo (some more than others) and everything is just perfect and lovely and I can't control my emotions even though it's been a couple days since I have read this book.
