Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance  

Publishing Info: January 2017 by Simon and Schuster Children’s UK (first published 2016)

Pages: 669

Star Rating: 5/5

Back Cover Summary:

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.

I have loved Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters series for what feels like a very long time. City of Bones was my introduction to her world many, many years ago. She releases books so quickly, I’m trying to catch up! I thought I might get bored of them, but I haven’t so far. I love returning to the world of the Shadowhunters every time I pick up one of her books.

Lady Midnight is the first in the Dark Artifices series and is set a few years after The Mortal Instruments. When I finished reading it, I just sort of sat at stared at my bedroom wall for a minute because I had so many feelings about this book. The characters and their relationships are what makes this book so good. I just became so invested in the Blackthorn family. And Cassandra Clare is really good at giving you hope for characters and then tearing your heart to shreds (in the way a good book does).

Emma and Julian are the two main characters, but all of the others stole my heart too. From Cristina, to Mark, Livvy, Ty, Dru and little Tavvy. I loved seeing the family interact and how Julian has had to bring them up, they’re like his own children despite him being their older brother. It was also great seeing how Mark changed over the course of the book and I’m interested to see where his character goes in the next book.  

While characters and their relationships are a big part of Cassandra Clare’s books, the plot was also strong in this one. Emma has been trying to find out who killed her parents for years, and now more bodies murdered in the same way are turning up, it’s time for the whole gang to join the investigation. The plot is connected to Emma’s personal story, which made me invested in its outcome (the stakes are also there for Julian and the Blackthorns too but I won’t say why as I don’t want to give too much away).

There are some references to The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. Jace and Clary are mentioned a lot in particular, which those who have read The Mortal Instruments will appreciate, but it did feel like there were a few too many times where they’re kind of name dropped. Like Cassandra Clare was trying to fit in as many references to them as she could. It’s a small bone to pick in the grand scheme of things, but I personally found it a bit distracting at times (but there were plenty of times where references to Jace and Clary totally fit and were great).

I couldn’t help giving his book 5 stars. This book stole my heart. I just fell in love with it and I’m excited to return to this world and these characters in the sequel, Lord of Shadows.