Book Review: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare, by teen reviewer Lexi

Our teen reviewer Lexi has been very busy reading lately. We’ll have a new review from her every Monday this month.

Lady Midnight By Cassandra Clare, 657 pgs

Releases March 8th from Margaret K. McElderry Books. 9781442468351

Summary

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 Shadowhunter, one in a long line of Shadowhunters tasked with protecting the world from demons. With her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, she patrols the streets of an secret Los Angeles where vampires party on the Sunset Strip, and faeries teeter on the edge of open war with Shadowhunters. When the bodies of humans and faeries start turning up murdered in the same way Emma’s parents were murdered years ago, an uneasy alliance is formed. This is Emma’s chance for revenge — and Julian’s chance to get back his half-faerie brother, Mark, who was kidnapped five years ago. All Emma, Mark and Julian have to do  is solve the murders within two weeks . . . before the murderer targets them.

Their search takes Emma from sea caves full of sorcery to a dark lottery where death is dispensed. As she uncovers the past, she begins to peel away the secrets of the present: 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 magic and adventure of the Shadowhunter Chronicles have captured the imaginations of millions of readers across the globe. Fall in love with Emma and her friends in this pulse-pounding, heart-rending new volume sure to delight new readers and longtime fans.

Review

“She took a deep breath, ‘You’re too skinny,’ she said as brightly as she could. ‘Too much coffee, not enough pancakes.’”

Once again, Cassandra Clare has outdone herself.

This book has torn me apart and only partially glued me back together, with only Elmer’s glue at that.

When I found out Cassandra Clare had written another book that was coming out so soon, I just had to get my hands on it. And when I got my hands on it, oh boy did I never want it to end. This book being based in the Shadoworld immediately had me on edge itching for a battle. And I was not disappointed.

Every second of this book had me either bawling my eyes out or sitting on the edge of my seat, ready to jump out of my own skin. I loved the characters and their relationships, wishing I knew people like the people Cassandra writes about. Wishing I could be one of the characters she writes about. I would kill [demons mainly] to be in the Shadoworld. Maybe not as a shadowhunter but maybe as a warlock or something not involving as much cardio as saving the world.

Speaking about the characters, I really enjoyed the fact that we get a look at non-conventional shadowhunters. Ty, Julian and Mark demonstrate the type of shadowhunters the Shadoworld wouldn’t like to admit exist. This book answered alot of questions about cross breeds and Shadowhunters who don’t quite meet social standards. The human side of the shadowhunters is really highlighted in this book.

On the last note, this book creates unbelievably high standards for boys. But it also tells a story about how no one is perfect no matter how much they seem to be (except for Perfect Diego of course). Every time I thought something was going good in this book, Cassandra throws a huge plot twist right in my face. To be honest this whole book was a major plot twist. A plot twist that kept me wanting more so I can’t say the pain wasn’t worth it.

Lady Midnight is action packed, emotional drama that left me gasping for breath and grasping for more even after it left me hanging.  It was such a fantastic book that I don’t think I could ever do it justice with my words. But I have tried and I can only wish ya’ll the best of reading.

10 out of 10 would read again.

About Lady Midnight:

The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.

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.

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