Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)
Summary:
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.
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? (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
For context, I haven’t read the Moral Instruments series and, if I’m being completely honest, it’s because I always was thrown off by the cover. The cover for “Lady Midnight”, however, had me impulse buying this before a flight at my favorite bookstore and had no qualms about it. I’m a sucker for a book with characters training for something and this was a perfect blend of romance with a kickass group of kids who need to stick together to save themselves.
I thought the book was going to be more simplistic than it turned out to be and the depth of plotl lines and various moving parts kept me very engaged. If there was one thing that kept the book from five stars it was because some of Emma’s relationships felt a bit superficial and I struggled to follow her thinking. Part of this may be an aspect of being a true young adult book rather than something like a Sarah J. Maas book, but it was something that threw me out of the world-building at times. I’ll definitely be continuing the series, but I may go back and read the Moral Instruments first now!
P.S. Props to Clare for including some fantastic diverse characters!
Warning: Contains violence and some sexual themes.
Rating: 4 stars!
Who should read it? Fans of a proper fantasy epic and awesome world-building.
Want to read the whole series?
Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2)
Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices #3)