Cassandra Clare - Lord of Shadows.

Cassandra Clare – Lord of Shadows.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars.

Hey Everyone! Continuing on from my last post we are continuing on with The Dark Artifices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. The second book of the series is Lord of Shadows. As I mentioned a few times this trilogy is my favourite of any books I have read. I love the storylines, the characters, the setting, I love it all. So for me personally this book is 5 stars. This may be different for you, but here is what I thought about the second book.

Synopsis:

Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?

Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she’d be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again?

And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters’ demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear – before it’s too late.

A little about the author:

Cassandra Clare is an American writer who publishes mostly YA novels. She is most known for The Mortal Instruments series and has published a number of books based around the Shadowhunter world. Her most recent works being Chain of Gold and The Lost Book of the White.

A little about the story:

The second installment of The Dark Artifices follows as the characters continue to fight against the Cold Peace and the problems this has caused with faerie relations. We see as the Blackthorn’s take in Kit and treat him as one of their own, while Kit is still coming to terms with the fact he is a Shadowhunter. We see Emma and Mark’s new ‘relationship’ as well as Emma struggling with her feelings and knowing what could happen if she acts on them. All while fighting the Riders and fighting the fascism of the Cohort.

The main characters for book two remain the Blackthorn family with the addition of Kit Herondale. The story watches as the family walk on water to protect each other and the world they hold dear.

My favourite character for this book is Julian. This boy raised his siblings since he himself was a child, he has ran an institute – an adults job, all while keeping up with his training, making time for his parabatai and making sure he had time for his art is amazing. It shows the dedication and love of an older sibling.

Notable mentions go to Kit, Ty and Livvy though. I love this trio together, their dynamic and especially the way Kit seems to just click in a group that has been pretty isolated from outside influences. The Blackthorns are their own unit, so it was nice to see how they worked around others.

I find Emma and Julian so relatable. It’s part of the reason I love this series so much. A lot of the things they have felt, I feel like I have to some extent so. Protective older sibling – check. A desire to be strong and tough as a girl – check. Falling for your best friend – check. I can so easily see myself in these characters. But it is not just me that can find this possible. Clare writes in characters that can be related to anyone. If you look closely enough you can see where your own life and the characters lives overlap and the same events happen and I think that is wonderful.

I love this book. I loved getting to know the Blackthorns more. They aren’t a family that were largely important in any of the other series. They were mentioned but never really in the limelight. So to have a whole series to know the ins and outs of this family made me so so happy. Not just that but the strong female characters in this book make me feel like I can do anything and be anyone. Christina, Emma, Diana, Livvy, Dru even, they are all so strong and so capable and not a single one was made a damsel in distress and I loved it.

My favourite part of the book was when Julian and Emma were on mission in the little cottage and they spend that time alone together that Emma had been trying to avoid. I love these two characters together and seeing them being completely themselves without worrying about the people around them was lovely.

If I could change something about this book it would be adding more Diana into it. I loved her character, I love her backstory, but I just wish there was more of her.

I recommend this trilogy to everyone, but of course we have to be specific. I recommend this book for anyone who is a sucker for a forbidden love story. That is the heart of this story, love. Emma and Julian’s love. If you want to watch as they torture themselves to stay apart when inevitably they will be pulled back together then this is for you. Watch as they fight against the world and the curse to be together.

I have very high opinions of this book but I understand that this probably won’t be the same view that everyone else has, as we are all different people and like different things, but if you haven’t read it and my words struck something in you, I urge you to pick up the books and have a read. You won’t regret it.

Stay Curious!

J x