This is the second book in the Dark Artifices series. I first stumbled across this series when I read and raved about Lady Midnight way back in 2016.
I usually binge-read series books I love, but the second book in The Dark Artifices wasn't out yet, and by the time it came out, flaky old me had completely forgotten all about how much I had wanted to read this series.
Recently, I spotted this book while browsing at the library and pounced on it with a fair bit of excitement.
About the Book
A Shadowhunter's life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners-sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.
Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn't just forbidden-it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?
~ Synopsis from goodreads
My Thoughts
First up, can I take a moment to really appreciate the covers on these books? I was attracted to Lady Midnight just because of the dark tones, and now the cover of Lord of Shadows also has the same irresistibly dark allure (at least for me).
The book also lives up to the dark beauty of the cover. Like Lady Midnight, it takes some time getting into the story, Unlike Lady Midnight, there wasn't a strong enough theme or mystery tying up the book. This is a typical middle of the series book where things happen, but nothing is wrapped up neatly enough to make it completely satisfying.
A large part of the book is devoted to Julian and Emma's doomed love story. In any other series, this would have annoyed me terribly (thinking of the yucky love saga between Feyre and Rhysand in A Court of Mist and Fury here). However, in Lord of Shadows, because there are so many characters and so much else happening apart from the love, it didn't annoy me thaaat much.
What did tick me off a wee bit was Clare's insistence on bringing diversity into the book. We had gay and bisexual couples, an autistic character, an androgynous character, a couple in a polygamous relationship - all living together in one house. It just felt like a little bit too much.
Another bummer was that the mystery in this story was not as strong as the first one. That said, I thought the writing and the complexity in this book was amazing. Cassandra Clare has really grown so much as a writer.
Everyone is afraid of something. We fear things because we value them. We fear losing people because we love them. We fear dying because we value being alive. Don't wish you didn't fear anything. All that would mean is that you didn't feel anything.
I can't imagine the Cassandra Clare of City of Bones could have penned the above sentence.
I also loved just how willing she was to mess with the characters (in a very believable way unlike a certain Ms.Maas). This book ended with a massive punch to the heart, and I am really not sure how things are going to unravel for all these adorable characters.
Spoiler here: I am totally guessing that after this book, Julian is going to dip into his darker, more ruthless side, maybe even turn from hero to anti-hero. The possibilities are there.
Overall, this book made a big impression on me. I don't think I am going to miss the third book in this series when it comes out.
Buy a copy of this book from Amazon.