Book Review: Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)

About the Book:
Title: Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1) 
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pub. Date: March 8, 2016
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 668
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

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?

Review:

This book deserves ALL THE STARS!  If you haven't read this book yet, you need to read it now! Anyone who knows me knows that my love for TID knows no bounds. I adore TMI, but nothing can beat TID. However, this one come extremely close (and by extremely close I mean that this is basically on the same level). I never thought I would say that, but this book was truly amazing, and showcased just how far Cassandra Clare has come as an author. From the very first page you can clearly see the sophistication and refinement in her writing. Honestly, if this book does anything, I hope it shows everyone that although Cassie continues to write in the Shadowhunter world, her books are each unique and different. Yes, for fans of her previous series', we are obviously in the same world, and so there will be some similar moments, but where this book truly shines is just how different it is from either of her previous series'. There is a darkness and sadness in this book that we don't necessarily see with other books. It's intense and serious, but more importantly, it's extremely real. Plus Cassie Clare gets major bonus points for having the recurring theme of a certain work by Edgar Allan Poe this book. 

This book follows Emma, who has been apart of the Shadowhunter world since birth, which allows us a unique perspective that we didn't get from either Clary or Tessa. Emma was a fantastic female lead, and exactly what every book should have. She was sarcastic, sassy, and a badass. She wasn't afraid to take on a challenge or go up against what seems like insurmountable odds. Julian is seriously my new boyfriend, and I can't get enough of him. All I can say is that you will love him right away. Every single character is extremely unique and will make you love them in their own individual way. Obviously they are different from the TMI/TID cast, however I thought they were a bit more sensible in their decisions. I feel this is largely because this group have been born and bred to be Shadowhunters, and we are able to understand and see this perspective better. I will say that it was a bit of an odd (but enjoyable) experience knowing these characters before even starting this book. Yes, I've read books where the author does a spin off novel featuring characters I already knew, but for some reason this was a completely different experience for me. And I LOVED it! 

“There was beauty in the idea of freedom, but it was an illusion. 
Every human heart was chained by love.” 

The one tiny complaint I have is that I did feel this book was slow in the beginning. However, this is only for about maybe 150 pages or so (and come on...out of close to 700 pages I don't think that's really anything to fret over). I am attributing this to the fact that we needed to be introduced to these characters and their world in LA. There needed to be a small amount of set up before the action could really begin. The humor in this book was on point, but as I said, this was a more serious book, and so the humor wasn't as present as it was in TMI/TID. I also did appreciate that Cassie Clare addressed mental illness/mental disabilities in the Shadowhunter community. I think she captured how our society feels about mental illness/disabilities, and so hopefully this book shows how we need to be more accepting and understanding. 

“You'll fix me, because we're parabatai. We're forever.” 

I honestly have no clue how I'm going to survive until the next novel comes out in this series. Honestly, there are so many theories I have right now it's absolutely crazy! I don't even know who to ship because I literally am shipping everyone!! 

However, my OTP (in this series at least) is JEMMA! Seriously, the tension is going to kill me, and after that ending...I have absolutely no idea what to think. Cassandra Clare explores the Shadowhunter world so much more, and we get an even deeper understanding of the world we have loved for so long. I will say that while it is definitely not necessary to read TMI, TID, The Bane Chronicles, or Shadowhunter Academy, you will appreciate this novel so much more if you do read all of them. There are so many feels, you'll go into overload, and it makes you love the book that much more. I can't wait to see where Cassie Clare is going to take this series. 

Happy reading :)

~Cassie