Lord of Shadows - Cassandra Clare

Lord of Shadows

Author: Cassandra Clare

Length: 701 pages

"Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?

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?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear."



5 stars  ★ ★ ★ ★

Warning! Spoilers (duh!) 

*

(I cannot believe that it took me TWO. ENTIRE. MONTHS. to finish this book. Sheesh, what is wrong with me?)

Not only did this book completely demolish and rip my heart apart within the last couple of pages but it is without a doubt one of the most sophisticated and best-written books by the amazing queen Cassie Clare. 

And not only was this book an ~aMaZiNg~ continuation of Lady Midnight, it also completely threw the Shadowhunter world off balance. See, this is what I just absolutely love about Cassie's Shadowhunter Chronicles: it's always about the same world that we know and love, but no book is the same and every new story gives us a little more insight into the Shadowhunter world. 

So let's start right at the end of the book: 

With Livvy. Dead. DEAD. I think that when I read over those lines that described her death, I had to reread them at least four times to make sure that the words I was reading actually meant what I thought they meant. And then it truly hit me right in the heart and I just sat there for a couple of seconds, staring at the wall in front of me, gathering my thoughts. 

The fact that this happened right after Alec's dad was murdered just came as such a double shock to me. Oh yeah, and the friggin' Mortal Sword shattered. That was Cassie Clare twisting a knife into all our hearts, all right. First shoving it in, then shoving it in even further and then completely twisting it and deadening our feels. 

Great, and RIGHT WHEN TY AGREED TO BE HER PARABATAI. WHYYYYY?????

But seriously though, that was really, really not cool. I bloodly well hope she's just stuck in another dimension and gets to come back in the next book. Is that too much wishful thinking? (Probably. Sigh.

Other than that horrible ending, the book was just pure amazingness. I think what I especially loved about this book was just the rawness and honesty of all of the relationships. Emma and Julien. Emma and Mark. Mark and Kieran. Kieran and Christina. Christina and Mark. Christina and Diego. Gwyn and Diana. Kit and Livvy. Kit and Ty. My poor feels. It was all too much for me. But it was truly phenomenal. 

It was just so great to see Emma and Julien slowly but truly getting closer to one another again, being fully and completely honest with each other this time around. Let me tell you, I think a great deal of honesty is sincerely missing from most YA-books these days. So hats off to the two of them for being so open to one another (finally
It was also truly heartbreaking having Emma and Julien talk about their future, and how Emma would sacrifice being exiled for the sake of staying together and for the sake of Julien still being able to raise his siblings (*sob*). Oh yeah, and let me remind you all that their only chance at this plan (aka. Robert Lightwood) is now dead.

The Mark/Kieran/Christina love-triangle was just also written so darn well. I mostly dislike love triangles in books, simply for the unnecessary drama it causes, but damn, Cassie really knows how to write them well. It was also just so nice to see them all be so understanding and open and loving to one another at the end. 

Not only that, but we can also definitely see a little chemistry building up between Kit and Ty. They would make such a fantabulous cute couple. Who else agrees?? 
I enjoyed Kit's transformation in this book a lot. How he went from being incredibly mistrusting of the Blackthorns to basically completely embracing his Shadowhunter self at the end. And it just made it so much sweeter to know that Ty was the biggest reason for that happening. 

I absolutely can't wait for the next book. I am however incredibly sad that we all need to wait TWO WHOLE YEARS for The Queen of Air and Darkness to come out. (*sob*). But at least I have The Last Hours book 1 to totally look forward to next year! Bring it on Cassie!








0 Comments