AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Lady Midnight is the first book in Cassie’s new series: The Dark Artifices! TDA is about the Shadowhunters of Los Angeles, and their actions, and disregard, for the Cold Peace. The Cold Peace is something that we all kind of knew about, but that we haven’t yet seen. I really love how Cassie works the perspective of faeries and Shadowhunters into this. Plus, she includes Shadowhunters who are gung ho about the Cold Peace and those who really...aren’t.
So it’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire, and oh what events those were. All of the characters that we know and love have grown a lot, and so have the characters that we met in COHF. Let’s talk about them for a bit.
Emma Carstairs:
Emma is 17, has a parabatai, can kick butt, and wants revenge for her parents who were brutally tortured and then murdered about 5 years ago. Now I know what you’re thinking, gee, 5 years ago? Wasn’t that during the Dark War? Wouldn’t that mean that Sebastian murdered Emma’s parents? Well yes, that usually would, and in fact, that is what the Clave says happened, but Emma and basically the rest of the LA Shadowhunters don't think so.
Sooooo she’s out for revenge. But thankfully the story doesn’t focus on just that! It is a main motivator in what starts the initial investigation, and for continued investigation, but after a certain point, Emma just wants to do this so no one else gets hurt.
Something that I really like about Emma is that she is moderately sassy, but its not a constant “hide behind my sarcasm” deal going. Emma is also super oblivious at some points (ex: when she passes off Julian’s steamy looks *wink for just him glancing at her. I mean seriously read your parabatai) but she really is usually pretty aware of her own surroundings. She is her own character. I know that Cassie has gotten a lot of flack from people who say that she has “cookie cutter characters” but I really have a hard time seeing that with this book. Her writing has certainly improved (as exhibited by TID too), but she deserves to be as popular as she is.
Next up we have Emma’s loving parabatai: Julian Blackthorn.
Julian Blackthorn is also 17, a parent to 4 children (if we don’t include Mark), and (unofficially) runs the Institute. While also being in love with his parabatai, which is so illegal it’s hard to describe.
Oh Jules. *nervous laughter*
You are sooooo in loooove.
I really appreciate that Jules can be an artist, and that he actually has a chance to do his art, while being a parent and a Shadowhunter.
He might want to work a little at the desperately in love with you thing, because when he tells Emma that he loves her.... he’s a little... intense? But that might be a cool thing for some people so.
Blackthorn Babies:
-Drusilla: gurrrrlll. You go! Fight bad guys! Be curvy and a successful Shadowhunter! Give no flying cucumbers.
-Livia: LOVE her style, and I respect her life choices
-Tiberius: Ty has been AMAZING at showing how awesome and capable he is. Especially in going from “can’t really fight w/o headphones” to “holding someone I don't know at knifepoint”
-Octavius: Literal baby. Tavvy does NOT need to become Max (too soon? Too soon) and I’m super happy he didn't
-Helen: we so little of her in this book, BUT CONGRATS ON YOUR MARRIAGE HELEN AND ALINE! We all knew it was going to happen, but it’s nice to see. You are a very supportive and cool (but necessarily distant) bug sis.
-Mark: I am syked about him being back. His backstory is tragic and really helps provide some perspective for what Faerie life is like, because up until now, we haven’t seen much of that. Also, TBH, I LOVE CassJean’s art of him.
And now for our beloved returning characters
-About Tessa and Jem: It is going to be GREAT to see them interact with their descendants more. Tessa honey: WHY OH WHY DID YOU TELL EMMA THAT? YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURT YOU WHEN WILL DID ALL THAT TO YOU, AND NOW YOU JUST TELL OTHERS HOW TO DO IT WHEN THEY’RE ASKING? Honey...
-About Clary and Jace: They are being such adults! And THEY’RE RUNNING THE INSTITUTE.....AHHESHFKDJHJKSHJSAF. They're so cute. Oh! And we get this beautiful beautiful flashback to them in looove.
-About Magnus and Alec: cuties. And we saw Max! and how freaking defensive and wise Magnus still is.
-About Catarina Loss: hehehe. I love her. Catarina is great. Unfortuantely we don't get to see or hear a lot about her.. but I get the feeling that will change.
-About Simon and Isabelle: All we know is that Simon and Clary are parabatai *squee and that SIMON AND ISABELLE ARE ENGAGED YES YESYESYEYYSYYEYESYS
Other Characters:
-Christina: Is a rock your socks off type of awesome. She has her life together, and knows how to kill things. What more could you want from a supporting character?
-Diana: I really like that we got to see more of Diana, because she is an intriguing character, who I feel could be a well-rounded supporting character.
-Diego: He’s new. Very new. We meet him 2/3 of the way through the book? And he’s a cEnTuRiOn. Oo lala. He could be a nice perspective into the Scholomance and the Clave.
-Johnny Rook: He’s so shady and it’s great. But now he’s dead. I appreciate a) his job because that is a cool but dangerous job b) ability to (sort of) successfully raise a child in such a dangerous world c) hide his ancestry AND Kit’s.
-Can we talk about Kit? Kit is cool. And apparently a Shadowhunter. And a Herondale. I’m not entirely sure what is happening here, but he has potential.
Villains
-Malcom Fade: look bro. what you did WASN'T chill. I’m glad you’re dead so you can’t do it again. But I also pity you, and get where you were coming from. Rough life. Especially when you think that all your friends have lied to you when they have, in fact, not.
-Lady Midnight herself: ohhhh dear. is she actually going to be bad? Is it now going to be her getting revenge on her posterity for either a) burying herself alive or b) murdering her love (technically that's emma tho)
Relationships
-Julian and Emma
Parabatai- which as revealed later comes with a curse when you fall into romantic love with your parabatai
I ship them (and all things considering sailing this ship is going to be a bitter sweet hell), but hot diggity darn, most of their interactions, when allowed to be more “eros” than “agape” are so. Sweet. They never seem to fight, or have any stronger argument than “I have to leave you!”
Oh Julian, my poor poor child. He and Tess should commiserate about people who think that they have to carry all the relationship burdens.
WE DIDN’T HAVE TO WAIT TIL THE LAST BOOK IN THE SERIES FOR THEM TO DO THE THING
-Christina and Mark
Hon hon hon. What’s happening here? I think that this relationship might be interesting, but that honestly, it would be better if they were just friends. Mark can help her with her Faerieland research, and she can just be awesome.
-Christina and Diego
I’m actually pretty glad that they ended up reconciling, but I am worried that he’s lying about his good intentions. Knowing Cassie... he will be.
-Kit and Ty
So Cassandra Jean (Cassandra Clare’s artist) totally ships this. I’m inclined to agree... but I don't think that we’ve really seen them interact enough to tell.
-Mark and Kieran:
Ouch
That was an unhealthy relationship from the start. As Christina pointed it out, it seemed to be a relationship based on gratitude and shelter from loneliness, not necessarily love, though I suppose that it grew to be that way.
-Christina and Emma:
Besties 5ever.
I’m very glad that Christina will be there for Emma, to guide her through her stupid mistakes.
-Blackthorn babies with Uncle Arthur:
Ok so Uncle Arthur isn’t a chill dude. I despise how he treats his only living relatives.
Some things I didn’t like
-Concerning the whipping scenes, are they wimps or what? I mean, Jules literally got shot by a poisoned bolt and PULLED IT OUT. But he can't take 1 lashing? Maybe faerie whips are extra painful?
-Whyyyyyyyyyyy would you do that Emma? It’s not an okay thing for you to do because Tessa did NOT mean for you to use that love information THAT WAY.
-And hey Tessa, why don't we share the secrets that Will taught you about how to make others feel unloved. Huh? Its not like you felt worthless and angry when he did that to you? I think we should share.
-Great, another whiny Herondale that we’ll like. He’s not a main character tho. And he’s gay! Or bi (I wont make Emma’s mistakes)
I know that there are some things that will frustrate me about this serious, because I believe that how Germany was treated after WWI was one of the stupidest things that Europe has done, and that is almost 100% the same as how the Faeries were treated after the Dark War. Ugh.
Some other things I liked
-Great! We have another Herondale! Jace isn’t alone :)
CASSIE MENTIONED THE TAROT. SHE MENTIONED THE TAROTTTTTT! Did you see that CassJean?
-We’ve seen a lot about the lives of vampires, werewolves, and warlocks in the other books that Cassie has written, and it is going to be so much fun to be able to explore Faeries and their cultures more.
-WE learn so much more about parabatai. Yesssssssssssssss
Fave quotes
-Julian’s love monologue
-“’I’m a Shadowhunter. Quip fast, die young.’”- Emma Carstairs
-There were a lot
Questions for the author that she probs wont answer
-At the end there: Alec says “Raphael?” and...idk...is that their additional cat? Did they name their child after Alec’s unfortunately deceased younger bro, and their cat after a vampire? What is this?
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