Review • Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: YA/ Urban Fantasy
Pages: 699
Format: Hardcover
Goodreads Link: Lord of Shadows
*This book can contain spoilers for both of Cassandra Clare’s other series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. A lot of references and important pieces of information rely on the idea that you’ve read these past series, so I would not read this post or book unless you have. You can find my review on the books of Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices trilogy here in this order:
Also, Lord of Shadows is the second book in Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices Trilogy. Here’s my review on the first book in this trilogy: Lady Midnight
Goodreads Summary:
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.
Review:
Plot
Lord of Shadows (obviously) picked up right where Lady Midnight left off. After the problems with Malcom and the Black Volume, the situation only continued to escalate throughout LoS, which was the main source of conflict in the novel. I never really felt like there was a slow moment while I was reading this book; I was furiously flipping the pages to see what would happen next. The adventure to Faerie, and escape from the LA Institute and arrival in London, the Shadow Market trips and mission to Cornwall were all linked together very smoothly, and each new setting made sense with how the story was unfolding. Throughout the novel the negotiations and missions all lead up to the scene where the Blackthorns presented their case to the council, using Annabel and Kieran as proof. And it totally backfired. The ending completely crushed me, and took an expected (yet very unexpected?) twist. I honestly don’t know how I’m going to wait another two years for the third book The Queen of Air and Darkness.
Characters
Clare’s writing is so rich with well developed characters. I’m going to break it down and talk about some certain relationships and groups:
As I mentioned in my review of Lady Midnight, the love and passion in the Blackthorn family is spectacular to read about. The willingness of each sibling to protect each other is so touching and is something so incredibly beautiful. I absolutely love the interactions between the younger kids like Tavvy and Ty and Livy with Jules. The way we see how closely they’ve grown to rely on him not only as an older brother but also as a father figure is so emotionally jarring. I feel like I’m a member of the Blackthorn family by just reading about all of them. Tavvy, Dru, Ty, Livy, Jules, Mark, Emma, Kit, Helen. LOVE THEM.
The way Cassandra Clare developed the complexity of Mark and Kieran’s relationship was somewhat frustrating, but was also a turn I really enjoyed. With Kieran’s lapse in memory, he doesn’t realize his betrayal of Mark in Lady Midnight. Kieran’s harsh faerie attitude and Mark’s inability to make decisions are the source of their issues. However, I really enjoy the element that they add to the story. Clare’s focus on Mark’s bisexuality is wonderful to see in young adult literature. Cassandra Clare is a very inclusive writer, and Mark and Kieran’s relationship is just one way for her to continue to write diverse characters.
Another facet of the story I enjoyed was in the relationship of Diana and Gwynn. The moment when we learn of Diana’s struggles and her transition was such a touching moment in the story. Again going back to Clare’s ability to write diverse characters, I think that a lot of people could possibly identify with Diana, making this an even stronger and emotionally real book.
Alec and Magnus. We get a lot of them, along with Max and Rafe in this book. LOVE IT.
Just a quick moment on the characters I really disliked: Zara, Diego, and Jamie. I think that Zara and the Cohort are a direct reflection and commentary on the types of prejudice and racism that have unfortunately flourished in today’s society. Obviously Zara is written as the “bad guy”; I just can’t seem to find any way around hating her. Although my feelings are set on Zara, I’m not sure what to think of Diego. I don’t think I like him. Simple as that. Jamie felt like an unneeded addition to this book. However, I think the moment where Drusilla went through his stuff and met Ash in Faerie will definitely come back up down the line, so maybe Jamie was more of a plot device than anything else.
General Response
Of course, Cassandra Clare is an auto-read auto-buy author for me. Her books are just so addicting. It’s incredible that she still has stories to tell in the shadowhunter world! I think I may have even enjoyed Lord of Shadows more than Lady Midnight? It’s hard to say. I feel like with each book, Clare’s writing just continues to improve.
My final rating for Lord of Shadows is 5/5 stars without a doubt!
I do have to say: Poor Alec. Poor Livy. Oh me oh my the ending broke my heart. Just be aware that you’ll shed many tears in probably the last 20 pages. I thought I was prepared, but I utterly wasn’t.
“Should I Read It?”
DEFINITELY! If you’ve read both The Mortal Instruments series, The Infernal Devices Trilogy, and Lady Midnight then I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t even need me to convince you to pick up Lord of Shadows! I do think it’s essential that you’ve read EVERY single book Clare has written up to this point before reading Lord of Shadows though. I would highly recommend reading The Bane Chronicles and Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy as well.
I’m backed up on book reviews, so I’m so glad I just sat down and decided to write this one! I think it’s so much fun to document what I read so that I can go back and recap what happened in my own words!
Happy Reading,
Rachel
Rachel Bernardo 