Friday 15 July 2016

7 WAYS LADY MIDNIGHT STOLE MY HEART


I was sceptical about Lady Midnight. I knew it had the forbidden love factor and frankly I didn't know if I had the patience for any more of that angst after Will and Tessa, as well as Clary and Jace. But in all honesty a world like this requires dedication from beginning to end so I read it. And by read I mean devoured.

It is, in my opinion, the BEST Shadowhunter novel Cassandra Clare has published so far. You guys. It's beautiful. I don't know if I can do justice to it with any of the words I write.

I'll break down some of the things I loved about Lady Midnight:

1) The big Blackthorn family. Being one of 6 siblings myself, it was nice to see big families represented in a mainstream YA novel. I really appreciate how carefully each member of the family was depicted, they all had their own individual personalities and added value to each other's lives. I also love how one of them, Ty, is depicted as autistic. His special needs are never presented as a burden or a problem, rather the author makes clear that Ty just views and reacts to the world a little differently to the rest of us, and that there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

2) Which leads to me to Julian, who in the absence of his half-faerie elder siblings and after the death of both his parents basically RAISES his four younger siblings from the age of 12 onwards. There was no point in the novel where I was overtaken with tears but Julian's burden, and the way in which he raised his siblings and cares for their every individual need completely broke my heart. At 17, he is entirely their only parent. We're told how at the age of twelve, Julian 'taught himself to cook: simple things at first, spaghetti and butter, toast and cheese. A million cheese sandwiches, a million burns on Julian's hands and wrists from the stove and the spatter. The way he'd walked down the path to the highway every few days to accept the grocery delivery, before he could drive. The way he'd dragged and carried all their food back up the hill. Julian on his knees, skinny in jeans and sweatshirt, scrubbing the floor.'

MY HEART. MY ACTUAL HEART. I just can't with Julian. He is unbelievably kind, patient and loving. Heartbreakingly so. But also entirely ruthless and endlessly enduring when it comes to protecting his loved ones. I prefer Will over Jace. But I think Julian beats even Will.

3) The plot! Lady Midnight is far from just a love story. It's an epic murder mystery packed with seriously surprising twists and turns. I can't tell you how many times I turned the page and my jaw completely dropped by what I was reading! So many fantastic plot twists! Everything fit together perfectly, everything began to make sense as the pieces of the puzzle came together and that's why I think this is Cassandra Clare's strongest novel yet.

4) Speaking of strong novels. Lady Midnight was also very well written. As much as I love TID, the writing of all three books felt sloppy and the plot amateur. Lady Midnight on the other hand had everything. Wonderful character's, a brilliant plot and flawless writing. *Breaks into applause*

5) It had a touch more of classic fantasy to it. The Shadowhunter novels are known for their mix of fantasy with the modern day, but somehow Lady Midnight perfected the balance between the two worlds. I think it's because there was much more focus on faerie's in this novel than in any of the other Shadowhunter novels, and faerie's definitely seem more ancient, and wild. A bit more Lord of the Rings in a way (which, of course, I love.)

6) NONE of the characters were annoying! Success! I remember feeling distinctly annoyed by Tess as well as Clary but I really loved Emma. She's strong and loving and just... better. And I'm glad that there wasn't a crazy amount of focus on her appearance.

7) We caught glimpses of original characters! Despite not 100% loving TID or TMI, I am very fond of the character's and loved finding out a little about their lives five years after the end of City of Heavenly Fire. Magnus, Clary, Jace, Jem and Tessa all make brief appearances! And we catch a glimpse of Alec too. I love Cassandra Clare for that :')

The ONLY thing that I find a little annoying about Lady Midnight is the forbidden love shenanigans. But that's probably because we've been through it TWICE already with TMI and TID -_-

But.. the stakes seem much much higher this time... and I genuinely have no idea how Emma and Julian are going to get through this! Wa.

The next book in the series is going to be a total heartbreaker for sure. But I'll be ready. So bring on the angst.

Have you guys read Lady Midnight? Scream your thoughts at me in the comments so we can cry over it all together! *Sobs*
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2 comments

  1. I'm so glad that you enjoyed this one! I definitely agree that it was the best book in the Shadowhunters series. I was really hesitant to pick it up because I thought it was unnecessary for the series to continue but I'm so glad that I gave it a chance. I'm definitely scared for Emma and Julian too! Can't wait for the next book =)

    Great review!

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    1. Thank so much Sajda! I was completely the same. I thought I was 'over' the Shadowhunter world but decided to give Lady Midnight a chance anyway, and (as you can PROBABLY tell) I'm so glad I did too! I genuinely don't see any way out for Emma and Julian and wouldn't be surprised if - for once - the couple didn't actually end up together. agh. But I think Cassandra Clare would want a happy ending? We shall have to see! Thank you again for stopping by xxx

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