Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Cathy Reviews: Lady Midnight

My mother-in-law Cathy is back today with her latest review!

LADY MIDNIGHT
The Dark Artifices #1
Cassandra Clare
Paranormal Young Adult
668 pages
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Amazon)
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?

Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series.

CATHY'S THOUGHTS
Lady Midnight introduces us to a new set of Shadowhunters living in the Los Angeles Institute. Ms. Clare does a seamless job of bringing us up to date on what has been occurring in their world since the earlier books, making this storyline easy to follow without having read the previous series.

This story begins after a war between the Shadowhunters and some of the Downworlders. We meet our new heroine, Emma Carstairs, a Shadowhunter trying to solve the mystery of who killed her parents. Emma is strong-willed and strong-minded, with her major motivation in life being revenge. This tunnel-vision results in numerous instances where she rushes blindly ahead into danger with very little forethought, something that may be frustrating for older YA readers but a little more accepted by a younger reader. I kept wanting her to stop and think but then I am old! But it does endear Emma to us and we want to protect her. Emma does have someone who tries to curb her rashness–Julian Blackthorn. He is a wonderful character who is responsible, caring, and brave, but there is something underneath that peeks out and lets us know that there is something more to be seen. 

Emma and Julian are bonded as Shadowhunter partners, parabatai, which works perfectly when they are out fighting, but as you continue to read it becomes a problem personally. This is where the romance and the angst begins and grows. There is that smoldering forbidden love that we have to watch and worry over.

Ms. Clare creates a well developed plotline of murder, deception, and mystery. There is a series of murders that Emma believes is somehow related to her parents' death. As they work together to solve these crimes, old secrets come to light and enemies need to join forces. You never know who you can trust. Just what I look for in a good suspense tale. Since this is the first book in this new series, there are a lot of characters introduced throughout the book. Ms. Clare manages to balance them all without confusing the reader too much. This is partly accomplished so well because this is a long book– almost 700 pages! Do not let that scare you, this story is compelling enough that it is a page turner and you come to know these characters so well that you are truly invested in them.

Lady Midnight manages to give something to everyone – mystery, paranormal, suspense and romance. Ms. Clare leaves with several questions and a new character to have us checking for the release date for the next installment.

Rating: 4/5

Find Cassandra:


This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is Cathy's honest opinion.

29 comments:

  1. I need to read the first book of her original series mainly as I have it now!

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    1. Once you read that one you will be hooked on here characters. Lots for you to read! Enjoy

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  2. This sounds like an awesome book filled with all the components I look for in a good read. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and excellent review Cathy!
    Pam

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    1. Thanks Pam you are so kind. It read did have all those suspenseful components

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  3. Thanks for the great review! I have been really curious about this book. I'm a huge Cassandra Clare fan, but haven't finished the Mortal Instruments series...hopefully I can start this new series once I do. I like the sound of it!

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    1. You won't be disappointed. Ms Clare does a wonderful job engaging the reader. The books are calling to you!

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  4. I wasn't sure about this one, but all the reviews have convinced me to give Lady Midnight a try despite the length. I do love the sound of the suspense and the mystery. And of course, I'm always up for a forbidden romance. :)
    Wonderful review, Cathy!

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    1. Thanks Nick. Don't let the length put you off. It really is a page turner. Lots of forbidden romance for you to savor!

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  5. I read and loved the first three books of TMI trilogy and really enjoyed the first two books of TID but Clockwork Princess was a sore disappointment and I didn't want to return to finish three more books in TMI series and now, though I'd love to read about more Shadowhunters, I feel too out of the loop on these books and this world to return. I love Clare's writing and wish she would explore a little something newer, if only because I know she could write a variety of different things. Anyhow, I'm glad this novel didn't disappoint and if the rest of the series plays out as successfully as this one I might just be returning to this world after all. Great review, Cathy! :)

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    1. If you enjoyed the first trilogy, I would give this one a try. You will see a few of the originals make an appearance and there are some new crossover characters that are a bit different. Keep it in mind.

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  6. I'm so tempted to jump into this series as I have not read Clare's other books (except book one ) and would love to try this. Do you think I would be lost? I'm not sure if I have the patience to read all the previous, lol.
    Thanks for the lovely review, Cathy :)

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    1. I think you can jump right in with this one.. Ms. Clare gives enough background to let you know all you need to know. And this is a new set of characters. Take the leap!!

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  7. I'm really keen into reading this one, and I hope to do that very soon, but I'll want to do it on a day off without distractions, so maybe next Sunday? Thank you for the warnings about Emma's rushness, Cathy!

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    1. It would be a great book to curl up with and emerge yourself into the mystery! Have fun reading

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  8. I'm so happy to see a review for this! They are slowly showing up and so far, so good!

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    1. Good to hear. They are so well written it makes it easy to read and enjoy.

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  9. A rash main character sounds a bit annoying but I guess I'll have to read it to know how much it bothers me. I'll definitely get to this one day. It's just so freaking HUGE.

    Jenny, my site is down at the moment and we're on day 5 of this. I hope I don't lose all my readers. I'm totally at my wits end trying to get it fixed. But one day it should (hopefully) be back up.

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    1. You will find Julian a nice distraction from Emma's rashness. And there are plot twists to keep you turning the pages.

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  10. I am a tad bit curious about this one. I loved MI but I quite reading the other series after the fourth book. I got tired of the cliffhangers. Does this one have a cliffhanger?

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    1. No, not really a cliffhanger. The murder mystery is solved. But you are introduced to a new character and I am guessing that will be the focus of the next book. But you do have that smoldering romance!

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  11. I still have not read any of her books

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    1. She really can tell a good story so well worth the read!

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  12. I have the Shadowhunter's first 2 books on my tbr. Still need to get to those. I was curious about the spin off and I'm glad that it is looking good as well. Yea, I do think I'll have to add it to my wishlist.

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  13. I've never been a fan of this author, but glad you enjoyed! The cover is pretty. :)

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  14. I didn't even realize this was a murder mystery. I thought is was a a paranormal ya romance...sheesh. I may just read this :)

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  15. I have this book in my TBR pile! Thanks for the great review!

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  16. Yes! I've been waiting forever and a day to read my copy. I'm such a huge fan of this series that I would buy practically anything Clare writes (screw the haters!). I'm so glad you loved this!

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  17. Great review, Cathy! I was avoiding reading this one with how City of Heavenly Fire left a bad taste in my mouth after finishing it. I thought it was directionless, but Lady Midnight seems to solve these issues.

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