#like we have my girl livvy who has looked up ti Emma her whole life

[margareturtle]

Rip Livia Blackthorn and Max Lightwood

The TWP gang would’ve been just too powerful with y’all as a part of it 💔😔

[annabethisterrified]

Book Review: LORD OF SHADOWS by Cassandra Clare (The Dark Artifices #2)

“Break my heart,” he said. “Break it in pieces. I give you permission.”

No spoilers until you press ‘Keep Reading’.

Never before have death and life intermingled so closely for the Blackthorn family. Emma Carstairs finally avenged her parents’ murder by killing Malcolm, but it seems even his death was not the end. Something darker was triggered by his blood, and now the Los Angeles Institute must reckon with forces beyond anything the Nephilim have ever dealt with before.

Underlying everything is Emma’s love for Julian. As her parabatai, any romantic attraction is forbidden on the harshest terms, lest a maddening curse be set into motion. Despite her best efforts to make him hate her—even dating his brother, Mark—the situation worsens with every passing second, and the only option that might save them also brings devastating consequences.

Meanwhile, Kit deals with his new life as the lost Herondale, and navigates a blossoming relationship with the Blackthorn twins, the vivacious Livvy and mesmerizing Ty. Dru is given a secret to keep. Mark must deal with Kieran’s dramatic return into his life, and what it means for him and Cristina.

The second installment of The Dark Artifices trilogy explodes with heart, emotion, and action with every word. This is an exemplary novel that maintains intense levels of motivation, characterization, and consequences throughout. Again, I realize just how far Clare has come in terms of her writing. As someone who couldn’t even get through the first few chapters of The Mortal Instruments, it’s a pleasant surprise to feel so entirely enveloped in the Shadowhunter world with TDA. If you were on the same boat with TMI, consider this my plea—just start at Lady Midnight. Or even The Infernal Devices! It gets so, so much better.

While Lord of Shadows was 700 whole pages long, all the events that unfold feel important, justified, and engaging. Nothing is a waste of paper and ink. Every sentence positively pulsates with fascinating revelations, discoveries, and development. This series manages to have insanely high stakes on large-scale conflicts involving politics, war and prejudice; some of the political metaphors are a bit tongue-in-cheek, but meaningful nonetheless. At the same time, comparatively smaller issues drive the whole cast of characters in compelling ways. The friendships, family ties, and romances all create exquisitely painful tension that makes the battles and council meetings rife with important personal relevance.

I’m going to go more in-depth about specific things that occurred below the cut, so consider yourself warned for spoilers!

Hello there!

Okay, oh my god. WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

This book just broke me. Like, legit, I was reading the last few chapters in a Starbucks in Athens, Greece, trying to look composed on the outside, while madly blinking away tears. I got lost trying to find my apartment on the way back because I was so distraught.

I think the main conflict we’re all reckoning with right now is the murder of Livia Blackthorn. (Wow, that sentence hurt to type.) Livvy’s always been one of my favorites, so I’m pretty devastated. Her death was gruesome, painful and ugly; it also provided a harsh insight. Now, we see the worst nightmare Julian’s mind could concoct, in full color and detail. We see him lose his baby girl, effectively. We see Ty absolutely crumble apart, all the siblings reconcile the impossible reality before them. We see Emma try so hard to slaughter Annabel.

Then the bells ring, and the ‘gates to heaven’ open, as Livvy ironically noted earlier in the book. And she’s gone.

The book ends.

WITH THE THIRD AND FINAL INSTALLMENT, QUEEN OF AIR AND LIGHT, NOT COMING OUT UNTIL 20-FREAKING-19????????!

This might be the most painful cliffhanger of my life, and that’s saying a lot.

I really fell in love with Livvy throughout this book, and honestly didn’t expect this. Looking back, I see how and why Clare made this decision. In fact, she wrote a pretty cool essay explaining her decision here.

The last installment will be something far darker and more dangerous than the Shadowhunter World has ever had. Julian will have survived the most terrible thing that could possibly happen to him. Ty will have lost his twin, best friend, and almost-parabatai. Emma and Julian will still face an impossible relationship, and Annabel’s wrath is far from over.

But, uh, maybe we can talk about some fluffier things now?

Like, how about Ty and Kit!? They’re so adorable. I love how positively and accurately Ty’s autism is portrayed, and Kit’s relentless patience and efforts are super admirable. Their friendship is amazing, and its parallels to Sherlock and Watson give me a lot of good feelings. Of course, I think we all know it won’t be a ‘friendship’ for long; their feelings for one another are quite obviously romantic, and they’re definitely in the early stages of figuring that out. I don’t mind though. They have a good slow-burn thing going on, and I’m super excited to see how they progress in book three, and in their own trilogy, The Wicked Powers, coming out in a few years.

I’m so happy Cristina and Kieran ended up forming a cool and interesting friendship rather than being at each other’s throats over Mark. The three of them have very fascinating chemistry, and I look forward to reading more about them!

As always, Julian and Emma’s situation is so heartbreaking to read. Their dilemma seems doomed to end in tragedy, but I sincerely hope it won’t. (Side note: That Cornwall cottage scene—you know the one—was so. HOT.)

We’ve got tons of character and plot conflicts to wrap up in the next book, and WAY TOO MUCH TIME to go until then. In the meantime, we’ll be receiving the first installment of The Last Hours next year, which follows the lives of Tessa and Will’s children in London, which should be lots of fun to read.

Aaaaaand now we buckle up for a long two years of waiting for the finale of the incredible trilogy, The Dark Artifices.