Lady Midnight

Book 1 of The Dark Artifices series 

Author: Cassandra Clare 

Rating: 4/5 

Recommend: Shadowhunters both new and old will love this. Among all the different series’ in Cassandra Clare’s fantastic realm, Lady Midnight would come second only to The Infernal Devices novels. It is far better than The Mortal Instruments series. 

Imagine flames. Scorching, yellow flames all around you, towering over your height. Imagine the people you have loved all your life staring at you with lifeless eyes as they kill countless innocents around them. Imagine being 12 years old and surrounded in the middle of this chaos, your arms spread wide, protecting your younger siblings, the youngest just 2 years old. This is a memory from the life of Julian Blackthorn: the boy who killed his father to protect his family, a child who then singlehandedly raised four of his younger siblings when he was barely 12 years old himself. 

In Lady Midnight, we follow the lives of the Blackthorn children and Emma Carstairs, five years after the gruesome events of The Dark War changed their lives forever. 

How can you not love this book? 

The whole family

I adored each and every single one of the Blackthorn characters. Tavvy with his innocence, Ty and his curiosity, Livvy with her beauty and courage – Cassandra breathed life into the people in this book by painting an incredibly unique and intriguing personality for every single one of her characters. I loved how by the end of the book, they are each noticably different than they had been near the beginning. 

The most gratifying transformation was that of Mark Blackthorn: in the span of twenty something chapters, the mentally damaged, hurt and scarred boy whom the Wild Hunt had returned, finally remembered what it was like to be a Shadowhunter. He had grown to deeply love his family. 

And then there’s the matter of Julian Blackthorn. 

“We are bound together, Emma, bound together—I breathe when you breathe, I bleed when you bleed, I’m yours and you’re mine, you’ve always been mine, and I have always, always belonged to you!” – Julian Blackthorn 

Julian Blackthorn is like a fantabulous blend of two of the most admirable characters in Shadowhunter history: he has the kindness of James Carstairs and the fire of William Herondale. As I went through the book, my heart wept for him, a boy who was thrust with the responsibility of being father, mother, and older brother, sacrificing his own time and needs in the process. His unending love for his siblings, who he considers his own children, will rip your heart into pieces. 

Julian and Tavvy

Jules is as gentle as Jem, and as sharp as Will Herondale; he has the fiercest ability to love and a shocking aptitude for hiding his pain. Now, doesn’t that sound familiar? From the very beginning of the book we received increasingly strong hints about his feelings for Emma. I think this is the saddest part of the whole plot, and also a classic Cassandra Clare: two hopelessly in love people, who balance each other in every way but can’t be together for the sake of law and society. Tragic.  

Among the many things I loved, there is still one conversation, firmly stuck in my mind. 

“I remember the wedding,” Magnus said , and there was gentleness in his eyes. “How young you both were. Though it wasn’t the last wedding I saw you at, was it?” 

Emma and Julian remembered no other wedding and were confused at his last comment. But those of us who have grown up reading the stories of the Shadowhunters know one thing very well: everything Magnus says is for a reason. He is, by far, the wisest of them all. Yes, I’m also thinking that despite the ridiculously cruel laws, our favorite couple will surely get married in the end. The third and final installment in the series, Queen of Air and Darkness, comes out on December 4th 2018 – the perfect time to get your hands on this heart-wrenching first novel.