Book Thoughts: Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
““There is truth in stories,” said Arthur. “There is truth in one of your paintings, boy, or in a sunset or a couplet from Homer. Fiction is truth even if it is not fact. If you believe only in facts and forget stories, your brain will live, but your heart will die.””
In the second Shadowhunters novel of The Dark Artifices, Cassandra Clare delivers what she does best: Lord of Shadows is a story where each character pushes and pulls on your heartstrings, until you're so sure that each page has the power to break your heart.
The book starts off almost immediately after the conclusion of Lady Midnight. Emma is still pretending to date Mark to protect Julian, but managing to shatter both of their hearts in the process. Kit, though he is the lost Herondale, is only beginning to learn what that means in terms of his own identity and his importance to the rest of the Nephilim world. The book opens with an amusing scene between Kit and the ever sarcastic and loving Jace Herondale, but quickly transitions into a battle between the Blackthorn family and sea demons at a carnival.
Like many of Clare's later novels, the book tends to be more on the lengthier side. However, each word is a gem. You learn more about each of the character's individual backstories, and get a glimpse into the intense love that is shared between every member of the Blackthorn family.
The story delves into the lives of so many characters: the readers can finally see how the relationship between Livvy and Ty works, and watch a budding relationship form between Ty and Kit (I'm rooting for it). Even Dru gets her own shining moment, where she gets to deal with her own insecurity and role within her own family.
Mark juggles the ruse of his relationship with Emma and his growing feelings for Christina, even though his emotions are still tangled in his past with Kieran. Both Mark and Christina must learn how to sort through their feelings for each other; Cassandra Clare delivers a love story like no one else can. Lord of Shadows, though not always explicitly dealing with romantic love, unveils how each character views what it means to truly care for another person. No matter what kind of love, Clare does not show petty jealousy, but rather showcases characters who truly understand that to give your heart to another means to give it freely, without allowing bitterness to cloud your own state of mind.
You can't talk about The Dark Artifices series without mentioning the forbidden love between Julian and Emma, and the impending curse that is inevitable when it comes to parabatai who are in love. One of my favorite things about this series is that we get to see a reversal of gender roles: Emma, the impulsive warrior, and her counterpart, Julian, the domestic caretaker. In both The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, we have seen Herondales break themselves for love, hiding their heart to protect those they love. In this story, we finally get to see what that must've felt like, as Emma struggles to hide the truth of her feelings from Julian on a daily basis. Every interaction of theirs seems like a punch in the gut, one that only Clare can deliver. Everything that Emma and Julian do is so rooted in each other - even as parabatai, their souls speak to each other. While you read, you can feel every word like a razor blade, apparent in the weight of Julian's lies, the strength of Emma's ruse, and the heartbreak it gives them both.
(I could go in depth about how much I love every single Blackthorn and the entire Los Angeles institute, but, I haven't even mentioned the plot yet). Annabel has returned, the undead lover of the villain warlock, Malcolm Fade. There is not one set villain in this series - Malcolm Fade has done horrible deeds in the name of love, and at the start of the story, it is unclear where Annabel herself stands.
I spent a large part of the story waiting to see when London would make an appearance, because of the illustration of the skyline on the cover. I was not disappointed, and for fans of The Infernal Devices (I think it's impossible to read that series without falling in love with it), the characters you know and love from the London Institute make a brief appearance, whether it be through words scribbled in a book or the shadow of a ghost.
Clare also dives in to the Faerie world, and the incredible duplicity that is present there; every word from them is both a gift and a curse. The Centurions finally make an appearance in the Los Angeles Institute, and it is with them Clare introduces yet another villain: bigotry. Many of the Centurions harbour racist prejudices against Downworlders: Faeries and Warlocks alike.
It is within these storylines that Clare also proves why she is a successful YA Author, using the main characters to showcase strength that comes in many different colors, races, genders, and sexual orientation, even her books do take place in a fantastical world. (There is a huge spoiler I'm itching to talk about here, but it ruins the beauty of the story, so if you've read the book, you can guess what I'm talking about).
I will always be biased when it comes to Clare's writing; I love the way she incorporates love and loss into her books, and quotes from each of her series are pasted on my wall. Despite my obvious love for her stories, I love her writing because of the blatant way it tackles many prevalent issues in the world: violence, racism, sexism, as well as other personal issues, like losing a loved one, and trying to navigate a world where you are not sure what it means to have a friend or lover. Though you could say the same about many books, in my opinion, Clare's strength lies in the goodness of character and wit that is in almost all of her dialogue; she can have me in tears while laughing. In every series of hers, she's managed to shatter my heart into pieces, and then subsequently rebuild it in a way I would've never thought possible.
I am not quite sure if I like Lord of Shadows or Lady Midnight more, but I have fallen in love with each of the characters, and am determined to keep reading. This book seemed like a stepping stone - albeit an interesting one - to the conclusion of the trilogy. Like the rest of her stories, the books are more character based; the plot develops as you learn more and more about each character. If you like the rest of the Shadowhunter world, you'll definitely like this story. There are cameos everywhere: characters from The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and Tales From The Shadowhunter Academy make an appearance. Clare's world is my world, and I'm itching to get my fingers on the next installment.
Rating: 5/5
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: May 21, 2017
