Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare Book Review

“And if we don’t have Energy runes, we’ll have to get our energy the old-fashioned way.”
Mark looked puzzled. “Drugs?”
“Chocolate,” Emma said. “I brought chocolate. Mark, where do you even come up with these things?”
Mark smiled crookedly, shrugging one shoulder. “Faerie humor?” 

About

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: The Dark Artifices 2

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Synopsis

Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?

A Shadowhunter’s life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.

Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.

Review

Spoilers Contained Below

To the Shadowhunters,

Lord of Shadows was filled with so many heart wrenching, dark, deep, dreary, and complicated things. It also had some humor in it which made everything nicer when in such hard times. You have to love good Shadowhunter humor am I right?

The beginning of the book starts off with a good old intense battle on the pier with Emma, Cristina, Mark, The beginning of the book starts off with a good old intense battle on the pier with Emma, Cristina, Mark, and Julian. They take down sea demons that have apparently been showing up more often due to a spell being activated when Malcom died. But my favorite part of this scene was when Mark handed Emma a fish he won from one of the games and Emma politely declined because she can’t keep a fish alive to save her life. Me too Emma, me too. Then Mark, who thinks he’s doing something honorable, frees the fish back into the ocean. Then Julian, Emma, and Cristina debate whether or not to tell him that the fish can’t live in salt water and Marks’ there thinking he’s done a great deed. Aww, poor Mark 😉. You got to love his innocence.

Then we go back to the institute where Kit is and he meets Jace. I loved how Jace and Kit tried to bond. But I think as Kit warms up to the idea of being a shadowhunter and having a real blood family, he’ll warm up to Jace and then they’ll bond over their shared heritage. It’s kind of both good for them actually because they both never really knew they had real blood family and now that they know they have each other, they might not feel so alone. So maybe they can find comfort in each other and I hope we get to see their relationship develop.

Let’s talk more about Kit because Kit’s a fun character.

I honestly felt for him this entire book because in most situations he would be always looking on the outside of every situation. At first, he felt like he didn’t belong there with the Blackthorns because he wasn’t one of them and when they would hug and reunite, he felt like a pariah and just lonely. And that just made me so sad for him because Kit just recently lost his father, it was revealed that he’s some lost Herondale, he was taken to the institute, and he has been thrust into a situation where the kid just needs a break to calm down and just breathe. He also needs love. When he would look at the Blackthorns from the sideline, he would always think about how no one has loved him as much as the Blackthorns loved each other. He had his dad, Johnny Rook, but he didn’t even know his mom. Now he had Jace, but they hardly knew each other. And I cannot tell you how many times I just wanted to reach through the pages of this book and give Kit such a big hug and tell him that he wasn’t alone.

Slowly over time, Kit warmed up to the Blackthorns and was even a part of this special three musketeers friendship with Ty and Livvy where they would go on all kinds of crazy adventures together and I just loved that! I loved how Ty and Livvy took Kit in and made him feel welcomed and always protected him. I also liked how Kit protected the twins as well—-it really showed that he grew to have a deep affinity for them. And I think that’s something I highly admire about Kit and something that is a Jace kind of quality: protecting those you love. I love how Kit is super protective and in tune with Ty, whom might I add lives with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I knew it 😉 (if you read my last review you would have seen my big theory).

Kit and Ty 💙.

It sounds like suit and tie and we all know those two make the PERFECT combo 😆.

If there’s anything we learn from Julian and Emma, is don’t become parabatai with someone you love! If there’s anything we learn from Julian and Emma, it is don’t become parabatai with someone you love! Just the way Kit constantly describes little things he notices about Ty and the way his hair looks or the way he mumbles things, it really, REALLY, makes me think that Kit like likes Ty if you know what I mean. Like how cute would Kit and Ty be? The duo of Sherlock and Watson! It would be soooo adorable! But I think that Kit doesn’t really know what his feelings for Ty are and that’s why he kissed Livvy in the beginning of the book. Livvy wanted to kiss someone because she never had a first kiss, so she asked Kit to kiss her, so he did. And there were no sparks for him and they agreed not to do it again, but I feel like kissing Livvy might have helped Kit realize that maybe he’s not into girls as much as he thought he was. I also loved the trust Ty has for Kit. Instead of taking Livvy to deliver the note to Annabel in the raven statue, Ty took Kit instead.

Ty is someone who I love completely. Besides Julian and Mark, he’s my next favorite Blackthorn for his heart and his curiosity. He always wants to be involved in affairs and is always compliant to help his brothers solve things. Ty is the definition of a good brother. When Livvy got hurt from the riders, Ty was by her bedside through it all. And my absolute favorite thing was when Julian read the note Ty wrote to Annabel. Like my heart swelled and I was in pieces. Gosh . . .

“And there is Jules. You might like him the best. He is the one who takes care of us all. He is the reason we’re all okay and still together. I don’t think he knows we know that, but we do. Sometimes he might tell us what to do or not listen, but he would do anything for any of us. People say we’re unlucky because we don’t have parents. But I think they’re unlucky because they don’t have a brother like mine.”

If that doesn’t melt your heart, I don’t know what will!!

Julian had to stop reading at that point because he had “pressure behind his eyes that had built to a shattering insanity. He wanted to put his head down on the table and burst into unmanly, undignified tears.” JULIAN I FEEL YOU! I wanted to do the same!!! But Ty really has a true heart of gold and the love he has for his family and the understanding about what his brother sacrifices for everyone, is just beyond amazing. Julian raised him right.

Julian raised all of them right.

And while we’re on the topic of Blackthorn kids, let’s mention the highly underrated Dru Blackthorn.

I feel like Dru doesn’t get the appreciation or recognition she deserves. She’s a middle child and I understand that the middle child isn’t the most noticed child, but it’s kind of disheartening how most of the time Dru is just told to stay in the institute and watch Tavvy and be the good sibling. I also feel like she has a lot going on with finding herself and loving herself. Dru is curvier than other girl her age and I LOVE the inclusivity of this series and the different body types and themes interweaved in this book. So Dru sometimes feels insecure in her body or like none of her family members care and that makes me sad for her because she is beautiful and loved.

Then one day, Perfect Diego’s bother, Jamie, pops in through her window to stay with her and it becomes this whole secret for Dru that makes her feel important. I love that for her. I love the way Jamie makes her feel and the way he treats and cares about her. I love how Dru cares about him too and how she would sneak up more food after hours just for him, but other people didn’t know that because they would think she was sneaking up food for herself because Dru’s curvier and I honestly wanted to slap anyone who shamed Dru or gave her looks for the food she took. There is absolutely nothing wrong with woman eating anything that isn’t a salad! And no one even knew the full story of what she was doing anyway so there shouldn’t be judging her in the first place.

There was this part where Dru is transported to the Faerie realms at one point and then she sees this kid with the brightest green eyes and the most wheat blonde hair. And I’m thinking: IS THIS THE SEBASTIAN AND SEELIE QUEEN LOVE CHILD?! I mean could it?! The Seelie Queen and Sebastian were close and during the time of war, maybe as a last act before things fell to pieces, they conceived a child. But it’s weird because the child is older, so maybe the child aged fast because it was the Seelie lands or something else. But Cassandra Clare really does tease you with this one because if he has green eyes like Clary and Johnathan and has wheat blonde hair like Johnathan aka Sebastian, then gosh darn, my money is he’s the love child. I swear. In the next book, I hope we see this kid again and that we find out where he came from. Maybe he’s the next new villain or the heir to the throne? A Seelie prince, perhaps?

But anyways back to the story,

The team is trying to figure out why these sea demons are popping up and if it’s a product of Malcolm’s death or The Black Volume. Then they all get the news that the Centurions are coming to help them——the elite Shadowhunters trained at the Scholomance. And let me tell you, I DETEST Zara Dearborn. That girl can go drown in a river of her petty lies and then get eaten by a sea demon for how rude she is to everyone in this book. At the end, when Zara talks sooooo DISGUSTEDLY RUDE to Alec about why he would marry a warlock knowing he would die before him. And gosh I wanted to shove her out a window! But then Alec, thank you Alec, set this girl straight! (no pun intended) 😉.

“Because he’s three thousand times the human being you’ll ever be . . . Now get out of here before I risk my life waking him up so he can turn you into a garbage fire. Something that would match your personality.”

Zara is FILTH, F-I-L-T-H 🤮! But the audacity she had to say “So rude!” to Alec in response to this, I couldn’t! Hypocrite much!?

I just never disliked a character so quickly and so much. She wasn’t raised right to have good morals or values. I think she gets it from her dad who taught her to hate Downworlders, so at the same time I can kind of understand why she would be so cruel. If she were raised in a more compassionate environment, maybe she would have turned out differently. So even though I don’t completely like her, I just think she’s a product of her environment and how she was raised.

I can’t believe when she showed up, she made a big scene with Perfect Diego, throwing herself at him and saying that she’s his fiancé. Perfect Diego, your taste in fiancés suck. Cristina stormed out of the room after that and I would have too. She just gave Diego back her heart, and here he was playing with it carelessly again in not telling her that he had a fiancé. That’s not the type of information you leave out, excuse you Perfect Diego. But I wasn’t fully mad at Diego because he did tell Zara that the engagement was off. And the only reason he was marrying her was for status. I kind of feel bad for Diego because he has so many expectations to be “perfect,” when really he lives in such hard circumstances where he has to make hard choices.

Zara’s other centurion friends are sneaky liars as well. I didn’t like the fact they treat Mark like filth in his own home or talk condescendingly to him. I also didn’t like their whole plan of trying to take over the Los Angeles Institute and to label Downworlders. Like they’re not produced you can stamp and label, they’re people. And just because the actions of a few faeries were seen as cruel in the past, doesn’t mean that all faeries or all Downworlders for that matter are bad. I don’t understand why the Cohort (anti-Downworlder group) would be so vile and cruel. I mean weren’t they raised with a heart? Deep down, I think some Shadowhunters need to be knocked off their high horse enough to realize that they aren’t some superior glorified species that deserves Godly worship.

Then all of a sudden Gwyn, the hunter comes in with bad news. Kieran was going to be killed because he murdered Ilarath. Can’t say I blame Kieran for doing so. Gwyn was asking Mark to save him because all the people in the hunt made a promise that they wouldn’t interfere with the killing, but Mark wasn’t in the hunt. Kieran had caused great suffering and pain to Emma and the Blackthorns, so Mark was less than eager to show mercy to save Kieran. But deep down, we all knew Mark still cared for Kieran no matter how badly he messed up. And Mark’s compassionate heart, wouldn’t just allow someone his age to die just because he did something that was probably deserving. It kind of made me step back to realize how Kieran was so young—-how all of them are so young and have faced so much in life. I know I could never be as strong as any of these fictional characters. They are the epitome of strength.

Emma, Julian, and Cristina find out that Mark went to the Faerielands to go save Kieran, so they follow him before it’s too late. I found it kind of interesting how when they got there, they were stopped by a guard who told them what they would discover in the faerielands. For Julian, it was a solution to end the parabatai curse. For Emma, it was that she was going to see someone again. And for Cristina, it was that she was going to be a part of the end of the Cold Peace. If it weren’t for going to the Faerielands to rescue Kieran, I don’t think any of them would have gotten the information or the courage they needed to go on the rest of their journey.

The Faerie lands honestly sound so cool. The lush greenery and the eeriness of it all. Even the blood river. That brought me chills. The Unseelie court brought me chills! Especially the king himself. He had a split face and a broken crown. Nothing says evil villain type than a man who is literally two faced, has a shattered crown, a vengeful heart, and too many sons to count.

When trying to rescue Kieran, Julian walked so calmly when approaching the king to distract him. Julian really can be scary sometimes——in his feelings, his power, his love, and his “ruthless heart.” But I loved how he was like I didn’t come alone to the king and then everyone came out of the shadows to surround him. I mean what an entrance!

To fight for Kieran back, one of them had to battle one of the Unseelie faeries. So Emma gets chosen to do so. And right before the fight, Julian tells Emma that she should be ruthless and he reminded her of when she killed a faerie in the Dark War as some hint to say that killing a faerie now isn’t bad. Sometimes I question Julian’s humanity. But the whole fight was a precise dance that Emma was winning until the mask of her opponent came off. And it was her dad.

And I knew it wasn’t really her dad because there are some faeries that can change their appearance. But if I was Emma, I would have believed it for a moment too. My heart literally lurched for her because I could feel how confused, emotional, and disbelieving she was—–like she wanted it to be true. While Emma kept staring at her “dad,” Mark broke Kieran free, and Julian and Cristina sprung into action as things got kind of chaotic. I liked how Cristina was there for Emma to remind her that the face that stared back at her wasn’t her father. Emma then snapped out of it and everyone made a run from the court with Kieran with them.

They were about to get caught when a faerie opened a door in a hill and helped them escape to the Seelie court. The faerie was Nene, Marks’ aunt. It was a little tidbit, but a nice one to know that Mark has family in faerie who love him and would help him in his times of need. And gosh, did they all need it.

During their stay in Seelie, the Seelie Queen approaches Julian who’s restless in bed. Might I say it was kind of weird that she just approached the bed like a ghost in the night. But I love the Seelie Queen!! She’s so dark and mysterious and regal. Even if she has a dark, twisted kind of logic, she’s pretty cool.

She tells Julian the only thing that matters the most to Julian besides his family: how to end the parabatai She tells Julian the only thing that matters the most to Julian besides his family: how to end the parabatai curse. It would end all the other parabatai bonds as a consequence. No matter how badly I’m rooting for Jemma and their happily ever after, I think getting rid of all the parabatai bonds just so they could be happy, is not worth it. There was one point in the book where Julian was so desperate and was fathoming what if they asked for the Seelie Queen’s help to break the curse. But Emma gave him that same adamant, uneasy look I was giving Julian in questioning why he would think such a thing. Parabatai bonds are sacred and if you mess with all of them just so you can be happy Julian, then you’re dumber than I thought. Sorry, but you can’t destroy everyone else’s bonds because you want to be with the girl of your dreams.

While in Faerielands, Cristina and Mark also shared an intimate moment where they danced together and they had their hands tied. This later leads to a complication, but let’s just talk about how Mark and Cristina are sooooo good together. Perfect Diego is perfect in his own ways, but he’s not perfect for Cristina. I think Cristina just brings out the best in Mark and Mark deserves someone who is strong and compassionate as he is.

Honestly, though, we need to take a good minute and appreciate Cristina Rosales and her pacemaker heart.

She’s such a good friend to Emma and they are literally like sisters in how they would want to tell each other everything and always be there for each other. When Cristina was stuck at the institute because of the bond that had her stay close to Mark, there was one point she just wanted to reach out to Emma to tell her things. And Emma missed Cristina when she and Julian went alone to the old Blackthorn house. I love their friendship!! Especially that one moment on the roof when they’re having a girl talk about Diego. The sun was setting and Emma told Cristina to wait for the green flash to make a wish. And together they just thought of all the things they would wish for and then when the green flash came, they wished together. It was such a sweet moment.

Cristina also is the tether between Kieran and Mark. She kind of is in the middle of them with this whole love triangle thing. Or as Emma puts it “a faerie threesome.” Love Emma’s humor! She could be a Herondale if I didn’t know better. Anyway, Cristina helps keep Kieran grounded when in the institute and when he’s around Mark, and she also keeps Mark grounded around Kieran. Both respect Cristina and how poise she is. Kieran even swears allegiance to Cristina as her “servant” of sorts because Kieran agreed to testify for the Seelie court and in good faith, to show he isn’t being deceitful, the Queen told him he would need to swear solemnity to someone. Kieran was going to choose Mark, obviously, but when I think we’ve all learned what mixing love and duty can do, *cough cough Jemma cough cough* so he swears to Cristina instead. Which is so weird because you would think he would be insanely jealous of Cristina and the thing she has going on with Mark. At the time, maybe to Kieran it was a keep your friends close, but your enemies closer kind of thing, but I don’t think it was. I thought that Kieran was swearing to Cristina because he was genuinely curious as to what makes Cristina intriguing or desirable by Mark, his former lover.

While all that’s occurring down under in the Seelie court, back on the surface Malcom decides to pop up and make a zombie appearance at the Los Angeles institute! Like I thought we killed you! He was so resilient for Blackthorn blood. So to protect the kids, all of them were portaled to the London Institute. Arthur was supposed to go with them and was going to jump into the portal after Kit, but then Arthur pushed Kit inside the portal instead and he was left there.

Arthur sacrifices himself to Malcolm to give him his Blackthorn blood in exchange for not harming the kids. And I just hurt Arthur so much!!!! I don’t think that he was given enough credit for what he did. Like the family found out about what he did, but it just seemed like they brushed his sacrifice off so easily. Arthur wasn’t the most sane in the brain, but in the end he loved his family so much that he was willing to give himself up to protect them. And here his family was, just acknowledging his sacrifice, but not understanding how honorable and huge that was. They mentioned in the book that they were going to bury Arthur later, but I just felt like Arthur deserved more grieving from his family rather than just forgetting about what momentous thing he did for them.

If anything, I appreciated Arthur in his final moments.

But Malcom reallyBut Malcom really got his comeuppance from Annabel who literally stabbed him right in the back. Poor Malcom, he went through all this trouble—-even coming back from the dead—–to bring his love back to life only to be killed once again by his love. That’s gotta sting. Or stab 🤪. But I could understand how confused and weary Annabel would be of Malcolm. He did so many immoral things and talked so maliciously when she was kind of alive and could hear him. She knew he changed and wasn’t the same person she fell in love with. He also harmed her family, which is something unforgivable.

I get why Annabel would run away in fright after being brought back to life. She wanted to hide from the Clave—the one thing that harmed her and cost her her life in the first place. And supposedly, no one has ever come back from the dead in the Shadowhunter world, so they would be suspicious of her and would want to punish her again. But don’t even get me started on what she does in the end!!! We’re surely, but surely getting there.

After coming back from the Seelie lands, Emma and Julian go searching for Annabel and the Black book. Cristina was supposed to go with them, but the bond she literally has with Mark made it too painful for her to go. If she was separated from Mark and vice versa, they would both feel throbbing pains in their wrists due to being cursed with a spell in the Faerielands from when those faeries binded them with a cord when dancing.

The twins and Kit have their own little adventures in the Shadowhunter market, stirring up some trouble. Kit was so in his element at the Shadowhunter market, and it was nice to see him happy and confident even if it was short lived. Thank goodness Magnus was there to bail them out of the market from those ruthless sellers. And thank goodness Diana and Gwyn were there when the kids were attacked by the Riders! Like couldn’t those riders have some kind of mercy towards kids?!

But let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we?

Gwyn and Diana.

I love when Gwyn first met Diana, and he becomes so smitten and flirtatious with her that it’s comical. Even Mark was surprised! I was laughing the whole time at how Diana was described to be blushing and how Gwyn would try to say things that would impress her. It was too cute how nervous he was around her. What was also super cute was when he flew outside her window and swept her up for a late night picnic in Idris. Like HOW STINKING CUTE 🙈! Gwyn’s literally as old as heck, and here he was nervous and enchanted by Diana!

Diana also opens up about her past to Gwyn. From that we learn that Diana was actually David. Diana was born as David after her sister passed away. David always knew she was a woman, but it was never something talked about or looked openly upon in the Shadowhunter world. So David sought out human medical treatment to go through the transition process and was renamed as Diana for a strong female warrior. During the Dark War, when the Shadowhunters needed more Shadowhunters to fight, David came back into the Shadowhunter world as Diana, the sister that lived, while her “brother” was the one who passed away.

I absolutely love how Cassandra Clare is trying to be inclusive in her books with disability and transgenders. The world is so vast and diverse these days and some people are so underrepresented in the media, that it’s so refreshing to see individuals begin to be represented in a way that is honest and raw and beautiful. Diana’s story can resonate with so many people who have probably felt the same thing. But from her story, it just highlights the fact that everyone has a unique story that we might not know about and that there’s more to a person than meets the eye. And maybe that person has been on a journey of finding out who they are and who they want to be and it led them to where they are now. But just because a person may be perceived as “different,” that makes them no different, weaker, or any less beautiful than they are. Everyone is unique and amazing.

Like Gwyn seemed to be, I was amazed even more by Diana and her strength and beauty to be open about who she was. Everyone deserves to be happy in their own skin. I’m happy Diana—-and anybody out there—-is.

I think Gwyn and Diana would be magical together. Just the utter respect Gwyn displayed after Diana told her story, was just perfect. They would be perfect.

Speaking of perfect couples, we have couple of the year out in a cabin playing house 🙈

Julian and Emma are at this old Blackthorn house and it was just the perfect romantic homey setting. The whole cabin stay felt really domestic in the way Julian would make pancakes for Emma and he would sleep next to her. It sounded like such an appealing situation where they could just be away from everything and all the expectations of being the “older brother” or the “friendly” parabatai. I just think it was a good getaway for a moment to really gather their true feelings about each other. And finally Emma opened up to Julian about the parabatai curse/information she heard from Jem. Like Emma, you could have told him in the first place and saved everyone so much agonizing heartbreak!

Key to strong relationships my friends = COMMUNICATION.

Then the Riders find Emma and Julian and the whole scene where Emma and Julian were fighting them was so intense and kick butt. What was more epic was the fact that Emma was the first person EVER to slay a rider! Like SHE DID THAT!! A strong, independent, woman!! Gosh, and people think Zara the liar was the greatest Shadowhunter of their time. Zara has never killed a Rider, people who are as old as time itself. Honestly, what can’t Cortana and Emma do?

Julian and Emma are portaled home by Magnus who went to go find them and save them from the Riders. He was kind of late, but that’s okay. I feel like Magnus has been doing so much in this book and I constantly forget that he’s older. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it just makes me concerned for his physical and mental health in all the things he’s had to do or endure all these years. It would be nice if Magnus just lived in peace with Alec and his kids, but he will always have some responsibility to help. And the fact that he does help the Shadowhunters time after time, just proves how loyal and honorable Magnus is.

But Magnus is still human and has his limits. It just hurt like a physical blow when Magnus would mention how weak he was and how his powers were depleted because we always see Magnus in such a strong light. In these books, we see him as his age and vulnerable to his human qualities. I love that Alec was there by his bedside watching over him with their kids when Magnus fainted towards the end. Apparently, warlocks have been feeling drained faster and that’s why Jem and Tessa went to the Spiral Labyrinth to find out what’s causing it or what’s going on. I hope they do, for Magnus’s health, and for all the warlocks’ health. When you envision the Spiral Labyrinth do you just imagine a great big technicolored swirl? I don’t know, I just think about Jem and Tessa in a great big swirl when the Spiral Labyrinth is mentioned 😊

At the end, Annabel comes forward to the institute when the Riders make vengeful reappearance because Emma killed one of their brothers. Emma tried to take them on, but couldn’t do so by herself. Then Annabel stops them from doing further harm in claiming she had the book and that the Blackthorns never knew about her. Then the Riders retreat.

The only reason Annabel came was because of the note Ty wrote to her (the note I mentioned earlier) and that she would only speak to Julian. Julian convinced Annabel to testify in front of the Clave in exchange for her freedom and to be left alone. She also agreed to give Julian the Blackbook if she could live in peace. Julian can literally convince anyone to do anything.

So now we have this conclave trial.

So the trial is just going to begin and one of the best parts of the whole ending was the fact that Helen was there. The overwhelming excitement from everyone when they saw their sister was so lovely and so special. They all ran up to give her a warm hug and they all just embraced each other and it was just so beautiful because they haven’t seen their sister in ages. Family is so important and no matter how far away they are, the distance really does hurt and it makes you miss them tremendously. Helen has been away from her siblings for sooooo long and she teared up because they were all grown up now and she wasn’t even there to witness them grow up and become the individuals they were. To me that really is heartbreaking and I get why Shadowhunters sent her to Wrangel Island, but honestly it was in bad faith that they did. She did nothing wrong and shouldn’t have been punished for the actions of a few.

But I loved when she embraced Mark. They have that special bond because they are the only two alike—-half Nephilim and half Faerie. I don’t think anyone can take that bond they have away from each other.

Just the love and kinship that this family has is amazing. I feel like with Shadowhunters, we had a family bonded by love and not blood, but with the Dark Artifices we really get to see a loving and bonded Shadowhunter family that has struggled through many hardships together, but have still turned out to be strong and on top when doing things together.

The power of family really is the greatest and strongest power there is.

Then comes Annabel’s time to shine when she goes up in front of the Clave to testify. She gets so much hate from people who think it immoral that she’s back from the dead and like you can’t blame her because she never asked to be brought back. She just was. And I just felt for her when she was standing in this great big Shadowhunter hall of people who loathed her, people who deceived her, and people who caused her death in the first place. I felt like she was this little mouse under a great big white interrogation light and I felt bad because she was frightened and scared, but they kept pressuring her to talk and be there longer than she needed to be. Like girl just got back from the dead, she doesn’t know anything about this time period of the world and all these people who are staring at her. Cut the girl some slack!

But no!

We had to bring in the Mortal Sword to see if she was telling the truth about killing Malcom! We know something bad is bound to happen. You impose something undesirable in a mouse testing type of situation, the mouse is bound to act out in an undesirable way. And she did. The Clave kept pushing and prodding at a nerve and eventually Annabel snapped and chaos just ensued.

And this is when my heart literally started to shatter.

Robert goes down. Alec’s dad has been stabbed through the heart and so have I!!! Annabel has stabbed Robert and I can’t even with her right now! Robert has never been the best person or father but he was making up for it slowly. He even had a gigantic mural painting of Alec in his office! My heart literally ached for Alec as he ran for his father when Kit came with the news of what had happened.

When Robert fell, everything fell apart with it.

The Centurions thought they could go ballistic and high and mighty to fight because the trial seemed to be over. And then Annabel’s all giddy on nerves and has the Mortal Sword in her hand and is swinging that thing like a toy. Never give a resurrected girl a gigantic sharp sword 😫!!!

Annabel really wielded that sword like no tomorrow.

Then we have Emma who busts out Cortana and is trying to placate Annabel and stop the chaos she’s causing. Then Cortana breaks the Mortal Sword!! The Mortal Sword that has been around for how many years was broken by Cortana, a regular sword made by Wayland Smith! What is in Cortana that makes it unbeatable and invincible against Godly things?

But did anyone else notice how it was described how Emma felt this electric like feeling go up her arm when the Mortal Sword shattered? Could this mean some part of the parabatai bond or Shadowhunter angelic power is amplified or diminished? Could this mean something that could help break the bond? No curse? I DON”T KNOW. I need to know.

Then Julian tries to approach Annabel rationally and Annabel has her broken Mortal Sword that she’s holding onto for dear life. And then something just snapped in Annabel. And she STABS Livvy with the remains of the sword.

And my heart fell off a cliff.

Plop.

I literally shattered on the floor in a mess.

A mess.

I wanted so badly to take that Mortal Sword and shove it through Annabel. Sorry, but not really. Ty’s reaction when he felt it. He FELT IT in his heart and he looked and saw Livvy bleeding out and dying. And Ty, my sweet baby Ty! UGH! And Julian held Livvy and tried to put a rune on her to heal her, but the rune disappeared meaning that it was too late because she was beyond healing. And I was just sitting there balling in my tears because Livvy was just a kid and no way Jose did she just get stabbed by her crazed resurrected relative. A KID!

If Livvy doesn’t survive into the next book, I’m closing Queen of Air and Darkness and saying good riddance! I’m joking, I’ll still read the book, but with a heavily disappointed and grieving heart.

What made it worse was the fact that amidst EVERYTHING going on—–Robert’s dying out and Alec is next to him, Ty and Julian sitting in agony by Livvy’s bleeding side, Magnus sick in the infirmary, even the gosh darn Mortal Sword broken to pieces——was how Annabel managed to make a clean getaway with the help of the Unseelie King who did some genie kind of magic and vanished her in a smoke.

The last words of the book were the clock struck.

The cluck struck!?

I’ll tell you what struck! My heart! 😫💔

There’s soooo many unresolved issues and things I need to find out in the next book. For one, Jemma needs to find a way to be together. Two, Livvy needs to live and that’s not a question of if she’s alive because I believe that Livvy has a heart of gold and that she’s a fighter and she’s going to make it. If not, then we can count on Julian’s ruthless heart to pull a Malcom and resurrect her ; ) I’m kidding, but that would be funny if everything came full circle with Julian trying to bring his sister back to life and in following Malcom’s footsteps. But I don’t think Julian would do that. Maybe, Annabel will go back to resting in peace in exchange for Livvy to live again. Who knows?

Third, I want to know what’s going on with the original characters. In the beginning of the book it was mentioned that Jace proposes to Clary. And Clary said no. I know what my answer would be if Jace proposed to me 😆. But she opened up to Emma about how she’s been having this recurring dream in dying and by saying yes to marrying Jace, it would only make it harder on him if the dream came true. And Clary’s dreams/visions often do come true. And for someone who is so young and has so much life to live, Clary sounds so accepting of what her dream foretells of her future. I think it has to do with the strength she’s built up as a Shadowhunter over the years in knowing that she constantly throws herself into dangerous situations and accepting that any day could be her last. But what really hurts me is that she tells Emma to tell Jace about why she said no, if the dream does come true. And that makes me so sad to think that Clary might die. Clary is our fiery red headed Shadowhunter! She just can’t. I refuse to believe it. I love Clary so much that it hurts. There has to be another reason or something wrong with this dream because it doesn’t make sense.

I just hope that she survives and lives to say yes to Jace one day. They’ve been through heck, literally, and back together and deserve to be happy.

I also want to know what’s going on with the warlocks and Jem and Tessa in the Spiral Labyrinth. Why are the warlocks getting sick? Does it have something to do with the Cold Peace? What exactly is this Spiral Labyrinth?

Fourth, Kit. Kit’s a big mystery when it comes to this series. I feel like he might get a spin off series and be the next greatest Herondale. There has also been a lot of talk in this book about people recognizing him or knowing things about him. Maybe we’ll truly get to find out the reputation of this lost Herondale in the next book and why people seem to know more about him than Kit knows about himself. We also need to see what happened to Kit when he went with Cristina to the Scholomance. Speaking of Kit, we also need to figure out his love life with Ty because there’s no denying the love connection there, am I right?

Fifth, speaking of Cristina, we need Mark and Cristina to figure things out. I think Kieran and Mark will always be good friends and good lovers for what the situation entailed. But I think Mark has evolved so much as a person and has learned some of those things from Cristina. I hope they find a way to be together. Sixth, I also hope Gwyn and Diana find a way to be together too.

Seven, where’s the Blackbook? Did Annabel have it when she disappeared or does Julian have it now?

Eight, the fate of Annabel. Is she going to continue to live or is she going back to sleep in peace? Or is she going to become a Shadowhunter again? Or maybe she’s going to be the Unseelie Queen? Or maybe she’s a sacrifice to ending the Cold Peace or a solution to ending the parabatai curse?

Which brings me to number nine and ten. Ending the Cold Peace and finding a way around this parabatai curse. I think that in the next book the Cold Peace will end and the Blackthorns will be reinstated at the Los Angeles institute and Helen will come back. I also think that the curse will not necessarily be broken, but worked around, so that Jemma can be together. But either way, I just hope that all the characters survive and find happiness. Isn’t that what we all want for them?

What have been your favorite or least favorite parts? What are your theories for Queen of Air and Darkness if you haven’t read it yet? What do you look forward to seeing in the next book? And what’s your thoughts on Annabel?

I hope you all have a beautiful, wonderful day filled with happiness!

And as always, with love,

Rating

4.89 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: I loved getting to know more about the characters in this book. I truly have developed such a strong love for the Blackthorns and everyone like Diana, Gwyn, Kit, Kieran, and Emma, or course! We don’t like Zara, whatsoever 🤪

Plot: The book had a good flow to it and was never boring to read. Every page had you turning it and wanting to devour more. It never really feels like a 800 page book with Cassandra Clare; it always feels like things happen in the blink of an eye. I could read her books any day and never get tired of the characters or everything that just seems to just intertwine together.

Writing: Queen of fantasy strikes again with her delicate writing skills 💙

Romance: Jemma just needs to live their life. But besides Jemma, so many new romances have formed and have been developing in this book from Diana and Gwyn, Dru and Jamie, Kit and Ty, and Mark and Cristina. I just need to see Diana and Gwyn ride of into the sunset, Mark and Cristina to dance in the moonlight, During and Jamie to watch scary movies in her room, and Kit and Ty to solve crime together.

Action: Highly agonizing and causes lots of heart palpitations. Thank you Cassandra Clare