Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices)

Love love love. I'll admit straight out that I'm a fan of series and franchises in general; I love seeing bits and pieces of information about characters from related series and learning more about an already-developed world. But for anyone who's worried that the Dark Artifices is just a a dragging-on of the Mortal Instruments because we all refuse to let go of our Shadowhunters, you will not regret picking up this book. I'm so happy with the dynamic of the character relationships in this book. While the focus in both the Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices is a main character who is initially unfamiliar with the Shadow World becoming part of both that world and the friend/family group of the respective Institutes, Lady Midnight begins this new series with a group of characters that is much younger overall, more tightly bonded, and more thoroughly involved with the world of Shadowhunters. This is not a story, like the others, about finding a new world and forging new relationships; it's about the strain that events put on the existing relationships between most of the characters. Presenting an established family group in this way cuts out the period of adjustment and building of bonds that we get in the other series, and watching those relationships strained and strengthened makes the story sometimes heartbreaking and often bittersweet and very touching. I think Julian may be my favorite Shadowhunter across all the books so far; he is a heart-wrenching mass of contradictions--gentle artistry and fierce fighting, strict restraint and overflowing love, responsibility and humorous love of fun, absolute dedication to family and a wall of lies separating him from his loved ones--and I can't wait to see where he ends up in the rest of the series because the life he's been living in the years leading up to this book is simply not tenable. Though Julian is the most striking character to me, one of my favorite things about this book is that you can't really pinpoint who the "main" character is. Without giving any spoilers, I can say that Julian and Emma are quite equally represented in terms of point of view and what I can only think to call "screen time," and there are at least three other characters from whose point of view we see the story from very early on in the book and consistently throughout. My friend and I (she just finished the book today, while I finished it two days ago, and our texting while reading has been a little crazy) were discussing today how impressed we are with Clare's world building. She continues in this book to do a great job representing the validity of many different kinds of relationships and lifestyles while also acknowledging the difficulty of being different in a culture that is far from progressive. She has built a consistent culture around the harsh and often arrogant Shadowhunters, and she makes it clash wonderfully with the modern world, both in their rejections of Mundane culture (like using new technology) and in their archaic attitudes towards disorders like autism (and mentioned more tangentially, ADHD and depression). Not only do these issues create depth in the world of the books, they also work into the plot in many ways. The plot, or maybe I should say the "action plot"--the fight against the current evil--is my least favorite thing in the book, which might sound like it deserves more than a passing mention at the end of the review, but it's certainly not a bad plot, and the emotional development of the book is way more compelling. I think the plot of this book will lead into even more interesting action in the following two books, and I look forward to seeing how that will intertwine with the character development. And one last thing: the romance. It will keep you entertained throughout. It's all "no no no...say how you feel!...no no...yes!...no, don't interrupt...yes, finally!...no no...yessss...no nooo NO NOOOO...what's happening?" Get what I mean? No? Well, you'll get it once you read the book. It's a roller coaster. It's wonderful and sad and exciting, and I'm sure it's only going to get more intense in the next book.

Anything and everything Shadowhunters- that's the policy I live by. It's one of my go-to series of books for a number of reasons, mostly because I grew up reading them (City of Bones was one of the first YA books I ever picked up) and they have managed to continuously entertain me, no matter how many times I reread them. The older I get, the harder it is to enjoy some books I read years ago. Shadowhunter books, too, are beautifully written and always make me and my heart cry, so, even though that may not sound like it, it's always a pleasure to pick one up. Lady Midnight takes place several years after the events in the Mortal Instrument's series. It follows Emma Carstairs, her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, his family, and her new friend Cristina Rosales, as they illegally investigate some faerie murders that are taking place. I was worried about picking this one up. I had such high hopes, but it's been two years since a new Shadowhunter book, so I had no idea whether it would be any good, if the story would still hold up, if I could still connect to the characters in such a manner as I had before. If the story would be good at all, or if the amount of characters would end up hurting it more than helping. Well, I shouldn't have been worried- it was amazing. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a super fan, I'm saying that because, were this the only book by her that I had read, I would have loved it as much as I do now. For one, the characters. Like I said, I was worried the sheer number might throw the book off course. No problem here. Clare managed to balance them all out nicely, made each unique and important to the story, and also got me to care about every single one of them. Once in a while there would be blink-and-you-miss-it scenes where a character would be dismissed and I would lose track of them and have to turn back a page and see what happened, but even while I lost track on these rare occasions, Clare didn't, and she managed to juggle them all nicely. My favorite character had to be Mark (for many reasons, many of them spoilery). He's a great character, and one we haven't really seen before, at least in her writing. Closely following him in list of favorites is Emma, our heroine, and a capable one at that. She's very different from Clary and Tessa, and I love her for it. It's hard to pin her down with just a few word description, but she falls on the list of characters who are kick-ass first, take names later. Were I to mention and describe every character here that would be a long review- but leave it at, I loved them all. There wasn't any character that I found myself disliking for any reason (unless they're, you know, the villain, in which case I'm not supposed to like them). The story itself was very good and rather interesting, though I found the ending to be not what I expected. I mean, yes, there are some wicked (and awesome) twists that caught me off guard and had me half-grinning, half-completely in shock, but the way the novel is concluded was not what I would expect. I can't say much more here because Spoilers and what-not, but don't let me make you think it was a bad ending. Just a surprising way to wrap things up as they were. I liked it a lot more upon reflection, though at the time it felt out of the ordinary and strange. One little theory I have before I close this review, and it's not a spoilery theory, I promise: I have guesses for who might be on the next two covers. I think, and I'm not sure the order, that it will be Mark and Julian. They're both major characters and seem the most likely, due to the plot of the series (so far). So, yes, I strongly recommend picking this one up. You can read it without reading the other Shadowhunter books- it won't be confusing, you just won't get certain things out of it. And if you're a fan of Shadowhunters in general, then, yes, this is a must-read for you. You won't be let down. It's completely unnerving to see the names Jem, Tessa, Clary, and Jace all appear on one page, but it's worth it.

É difícil eu dar cinco estrelas para um livro, porque há casos em que a escrita me agrada e a história nem tanto, ou vice-versa. Eu amo a escrita da Cassandra Clare. Ela é cheia de detalhes, nos dando imagens vívidas do que está acontecendo no livro, preenchendo o enredo (também maravilhoso) com suas descrições elaboradas, deixando tudo na medida certa. Talvez eu tenha sofrido um pouquinho para lê-lo, porque só ano passado comecei a me aventurar a ler livros em inglês e, definitivamente, eu não indicaria as obras da Cassandra Clare para iniciar esse tipo de processo, porque justamente pelas descrições serem tão "recheadas", é bom, no mínimo, estar familiarizado com alguns vocabulários em inglês para acompanhar a estória, pois os adjetivos podem ser uma parte, não exatamente difícil, mas mais complicada... Só que não é nada que o tempo e esforço não resolvam, afinal. Voltando ao livro: eu comecei a acompanhar as obras da autora por City of Bones, e gostei muito do universo apresentado no mesmo. Porém, a paixão só se enraizou quando eu li a trilogia The Infernal Devices, que é uma das minhas coleções favoritas. Quando terminei The Mortal Instruments e fiquei ciente de que a dona Clare pretendia continuar essa história - que ficou muito "aberta" para uma continuação no final de City of Heavenly Fire -, eu fiquei feliz, mas nunca criei expectativas tão grandes. Eu iria ler? Sim. Eu estava morrendo para ler? Nem tanto assim. Entretanto, cá estou. Morta por uma continuação de Lady Midnight, que simplesmente me fascinou e cativou de todas as maneiras possíveis, com personagens muito bem construídos a ponto de nos fazer pensar que, de fato, em algum lugar de Los Angeles, realmente existe um Instituto com eles habitado e que, infelizmente, nós somos mundanos demais para fazer parte dele. Contém uma dose de reviravoltas, poesias de Edgar Allan Poe, uma das minhas personagens favoritas de toda saga no que diz respeito aos shadowhunters, senhorita Cristina Rosales e, é claro, comédia, drama, romance e, pelo amor de Deus, as crianças Blackthorn são tão fofas que eu gostaria de adotá-las! E eu nem vou comentar o efeito que o epílogo fez em mim, tal como o capítulo extra. Se você tiver problemas de coração, se prepare, porque eu não tenho e mesmo assim passei mal. Quanto ao acabamento, o livro é divino. Uma das capas mais bonitas que já vi, e fiquei muitíssimo surpresa quando notei que mesmo tendo vindo de outro país, o livro chegou em condições excelentes (parabéns, Amazon!).

Les rebondissements, LES romances (parce qu’il y en a plusieurs) et cette fin... Il y a tout ce qu’on recherche dans un livre. C’est mon premier livre de Cassandra Clare (Je connaissais déjà l’histoire de Jace et Clary grâce à la série télévisée mais ça ne m’avais pas vraiment emballé. Cependant, on m’a assuré que les livres étaient meilleures et je confirme!) Alors ici, on se concentre sur le lien entre les parabatai (ce lien que j’adore). Ils ont droit d’être amis, meilleurs amis, être comme frères et sœurs NÉANMOINS, il n’ont pas le droit de tomber amoureux... MAGIQUES. J’ai adoré. On s’attache à tous les personnages du livre! Je recommande vraiment ! Ps : les livres de cette série sont vraiment gros (beaucoup de pages) je tiens à prévenir. Mais ne soyez pas découragé, qui dis beaucoup de pages, dis beaucoup d’aventure !

Loved it!! For anyone reading this review... First off, this book comes after The Mortal Instruments series, make sure you read those 6 books at least before attempting this one! Honestly, I'd also recommend reading the 3 books in the Infernal Devices series as well before this one. There are a lot of characters who show up in this book and the excitement of seeing them again and how their lives have progressed since last time, will be completely lost on you if you don't read all the other books first. Also, not just that, but Emma, the main character in Lady Midnight, is first introduced in City of Heavenly Fire (the last book in the Mortal Instruments series). So again, without Emma's backstory this book will probably not be as good as it could have been if you really knew and loved all the characters. Ok that out of the way... I LOVED this book! It was so good, everything I've come to know and love from Cassandra Clare, she doesn't disappoint! I don't want to say too much for fear of giving anything away. But I will say that I adored how she incorporated some of my all time favorite characters into this story! My only complaint is that we have to wait sooooooooo long for the next book! I'll go crazy by then lol!

Very pleased with the product I received. It was in perfect condition and the price was very much affordable. Since I buy this on a second hand library, I didn't have many expectations. But I am happily pleased, will probably buy from them another time.

Quelle: Buchblog Buchstabenträumerei "It had been Julian talking, her Jules, the one who lived in her bones and her brain and at the base of her spine, the one who threaded all through her like veins or nerves." (Seite 151) Ich liebe umfangreiche Bücher so sehr, dass ich mich manchmal dabei ertappe, in Buchläden die dünnen Bände gar nicht erst zu beachten und nur nach den dicken Bänden Ausschau zu halten. Lieber sind mir nur noch dicke Bände, die den Anfang einer Trilogie bilden. Bei „Lady Midnight“ kam alles zusammen und so war ich natürlich sehr glücklich, meinen neuen Geschichten-Schatz in den Händen zu halten. Trotz des Umfangs wird die Geschichte um Julian und Emma und die Blackthorn-Familie nie langweilig. Emotionale Konflikte treffen auf kämpferische Konflikte, die atmosphärisch dicht und energiegeladen erzählt werden. Die Geschichte hat mehrere Schwerpunkte: die Blackthorn-Familie, das Verhältnis zwischen Emma und Julian, die Rückkehr von Mark aus dem Land der Faeries sowie natürlich die Morde und die damit einhergehende Gefahr. Alle Fäden werden geschickt miteinander verwoben, so dass ich bereits auf den ersten Seiten mitfieberte – vor allem, was die Beziehung von Emma und Julian angeht. Ein weiteres Highlight für mich und sicherlich alle Leser der Schattenjäger-Reihe, waren die zahlreichen Erwähnungen von Clary, Jace, Magnus, Alec und sogar Jem und Tessa – manchen von ihnen begegnen wir in der Geschichte sogar wieder. Ein schönes Gefühl, wie nach Hause zu kommen und alte Bekannte wieder in die Arme zu schließen. Ich habe mich mehrfach mit einem seligen Lächeln ertappt. Was das Buch meiner Meinung nach besonders lesenswert macht, ist die Ausgewogenheit zwischen spannenden und emotionalen Szenen. Es gab genügend Pausen für den Leser zur Reflexion und für eigene Gedanken. Erst am Ende folgt Erkenntnis auf Erkenntnis in schnellen Rhythmus, dass einem fast schwindelig wird. Ich wurde vollkommen überrascht und hatte diese Entwicklung nicht kommen sehen. Schreibstil "She wanted to hug him suddenly or touch his shoulder, so badly that she forced her hands down and clasped them together. She looked down at her fingers; for some reason she had intertwined them, as if they made a cage that would hold her feelings in." (Seite 285) Ach, was schwelgt Cassandra Clare immer herrlich in den Emotionen ihrer Charaktere. Es fühlt sich an wie ein Bad voller Schaumblasen-Traurigkeit oder Liebe oder Sehnsucht – ganz nach Belieben. Dabei nutzt sie eine reiche Bildersprache, die „Lady Midnight“ geradezu verträumt wirken lässt. Sie schmückt die Geschichte aus wie einen Saal zu einem großen Fest, und lädt die Leser dazu ein. Diese Art der Erzählung ist sicherlich nicht jedermanns Sache, doch ich mag es sehr. Zudem lässt sie es sich nicht nehmen, kleinen, zarten Momenten große Aufmerksamkeit zu schenken. Charaktere "He was beautiful. The most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She wanted to crawl inside his skin, live where he breathed. She wanted." (Seite 306) Mein erster Gedanke zu Emma war: ist die wunderbar launisch und eigensinnig! Man nehme draufgängerisch hinzu und schon hat man in ihr eine ganz andere weibliche Protagonisten als in so vielen anderen Büchern gefunden. Ich mochte sie auf Anhieb. Julian und Emma zusammen sind ein tolles Team, die Chemie stimmt. Sie necken sich, vertrauen einander und übernehmen Verantwortung für sich und Julians Geschwister. Die Geschwister sind teilweise sehr präsent, wie Mark natürlich, aber auch Cristina und Ty. Andere, wie Livia, Tavvy und ihr Onkel Arthur, waren etwas schwächer gezeichnet. Doch bei allem, was passiert und erzählt werden möchte, ich das nur allzu verständlich. Die Autorin ist in jedem Fall sehr bemüht, jedem Charakter seine eigene Geschichte, seine eigenen Beweggründe, Gefühle, Sorgen und Zweifel zu schenken. Im Mittelpunkt stehen jedoch eindeutig Emma und Julian und Mark – und diese Charaktere empfand ich allesamt als sehr gut gelungen. Fazit Cassandra Clare hat mit „Lady Midnight“ einen sehr vielversprechenden Auftakt zu einer neuen Trilogie geschrieben. Ich habe mich mit Julian und Emma in die Gefahren gestürzt, mit ihnen gelitten und geliebt. Mehr davon.