I went on a Cassandra Clare marathon read right before Queen of Air and Darkness came out. Lady Midnight, of course, is the first book in the most recent of her series, The Dark Artifices.
It’s interesting to see how Young Adult books have changed over the last 18 years or so. You can do that over the course of the Shadowhunter’s Chronicles. Lady Midnight originally came out in 2016. Compare that with City of Bones and you’ll see a huge difference in how YA literature has changed. Not only has Cassandra Clare improved as an author, but what is permitted in a YA book has changed as well.
I could tell when I read the final books of The Mortal Instruments that Emma and Julian should not become parabatai. They did, however, because they didn’t want to be apart from each other. I love them as a couple. Maybe not as much as Clary and Jace or Will and Tessa, but they’re great together anyway. But they’re not supposed to be.
In this story, people are starting to show up dead, and Emma thinks that these deaths might have to do with her parents. The Shadowhunters have to figure out what’s going on — before it’s too late. Complications arise in this story (of course). The Cold Peace is still going on with the fairies, and they send Julian’s brother Mark back — temporarily. If they figure out who’s behind the murders, Mark will be able to choose whether he want’s to stay with his family, or return to the Wild Hunt.
There are so many things I loved about this book. One of the things I thought was well done was the setting, which was Los Angeles. I went to USC, so I know the place well. I loved how well the setting was done.
We have new characters in this book! Cristina is Emma’s new friend from Mexico, Kit is a boy with the sight that finds out he’s actually a shadowhunter, and Mark (although not new) returns from fairie a changed person. We’ve met the Blackthorns before, but it’s been a few years, and they’ve grown up since then.
Lady Midnight was an excellent start to The Dark Artifices and I highly recommend it.