Hello Readers!

I’m super excited to present today’s book review, which is brought to you in association with LoveReading UK, the largest book recommendations website in the U.K. Make sure you check them out at; lovereading.co.uk

Also a BIG thank you to the publishers, Simon&Schuster for sending this book to me!

Synopsis: Lady Midnight is an epic fantasy novel that follows the story of Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn who are highly trained, demon-slaying Shadowhunters. As parabatai, they also share a magical bond, which amplifies their angelic powers in battle. But to be parabatai means to be bound to one another for life, forbidden from falling in love with one another.

When a series of mysterious murders occur across L.A. Emma and Julian, together with Julian’s family investigate these strange events that all linked and rooted in dark magic. Even if it means risking their lives, they are determined to solve this mystery as it leads them to the answers behind their tragic past.

Lady Midnight is the first book in The Dark Artifices trilogy which was published in 2016. If you’ve read Clare’s previous Shadowhunter books, most notably The Mortal Instruments Series, which was also adapted for film, you’ll love reading this book. Clare creates an immersive, supernatural world that is a boon of escapism.

I loved the attention to detail in this novel. I thought that there was just enough exposition to fully set the scene, without becoming overly prosaic. If you are familiar with Clare’s previous books, then Lady Midnight may feel like it takes a while to get going. But since I’ve never read any Shadowhunter books prior to Lady Midnight, I enjoyed Clare’s use of immersive story-telling to structure this fantasy world of Shadowhunters and all other manner of supernatural beings.

I was drawn to the mystery element of this novel, in particular, the way it built up a sense of suspenseful anticipation as the story progressed. I also thought the development of the characters was handled really well by giving each character a certain quirk that made them memorable.

Unfortunately, I was a bit disillusioned by the romantic element of this novel, which seemed too melodramatic for my tastes. It felt heavily leaning towards a very dreamy, girlish perspective of relationships that I struggled to connect to. I also found the clichés to be disengaging and I would’ve loved it if the novel had subverted my expectations more, instead of constantly adhering to the same troupes we’re so used to reading in novels of this genre.

Overall, I did get a lot of enjoyment out this novel. I loved the other-worldly quality of Lady midnight and the escapist writing. If you’re partial towards the fantasy genre like me, and you love books with mystery and drama, then this is definitely the book for you!

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