Today I will be doing a book review of; Lord Of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. This review is brought to you courtesy of LoveReading UK, the largest book recommendations website in the U.K! Make sure you check out their website at lovereading.co.uk for more information on the LoveReading UK Ambassador book buzz, where you can also read other reviews on the epic Dark Artifices series.
Just a note before I start; Firstly, I would like to give another BIG thank you to Simon&Schuster for gifting this book to me! Also, this review may contain light spoilers of the first book; Lady Midnight. So be warned!
To read my review of Lady Midnight, please click here.
Synopsis: Lord Of Shadows is the second book in The Dark Artifices series and was originally published in 2017. It continues the journey of the fearless shadowhunters, Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn as with the rest of the L.A. institute, as they contend with a new threat. That of a faerie King with plans to unite the Seelie and Unseelie courts under his tyrannical reign, through means detrimental to Nephilim. With this threat looming overhead, the already strained relationship between Nephilim and Downworlders continues to breed devisive tension.
Clare maintains the escapist story-telling I was gushing over in my last review. The book’s magical quality, particularly in its portrayals of Faerie, appeal to the reader’s imagination, with its sense of novelty. Unlike Lady Midnight, this novel explores the land of Faerie in greater depth, propelling us deeper into a world of enchantment.
I thought that despite the wealth of characters in this story and numerous story arcs, the character development was executed perfectly. However, I personally think that this series would’ve benefited a lot more from at least a couple more books, as the plethora of different arcs, made the story feel a bit too condensed and at times busy for me.
Lord Of Shadows is a novel that sets itself apart from most other fantasy books in its representation of different sexual orientations. I really appreciated the inclusion of such diverse characterisation, as it reflects a truer picture of modern day Western societies and therefore made the novel more current and relatable than many fantasy novels around today.
As with before, I loved the story-telling and the character development in this novel, however, I thought that the different villains were unfortunately, too one-dimensional for my liking. Though there was an attempt at giving their villainy a sense of substance and complexity, it ended up coming across as very typical and difficult to empathize with. In that case, I much preferred Malcolm Fade from the first novel as his actions triggered some sort of empathy in the reader, despite his evil acts.
Like its predecessor, Lord Of Shadows is a highly enjoyable read that is easy to become deeply invested in. It offers a fresh and imaginative take on the fantasy genre and I can’t wait to follow our heroes as they continue their journey in Queen Of Air And Darkness! Be sure to check back here next Monday for my review! ~~(^O^)~~
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To read more book reviews like this one, please click here.
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