Review: Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Lord of Shadows
By Cassandra Clare
My Rating: 4 Stars

Hardcover, 699 pages

Published May 23rd 2017

 




Summary From Goodreads:

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.

My Review:

Dear lord, I knew what was going to happen, because it was taking me forever to get through it and I needed to know, so I went in search of ALL THE SPOILERS. But dang, it still played with my heart. I like that we got to see so much more of Magnus and Alec in this one, because Magnus is my F A V O R I T E and I'm interested to see what's going to happen in the next book to wrap it all up.

I don't know why it took me so long to read this book. I had a hard time staying connected with the characters and staying focused on what was happening. I don't know if it's because I'm so much older than I was when the Shadow Hunter stories first came out, or if it was because I was listening to them instead of reading the physical book.

I do, however, love how strong the family bond is, with all the characters (as it is with all of Cassie Clare's books) They all love and support each other and will do whatever it takes to keep each other safe.