Lady Midnight
Series: The Dark Artifices #1
Author: Cassandra Clare
Published March 8th 2016 by Simon & Schuster Children's UK

Goodreads Synopsis
The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series.
Goodreads

Review
I have very mixed feelings about this book. Way back in 2016 when it was published, I pre-ordered my copy, but had already started to turn off from Cassie's books, as I found them very samey. I got about a third of the way through this tome - it's a hefty book - and then decided I just couldn't be bothered with it anymore. Fast forward to December 2019, and I decided I would give it another go, and this time around, I really enjoyed it. Emma has known since she was 12, and witnessed the fall of Idris to the hands of evil Sebastian Morgenstern, that she would be the next great Shadowhunter, of the likes of Jace Herondale and more. She's the last of the Carstairs', and is forever tied with the Blackthorn family through her Parabatai, Julian. Both orphaned at 12, they couldn't bear to be separated, and have been living in the Los Angeles institute for the last five years. Basically raising the rest of the Blackthorn brood (Ty, Liv, Dru and Tavvy - all named after famous Ancient Romans, definitely a plus from me), they haven't had many difficulties of the paranormal nature, except the absence of Mark and Helin exiled after the Dark War and enactment of the Cold Peace. However, it soon appears that Downworlders are being killed in a manner similar to how Emma's parents were killed five years ago, and the murders seem to be stepping up. Add in the fact that Mark has been returned by the leader of the Wild Hunt, Gwyn, with the friendly instructions that they find the murdered, or else, Emma and Jules have found themselves with a mystery that may be even too big for them. They also have the complication of their romantic feelings for one another, which is forbidden under Shadowhunter Law between Parabatai. It seems that their peace and solitude has just been broken.

I can say one thing, Cassandra Clare can write a good character. Emma has had to deal with so much in her young life, from losing her parents in a horrific manner at 12 and then seeing the terror and death in Idris during the Dark War, having only her wits and Jules to save herself and the rest of the Blackthorns. Now feeling sort of motherly to the brood, she can't help to fall into herself with little to pull her out of her feelings expect revenge when the new murders are discovered. Her feelings for Julian threaten to overtake her, and with only Christina to confide in, she's nearly ready to explode.

Julian is very much the same. He had lost his older siblings to the Cold Peace, had to kill his father when he was turned by Sebastian, and raise his younger siblings from 12, that he almost doesn't understand what it is to be an 18 year old. Now that Mark is back, he thinks that he will be able to relinquish some of the responsibility, but unfortunately Mark is in no state to do so. Jules has also known that he's been in love with Emma for years, and it's getting harder to hide that fact.

Mark was completely and utterly destroyed when he was taken by the Wild Hunt, and the very notion of him returning to his Shadowhunting ways is neigh on killing him. He can't reconcile the fact that he is safe and home, and the complication of his own feelings towards one of the Hunters isn't helping.

The rest of the Blackthorns, though secondary characters, are all fleshed out too. Tiberius and Livia - Ty and Liv - are twins, and do pretty much everything together. Liv wants to be Ty's Parabatai, and protect him, but he's very much against it. Ty has his own little quirks, that the family embrace but don't want anyone else to see - it's implied he's on the autistic spectrum, but as mundane notions are frowned upon, not diagnosed. Drusilla is only 13, but already she is dealing with issues such as body image, and shyness, but within her family, she is loved and adored. And then we have little Octavian, the baby of the family who's only 7 and already wise beyond his years. I just adore Tavvy, and he needs to be protected at all costs.

The entire plot of this book, though slightly long at times, was breathtaking. I found myself falling back in love with Cassie's stories and understand now why I had loved them so much in the past. I can't really review the plot line without giving too much away, but just know that I'm diving right into Lord of Shadows now!