Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) by Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books
Goodreads Summary: Sunny Los Angeles can be a dark place indeed in Cassandra Clare’s Lord of Shadows, the sequel to the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling Lady Midnight. Lord of Shadows is a Shadowhunters novel.


Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she’d be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again?

And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace, and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters’ demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear—before it’s too late.
Rating: 5 Stars

Review: The story of Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn continues in the second volume of The Dark Artifices. New allies are found, but some have darker motives than suspected. it's a race to find the Black Volume before it is found and taken by those who desire to use it for nothing but evil...

I certainly had high expectations when I started reading Lord of Shadows. I mean, who wouldn't after Lady Midnight? However, I was definitely pleasantly blown away in response. Lord of Shadows is everything Lady Midnight and more. Every character has their own thoughts of what is best, and in this book Cassandra Clare really explores how they'd all react if pushed into a corner, their choices taken away or at least minimised.

My personal highlight of the book is Kieran. I've really grown to love him and I can't really explain it but he stands out for me. Lord of Shadows has helped me realise just how much work Cassandra Clare puts into her characters; each has their strengths and weaknesses, as well as unique traits which are their everything. She doesn't hesitate to use her characters to raise awareness that the world isn't perfect either.

Lord of Shadows is sad in nature but that doesn't mean there aren't funny moments, in fact plenty. Each time jump sees Shadowhunters in a new ages, and it is truly amusing to see them tackling modern technology and their pure ignorance about some topics, as pointed out by Kit (see the bottom of this review for my favourite funny quotes).

To all you Shadowhunters fans out there, do not hesitate to read Lord of Shadows. You have nothing to worry about (though perhaps, prepare a box of tissues). Lord of Shadows announce the triumphant return to our favourite world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders, another semi-successful attempt at satiating our addiction to these books for another year.

Humorous quotes:

❝"If we don't have energy runes, we'll have to get our energy the old fashioned way."
Mark looked puzzled. "Drugs?"❞ 

❝"I met Jace Herondale once." [Zara] looked around expectantly.
"Wow." said Kit. He really was a Herondale, Emma thought. He'd managed to insert Jace-levels of indifference and sarcasm into one word.❞

Deep quotes:
❝I think you cannot root out love entirely. I think where there has been love there will always be embers, as the remains of a bonfire outlast the flame.❞

❝Everything went. Happiness went, and so did loss and pain. Everything but love.❞
Purchase Location: Bought at The Warehouse, South Dunedin
Edition:
Paperback
Buy the book:
Book Depository
Recommended for: Fans of forbidden romance, adventure and resurrected characters.