Co-review: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

After buddy reading many books together Stephanie @ Bookfever and I decided to do something different and do a co-review.  

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

In a kingdom by the sea…

In a secret world where half-angel warriors are sworn to fight demons, parabatai is a sacred word.

A parabatai is your partner in battle. A parabatai is your best friend. Parabatai can be everything to each other—but they can never fall in love.

Emma Carstairs is a warrior, a Shadowhunter, and the best in her generation. She lives for battle. Shoulder to shoulder with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, she patrols the streets of Los Angeles, where vampires party on the Sunset Strip, and faeries—the most powerful of supernatural creatures—teeter on the edge of open war with Shadowhunters. When the bodies of humans and faeries turn up murdered in the same way Emma’s parents were when she was a child, an uneasy alliance is formed. This is Emma’s chance for revenge—and Julian’s chance to get back his brother Mark, who is being held prisoner by the faerie Courts. All Emma, Mark, and Julian have to do is solve the murders within two weeks…and before the murderer targets them.

Their search takes Emma from sea caves full of sorcery to a dark lottery where death is dispensed. And each clue she unravels uncovers more secrets. What has Julian been hiding from her all these years? Why does Shadowhunter Law forbid parabatai to fall in love? Who really killed her parents—and can she bear to know the truth?

The darkly magical world of Shadowhunters has captured the imaginations of millions of readers across the globe. Join the adventure in Lady Midnight, the long-awaited first volume of a new trilogy from Cassandra Clare.

My rating:

CO-review: 

Was there anything that stood out with the storyline to you?

Christina: Well honestly I was a bit scared to read it. After the big love affair with both The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices I couldn’t help, but be a little scared that Lady Midnight wouldn’t be as good, HOWEVER turns out my worry was for nothing. Because of course it turned out pretty damn amazing! Just great plot and characters and twists you don’t see coming.

Stephanie: I was surprised by how much I loved the book and plot. I mean, I had expected it to be good, but I honestly hadn't expected it to be this good, you know? And there were a lot of unexpected twists that I hadn't seen coming. Typical Cassandra Clare! ;)

What are your thoughts on Emma and Julian?

Christina: Oh they are just so cute! Adorable. Their love is also really interesting both because of the whole forbidden element, but also since there seems to something about their parabatai bond that hopefully we get more answers to later.

Stephanie: I don't know what to say except that I absolutely loved them! And of course the forbidden love element is always a winner with me.

Which other romances in the book did you like?

Christina: Mark and Cristina for sure. And Kieran I guess. Eventually Diego. Definitely becomes complicated, but that’s what is so great, right. As it looks now though I am rooting for Mark and Cristina.

Stephanie: I adored Mark and Cristina. I shipped them pretty early on and continue to root for them. I also gotta say I did like Mark with Kieran but in the end my heart goes to Mark and Cristina together.

Favorite secondary characters and why?

Christina: I loved all the siblings they all had their little quirks and different personalities. Mark did turn out to be one of my favorites, just because of the way he acts and says some things. Cute and odd.

Stephanie: Mark, without a doubt! He was just freaking adorable and a little odd. I just love that in a guy. But I also have a lot of love for the other Blackthorn siblings. 

How would you describe Lady Midnight in one or two words?

Christina: Unexpected & amazing

Stephanie: Unexpectedly awesome! 

What did you think of the writing in the book?

Christina: Well that I didn’t worry about, it’s Cassie so it was amazing like all the others. Gets better and better really.

Stephanie: Amazing as I'm used to with a book by Cassandra Clare. In fact, I think her writing just gets better and better with each book she writes.

Favorite quote.

Christina: Okay so there’s a lot of great quotes out there, really hard to choose!

“We're late," she said, "The show is supposed to start in ten minutes. If some people hadn't decided that 'semiformal' meant 'seminaked'-"
"Why are you calling me 'some people'?" Mark inquired. "I am only one person.” 

Stephanie: “He bumped into a pay phone and said, 'Excuse me, miss,' on our way in," said Julian.

"It's polite to apologize," said Mark with the same small voice.

"Not to inanimate objects.” 

How was it different or similar to The Mortal instruments or Infernal Devices?

Christina: Similar I guess since it’s in the same world and all- I’d say in the places it matter like story wise with the Shadowhunters it’s similar as it’s supposed to be, but characters, storyline and everything else is definitely different. Of course it’s awesome that some of the old characters show up or is mentioned which just brings out all the feels.

Stephanie: This is a tough question. It's both pretty similar to The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices but it's also a complete different book with different characters in the lead. We do see a lot of familiar characters, though... so that is awesome too. 

What are your overall thoughts?

Christina: Overall, I loved it! Like I said I was a bit worried, but it was really amazing. It was filled with all the great Shadowhunter action, forbidden romance and humor. Now it’s just waiting for the next one.

Stephanie: Lady Midnight ended up being one of my favorite reads of 2016. It had romance, action, humor and hit me hard in the feels. It was pure perfection and I can't wait to read the next book!

About the author:

Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books. Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction. She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts.

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