Book Review: Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2) by Cassandra Clare
Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: May 23, 2017
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

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.

Lord of Shadows is the second book in the Dark Artifices series by Cassandra Clare. I don't know what's going on, but after enjoying the first book, this one was such a disappointment. First of all, we're given many different character view points. I have no idea why nor did I have interest in some of these characters. Whenever something of interest started happening, we'd jump to someone else's perspective, then someone else's, and by the time it all came back around, my interest in their situation was long gone and replaced with aggravation. This happened a few times. Some view points were definitely needed, while other characters added absolutely nothing to the story other than an increase in word count. They were written like they were main characters, but they weren't all main character material. 

There were multiple love triangles and squares, yes squares, going one, and some characters fell into more than one triangle. I think some may turn into parabatai, because that bond is an intense love too. I can see how the emotions would be confusing, but holy angsty love triangles Batman! Sometimes less is more. (Actually, that phrase applies to much of this book.) I don't feel invested in many of the characters or any of the couples at this point. Even Emma and Julian fell flat during this book. Emma's reasoning for not being honest with Julian was pointless. Plus, I feel like I've read a similar story before with Clary and Jace.

There were many moments that seemed to drag on and on. This is such a long book already, and it needs substance, not fluff. I'm all about a long book, but make it a good one with a good plot. Where was the plot anyway? Did I miss it? It looks like we may be fighting the start of a Shadowhunter run Totalitarian type government, but aside from that, I'm not sure what was supposed to be going on here. Something would happen and I'd think, "Here it is. This is what we're waiting for." Then something else would happen to negate it or someone would die, and that ended whatever I thought was starting. Instead, everything revolved mostly around angst. Whatever the first book had, this book lost every bit of it.

I feel like some of the characters are trying to set us up for another series or trilogy as well. Is that a good thing? After reading this book, I'm really not sure.

Have you read the first book in this trilogy yet?

Check out my reviews of a few books from the Mortal Instruments series!

Have you read the Infernal Devices Series yet? I LOVED this trilogy! Check out my reviews!

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.

To learn more about Cassandra Clare and her books, visit her website and blog.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.