Review : Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Title : Lady Midnight
Author : Cassandra Clare
Genre : YA fantasy
Series : The Dark Artifices #1
Release Date : March 8th, 2016
Publisher : Margaret K. McElderry

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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.

Given that I really really love her previous series, The Infernal Devices, of course I already have a high expectations for this book. I also think that Lady Midnight will be my next 5 stars, which turns out to be true. This make Lady Midnight my fifth 5 stars book.

Why I Love Lady Midnight

A big and loving family

One thing that stand out in this book is a large and loving family. It's a rare thing in YA, and seeing that her previous story both feature a single child (okay, Tessa isn't, but her brother is mostly not there), I kinda expected this would be the same. One of the main character, Emma Carstairs, is also a single child, but Julian Blackthorn has 3 brothers and 3 sisters. Like, how cool is that? Also, Cassie made sure that all the brothers and sisters are involved, not just mentioned then tossed aside. Here's a full list of the main characters :
1) Emma Carstairs : Unlike Tessa and Clary who's the quiet type, Emma here is loud and a little wild. She's also on revenge mode (not sure if it's the right words, but I hope you get what I mean) since for 5 years, she has been trying to find her parent's killer.
2) Julian Blackthorn : He's definitely my favorite character here! He might not be sassy and witty like Will and Jace, but he's more calm and gentle, and the way he took care his siblings is just make me swoon. I think he's my favorite character here because I could relate the most with him, seeing that I also have 2 little brothers. Oh, and he's also a painter.
3) Livvy Blackthorn : She's one of the the twins. Livvy, I think, is more like Emma--a little wild and loud and sassy. Also, together with her twin, Ty, they make a really great team.
4) Ty Blackthorn : Of course, he's Livvy's opposite--quiet and calm. Also, he possibly has an autism. Cassie didn't exactly write it in the book, but the way he handle himself when he's nervous or when someone's kinda shout at him, well, I think it's autism.
5) Dru Blackthorn : We didn't get to see much of her in action since she's still new, but she's kind and shy. She has an insecurities problem since she's taller and curvier that girls her age. But really, I appreciate Casise for writing a character we could relate since I bet most of us have had an insecurities problems.
6) Tavvy Blackthorn : He's only 7 years old. When there's a 7 years old characters, usually, most authors just made them a side characters because what could 7 years old possibly do? But Cassie manages to surprise me, because little Tavvy here actually play an important role!
7) Mark Blackthorn : Okay, if you read TMI, you'll remember that he's given to the Wild Hunt. Well, he's back now, in exchange of investigating the recent murders. After 5 years (or probably more in faerie times) in the Wild Hunt, he's no longer the Shadowhunter boy he once is. Perhaps he's still the same, deep down, but seeing your family again after 5 years (or more) could be hard. Cassie manages to portray his characters well, including how he adapt and how he try to know his family again.

Of course, beside them, there's still other characters who play important roles. There's Cristina, who's from Mexico and kinda like a sister figure for Emma. Also (perfect) Diego, a centurion whom I kinda find suspicious. And Kieran the faerie prince. And of course, our resident warlock, Malcolm Fade.

A plot that hooked you up

The plot is intense and interesting and insert other similar adjectives here. Seriously, seeing that this book has 668 pages, you must be thinking that there were times that make you bored. But honestly, no. It's like in each pages there's a new problem arise, and no, it won't confuse you with the main problem.

A forbidden/best-friend-to-love romance

You guys know that I absolutely love forbidden and best-friend-to-love romance, right? Emma and Julian ara parabatai, and the first rule of being parabatai, you can never ever have a romantic love toward your parabatai, no reasons why. As expected, Emma and Julian--who have been best-friends for more than 5 years--fall in love, and their romance here is more.. certain(?). Like, what I mean is, Tessa and Clary both only kiss their love interest once in the first book, but Emma and Julian kiss like 4 times, not that I count. Anyway, I'm really curious as how Cassie will deal with this romance, but I really really hope they got a HEA.

Of course, there's still a lot of reasons why I love Lady Midnight, such as I found a new book boyfriend and oh, unexpected villain! Also, Lady Midnight is basically based on a poem, and for some reasons it make me happy because how many books are based on a poem? Anyway, it's really clear that I recommend this book, even if you dislike Cassie's previous book or already bored with the Shadowhunter world, because trust me, this book takes interesting to a new level.