Review: Lady Midnight

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



It's finally here.

OFFICIAL LADY MIDNIGHT PLAYLIST:

"You're the only friend I need
Sharing beds like little kids
Laughing till our ribs get tough
But that will never be enough..."
-Lorde

"When I counted up my demons
Saw there was one for every day
With the good ones on my shoulders
I drove the other ones away..."
-Coldplay, "Everything's Not Lost"

"These words are knives and often leave scars."
-Panic! At The Disco, "This Is Gospel"

"It's the lightning, not the thunder
You never know where it's gonna strike
Our love's in jeopardy, baby..."
-Greg Kihn Band

"I'm on a ride and I wanna get off
But they won't slow down the roundabout..."
-Duran Duran, "The Reflex"

"And it felt so right
Just like the hush of midnight
And then you said
With me it's touch and go..."
-The Cars

"She said she's no good with words, but I'm worse."
-Fall Out Boy, "Dance, Dance"

"But what can move so strong?
Is it just simply to belong?
Or do we love to be blind?"
-Kongos, "The Way"

"How come people suffer how come people part?
How come people struggle, how come people break your heart?
Break your heart
Yes, I want to grow, yes, I want to feel
Yes, I want to know, show me how to heal it up
Heal it up..."
-Coldplay, "Up&Up"

"Uh-oh, it's magic when I'm with you..."
-The Cars

"Oh Heartbeat City, here we come..."
-The Cars

"Together we'll break these chains of love!"
-Erasure

REVIEW:

Recently, my Wattpad friend @SkiesAfterRain and I have been sharing between ourselves a hashtag in support of the ever-popular Malec ship: #UnlockTheLove. After reading Lady Midnight, which is now my favorite Cassie Clare book to date, I've gotta say, that hashtag perfectly sums up the point of this new Dark Artifices trilogy.

Not only does this book boast my newest and most favorite Shadowhunters OTP - Emma and Julian (Jemma, I call them now), but they also offer up a fresh and very enticing twist on Clare's usual theme of forbidden love. In this case, it's because they're parabatai...but you already knew that, 'cause that plot point's been known for at least a couple of years now.

This love story, however, is just one of several in this book that the Clave would never allow to continue if they knew just how strong the feelings between the two young lovers were. Without going into spoilers, I'm going to say that throughout this book, the Clave, especially with their whole sed Lex, dura Lex thing and the diabolical addition of the Cold Peace that basically ostracizes all Faeries even though you really shouldn't blame an entire race for the mistakes of the few, is basically a stand-in for the GOP or any other conservative political entity whose goal is to quash any attempt at living a lifestyle they disagree with...and with the increased prevalence of such "alternative" (for lack of a better term) lifestyles in today's society, they're really ramping up their efforts to drag civilization back to the Dark Ages.

I've written before on my belief in freedom of love, and with the revelations in this book, I now officially hate the backward-looking Clave more than ever.

It's not all bad in this book, though. Emma and Julian are, as I said, my new OTP. And I really love the supporting characters in the LA Institute too, especially Cristina, and especially-especially Julian's siblings. (I don't wanna pick faves, but because of the way he, like me, has a tendency to avoid eye contact at all costs, Ty's the one I relate to the most.)

But dear sweet Lord, that ending. That was some Amazing Spider-Man-ending level heartbreak. (The first one, that is, but I wouldn't put it past this author to emulate the second as well.)





Cassie Clare, I really, really hope you have a great plan in mind for stitching your fandom's poor broken hearts back together again with the remaining two Dark Artifices books. Until then...ave atque vale, happiness.

Ooh, I need a hug...



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