Book Review: Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2)

Release Date: May 23, 2017
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Length: 701 pages
Source: Purchased Book

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.

    

Review:

Protagonists: Since this story has such a large and diverse cast of characters, in order to keep this section from getting huge, I'm going to pick three characters, those who either have a more significant role in this story than the previous one, or those whose story was more interesting to me. Don't get me wrong, all these characters are fantastic and they grow and evolve at such a wonderful rate and all their stories are very compelling. I think the character that surprised me the most was Drusilla, the Blackthorn that's too old to be a child, but too young to be an adult. While she didn't have as significant a role in this story, as most of the other characters, she has her own little subplot that looks very promising for the final installment and brings up questions I need to be answered ASAP.  Kit Rook, the boy revealed to really be Christopher Herondale at the end of the previous installment really comes into his own as he goes from con man's son trying to survive without his father to Ty's detective sidekick to, well I'm not going to give it away. Kit's character development was really fun to watch. His plotlines with Ty and Livvy were some of the best parts about this book and I can't wait to see where his story goes in future installments and how, and if, he makes it out of this series. Dianna Wrayburn, the Blackthorns' tutor also has some incredibly surprising character revelations in this story as well. I love Dianna, her care for the Blackthorns is fantastic and the secrets that she hides make her all the more compelling and intriguing of a character.

Romance: So, of course, the central romance to this series is the one between Emma and Julian, but of course they're parabatai and love doesn't come without breaking the Law and a curse of madness and destruction. A large portion of this book doesn't have really any development on Emma and Julian's relationship, mostly it's just a silent longing from afar, but as the story continues there are some very significant moments between the two, and while I'm not quite sure where their romance will end, for good or bad, I'm still excited to see how everything there is resolved. An even more complicated romance, if that's even possible, is whatever is going on between Diego, Cristina, Mark, and Kieran. When I first started this story I had no idea where the romance could go, let alone where it would. As this story progressed and the bonds between these characters begin to shift and change, I definitely have an idea or two where things might go, and it fascinates me to no end to see where these characters not only end up personally but romantically as well. The romance in this story is incredibly on point and while at times it can be a tad idyllic, the situations the romantic partners are put into aren't.

World Building: You would think that after ten other books set in this world that there wouldn't be a need for any more world building since there was so much time to build it before. However, what I love about Clare's world is that it's constantly evolving and changing. After the repercussions of the fallout in City of Heavenly Fire, Shadowhunters grow more and more distrustful of Downworlders, the Fae in particular, and so in this series, and this installment we get to see a lot of the world building that concerns the Fae. There is a trip taken into Faerie that leads our heroes on a dangerous quest full of high risk and even higher rewards. Meanwhile, something sinister is rising from within the Clave, a bigoted group called the Cohort seek to restrict the rights of Downworlders even more, not even seeing them as people deserving of rights. On another front, the Unseelie King, a man who craves power and hates Shadowhunters is rising and with his rise, he hopes to see the death of all Shadowhunters and the subjugation of everyone else. This world just keeps growing and evolving and while I'm a bit worried about its future, I'm excited about the journey and adventure.

Predictability: Honestly, I've been sitting here and wondering what in this book I was able to predict. I mean, there were some vague feelings I had that turned out to be true, and some very obvious foreshadowing that I don't think was intended to be subtle. Other than that there wasn't much of anything I was able to predict and this story has a whole lot of twists and turns. There's one twist that completely floored me and made me cry, like really cry, not just tear up, and I won't say if it's a happy, sad, proud, or angry cry but it was a very emotionally draining scene and a very powerful one as well.

Ending: So, full disclosure, the ending of this book was spoiled for me. I won't reveal how, but let's just say that when the final book in this series comes out I might have to have an internet ban until I finish the book. Anyway, so when the final chapter rolled around, I thought I was ready for what I was about to read. However, the final chapter of this story is chock full of intensity, tension, joyful moments, and not so great ones, and when what I knew was inevitably coming finally came, it still impacted my feelings probably just as much as if I'd been reading it for the first time. The finale of this story leaves things hanging in a way that will make me curse the author for making me wait two years to figure out what happens.

Rating:

So, this wasn't much of a surprise. I mean, I went into this book knowing I was going to love it, but I wasn't fully aware of how much until this moment. This book blew me away and while I am very angry to have to wait a while to catch back up with these characters, I'm also obsessed with finally starting The Last Hours series.

Blog Tour Audiobook Review: Timekeeper (Timekeeper #1)

Release Date: November 8, 2016/February 14, 2017
Author: Tara Sim
Narrator: Gary Furlong
Publisher: Sky Pony Press/Forever Young Audiobooks
Length: 414 pages/8 hrs. 48 mins.
Source: Audiobook Received for Tour Review

Two o’clock was missing.

In an alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, a damaged clock can fracture time—and a destroyed one can stop it completely.

It’s a truth that seventeen-year-old clock mechanic Danny Hart knows all too well; his father has been trapped in a Stopped town east of London for three years. Though Danny is a prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but the very fabric of time, his fixation with staging a rescue is quickly becoming a concern to his superiors.

And so they assign him to Enfield, a town where the tower seems to be forever plagued with problems. Danny’s new apprentice both annoys and intrigues him, and though the boy is eager to work, he maintains a secretive distance. Danny soon discovers why: he is the tower’s clock spirit, a mythical being that oversees Enfield’s time. Though the boys are drawn together by their loneliness, Danny knows falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, and means risking everything he’s fought to achieve.

But when a series of bombings at nearby towers threaten to Stop more cities, Danny must race to prevent Enfield from becoming the next target or he’ll not only lose his father, but the boy he loves, forever.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Danny Hart is a clock mechanic, one of a group of people that can put a clock tower back together after it's been damaged. Danny wants nothing more than to save his father from being trapped in a town where time has stopped, but because of his severe emotional attachment to the project, his superiors believe that his talents would be put to better use in the town of Enfield. I felt that the author of this story does a fantastic job with Danny's characterization. It's very easy to get emotionally invested in his hopes and dreams, and feel bad for him when those dreams don't work out as he planned, while still understanding where, as was the case with the lead mechanic keeping him off the job of rescuing the Stopped town his father is in, others are coming from. There are never times when Danny's actions didn't make sense or that there was never anything to justify his actions. While deeply flawed in many ways, Danny has a well-plotted development over the course of this story, while still feeling like a real, imperfect protagonist by the end.

Romance: Honestly, if there was one thing to turn me off going into this story it would have been the forbidden love aspect, but since everything else sounded so interesting I thought I'd give it a try anyway, and I wasn't let down. First off, this isn't a cliche and trope-filled forbidden romance. There are many times in this book where I wasn't sure what would happen in the romance, where I genuinely wondered whether or not Danny and Colton, the spirit of Enfield's clock tower, will end up together. I'm still not sure if they will or not, since it's a series, and that level of not knowing is so refreshing, I mean, in most forbidden romances the romance is viewed as this beautiful and perfect love, but the characters always seem to fall in love too hard too fast and have an unhealthy attachment to one another that is passed off as romantic. In this story, however, Danny and Colton learn about each other, they make mistakes and fight, and while they grow very fond of each other and will fight to stay in each other's lives they never cross that line towards manic and obsessed which I was ecstatic about.

World Building: One of the first things to draw me to this story was the fact that time is controlled by clock towers and that if the clock tower is damaged, then so is time itself. What I never expected though, was just how intricately the world building would go into this phenomenon. There are chapters in this book that detail the mythology of this world, and shine a light on how time works in this world. While these chapters are short, few, and far between, they add an addictive layer to this world that I couldn't help but be drawn to. Most of this book takes place in London is a sort of steampunk world with automatons and cars with no seat belts. Everything has a bit of an old-fashioned feel to it and the world comes alive in each chapter. Even with how much there is to learn about in this world, there's still so much more that I want to know, such as clocks in other parts of the world, which I think we're getting in book 2, and more about the mythology attached to time and the clock towers.

Predictability: For the most part this story is very unpredictable. While there is a good amount of foreshadowing here and there, a lot of it is very subtle and very rarely does the author write something that will clue the reader in on a big, or even medium, twist. One of the best twists in this story doesn't have ANY foreshadowing, at least not until a few minutes before the twist is revealed. It's something that completely changes the game and does so in such a satisfying and shocking way that I can't stop gushing about it. Looking back I can't remember many moments where I knew something was going to happen or whodunnit a significant amount of time before it was revealed.

Ending: If you're looking for a good first book in a series that doesn't try to drag you off a cliff with it's ending then you've come to the right place. As the story moves into its final climax, and what a fantastic and invigorating final climax it is, I was waiting for the twist that would prolong this story more than it needed to so that this could be a trilogy (I swear I'm really an optimist at heart,) but then the main story concluded and we were given a really nice cooldown with just a little twist that speaks to more stories within this world. There wasn't a huge cliffhanger or a feeling that, at least for the moment, things aren't resolved. While I am highly anticipating the release of Chainbreaker, the second book in this series, I can honestly say that I won't mind waiting a bit.

Audiobook Notes: So, I suck at reviewing Audio Books, which is why I rarely comment on narration and production if I listen to a book on audio unless it's extremely well done and stands out above other audiobooks, i.e. having ambient and background sound and music, or a full voice cast. However, this book has no extra effort put into the Audio Book, and that's not a bad thing. In fact, added features would have distracted from the overall story and the tension that builds during certain scenes, a full voice cast would have been nice, but the narrator does a perfectly wonderful job at narrating, although I would have preferred more distinct voices for certain characters. Overall, the Audio Book was great, the narrator did a fine job telling the story and it was put together very well.

Rating:

If you couldn't tell by how much I gushed about this book I loved it. The world is stunning and unique, and the characters are so perfectly imperfect. I can't wait to read on and see what will happen next!

About the Author:

Tara Sim is the author of Timekeeper (Sky Pony Press) and can typically be found wandering the wilds of the Bay Area, California. When she’s not chasing cats or lurking in bookstores, she writes books about magic, clocks, and explosives. Follow her on Twitter at @EachStarAWorld, and check out her website at tarasim.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads | Instagram

About the Narrator:

Gary Furlong grew up in Wexford, Ireland. Throughout his life he has worn many a hat: He has worked as a teacher in Niigata, Japan; a puppeteer in Prague; an improv artist in Memphis, Tennessee; and as a singer and actor all over Ireland. He started narrating audiobooks in late 2015 and hasn't looked back.

Gary made his acting debut in the musical Godspell as a student. Since then he has pursued acting both on the amateur and professional circuits. Notable roles include Tom Collins in Bare Cheek's production of Rent in 2010.

Over the course of his five years in Japan, he was an actor, director, and audio producer. It was during this time that he discovered his interest in audiobooks and voice-over.

He now works full-time as an audiobook narrator and voice actor from his home in Ireland.

Website | Twitter

Giveaways:

Giveaway 1:

Timekeeper Giveaway #1

Giveaway 2:

Timekeeper Giveaway #2

Book Review: Camelot Burning (Metal and Lace #1)

Release Date: May 8, 2014
Author: Kathryn Rose
Publisher: Flux
Length: 408 pages
Source: eGalley from NetGalley

By day, Vivienne is Guinevere's lady-in-waiting. By night, she's Merlin's secret apprentice, indulging in the new mechanical arts and science of alchemy. It's a preferred distraction from Camelot’s gossipy nobility, roguish knights, and Lancelot’s athletic new squire, Marcus, who will follow in all knights’ footsteps by taking a rather inconvenient vow of chastity.

More than anything, Vivienne longs to escape Camelot for a future that wouldn't include needlework or marriage to a boorish lord or dandy. But when King Arthur's sorceress sister, Morgan le Fay, threatens Camelot, Vivienne must stay to help Merlin build a steam-powered weapon to defeat the dark magic machine Morgan will set upon the castle. Because if Camelot falls, Morgan would be that much closer to finding the elusive Holy Grail. Time is running out and Morgan draws near, and if Vivienne doesn't have Merlin's weapon ready soon, lives would pay the price, including that of Marcus, the only one fast enough to activate it on the battlefield.

    

Review:

Protagonist: Vivienne is the queen's lady-in-waiting by day, but by night she secretly studies the mechanical arts and alchemy from Merlin himself. As a woman in Camelot, it's not appropriate for a woman to be learning anything other than maintaining a household and how to catch the attention of a suitable husband, but Vivienne dreams of more than a life at court and a loveless marriage to some noble or dandy. She wants to learn new things and build mechanical feats of brilliance. While I did enjoy the character of Vivienne, I also found her to be a bit too much of a cookie cutter "strong and inquisitive heroine." most of the time she has a fairly logical mindset, but when her emotions come into play she can be impulsive and charge headfirst into danger. She is a great character, but I feel she lacks something to set her apart from the archetype she embodies.

Romance: This book did get off to a great start in terms of the romance. Vivienne is intrigued by Marcus, Lancelot's new squire, and that curiosity eventually blooms into attraction, though she knows nothing could come of that attraction since knights are required to be celibate, a requirement that it seems everyone knows isn't actually kept, but any sort of marriage with Marcus is still off the table. However, while this romance starts off at a slower, but very enjoyable pace, at a certain moment I feel as though there's a skip in the romantic development, and before I could fully get on board with these two characters' romance they suddenly were sharing their intensely strong feelings toward one another. Now, I'm not opposed to these characters being together, in fact, I think they work really well together, but the abrupt jump in their devotion to one another is extremely jarring. My hope is that in the next installment we'll see more chemistry between these two characters so that I don't feel as though I missed a bunch of romantic development between these two characters.

World Building: A Steampunk Camelot? Sign me up! I was really excited to read this book on the Arthurian Legend aspect alone, but a steampunk element really amped up my excitement to read this story. (Although it did take me nearly three years to get around to, please don't judge me!) One of the elements to this story I found the most compelling was that the author didn' romanticize the famous characters from Arthurian legend. They all have flaws, some more than others, and it helped to bring a nice element of realism to this magical and mechanical world. Now as for the settings that we get to see, I was a bit bummed that Camelot felt sort of generic, much like our heroine, in that while we hear about Camelot as this wonderful utopia-esque place, there's nothing that really separates it from other kingdoms and since we don't get to see much of the world outside of Camelot, there wasn't all that much to this world, at least from a setting standpoint that stood out to me. As for the steampunk and alchemical elements to this story, I sort of felt underwhelmed by them, I mean there were definitely a few really cool steampunk scenes, but I felt as though the alchemy wasn't explained the best it could be and while I'm sure we'll get a greater understanding of it in later installments, I wish it was explained better in this book.

Predictability: As far as predictability goes, I was also similarly underwhelmed. I mean, there were quite a few surprising twists in this book. There were things I had no way I could see coming just pop right up, but in most of these cases, I never got the shock factor that I usually get when a surprising twist is revealed. One of the twists, I'm not going to go into specifics because I don't want to spoil anything, but one of the twists was actually a trope I've seen a lot of times before, but since there was no real foreshadowing for it, there was no way I could have seen it coming, and yet when it happened I sort of just brushed it off. Now, that's not to say that I was never shocked, nor was there never a time that I was able to predict something and get super excited that I got it right, but they were very few and far between.

Ending: Honestly, as this story started to wrap up I had a lot of theories about what was going to happen next, but I was surprised and even shocked, to learn where all of the characters end up by the time this story is over. The ending of this book actually had the majority of shocking moments for me in this book, and most of them happened during an epic final climax. There's a lot of tension as this book ramps up toward the ending and there are a few "blink and you'll miss it" moments. As the story winds down we get to see where the story will be going and how Vivienne and those she cares about factor into it.

Rating:

I do sort of feel like I've trashed this book more than I meant to because it is a really enjoyable book, but there were a lot of things that just felt underwhelming or didn't pop in the way I wanted them to. I will be continuing this series, but probably not for a little while.

Cover Reveal: The Head of Medusa (Elementals #3) + Giveaway!

So at the time that this cover reveal goes up I've only read the first installment in the Elementals series. Because of that I won't have all that much to say in the introduction that I haven't already said in my review of Book 1 The Prophecy of Shadows. However I will say this, so far this series has a lot of promise. While the romance seems a bit rushed and some of the characters aren't all that developed, I rather like this series. First off, I'm intrigued by the combination of Greek Mythology and Witch lore and the magic system in this series is absolutely fascinating. While it did feel a bit too much like the Secret Circle series by L.J. Smith, it didn't take too long for it to start to break free of that bit by bit and I'm very excited to see where this series will go. Now without further ado, here's the cover and synopsis of Book 3, The Head of Medusa.

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SYNOPSIS:

THE EPIC JOURNEY CONTINUES IN THE THIRD BOOK OF THE ELEMENTALS SERIES.

Moving to a new town wasn’t supposed to be easy. But for Nicole Cassidy, it meant discovering she was a witch with never before seen elemental powers. Mysteriously given a mission that could help save the world, Nicole and four other gifted classmates journeyed to Greece, where they battled ancient monsters and barely escaped with their lives.

Now Nicole and the Elementals have returned home, and while her relationship with Blake—the fire Elemental—is finally heating up, she can’t rid herself of the guilt that she’s responsible for the death of one of their own in Greece. But she must remain focused, because the portal to the prison world of Kerberos is weakening, and Typhon, one of Earth’s deadliest creatures, has escaped. Now the Elementals must retrieve the only object in the world that can destroy this dangerous monster—the head of Medusa herself.

Follow the Elementals as they journey to the end of the world, unsure of who to trust, and facing choices that will put their lives and the entire world at risk. Will they all survive the mission? And if they don’t, will the ones who do be able to find the strength to continue?

Find out in the riveting third book in the Elementals series, The Head of Medusa.

The Head of Medusa comes out on June 29, 2016

Pre-Order Now!

The adventure began in the first book in the series, Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows! To learn more about the first book, and to read the first four chapters for free, click here!

The Elementals series is available on Kindle Unlimited, so subscribers can read it for free!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michelle Madow writes fast-paced YA (young adult) fiction that will leave you turning the pages wanting more!

She grew up in Baltimore, and now lives in Boca Raton, Florida, where she writes books for young adults. Some of her favorite things are: reading, pizza, traveling, shopping, time travel, Broadway musicals, and spending time with friends and family. Michelle went on a cross-country road trip from Florida to California and back to promote her books and to encourage high school students to embrace reading and writing. Someday, she hopes to travel the world for a year on a cruise ship.

Want all three parts of the Transcend Time Saga—Michelle’s first YA romance series—for FREE? Click here to learn about the series and claim your books

To get instant updates about Michelle’s new books, follow her on Amazon!

Author Links:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Website

Giveaway:

Michelle is offering five (5) lucky winners an eCopy of Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)

Release Date: March 8, 2016
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Length: 720 pages
Source: Purchased Book

The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series.

    

Review:

Characters: Like other Shadowhunters books this series has a wide cast of characters that tell this tale. Foremost we have Emma, the girl we first met in City of Heavenly Fire, who will at any cost find out who really murdered her parents during the Dark War. Emma is a very driven character who gives almost no heed to danger or the rules. Then there's Julian, who after the harsh ruling of the Clave exiling his sister and giving up on looking for his brother, has become the primary caregiver of his four younger siblings. He will do anything to protect his family, that protection also extending to his parabatai Emma, even if that means doing something unsavory. Then there's Cristina Rosales, a girl on her travel year from the Mexico City Institute, who quickly befriends Emma and the Blackthorns. Christina is a very wise and loyal person, she also has secrets, such as why she's even at the LA Institute. Finally there's Mark (there are more characters but we'd be here all day if I kept going,) after spending what felt like years in the Wild Hunt he's returned to his family changed. He doesn't quite look older physically, but he acts much more like one of the Fair Folk than a Shadowhunter, Each of these characters I've mentioned, and the ones I haven't, are so multi-layered, and as the story progresses we learn more and more about them. They develop and grow beautifully and I can't wait to see where they go.

Romance: So normally I'm not a fan of forbidden love. It's something that's been done so much it should be taught in How to Write Romance 101. However this forbidden romance intrigued me. Until this book it's never been explained why parabatai cannot fall in love. The only explanation to it being the Shadowhunter mantra, "The Law is Hard but It's the Law." In this book Julian and Emma aren't automatically already in love or at least not that they fully realize. As this book goes on their feelings start to bubble to the surface and, not like I already wasn't, I was rooting for them. I love how their love is described, it's definitely not this pure and innocent thing, there are some rough edges to it, but it's still written so well. As for the other romances in this book, since you know Cassie Clare can't resist lots of romance, that's a bit of a tangled mess. I was surprised to discover that this story has a love triangle of sorts, and I'm not completely sure how I feel about it. I mean, I do enjoy the tensions and drama of the triangle (square?) I'm just not entirely sure I know where I want these characters to end up.

World-Building: WOW! There's a lot of world-building in this book. So first off let me say that I love the change of scenery in this book. While I love the New York crew they were very much cut off from Mundane culture, except off handed references from Clary and Simon, however the entire LA crew has knowledge of Mundane culture and thrives in it. It feels much more present day than TMI did, not that it didn't it's just different, anyway then there getting to know the Blackthorn family and learning what's happened with them since the Dark War and where they stand after the Cold Peace. In fact it isn't just the LA residents of the Shadow World who've changed, the entirety of the Shadow World lies changed after the Cold Peace, Things that six year prior would have been perfectly legal, like a Shadowhuter protecting a Fae, is now illegal unless given permission by the Clave. Things are different and this world is different and there are those who aren't afraid to take advantage of these changes for their own nefarious purposes. And of course as this world gets bigger and expands into new series we see and check in on characters from the past who come to help out and check in on out current group of protagonists.

Predictability: So the central mystery of this book is the seemingly random serial killings that have strange ties to Emma's parents deaths. There are other mysteries such as many of the central characters' pasts, but for the most part it's looking into the deaths so that the Blackthorns can get their brother back permanently. I have to say even with the rather spoilery things I knew before starting this book (the internet is an evil place) I still had my doubt about who did it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Cassie Clare is a wiz at foreshadowing. She never makes anything too obvious, but leaves just enough so that when it's revealed, even if it seems to come out of the blue, there's enough that makes it all make sense.

Ending: So the ending to this book is kind of weird. In a way there are like two endings. The first ending where what I think is the final climax goes down. Every thing is full on tension and action, with a few crazy twists thrown in, followed by a seemingly reasonable cool down period where things are explained, and this installment is seemingly put to rest. But then no, there's another climactic moment not too long after, where more action and fighting goes down, more characters show up, and more twists are lobbed around and revealed. Followed then by the real, final cool down period where this book comes to a close, but not before a short epilogue with a confusing but nonetheless chocking cliffhanger.

Rating:

Gah! This book was amazing, I loved the characters, loved the world-building and the secrets that were revealed, even the ones I was in no way expecting, and finally I loved the Annabel Lee inspiration this book has.