Lady Midnight

One more thing I promised this year, other than making more amigurumis, is to blog about books I've read. Not exactly like one of those lengthy and elaborate reviews, but just bits and pieces on why I loved/hated it and why it deserved my star rating in Goodreads. I thought of doing this a few years ago but as the great procrastinator that I am I thought the best time to do so was now. Hehehe! XD

If you're thinking that I've read thousands of books... You're not exactly wrong. I've only read a little over a hundred in my current lifetime, but my to-read list includes almost 2,000. So by 95 I think I would've finished my list, that is if I don't add in any more books or get lazy... Sigh! Very unlikely. T_T Well, I may be the laziest reader ever, but make no mistake that I ever take my reading for granted. If I could just declutter my brain long enough from amigurumis, movies, anime, Korean drama, and Yu-Gi-Oh! I could actually finish a book in decent time. By decent time I meant a month... [TUMBLEWEED].

Last year I proudly proclaimed that it took me only a few months to read Cassandra Clare's entire The Mortal Instruments (TMI) and The Infernal Devices (TID) series in Goodreads, which consisted of 9 chunky books if I might add, when one of its members commented:

"I find it strange that you finished this series in a couple of months: I finish 500 page books in one day."

It's not my fault my attention span's too short to finish a book in one sitting!!!

Ahem! Anyway... Back to business. So the first book I finished this year is Cassandra Clare's Lady Midnight of The Dark Artifices (TDA) series. It's the first book in the trilogy that tells the story of Emma Carstairs and the Blackthorn siblings five years from the events of City of Heavenly Fire, last book of TMI.

WHAT I LOVE:

Nostalgic Character Mentions
A few times in the story you'll come across names from the other series, like Tessa Grey, James Carstairs, Clary Fairchild, Jace Herondale, and Magnus Bane, which kinda punches you in the gut with nostalgia. Sigh! Such a bitter-sweet feeling. So before reading this, I suggest you finish up Cassandra Clare's earlier works, otherwise you won't understand the hidden references.

Forbidden Love
Who doesn't love "against all odds" love stories? I could never ship Emma and Julian enough. They're just so adorable. That whipping though... [SHIVER!]

Perfect Diego
The running joke of the entire book. I need not say more.

The Avengers
Apparently Captain America is the hottest Avenger and Cristina wants to heal the Hulk's broken heart. Priceless.

Julian Blackthorn
I can't recall another character that broke my heart more than Julian did. Imagine raising four children at Age 12, discreetly running an entire Shadowhunter institute 'coz your uncle went loony, and forcing yourself to not love your best friend. Damn! This kid deserves a trophy.   

The Fey that was Mark
Mark Blackthorn's abduction was one of my major feels in City of Heavenly Fire. So seeing him back was quite the treat, especially his efforts of being normal after years of Fey. I almost died laughing on his take on semi-formal wear. Nice!

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:

For this book, hate seems like a too strong a word so let's stick with just "don't like".

The Cheese
I love romantic stories, but not too crazy on unnecessary, cheesy lines like "Sleep my love". Really? And that came from a 17-year old girl. Yeah, not buying it. 

Parabatai Bad Juju
For those wondering why falling romantically in love with your Parabatai is forbidden, wonder no more for this book is your answer courtesy of Uncle Jem. Ever since I started this book I've been itching to know why going googly eyes over your Parabatai is illegal, as in excruciatingly painful punishment illegal. Well, I did get the answer but not exactly that happy about it. It didn't have as much gravity as I thought it would, it was just "meh!" like "that's it?". Oh well, I guess it'll be further explored in the second book. 

STAR RATING:

4.5 Stars
So basically I find this book very well written and the flow of events really smooth. I like how it jumps from present to past without giving me a headache and how it introduces new characters with interesting detail, even reintroducing old characters from former series without sounding redundant. It never had a boring moment and mercilessly made me bipolar by making me cry on one chapter then making me laugh like a lunatic on another. The characters are written realistically and complex, making it impossible to only feel one emotion about them. Oh Gwyn! You said you're one tough cookie, but actually sweet and gooey inside. XD 

If you haven't read Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters chronicles, you're missing half your life. It's a really great read and somewhat relevant to the events of today in terms of discrimination, right to living, and good trying to triumph over evil. It's really awesome.    

I can't wait for the next installment (Lord of Shadows), which will be released on May 23. Just less than 5 months left. Squee!
         


Disclaimer: Some of the images/gifs are not mine and can be searched online