Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read nearly everything Cassandra Clare has written at this point. Lord of Shadows is one of her larger novels. Sitting here looking at all her books on my shelf, it's clear that this particular section of the world of Shadowhunters is going to be the longest.

I spent the first part of the book wondering how on earth I was going to get through 700 pages of storyline. Clare packs it in this time. She takes on countless side journeys with different pods of characters. Ty and Livvie have side adventures with Kit. Dru has her own tiny storyline. This on top of literally everything else that's going on. It felt overstuffed. There's an impending war with the faeries, there's the love between Julian and Emma to contend with. The use of Jace and Clary in the beginning of the book is completely forgotten by the end. There's a LOT going on in this book.

This one made me feel all kinds of things. I was frustrated, angry, sickened, amused, and by the end? Practically in tears. OK. Actually in tears.

Lord of Shadows left me conflicted. I loved it, like I do all her novels, but I felt like she took on too much. Yet at the same time part of the reason why I love what she does is because she takes the time to dig in to all the side characters. She's not just a character builder, but a world builder. She teases backstory and then moves forward leaving you wishing you had an entire book about THAT. I wanted to give the book five stars but I just felt like there was too much going on.

For fans of Clare, you're already in regardless. For those who are new? This isn't the best one, but it's still pretty damn good.


View all my reviews