REVIEW: Lord of Shadows (Cassandra Clare)

Book: Lord of Shadows

Author: Cassandra Clare

My rating: 4/5.

Premise: Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again? And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace, and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters' demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear-before it's too late.

This book was dense. It's long and a lot happens. I found I had to put the book down after almost every chapter and just let it all sink in. That being said, I really enjoyed this book! In the first half, we have a journey in Faerie and we're introduced to the fascism spreading within the Shadowhunter communities. The second half is set in the UK and we have: Emma and Julian investigating in Cornwall; Kit, Livvy and Ty investigating in London; some faerie romances; and the return of Malec! In short, there are a lot of story lines, hence needing a break after each chapter! I love all the characters, particularly Emma and Kit (who doesn't love sassy characters). I laughed, I cried, my heart broke.....basically your usual Cassandra Clare book!