Review: Lord of Shadows (SPOILERS)

Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices #2)
Cassandra Clare
shadowhunter book 

Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she’d be at peace. 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. 

How can we talk about anything before addressing the ending. 

WHAT WHAT WHAT 

I don't want to read the next book.

In Harry Potter, we never had to live with the aftermath of the deaths in The Deathly Hallows. If we did, we would have hated it. I don't want to imagine reading about the Weasleys after Fred. There's no coming back from that. All the dynamics we know and love change. I DON'T WANT TO EXPERIENCE THE BLACKTHORNS AFTER LOSING LIVVY. Things like that wreck families. I don't want Cassie Clare to try to insert the usual banter or even just normal behavior into Queen of Air and Darkness. It's not possible or right- the Blackthorns will never be the same, and as fans we have to understand they may not be the same people we know and love. ARE YOU READY FOR THAT? 

And Robert... how much more can the Lightwoods take? And the Clave... he was the right person to lead them to a better future of positive change. He even embodied that change in his own life. And after Tales of a Shadowhunter Academy I just can't... basically sobbing. 

But enough of that (I write with tears in my eyes). There are 699 other pages to discuss. 

So. 

Mark-Kieran-Christina. I, unlike everyone else apparently, hate this. I believe in marriage, partners. I love the love between all of them, but this can't work IRL. I feel like CC is trying to recreate Will-Jem-Tessa and I do NOT want more convenient life extensions. Unfortunately I can't remember if Diego was still in the running for Christina or not. Hope not though. 
About Kieran- I LOVE HIM. I love how he balances himself, becomes more moderate in personality, temperament. I loved how Mark went to save him, how they love each other even as they struggle to understand their relationship in the real world. 

Dru and Jaime - anyone else completely flummoxed but also charmed by this? At first I was super worried - there is a power imbalance. Dru is young and easy to be taken advantage of by older, cool Jaime who is the first one to treat her like an adult and also asks her to keep a secret. However I was pleasantly surprised that things didn't go down that road and in general I love Dru and can't wait to hear more from her POV in future books. 


Jace and Clary- WTF is going on. *Prays* 

 Ty-Kit-Livvy. I love them, I want the best for them. The boys are absolutely the best thing that could happen for each other. My only complaint is that is was very obvious this was gonna happen last book- personally I dig subtlety. Which brings me to Diana- her story was amazing and full of heart and pain and it's kinda cool that the internet figured that out but I wish it wasn't spoiled for me. 

Magnus - ALL THE FEELS. I love him, I love what he brings to the stories. I can't get over what happened- if Magnus had been there LIVES COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED. 

Julian and Emma - I was so happy when they were in the cottage. Characters in the Shadowhunter world deserve more happy times. I don't know what to think about Julian... I feel like the writer is forcing this darkness upon him. He hates himself for the things he needs to do sometimes, and yes, he shouldn't think dichotomically- NO JULIAN, THE CHOICES AREN'T ALWAYS THE WORLD OR YOUR FAMILY. However, sometimes it is and I don't think it's fair to judge him in positions like that. 

As I'm sure you've realized, for me Shadowhunter books are all about the people, the dynamics, the relationships. But in Lord of Shadows CC really hit the ball out of the park with a metaphor for real-life war, politics, bad choices and mistakes. As always, a beautiful and very flawed installment. 

OH AND LONDON. THE LONDON INSTITUTE. BLACKFRIARS BRIDGE. JESSAMINE AND BRIDGET AND HERONDALE WRITING ON BOOKS AND WALLS. MY HEARRTTTTT

Review: All Fall Down

All Fall Down (Embassy Row #1)
Ally Carter
Tween Girl Action and Esponiage 

Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:
1. She is not crazy.2. Her mother was murdered.3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.
As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her -- so there's no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keeping his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.
Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can't control Grace -- no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do. Her past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn't stop it, Grace isn't the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.

Hey all! 
Missed being on the blog. Today I'm back with a writer I grew up on with Gallagher Academy and FELL IN LOVE WITH with Heist Society. 

All Fall Down is right there with the previous two when it comes to cool international, overly important 16-year-old girls with unique family businesses. However I found that as an adult reader, things I used to find cool or charming are not anymore. First off, I know a thing or two now about politics and diplomats and they don't work anything like the book describes. And while being the heir to a huge family dynasty of spies, thieves, or diplomats still seems pretty awesome, I find it more inspiring to see MCs make something of themselves.

There is also the matter of Alexei, this controlling boy who feels the need to "protect" Grace for her "brother". K. People don't become obsessive because their friend asked them to keep an eye out for their sister. If you care about her, great- I just need to see you GETTING TO KNOW HER FIRST. And even then - sorry but the Twilight days are over. Controlling and obsessive is not hot anymore. 

So at first, I had a hard time getting in to Embassy Row. But then I read Ally Carter's twitter thread, and was reminded what made her books so special. 13 year old girls have very little out there for them. YA books are becoming increasingly sexual or dark. This little niche of "tween" girl books was super important for me back in the day and I believe still important for girls now. They've outgrown the elementary stuff, they notice boys, their bodies and minds growing into adults. They look and read about high-schoolers, and I find it important to give them role models who aren't engaged in parties and sex. All Fall Down had friendship, girls being girls, sometimes looked down upon for being small and insignificant but strong- willed. Action, international adventure. And don't worry, Grace seldom let Alexei tell her what to do (; 

Grace deals with serious trauma and yet the book has a light feel to it for the most part. It's clean, fun and a quick read. Kudos as usual to Ally Carter. 

Also, Noah is from my country. Yayyyy Israel appreciates the shoutout <3