This book ruined me and I still think about it at least once a day. Once I read the last page and closed the book, I just kind of sat there for a while staring at this book that had consumed me so wholly, just trying to comprehend what I had just read. I did not think that there was any way this would be a worthy follow-up to Lady Midnight, which I loved with every part of my soul, but leave it to Cassie Clare to prove me wrong. Obviously, there are things in Lady Midnight that I liked better and there are things in Lord of Shadows that I liked better, but all in all, I was extremely pleasantly surprised by this book. 

     I was so happy to be back in this world with these characters. Out of all the series and trilogies in the Shadowhunter Chronicles, the cast of characters in this trilogy is by far my favourite. It is just so much fun to be with a younger group of Shadowhunters than we have seen before. Even though Emma and Julian are about the same age as Clary and Jace were in The Mortal Instruments, I love seeing younger Shadowhunters like Libby, Ty, Dru, and Kit as they are learning their new skills; especially seeing Kit as a new Shadowhunter and sort of being trained by Libby and Ty was so heartwarming and special. Even seeing more of Dru and Tavvy in this book was so interesting and entertaining and I really hope they are even more involved in Queen of Air and Darkness. 

     While I found I was less interested in the drama between the older characters, I still think Emma is my favourite female protagonist in the Shadowhunter Chronicles. She is just so unapologetically herself and doesn’t change her stubborn ways for anyone. She is very much a “take it or leave it” kind of personality and I am LIVING FOR IT! Julian can also be this way to an extent, especially when his family is involved, but it is just not to the same level as Emma. Of course, I love seeing the familial side of Julian, but one thing I really appreciated about this book more than Lady Midnight is seeing Julian interact with Mark and seeing Mark learn to be part of the family again. Mark is not my most favourite character, and I actually find him a little boring, but I can still appreciate the character development he has. 

     Speaking of characters, I loved seeing characters from the previous series in this book! Seeing Clary and Jace all grown up is so satisfying and is one of the biggest reasons that I highly recommend reading the Shadowhunter Chronicles in order, whether chronologically or by publishing date. I just know this book, especially the ending, would not have had as big of an impact on me had I not read The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices beforehand. That being said, I am super glad that none of the previous characters were really in Lady Midnight. I think we needed the chance to get to know this new cast of characters away from the legacy of Clary and Jace so we could appreciate their interactions that much more. 

     Now, the pacing. This book is about 700 pages, and I am not necessarily sold on the necessity of it being that long. I do think that some of the scenes could have been shorter, but I do have to applaud the level of detail in each and every scene, so I can’t really criticize the length of the book. The pacing itself is a bit slow toward the beginning, but once you get about halfway through the book, it all makes sense and the level of detail, in the beginning, is so necessary. 

     I try my hardest to make my reviews spoiler-free, so I will just say that the ending of this book left me rattled for about 3 days. I know that what happened is kind of necessary for character development, but I just wish with my whole heart that it didn’t have to happen. It’s honestly when I thought I was in the clear and everything was going to turn out fine, but I should know by now to never trust a comfortable feeling with Cassandra Clare. It does make for a great setup for Queen of Air and Darkness, so I am excited to pick the next one up, but it doesn’t make up for the trauma of the last few pages of this book. 

     Overall, I did not think that this book was going to be a worthy follow-up to Lady Midnight, but it was better than I ever dreamed it could be. So much development happened in this book and it was just so worth every single minute I spent reading it. It makes me so unbelievably excited for Queen of Air and Darkness and I am so thrilled overall with this read. 5/5 stars to Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare.