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Best Books of the Month: October 2018

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Top Reviews This Week

Emma Giordano's review of Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1) by Cassandra Clare

" OH MY GOODNESS. I don't think I'll ever be able to say it's better than The Mortal Instruments . . . but WOWWWW WAS THIS BOOK ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

This book was absolutely phenomenal. I think it is some of Cassandra Clare's best work to date. To the pe OH MY GOODNESS. I don't think I'll ever be able to say it's better than The Mortal Instruments . . . but WOWWWW WAS THIS BOOK ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

This book was absolutely phenomenal. I think it is some of Cassandra Clare's best work to date. To the people who say all of Cassie's books are the same, I hope Lady Midnight finally shuts you up. No more stories about "orphaned girls who aren't aware of their supernatural powers." (P.S. Clary was never an orphan so I don't know why I keep seeing that associated with TMI?) It was so wonderful to jump into the Shadow world from a perspective we've never seen before. Here's a girl who's been a Shadowhunter all her life, who grew up with all of the customs we're so used to learning about throughout the past books, who's already lived through a war and survived. Even though it's the same world, it is so unbelievably different from anything I've read from Cassie before. Given, some of that may have to do with the fact that this is the first totally new and full novel I've read from Cassie Clare in 2014, but I do believe most of it is attributed to the fact that she's grown as a writer and story teller.

From page one of this book, I can already sense a level of sophistication and improvement in her writing. There's an unfamiliar level of seriousness I haven't seen in the Shadow World before. It's intense, it's insane, and it's REAL. The characters in this book seem way more grounded than our beloved TMI/TID cast. I think some of that may have to do with the fact that there aren't jokes 24/7 (thought the comedy in this book is A+!) but each character is extremely individual and realistic in my opinion. I love absolutely all of them. It was so strange to start a book knowing quite a bit about this group of characters before starting; That's a TOTALLY new experience for me.

I will say, this story was a bit slow to start. The first 100-200 pages were kind of slow, but I think it was more just getting used to a new world with new characters and a new story. As soon as the book picked up, I couldn't put it down! From there on, this book is a non stop thriller with everything you could possibly want from a new installment of the Shadowhunter Chronicles.

Lady Midnight has taken the Shadow World further than I've ever imagined. I can't remember ever having so many theories for a series, and I am just EXPLODING with all of the new information that's revealed to us. I'm halfway through the book, thinking to myself, "I need Queen of Air and Darkness NOW because I cannot wait until 2018 to know the truth!" This story went in so many directions I wasn't expecting at the start, and I'm dying to see how things play out in the rest of the trilogy.

That being said you DEFINITELY need to read all of Cassandra Clare's works prior to this because we get ALL THE TMI AND TID FEELS. If there's one thing I love about Cassie's books, it's the way she's able to throw in references of our favorite characters so subtly and endlessly give us the satisfaction we desire from her previous books. But that means for those of you who aren't totally caught up yet, STAY AWAY BECAUSE THE SPOILERS ARE EVERYWHERE.

All in all, this book was absolutely fantastic. I never realized how much I wanted from this book, and Cassie managed to fulfill all of those unconscious desires I had for the future of this world. I can't remember the last time I loved a first book in a series this much. If that review hasn't sold you, I hit page 668 and turned DIRECTLY to page one to start all over again. Lady Midnight was absolutely phenomenal. I'm so proud of Cassie for never failing to disappoint me, always being an insanely talented writer, and continuing on with a world I know is so dear to her heart. I hope you all absolutely adore Lady Midnight as I did, and I cannot wait to post the spoiler-filled discussion I have prepared for my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/emmmabooks. Happy reading my fellow Shadowhunters <3

*Disclaimer- I was sent an advanced copy of this book by Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. All opinions included in this review as well as my future video are entirely my own.* ...more "
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