Series: The Dark Artifices
Author: Cassandra Clare
In a kingdom by the sea…
In a secret world where half-angel warriors are sworn to fight demons, parabatai is a sacred word.
A parabatai is your partner in battle. A parabatai is your best friend. Parabatai can be everything to each other—but they can never fall in love.
Emma Carstairs is a warrior, a Shadowhunter, and the best in her generation. She lives for battle. Shoulder to shoulder with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, she patrols the streets of Los Angeles, where vampires party on the Sunset Strip, and faeries—the most powerful of supernatural creatures—teeter on the edge of open war with Shadowhunters. When the bodies of humans and faeries turn up murdered in the same way Emma’s parents were when she was a child, an uneasy alliance is formed. This is Emma’s chance for revenge—and Julian’s chance to get back his brother Mark, who is being held prisoner by the faerie Courts. All Emma, Mark, and Julian have to do is solve the murders within two weeks…and before the murderer targets them.
Their search takes Emma from sea caves full of sorcery to a dark lottery where death is dispensed. And each clue she unravels uncovers more secrets. What has Julian been hiding from her all these years? Why does Shadowhunter Law forbid parabatai to fall in love? Who really killed her parents—and can she bear to know the truth?-Goodreads
Review: A new series by Cassandra Clare? Yes! I was so excited to read this and for the most part, it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed Emma as a main character-I found her more likable than Clary on almost every level. The side characters were great too, especially Julian (Emma's best friend and parabai), Mark (Blackthorn brother who has been living in faery for several years) and Cristina, who is doing a study abroad type program at the LA Institute. I love the relationship between the Blackthorn kids-although a minor pet peeve, as a parent of a 7-year old, the youngest child, age 7 in this book, is written more like a 4-year old. Ok..back to the story at hand. It started a little slow, but the plot was good and kept me interested. The 'big bad' was someone I never felt we knew too well as a reader so I didn't feel too connected to him on any level. I really enjoyed this until the end. After spending 600+ pages reinforcing how Emma would do anything for Julian, understands the need to keep his family together, yadda yadda...her actions at the end completely undermine everything we know about her character. I understand that parabai's cannot fall in love and she is struggling to deal with that. I understand she's a teenager. But her way of dealing with it was so destructive on so many levels...ugh.
Not my favorite ending, but I'll def continue with the series.
Grade: 3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment