Lord of shadows: Cassandra Clare

The year was 2010, Clockwork Angel had just come out and my friend Karla introduced me to one of the greatest series I had read at the time. I was a young 14 year old and this one off my first kind of "mature books" in the since that it had a better story line, better character development, and better romance. City of bones became one of my favorite series, until I read Clockwork Angel. To this day I still think this is the best series in the shadowhunter world.
Anyway the year is 2017, Cassie Clare has just released the second book to her third series. The Dark Artifices. And I am disappointed. And here  are the reasons why, which I'll list as I go.

1. The romance

•     Specifically Emma and Julian's romance. From the moment Cassie told her readers, how much we were going to LOVE them.... I knew something was up, and I probably wouldn't like them. Flash forward to me reading Lady Midnight... guess what, I really didn't like Emma or Julian. Their relationship just felt weird to me. Like Cassie was trying to hard for this to happen. The romance was just unnatural with how fast it moved. And in Lord of Shadows it just gets worse. I'm kind of bored of Cassie's over use of "we can't love each other because blank." Cassie has pulled it off before and I loved it! But I just feels forced in this book, it was too fast. I feel like if she had done it like the other books where she took it slowly, maybe it wouldn't have been so forced.
• Mark and Cristina, be still my beating heart! My god these two characters are so interesting, they are so engaging. And the two times they kiss, I literally swooned. This is what I excepted Emma and Julian to be. Mark and Cristina were attracted to each other but it wasn't an instant love thing. It took them forever to finally kiss, and anytime they were together I couldn't help but want them to kiss! Or hug or hold hands, or something! This is want I wanted, they learned and grew from their past relationships. I just love these two so much 😻
• Cristina and Kieran, my god I am swooning for these two. Cristina just understands Kieran so well and I just love their dynamic. 

     2. The conflict

• Honestly it's too much drama. Like everything was set up to happen perfectly, Emma and Jules were going to get exiled (or whatever it's called), but then it doesn't happen. I know this was supposed to be super dramatic and, like, end of the world type of drama. But to me, it just felt like a cop out. It felt like Ms. Clare needed the drama to make the story work... and it didn't
• Livy's death.
• I'll have you know that I honestly didn't care the Livy died (heartless I know). But here's why, Livy's death did not feel genuine. It didn't feel organic to the plot, it didn't feel needed, it felt forced, it felt unnecessary. Yes I know in REAL life, death is unexpected. It is not planned. It just happens, but this is a book. And deaths in books usually help further the plot or have a great meaning. And this, to me, was neither of that.

Honestly I am disappointed. I have loved these books since I was young, but I truly felt cheated out of a better book. I have loved these books, and this author. To have this book be such a disappoint for me was tragic. Who knows, maybe the next book will be better. Maybe it won't. I'll read it.... But not as excitedly as I would read other books.

Until next time readers <3