Hello to all of you lovelies! Every year, the literary community gathers together for a must anticipated event-- BookCon. BookCon is an annual fan convention, which was established in New York back in 2014. Taking its name format from other fan conventions (ie Comic-Con), BookCon combines contemporary pop culture and the book industry.
Personally, I have been looking forward to BookCon for over a year. Now with the only a few weeks left before the big day-- May 14, 2016-- I cannot wait to see what is in store this year. Each year there are panels and Q&As with some of most beloved authors, comedians, celebrities and content creators. In addition to a Show Floor with the most influential publishers in the world and autograph sessions.
This year, there is over a dozen wonderful and creative guests that will be presenting and offering insight into their creative processes. For someone like me, who has been an avid reader since childhood and is an aspiring writer, BookCon's immersive experience is the ultimate celebration of the literary world. It allows an interactive, educational and creative outlet for all of my fellow book-nerds out there (don't worry, I say that with love). To be honest, I don't know what or who I'm most looking forward to-- there are too many wonderful authors and creators attending this year's event for me to choose from, but I will say that Pierce Brown, Scott Sigler, Susan Dennard, Cassandra Clare, Michael DiMartino and fellow Chicagoan Veronica Roth are definitely at the top of my list.
I am hoping to attend as many panels and Q&As as possible, as well as hear about up coming projects some of my favorite authors/creators will be apart of in the future. If you are in the Chicago area, I highly recommend checking out BookCon this year. For more information go to: http://www.thebookcon.com.
For now, I say good night and hope that the my random ramblings have peeked your inner bookworm.
~BL
Hello to all of you lovelies! Here today, I have my latest review. I'm incredibly excited to share my thoughts on the most recent book I have completed. "Lady Midnight," is the first book of the Dark Artifices series from author Cassandra Clare.
The Dark Artifices series, continues the adventures of the Shadowhunter world and connects The Mortal Instruments series and The Infernal Devices trilogy with overlapping characters and plot twits. Now, this is one of my favorite aspects of Clare's writing--especially within the Shadowhunter world-- she is able to intertwine plots from multiple locations, times throughout history and character connections.
However before I dive in, I want to disclose that I have read both of Cassandra Clare's previous series-- which is pretty important. For those of you that have not read The Mortal Instruments series and/or The Infernal Devices trilogy, you will be EXTREMELY confused jumping into this book. The other two series are quite extensive and gives important background details into the Shadowhunter world--which vital to have in order to understand "Lady Midnight." In The Mortal Instruments series and The Infernal Devices trilogy the characters explain the rules of this world, the types of obstacles Shadowhunters face and both series set up the plot for The Dark Artifices. Without having that background information, "Lady Midnight" would be almost impossible to understand, especially since characters from both series make appearances in "Lady Midnight" and Clare's newest series stems from the aftermath of The Mortal Instruments series.That being said, The Dark Artifices has already established it's own identity among the other Shadowhunter novels.
It is set in present day LA and follows Emma Carstairs. The latest, in a long line of Shadowhunters. Emma is not only a warrior, but she is one of the best (arguably the best of her generation) and she is the heroin we are supporting. Emma is a unique type of character, because she only truly had two motivations in life. 1.) To find out the truth about how her parents' died and 2.) her parabatai: Julian Blackthorn (basically the most important person in the world to her).
Emma's story picks up, several years after the epic battle in Idris, known as the "Dark War." "The Dark War" concludes The Mortal Instruments series and begins the set-up for The Dark Artifices.
"The Dark War" was fought against Sebastian Morgenstern. This battle killed off the majority of the Shadowhunter community and resulted in the Cold Peace (a term used to refer to the harsh fallout of the treaty signed between Shadowhunters and the faeries of the Seelie Court). The Cold Peace unified the Shadowhunters, Vampires, Witches/Warlocks and Werewolves against the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. This treaty unified many (previously) warring communities, however it also divided families and friends. Anyone within these factions--specifically the Shadowhunters-- that had "faerie blood" were exiled. This very act, separated the Blackthorn family even further. Julian's parents were killed during the "Dark War," and now Julian's older sister-- Helen and older brother-- Mark were taken away from the rest of their family. Leaving a twelve year old Julian in charge of and responsible for his four younger siblings.
However, when were are re-introduced to the Blackthorn family--it is present day and they are all older. Emma and Julian are tasked with patrols and though Emma is eager for battle, where Emma goes Julian is not far behind. And on a night like any other, Emma comes across a case that is eerily similar to one she holds most dear--the death of her parents. When the bodies of humans and faeries turn up murdered the same way Emma's parents were discovered, a secret and hesitant alliance is formed between Emma and the Blackthorns and the faeries.
Emma sees this as an opportunity to discover the truth behind her parents' murders and Julian has the opportunity to have his brother, Mark back-- who was being held by the faeries and was forced to become a member of the Wild Hunt.
"Lady Midnight," takes the concepts that readers have come to know and understand from Clare's previous works, but adds in new twists and turns. I really enjoyed the deep emotion and humor that seemed effortless between the characters and personally I could feel the paternal devotion Julian had for his younger siblings. I also really appreciated the intermingling of past events, which helped shape the arch of the story.
Although, I really did enjoy the dynamic between all of the characters, the Emma and Julian story line frustrated me--especially in the end. I didn't like that Emma, lied to Julian and decided to "pretend" to be in a relationship with Mark-- because I feel like that goes against the fundamentals of the parabatai bond. The parabatai connection binds two people together on a spiritual and emotional level. Furthermore, Emma and Julian's bond is stronger than most to the point where Julian literally almost drowned in his studio because Emma was trapped in the ocean, so I feel like Julian should be able to tell the Emma is lying. I also think, that once Emma discovered the truth about the parabatai bond she should have told Julian. She is now causing a deeper rift in an already unstable relationship, between Julian and Mark.
But I really enjoyed the connection that was forming between Mark and Christina (a close friend of Emma's, who is doing her "travel year" in LA, but she is originally from Mexico). In general, I really enjoyed Christina's character-- she reminded me a little of Izzy from the The Mortal Instruments-- in the sense that they are both fiercely protective over the ones they care about and they are strong warriors that never back down from a challenge. I also, liked Mark's character a lot. He provided a great deal of comedic relief and also provided a lot of insight and knowledge about the faeries.
Now, that I've completed "Lady Midnight" I can honestly say that I enjoyed the book-- even with the frustrating parts--predictable "love-triangle" and the lack of adult support, in addition to the possible inconsistencies with plot points (parabatai connection-- how it works, why is Emma's and Julian's connection strong enough to create a "super parabatai" bond, where if one dies so does the other, but not strong enough to detect when one of them is lying).
However, if I am being honest I would also have to say I didn't enjoy "Lady Midnight" as much as I enjoyed some of Clare's other novels. Out of all of her series (so far) I would say that The Infernal Devices trilogy is my favorite and from collection, "Clockwork Princess" would be my top choice.
"I don't know... But I know Tessa. She's his-- well, girlfriend seems not the right word for it. They've known each other a long time. I have a feeling they're both watching over you."
Yet, I am excited to read what happens next in The Dark Artifices and where the story will pick up. What do you think? Have you read the book? How do you think it compares to Cassandra Clare's other series (so far)? Are you also hoping to see more of Jem and Tessa/ Jace and Clary? What do you think about the cliffhanger about the "lost Herondale"? Does that make Jace and Tessa related to him? I can't wait to see how Tessa and Jem fit into the next part of the story. What about you? Let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
For now, I say good night and hope that the my random ramblings have peeked your inner bookworm.
~BL
Hello to all of you lovelies! Every year, the literary community gathers together for a must anticipated event-- BookCon. BookCon is an annual fan convention, which was established in New York back in 2014. Taking its name format from other fan conventions (ie Comic-Con), BookCon combines contemporary pop culture and the book industry.
