Happy Release Day Lord Of Shadows!

On March 8th, 2016, Cassandra Clare’s much awaited Lady Midnight was released.

Today, May 23rd, 2017, it’s Lord Of Shadows turn, and let me tell you, I am excited.

Here is the official cover and summary for Cassandra Clare’s latest installment to her bestselling Shadowhunter series.

Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?

A Shadowhunter’s life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.

Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.

If you haven’t yet ordered your copy, you can purchase special editions at Target, Barnes And Noble, as well as Costco. All first edition copies of the book will feature 30 new rune illustrations from the book. The Costco edition features an interpretation of Julian’s portrait of Emma from Lady Midnight. The Target edition includes a beautiful map of Alicante. The Barnes And Noble edition has a deleted scene from Lord of Shadows, in which Emma and Julian, Shadowhunter warriors and soul mates, meet on Blackfriars Bridge in London.

If you’re waiting for your pre-ordered copy to come, like I am, you can read the first two and a half chapters here.

Happy reading and again, happy release day to both Cassandra Clare and to Lord Of Shadows. Let me know down in the comments how you’re spending this day!