Just get together already! The build-up of sexual tension between Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn is electrifying and only gets stronger with each chapter. The romance between this couple is real and the fact that they are close friends makes it even sweeter. I turned the pages with impetuous excitement, eager to find out how this story would unravel. Enchanting, imaginative, and romantic. Lady Midnight is a book of forbidden romance, family loyalty, and supernatural experiences. This is a spoiler-free review!

Book Blurb: 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?

Emma and Julian are shadowhunters, friends and also paratabai, which means that they always have each other’s backs but cannot get involved together romantically. They made this supposedly unbreakable vow when they were young and vulnerable; Julian was left to care for his many siblings and Emma also had no one else to turn to. What they once thought would strengthen their bond forever, would turn out to be the reason for their frustrations, uneasiness, and heartache. For this we can’t help but feel for them. I was rooting for them to fight against the shadowhunter rules and to follow their feelings. However there is an astounding revelation which we learn about later in the novel which complicated the situation. No more to be said on this subject, you’ll just have to read the book to find out!

I absolutely loved the ballroom scene with Emma and Julian. You can really feel the longing they have for each other but which they have to keep hidden from public view. I especially liked the description of the alluring interaction between Emma and Julian.

‘The space between them was heated, electric. His fingers curled around her hip. His other hand slid down her back, slowly, gliding along her hair until he reached bare skin where the back of the dress dipped down…He had never touched her like this.’ 

Hot and enticing. If you liked that, you’ll love the beach scene.

Besides the romance, there is plenty of shadowhunter action; fighting insect-like demons, interactions with enigmatic dangerous Faerie folk, and a mission to find a serial killer in order to keep Mark, Julian’s brother, within the family. You can’t help but like the Blackthorn siblings who have a very interesting dynamic within the household. The world that Clare has created is imaginative and action-packed. If you love supernatural mystery adventures then this might just be the book for you!  

Rating: 4/5