Book Review
Title: Every Exquisite Thing (Ghosts of the Shadow Market #3)
Author: Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Paranormal/Romance
Rating: *****
Review: We have seen a lot of the Fairchild’s, Lightwood’s and Herondale’s in these short stories but this is the first story where we get to see Anna Lightwood, the oldest child of Gabriel and Cecily as she is only briefly mentioned in Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy. I didn’t know much about the story but the synopsis mentioning that we see Anna’s doomed love story through Jem’s eyes was very intriguing and I couldn’t wait to see it unfold. We are introduced to Anna who feels much more comfortable imagining herself as a man even going to steal her brother’s old clothing than she does a woman. One night her parents are invited to dine with Inquisitor Bridgestock and his family including his adopted daughter, Ariadne who Anna feels an instant connection with and it seems that the connection is reciprocated but this is a time where being interested in the same sex or dressing opening in the clothing of the opposite gender was frowned upon and had some serious repercussions.
We also follow Jem who is getting information on a demon from Ragnor Fell when he comes across an interesting warlock who calls him James Carstairs despite being introduced to her under his name given to him by the Silent Brothers and he knows he has to keep an eye on her. It seems that Anna and Matthew are the mischievous pair often going out at night into places like Soho with Anna is disguise as a man. On one of these trip, they end up at a club where they meet the warlock Jem was worried about, Leopolda Stain as they discuss the death of Oscar Wilde after his imprisonment for loving a man and they discuss whether love can ever be wrong and they agree that it can’t and Anna reflects that she has always found women attractive whereas men are brothers-in-arms and friends never anything more. However, the most interesting part of the story was the fact Anna found Leopolda attractive and isn’t thinking of Ariadne for the first time since meeting her.
When Anna and Ariadne encounter Leopolda summoning demons after sneaking out, Jem arrives to help kill them including the warlock but she seems to know the demon that fathered Tessa and offers to help him summon the demon in return for some Shadowhunter blood which Jem would never do. Leopolda flees in the chaos as Anna is injured but Ariadne offers to take care of her while Jem pursues the warlock and he agrees. During this battle, Anna realises that she is in love with Ariadne and doesn’t know what to do about it as she knows if they entered a relationship it could never be public and as a woman she would still be expecting to marry and have children which isn’t something she wants to do. Jem also captures the warlock with the help of Woolsey Scott and his pack where he learns that Tessa's father is considered a Prince of Hell but he doesn't get a name since the warlock tries to escape and is killed by the werewolves. After spending the night with Ariadne, Anna is imagining a life for them but when she learns that Ariadne is to be wed to Charles Fairchild in over a year’s time, she is heartbroken as Ariadne explains that she wants children and Charles will give them to her but she also won’t be unfaithful to her husband and despite having time to spend with Ariadne, Anna doesn’t want to fall more in love with her only to lose her so she leaves. Upon returning her mother knows what has happened as presents her with her own men’s clothes as both her parents understand that is who she is and even approve when she cuts her hair. Anna also chooses to wear the pendent that Will gave to Cecily and she realises that the clothes don’t make her a man and the necklace doesn’t make her feminine but together they create Anna as she was always meant to be. This was one of my favourite stories as it explores both sexuality and gender identity in a time where these things were punishable by imprisonment and sometimes much worse and I hope to see more of Anna Lightwood in the future.
Buy it here:
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Also see: City of Bones
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