Teaser Tuesday: Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Ambrosia of The Purple Booker.
To play along just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare.

Lord of Shadows –
Margaret K. McElderry Books

We fear things because we value them. We fear losing people because we love them. We fear dying because we value being alive. Don’t wish you didn’t fear anything. All that would mean is that you didn’t feel anything.
— Chapter 7

I think you cannot root out love entirely. I think where there has been love, there will always be embers, as the remains of a bonfire outlast the flame.
— Chapter 20

Since this is a second book in a series I won’t say anything about the plot, because everything – and I mean everything – is a potential spoiler that’s how complex and intricately connected all of it is. Sort of blink and you miss a reference. But I will say this: If there was a possibility to safeguard my heart by keeping it outside my body while reading, I would do it. If Cassie Clare gets any better at what she does, she will obliterate me in one of her next books. And while we’re on the topic of obliteration: The word cliffhanger called and says it no longer wants to be associated with Shadowhunter books and will send its older brother suicidal free falling to take on the job. I know that things have to get worse before they get better in these books, but there is worse and there is traumatised-rocking-in-the-corner worse.
It’s been said before that you don’t need to have read all series to understand the others, but I’m completely in love with the glimpses and allusions to the other beloved characters and the glimpses into their lives. Yet at the same time that also means they are not safe. And that is one aspect that really has me worried. Yes, I want to know how they are faring, but at the same time I realise that also means in this world they will remain in danger. The same would be true if their book simply ended and I never heard of them again from a logical aspect yet this feels more immediate. Please, please, please let that one vision not be a literal one ...
And now it’s going to be an almost impossibly long wait for the final book, because Cassie is writing others before it. Perfect for coming up with ever more intricate doomsday scenarios fed by information added through the Queen of Suspense and Foreshadowing. So don’t mind me while I’m hurtling through empty space and try to come to terms with what happened. If there is one thing you need to be aware of with these books, it’s that you shouldn’t let your guard down (or let that treacherous hope off the leash) until the book is over. Seriously, this is at least the second time Cassie has done this to me on the last few pages.

What is the last book that has emotionally devastated you? Were you prepared for it or has it blindsided you? Share experiences and teasers in the comments!