SON OF DAWN by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan / Audiobook Review #SonofDawn #shadowhunters

By: Cassandra Clare & Sarah Rees Brennan
Narrated by: Reilly Dolman
Published by: Shadowmarket Enterprises
Released on: April 10th, 2018
Series: Ghosts of the Shadow Market #1
Purchase from: Audiobook | Amazon | B&N
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Rating: 5 Stars - WE LOVED IT!

The Lightwoods, the Shadowhunters who run the New York Institute, are expecting a new addition to their family: the orphaned son of their father's friend, Jace Wayland. Alec and Isabelle aren't too sure they want a new brother, and their parents are not assuaging their fears, too occupied with the dark news that Raphael Santiago, second-in-command of the New York vampire clan, has brought from the Shadow Market.

EMM'S REVIEW

It is a good day when you get new Cassandra Clare material to read, especially when it features some of your all time favourite characters in fiction. It is no secret that I am Team Jem, The Infernal Devices Series is my all time favourite book series. So when I started reading this story and realised that the main character was Brother Zachariah, I was beyond excited.

This was a fabulous Easter Egg of information that we didn’t realise was missing before we had it. A lot of time was spent in Brother Zachariah’s head and it gave us so much of how he has coped with his transformation from Shadowhunter to Silent Brother. How he is the same as the other Silent Brothers in so many ways but different too. As the vampire Lily made mention of may times, he has still kept his good looks, “once you go Zachariah, you never go backariah”. He still thinks of Tessa and Will constantly, especially in times of trouble. But he also worries about what the other Silent Brothers think and still wants to do the right thing by everyone. Oh Jem, my heart!

I also loved the other treasure of getting to see the introduction for Jace to the Lightwood family for the first time. The Jace we know at this time is a 10yr old boy who has just left his father who he thinks has died. We know his father was a cruel and domineering but also charming man. We see this in how he tries to come across all nonchalant even straight after a battle. He also doesn’t want to show the Lightwood parents he has an injury, he is worried they will discipline him. Love or hate the Lightwoods, this story does show us how good a parents they are, and how they are willing to help another Shadowhunter child in need.

Now I can’t wait for more treasures and back stories in the rest of this series.

SOPHIE'S REVIEW

Oh, how fun it is to visit Brother Zachariah (and have his handsomeness so well acknowledged!) - "Brother-six-pack-ariah" as Lily, Raphael's friend calls him. In fact, Lily's nicknames for Zachariah were so giggleworthy.

But, what made the story so wonderful was the insight into Jem and his feelings about being a Shadowhunter, a Silent Brother and the melancholy of missing his parabatai, Will. For a Jem fan like myself, it both broke my heart and filled it with a love that belongs to my favorite fictional characters.

Watching him with young Jace as he explained the parabatai bond as well as why he chose the name Zachariah made the story so  very real if you're like me and have observed these characters through thousands of pages of books. I feel like they're my long lost cousins by now and somehow I'm so very connected to their stories.

A quick mention about the narrator, Reilly Dolman, who delivers all the characters in a whispery,  serious tone that matches the mystery of the plot. His performance only enhanced the story.

And I have to say that Cassie and Sarah wrote this seamlessly. It fits so perfectly with the the other Cassie-penned Shadowhunter stories, and has none of the unevenness of The Bane Chronicles.

When you're in the mood to re-visit some old friends, definitely pick up Son of Dawn. I can't help but keep smiling every time I think of it.