My Reaction in a Nutshell: 
 The book could have been half its length if people just communicated with each other. 
 The Long Version: 
 The Shadowhunter books got me out of my reading slump three years ago. For that, they've always held a special place in my heart. They have always been books that I enjoyed, but they were never books that I adored or were quick to recommend. They were were enjoyable but forgettable. After reading City of Heavenly Fire two years ago, I didn't have any strong desire to read any more Clare books (especially with the plagiarism scandal). But my friend got really into the Shadowhunters TV show, so it kind of renewed my spark to dive into this series once more. 
 This book had mixed reviews from longtime Shadowhunter fans, so I didn't go in with high hopes. The problem with long books, is that there is a lot of room for excess detail. If Clare had her characters actually communicate with each other, then the length could've been cut in half. It's a plot device she relies on too much for someone who has written so much. Plus the amount of secret holding is annoying. Everyone is being so damn shady. I get that people have secrets (I have secrets, my friends have secrets, my family has secrets, everyone has secrets), but the difference is that normal people don't hint every five minutes that they have a secret. 
 Another annoying part of the book was how the characters behaved. No one acted their age (besides Emma and Dru). Livia acted like she was eight. She was whiny and incompetent. Someone who is fifteen should know how to not make a complete and utter mess of a kitchen. She acted insanely immature. Honestly I kept thinking she was twelve because how they behaved would've been more realistic at that age. Tavvy (who is seven) acted like he was three. honestly I thought that he was three until Jules mentioned that he was seven. Perhaps they all acted younger than they were was because they were raised by a twelve-year-old. (Also, why does Jules act so much older? He is only two years older than the twins but acts like he is ten years older). But I will say, I liked the inclusion of a character with autism. I don't remember the last time I read a book with a character with autism. 
 I hate monologue talking and Clare is the Queen of the Monologues. The characters rarely spoke like normal people. Especially Christina. She nearly always spoke in monologue and only spoke like some wizard giving advice in roundabout ways.I did like how Emma and Tina didn't hate each other upon first sight. There was no girl-on-girl hate like there was in Clare's other novels. 
 I also didn't like the melodrama (for example (view spoiler)[the whipping scene was so dramatic ("PICK ME" "NO, PICK ME" "NO ME" *knock person out* "IT'S MINE TURN NOW, BITCH" (okay, those weren't actual quotes, but it's pretty much how it went down)) (hide spoiler)] or (view spoiler)[the declaration of love (for the 20th time) (hide spoiler)]. And the "big reveal" of the villain was anticlimactic. I don't know if I've just fallen out of love with these series or if Clare's writing seems juvenile compared to other books I've been reading in the past two years. 
 That being said, I think that the ending made up for the melodrama. 
 "But first . . . why lie?" 
 Damn, that quote makes me want to know what happens next. Actually, the whole ending (view spoiler)[ with Annabell and the true reason why you should never date your parabatai (view spoiler)[YOU LITERALLY GO MAD!?!?!?! (hide spoiler)] and Emma/Jules and KIT (view spoiler)[FUCK YES HE IS HERE TO STAY I LOVED HIM EVEN FROM THE PROLOGUE (hide spoiler)] and the Jem/Tessa and Magnus/Alec and Clary/Jace and Simon/Izzy, SO MUCH NAME DROPPING (hide spoiler)] helped make up for the melodrama. 
 I loved Mark. I loved his storyline. I loved his character arc. I love how he is constantly at war with his faerie and shadowhunter self. I want a story that is only about Mark. For some reason, in Clare's books, I never like the two MCs, I always prefer the side characters. 
 Overall, it's not a terrible book. I personally just kind of wished that I only first and last 100 pages (that's where all of the action is), the middle part was a little bland. The book wasn't bad enough to earn 2 stars, but it definitely wasn't going to get anything higher than a three (a 3 star rating from me means that this book was okay but totally forgettable). 
 The good thing is that you don't need to read any of the other Shadowhunter books to read Lady Midnight. However, LM does spoil things for the other Shadowhunters series. I liked some characters more than others, and I wish that the book was shorter. I am sort of interested in the next one (this has 90% to do with the quote up above), but it's not like I have a burning desire to find out what happens next. 
 Good, but forgettable. 
 ***TRIGGER WARNINGS: self-harm, car accident, drowning, cult, death, murder, neglect, torture