Welcome back readers! If you couldn’t already tell, I totally revamped my blog. I was really inspired by “seelieknight” but, of course I didn’t copy her design! So, my blog now has a bit of a more ‘mature’ feeling which I really like! If you are confused with the set up, feel free to go back to the home/welcome page and read through the last two paragraphs. They give you a quick tour of my blog! Now, without further ado, lets dive into this review!
Prior Thoughts:
I actually did a lot of research about this series before I got to City of Fallen Angels. The ending of City of Glass left me wanting both more and less of this epic series. Quite a weird mix if I do say so myself. But I was satisfied with the ending! It was one of the most epic endings in the history of literature. So, with that being said, I think that Cassandra Clare’s prior thoughts of keeping The Mortal Instruments as a trilogy could’ve worked out. But, I can’t complain because I truly love these characters (yes even Sebastian! Who couldn’t love him) so I’m glad that Cassie decided to turn The Mortal Instruments into an epic series! But my biggest question before starting City of Fallen Angels was: how will Cassie continue this series? The two big villains of the series, Valentine and Sebastian, were already dead. But, I remembered that Sebastian was the character on the cover of City of Heavenly Fire. So that’s when I pieced together what had to have happened next: Sebastian resurrected.
Summary:
The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.
But nothing comes without a price.
Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.
My Overall Thoughts:
This book is probably my third favorite of the series! Not that it was bad or anything but, City of Ashes and City of Glass were better in my opinion. Maybe it’s so low in my opinion since I’ve received so many rants about the book from my best friend. (the joys of having a ranting best friend). But besides the fact that it wasn’t my favorite, I’ve still given it a strong 4.5/ 5 stars!
It’s difficult to start back up from an ending but Cassie did it like a pro. She didn’t exactly start off where City of Glass ended, as I’d hoped, but she sufficed by giving us a whole scene with Isabelle and Simon. Just by reading the first chapter, I saw how much the characters had changed, especially Simon. He used to be that geeky kid who would sit in his room reading comics day to day. But by the fourth book in the series, he has matured and he’s even started hooking up with other girls. After being friend-zoned by Clary he was left alone. He’s seriously been through a lot. Even though he isn’t my favorite character, he’s got characteristics unlike Cassie’s other characters.
I was very excited when we got to read about Simon’s band again. Although the name is always changing, I though it was cool how Cassie brought back the band. I especially loved the fact that Izzy went to one of their performances! Her support and love for Simon was truly amazing. Both Izzy and Maia were perfect for Simon! If only he could’ve made it exclusive with one of them before he almost lost both of them.
In this installment of the series, we got to view a lot of the chaos in Clary and Jace’s relationship. After all they’ve been through, they are still suffering with problems. Now that the brother and sister problem has been cleared up, we would’ve all thought that they were good now. But, of course not! Cassie has added in more problems to make us basically have no more hope for the two lovers together. I absolutely HATED reading about Jace suffering from all of the nightmares. Though there was good reasoning behind the “curse,” I just hated reading about Jace always in a fling. After, he was re awoken from the dead, he was an open book. Anyone of anything could just snoop into his brain and take control. And of course, the one person who no one ever wanted to get involved with had to just mosey her way into Jace’s brain. Lilith.
Clary didn’t have an overly major role in this story but she still had enough scenes to keep her as my favorite character! Everyone seems to think of her as a sad puppy while I see her as this girl who has gone through a lot of problems and is finally coming to terms with them! She isn’t as weak as I saw her in City of Bones. Instead she’s been replaced by the brave and audacious human being who wouldn’t waste a second to save her loved ones. She’s evolved into such a fierce character. No, she’s not a big assassin like Celaena Sardothien but, she has become one of the most talked about literary figures! My heart shattered at the ending when Jace left. Sebastian was one of those characters who could force you into doing stuff.
Though I think that Sebastian is the best villain that I’ve ever read about, I pity him. He’s gone through so much. Just reading about him during the fight against Lilith broke my ‘already shattered’ into a million more pieces. He had so much potential as a wonderful brother to Clary but Valentine just had to go and destroy that potential. Now, even though Valentine is did, i can predict a big war brewing and the leader of one side will be Jonathan Morgenstern.
This book satisfied all of that Mortal Instruments fandom that I was craving! This series is one that you just can’t resist reading.
Hopefully you all liked this review! I will be trying to post everyday – every two days no that I’m back in a reading schedule! I will also most likely be inactive from the 19th – 22nd since I will be out of town. So I’m hoping that I can write up some posts for then!
Until next time,
xx, Alaina
An Infinite Book World 