Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Pub Date: April 2011, Simon & Schuster
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased from Amazon.com
Synopsis (from Goodreads)
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 who used to be in Valentine's Circle, 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. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side - along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls - neither of whom knows about the other one.
When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she 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 Thoughts
Well, it has been a LONG time since I read and reviewed the first three books in The Mortal Instruments series. I honestly wish I had time to re-read them before jumping back into the books with City of Fallen Angels. I just feel like there are so many details that I have forgotten or are fuzzy, but it wasn't too hard to get caught back up in the story of the Shadowhunters and Downworlders after the end of the Mortal War.
In my opinion, Cassandra Clare's biggest strength with all of these books is the characters. Everyone in these books is so unique and the mix of personalities in the focal group provides a lot of entertaining interactions. I'll admit that I have been getting frustrated with Jace and Clary's relationship and the roadblocks they keep hitting, but I suppose it shouldn't be that surprising given what they are up against, despite the Mortal War being over.
I'm actually finding it difficult to say some of the things I keep thinking about this story because they are a bit on the spoiler-y side, and even though this book has been out for awhile, I do try my best to keep my reviews spoiler-free. :-) One thing I can say, though, is that I felt like this book was the weakest of the series in terms of the plot -- it was flimsy and pretty predictable. It is helped along with some excellent dialogue (another of Clare's strengths) and the addition of some new characters, but I found myself just skimming through parts to get to the end to see where we would be heading with the fifth book.
City of Fallen Angels is still a good read (just not Clare's best) and I'm very glad I continued on with the series -- I immediately had to jump in to City of Lost Souls and will be sharing my thoughts on that book with you tomorrow. Just don't be too surprised if you don't feel like City of Fallen Angels lives up to the standard set by the first three books in the series.
My Rating
Posts
One day I want to at least try this author.
ReplyDeleteI think you'd enjoy these books if you like this genre -- as I recall, I gave the first three each 5-star ratings (or one may have gotten 4 stars, I can't remember).
DeleteToo bad you liked this less than the first three books. I also enjoyed books 1-3, but I haven't read this one yet. I'm waiting for the series to be finished so I wouldn't have to suffer through those cliffhangers.
ReplyDeleteWell, I just found out that the last book won't be published until MARCH 2014 -- nearly TWO YEARS after this one! I can't believe I am going to have to wait that long. It's probably smart of you to wait to read these :-)
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