Trust is dangerous, and to love is to destroy. Plunge into the fourth installment in the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly). 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 … 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.
The stakes are higher than ever in the #1 New York Times bestselling fourth installment of the Mortal Instruments series.
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Clary has begun to train as a Shadowhunter, despite her mother’s misgivings about Clary being part of their world. But learning how to throw a knife isn’t the only reason Clary is visiting the institute. She can finally be with Jace. But even though Jace wants to be happy and enjoy his time with Clary, something lurks in his dreams, promising him he will hurt Clary. And let’s not forget the fact that someone is trying to kidnap Simon. Simon who is now homeless thanks to his mother kicking him out for being a vampire. And amidst all of this someone is murdering Shadowhunters and dropping their bodies in downworlder territory.
What drew me to this series and continues to hold me are the characters and their personalities. Every single one of these characters has a unique and entertaining personality. And I don’t get tired of reading about female characters who do not play the damsel in distress. Clary is taking steps towards becoming less of a liability, Isabelle is just fantastic, and Maia is a werewolf unafraid to jump into a fight against demons. And yes, I am a Jace fan. Readers get to see the vulnerable side of Jace that he tries so hard to hide, and it makes him all the more attractive. Simon has quite a bit of character development he undergoes in this story as well.
It never ceases to amaze me how many subplots can be seen in one of these novels. There is so much going on, and yet there is never confusion or lack of detail in any of them. I never once feel like I am not interested in what is happening to the characters. And by now there is a large host of characters that readers are familiar with. But despite there being so many characters, each one has their moment to shine and there is a good amount of balance between them. And that ending…. I am off to the next book!
Nooooooo!!!! How I felt reading the last chapter. I need the next book now! So much action and surprises in this book. Really enjoyed reading this one.
It has been a handful of years since I finished up City of Glass with a feeling of satisfaction and completeness. I was perfectly happy with how things ended in that book. I think that’s partly why it took me this long to pick up the next installment of the series- I didn’t want to dink with perfection, I guess. And… after reading this one, as engaging as it was at times, I still felt that way.
City of Fallen Angels is like a season two taking on a new story arc for the same cast of characters headed by Clary, the teenager who learns that there is a supernatural world out there full of Shadowhunters, Downworlders, and demons. Clary and the gang should be celebrating a great victory, but life has a way of getting complicated. Her relationship, her friends, her family, killings, and an ancient evil bring things back to a dangerous pitch and Clary has to figure it all out fast.
I enjoyed getting back into the Shadowhunter world, encountering my favorite characters, the mysterious happenings and the twists that reveal what’s really going on. But, I didn’t enjoy the tedious times and the unnecessary drama. I might have tolerated Clary and Jace’s back and forth stuff, but I was annoyed at Alec’s drama moment over Magnus’ immortality or Simon two-timing on Isobel. Just… sigh… no patience for the teenager antics.
Once I was past the dragging middle where, yes I skimmed, it got better for me. But, I think, ultimately, the shine is off of the series for me. I kept thinking that I wished I hadn’t started this new arc and had just left the high I felt from the first three books alone. This book wasn’t a total loss and I enjoyed parts, but I think I’ll end my pursuit of the series right here for now. I still recommend the series to those who love a well-built world, excitement, and colorful characters in their YA Urban Fantasy.
I loved this book and the rest of the series. I also love and hate the way Cassandra Clare writes. It was so well done that I found that I couldn’t re read it because I was so angry at what one of the characters was going to do. I was at a loss for words. Please please please read this series!
Disaster! So much filler! Skip ahead to the final 3 chapters!
I can hardly wait for the next one.
Now that the Mortal War is over Clary is hoping that life can get back to normal. Jace and her are getting closer as she trains to be a Shadowhunter and her mom is marrying Luke. She should have known that it wasn’t to be. Clary’s actions have set off a chain of events that may end up with her losing Jace. There’s a new werewolf in town that upsets Maia and Simon is the guys new roommate.
This book starts not long after The Mortal War. I was a bit surprised at how fast everything seemed to clear up and move on. There was no mention of what happened after and no mention of Sebastian/Jonathan. When Jace starts having bad dreams I just figured it was aftershocks from the battle. I was truly surprised by the real reason for the dreams. I give kudos to the author for this twist. The author suggests reading the Infernal Devices trilogy before this book and I agree. A character from the trilogy is mentioned and Magnus’ past is brought up. It was nice to have the background story.
In my opinion, Jace is the best character in this series. His emotions are everywhere and for good reason. He has a tragic past, that he just learned about, and although he wants to be loved he feels like he doesn’t deserve it.He’s a character that you can’t help but pray and hope for.
Just loved the whole series actually
All seems well now that the Mortal Wars are over. Everyone is back in New York going forward with their lives in harmony…until they don’t. Clary is training to be a Shadowhunter and is now openly in a relationship with Jace. Her mother, Jocelyn, is preparing to wed Luke. Alex and Magnus Bane are doing well. Simon, however, is in a dilemma. He’s dating both Isabelle and Maia but they don’t know about the other. And, he’s got problems at home with his mother (who kicks him out) as well as being in the middle of a tug-of-war between Rafael and Camille. Jace suffers awful nightmares and inexplicably begins to pull way from Clary. Meanwhile, Shadowhunters are being killed and no one knows by whom or why. There are other troublesome things happening that don’t seem related but…
The bones of this story are really, really good. It’s the execution of it that left me struggling. It’s tough going through dialogue between 16-year olds that feels endless and pointless until they reach the heart of the matter. It was if the action was mired in the midst of all of this as a secondary element instead of the reverse. When the story finally shifts focus to more substantive matters, I had a hard time leaving the book.
I also had some issues with the narrators. Ed Westwick tends to mumble, which works for Jace’s taciturn personality but was terrible for Simon’s more optimistic disposition. He just never fit. Molly Quinn just sounded too young to manage all of the female voices. She even made Clary sound like she was thirteen. I still prefer the audio format but this combination was problematic for me.
It’s a really good story that took too long to tell. Too much unnecessary dialogue and details when an inspired tale waited in the wings. I also liked seeing some connections to The Infernal Devices series! The ending was spectacular with all sorts of implications for the future. Despite my issues, I’m looking forward to what’s next. 3.5 stars
I loved the WHOLE Mortal Instruments series. All the books were amazing and I believe all the books deserve a 5-star rating. Where some might disagree with me, let me tell you why. The books are action packed, and romantic. The express the rights of the LGBT community through Alec and Magnus’s relationship. The express how powerful love can be through Jace and Clary’s relationship. And they express how different lovers can be through Izzy and Simon’s relationship. The City of Fallen Angels was a very good book and I have read it more than once.
Cassandra Clare is an amazing mastermind. The Mortal Instruments are a work of art. I love Clace and Malec their couple chemistry is amazing. This world is full of werewolf’s, wore-locks, Seelie, vampires, and Mundanes. The series gets better as you go the Shadow world of the shadow-hunters is a mystical world full of adventure that has yet to disappoint.
What can I really say about the City of Fallen Angels. Well it was pretty much the same old same old.
Clary still hasn’t really displayed her all mighty shadowhunting skills enough for me to actually be impressed with her. She seemed to only be able to display it when other reminded her of this great gift she was born with. I hate to name call but our heroine doesn’t seems to be much of a heroine.
It was rough read although I did enjoy the new narrator it is Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass from Gossip Girls). There were actually two narrators. We also had Molly C. Quinn and as always I found she perfected our whiney Clary. They both seemed o of read an equal amount. But I did find myself enjoying the reading from Westwick. He voice was as smooth as butter.
I’m just not enjoying the series or maybe it’s just the character Clary alone who just gets underneath my nails. I noticed that I also found myself looking more forward to Simons side of the story even though it probably wasn’t supposed to be the main storyline. The main storyline was supposed to be about how the Shadowhunters were being set up and how they cracked the case why opened. I was thrilled with this aspect. It seemed to be a bit repetitive and villain just seemed to be over used.
The storyline between Jace and Clary wasn’t exactly a romance. I guess was more of a third time’s a charm type a deal. That’s right they are once again working on their relationship while trying to save a mythical race. I’m actually quite tired of the romance. I just don’t get it. I don’t get the whole back-and-forth. Does he like me? No, he doesn’t like me? What’s going on with him and why is he so moody? Clary seems to be very single-minded, even when talking to Simon about his issue, somehow she would manage to turn it back to her. Given the circumstances that was going on I just didn’t understand why she still solely focused on Jace.
Overall this was a failure for me with the exception of the narrators who did a fantastic job.
With that said I have officially called it quits with this series. I don’t plan on approaching book 5 or 6. Sorry. Not sorry.
Spoilers
This one wasn’t as good for me as the others. Jace and Clary had a ton of drama going on and where pretty much apart the whole book. Which I didn’t like. They can’t catch a break to save their lives. Simon was dating two girls at the same time and I didn’t like that. Simon was sweet the last 3 books now in this book he does douchebag things like dating two girls. That is not like Simon! Alec and Magnus had a big fight over Magnus’s past and the fact that he will live forever while Alec will grow old and die. I really liked Izzy in this book. I enjoyed her and Simon’s time together would have enjoyed it more if he wasn’t seeing someone else at the same time. Call me crazy but it kinda cheapens his feelings. I know their teens but Just sayin’. This book also kinda bored me at times. I would catch myself skimming over details. Everything was so detailed. Still a okay read for me but my least favorite so far. I hope the next one is better.
Awesome series, highly recommend! Love the New York modern-day setting, and all the characters – Shadowhunters, demons, warlocks, werewolves, faeries, vampires, etc. The romantic aspects of the book are all interesting and don’t detract from the plot. This series is very hard to put down and will have you hooked from start to finish!
For full review, please visit https://kittylishareviews.blogspot.com/.
loved this series!