City of Lost Souls Review

City of Lost Souls
by Cassandra Clare

Spoilers

Synopsis:

The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 5 stars. By far my favourite book in the series. Everything about this series has come so far from the start and it's 

Jordan and Maia were very ignorable the first time I read the series. I really didn't care about what happened to them, they were just unimportant. Now, reading the series again I just want these sweet characters to get back together and be happy together. They are so cute. Maia is the one character in this entire series who has never pissed me off or made me question whether or not I trusted her. She's always been very straight forward and had a good moral compass.

What I didn't even notice the first few times reading this book was that werewolves have gold rings around their irises' even when in human form!!! I completely missed that and it was only mentioned in passing, if I hadn't been reading in depth I probably would have missed it. Now I have to rethink everything, especially how I picture these werewolf characters.

Simon and Izzy are just such an amazing couple. I am constantly amused by the fact that Izzy is completely confused by her attraction to Simon. She's like "WTF??? I've dated incredibly hot guys and not gotten over attached, why am I suddenly so over attached to this nerd?" and I'm really living for it. Seeing more of their relationship in this book was refreshing. The series is usually very centred around Jace and Clary, and it still is a lot about them, but the magic of this second half of the series is that we get more of the other couples i.e. Simon and Izzy.

Alec is driving me crazy, he's completely letting his insecurities get to him and he doesn't even notice the way Magnus looks at him. Magnus is so completely in love with him and Alec doesn't even seem to want to talk to Magnus when Magnus brings up Alec's insecurities. It's driving me crazy.

I have to talk about something that really upset me for a moment here. If you haven't read the Infernal Devices Series yet, then I would highly recommend skipping over this paragraph. I wouldn't say it's exactly a spoiler, but it probably won't make any sense. Why I'm upset is because the book Will gave to Tessa expressing his love for her was blown up in Sebastian's magical floating house. This physically pains me. That's not even what upsets me the most. What upsets me the most is why did Tessa not keep that book? It is a highly sentimental object, so why wouldn't she keep it? It seems like the type of thing one would bring with them everywhere because it is a symbol of your love. I'm very upset by this. Okay onto the rest of the review.

It's constantly mentioned in the book how tall Jace is. He's like a giant, he is just so tall. That made me think he was like 6 foot 6, just towering over everyone. Turns out Jace is actually only 5 foot 11. Not, short, but a lot shorter than I expected.

So much development has happen with the story and with the characters fro the first book. They have changed so much. Cassandra Clare's writing has gotten a lot better throughout the series. She knows how to keep everyone engaged and wanting more. I love seeing how the characters have changed throughout the past few books and the change is immense.

Sebastian is manipulative, cruel, and a complete lunatic. I love him though. He's a psychopath for sure, but being a psychopath usually means you're pretty charismatic. I know it's all a silkscreen and that he's an awful human being, but I can't help but be charmed by him. He does all this awful stuff with a mischievous little grin on his face and you just want to be around him. I hate him but I love him. I think the author did a really good job with him.

I'm terribly unobservant when reading, which is why I discovered loads of new things while reading this book again. For some reason I was under the impression that Amatis become one of the dark shadowhunters of her free will. Apparently I missed the part where she was dragged out of her bed and forced to drink from the cup. I also didn't notice that Maia and Jordan slept together, but that was probably because I didn't really care about those two the other times I read it.

There was this theory I read about on Tumblr, I don't remember who thought of it, but it goes like this; Robert and Maryse both have blue eyes, Izzy has black eyes. Therefore it is genetically impossible for Izzy to be Robert's child. Who from this series has black eyes? Valentine. Therefore the theory goes, Izzy is Valentine's daughter. I think some other things that back up this theory is that in the past books Maryse would always talk about how much she and loved Valentine and we all just assumed it was like a friend or a leader, but that was only implied. There was also the fact that Valentine always called her "my Maryse". Now there are holes in this theory like, why didn't Valentine ever use this to his advantage? We all saw what he did with Jace, who wasn't even his kid. Unless, Valentine never knew that Izzy was his daughter. I could completely see this theory as being factual.

Clary and Isabelle's friendship is coming along quite nicely. Bonding over the people they both love. It's been a long time coming and I know it wasn't always smooth, but it's coming to a good place. I think the two of them need more female friends. Especially Clary who's only friend seems to be Simon.

Quick note: Jace and Clary are absolutely adorable together.

Overall, this was an amazing fifth book, it really leaves you wanting to jump right into the sixth book. I personally feel like it was the best book in the series. I would give it an A+.

Quotes:

“Basia coquum," Simon said. "Or whatever their motto is.""It's 'Descensus Averno facilis est.' 'The descent into hell is easy," said Alec. "You just said "Kiss the cook.""Dammit," said Simon. "I knew Jace was screwing with me.” 

“She turned and looked at him. "Ducks?" she said again.A smile tugged the edge of his mouth. "I hate ducks. Don't know why. I just always have.” 

“I've got the Mark of Cain," said Simon. "That means nothing can kill me, right?""You can kill yourself," Magnus said, somewhat unhelpfully. "As far as I know, inanimate objects can accidentally kill you. So if you were planning on teaching yourself the lambada on a greased platform over a pit full of knives, I wouldn't.""There goes my Saturday.” 

'My mother seems to have accepted it,' Alec said. 'But my father — no, not really. Once he asked me what I thought had turned me gay.'Simon felt Isabelle tense next to him. 'Turned you gay?' She sounded incredulous. 'Alec, you didn’t tell me that.''I hope you told him you were bitten by a gay spider,' said Simon.

“Missing, one stunningly attractive teenage boy. Answers to 'Jace' or 'Hot Stuff” 

“What have you done to my cat?" Magnus demanded... "You drank his blood, didn't you? You said you weren't hungry!"Simon was indignant. "I did not drink his blood. He's fine!" He poked the Chairman in the stomach. The cat yawned. "Second, you asked me if I was hungry when you were ordering pizza, so I said no, because I can't eat pizza. I was being polite.""That doesn't get you the right to eat my cat.""Your cat is fine!" Simon reached to pick up the tabby, who jumped indignantly to his feet and stalked off the table. "See?""Whatever.” 

City of Fallen Angels Review

City of Fallen Angels
by Cassandra Clare

Spoilers

Synopsis:

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 Thoughts:

I gave this book 4.5 stars. More of a filler book until the better things come in the next two books, but nonetheless, it was still a Cassandra Clare book which means I really loved it. It was a lot more calm than the last book, but it's still something that is worth reading.

Jace likes to pretend that he's all strong and brave, which he is, but that doesn't change the fact that every time something goes wrong, it's because he was manipulated. I swear, no one else in this series gets manipulated as much as Jace does, which is especially evident in this book when Max came to him in a dream and Jace just completely bought everything Max said to him. It never even occurred to him that it was some sort of demonic presence masquerading as his little brother.

The Alec and Magnus drama drove me crazy. I can see where both sides are coming from. This is Alec's first relationship ever, he's completely insecure and has only just come to terms with being gay and being open about that. At the same time he was just being an overall douchebag to Magnus about what Magnus couldn't really control: the past. On the other end of the spectrum I honestly think Magnus could have been a little more understanding of the fact that Alec was new at this. What bothers me the most was when Magnus was talking to Camille, whom he was obviously not happy with or even seemed to like, and when it was over Alec revealed he had heard the whole thing, but instead of latching  on to the part where Magnus said Alec was his future, he instead latched on to the part where Camille said Alec looked like Will. I honestly don't think it was relevant enough for Alec to be mad about it.

What I love about this series that the other two series's in the Shadowhunter World don't have, is that it's a two part series. There are two different story arcs. We get more of these characters we love, but the plot doesn't get old because Cassie has just done an amazing job of keeping things fresh. I think it was a very good idea to have two different stories in one series.

Another thing that drove me crazy was the "love triangle" between Simon, Maia, and Isabelle. I hate that Simon was dating both of them without them knowing about each other. It feels like cheating, but I know it isn't because neither couple were exclusive. I just feel like Simon should have better common sense than that. On the flip side, Isabelle pissed me off because of the fact that she was mad at Simon dating other girls because she saw herself as "out of his league" and should have been grateful for it. Isabelle, you need to be knocked down a peg or two. There is a fine line between confidence and being an asshole. I found Maia completely blameless in this whole thing. Maia is a very chill character who I've never found a reason to hate and so I will keep liking her.

While both Alec and Magnus, along with Izzy and Simon had some relationship problems. I was glad to see that some of it was resolves by the end of the book. Not all, a storm is still to come, but I'm glad that it ended on a semi happy note instead of a heartbreaking one. The same cannot be said for Jace and Clary. Can't wait to get onto City of Lost Souls.

Luke and Jocelyn are the perfect couple. They are couple goals, the relationship that future me wishes to have. Seeing them happy together and being together no matter what society told them was beautiful. I hope they are very happy together and maybe have some little Shadowhunter/werewolf babies if that is genetically possible. I think Clary could use some siblings. Luke and Jocelyn aren't that old, they could still have babies if they really wanted to.

The whole Lilith aspect of the book makes me very uncomfortable. She completely hijacked Jace's mind and killed Maureen and basically tried to kidnap Simon, all so that she could bring back Sebastian. I still don't understand what he motivation for that is. I know she claims that she's basically his mother, but I doubt she has any maternal feelings towards him. It's probably more of her wanting to complete her science experiment or wanting to just create chaos. Actually what creeped me out most about her was the going around and killing babies just because she feels like it. It makes me think of that scene from Game of Thrones, the one where Daenerys is like "Eight thousand dead babies" in a dry manner. I tried to find the Gif, but it eludes me.

Quotes:

“You're just worried they'll hire a male instructor and he'll be hotter than you." Jace's eyebrows went up. "Hotter than me?" "It could happen," Clary said, "You know, theoretically.""Theoretically the planet could suddenly crack in half, leaving me on one side and you on the other, forever and tragically parted, but I'm not worried about that either. Some things," Jace said, with his customary crooked smile, "are just too unlikely to dwell upon.” 

“You're the first Shadowhunter I've ever met." “That’s too bad,” said Jace, “since all the others you meet from now on will be a terrible letdown.” 

“So what was that all about?""I think," Jace said, "that she asked if she could touch my mango.""She said that?"Jace shrugged. "Yeah, then she gave me her number.” 
“But I watch my brothers give their hearts away and I think, Don’t you know better? Hearts are breakable. And I think even when you heal, you’re never what you were before.” 

“Still I pictured having you for fifty, sixty more years. I thought I might be ready then to let you go. But it's you, and I realize now that I won't be anymore ready to lose you then than I am right now. Which is not at all.” 

City of Glass Review

City of Glass
by Cassandra Clare

Spoilers

Synopsis:

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third installment of the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 5 stars. This book was a turning point in the series. The characters reached a new level of maturity and self awareness that really made me proud of their growth. The character development in these rivals the Shatter Me series.

As if Jace's past wasn't tragic enough, Jace had to go and lose his last remaining relative in the past book and he didn't even know who she was until his true identity was revealed. He had a living relative he didn't know about and he lost her too. 

Clary did something that drove me crazy in this book. Usually I’m pretty understanding of the ridiculous things she does, but in this book what she did was just plain stupid. She outright tells Sebastian that Magnus was not Ragnor Fell like he was originally led to believe and then she tells him her entire plan. She does all of this after Magnus specifically told her not to tell Sebastian anything. I just cannot fathom how stupid it was for her to do that.

While reading this book I was just thinking about Max and how truly devastating his death was. He was only a little boy who no one would listen to. It irks me that people never take what children say seriously because it’s “a figment of their imagination” or something else that just writes them off. Sometimes it is a figment of their imagination, but sometimes it isn’t. I’m very devastated by the entire thing. Ave Atque Vale Max Lightwood.

The characters themselves have grown a lot since the first book. Isabelle has some self reflection, she thinks about how other girls aren’t there to be competition or to be envied and how she should rethink herself. I think Izzy has had some real character growth and I’m proud of her. When she gave Clary that stern talk, I think it was very validated. Clary needed to hear what Izzy had to say just as much as Izzy had to say it. 

Alec was being a bit bitchy to Magnus the past two books, keeping they relationship a secret, but he really came to terms with who he was in this book and I felt a lot of joy seeing him coming to these conclusions. Also, when Magnus told Alec he loved him I felt my chest clench because I was so happy about them reaching this new point in their relationship. This was the turning point because they were both in it, no one was denying it any longer and they had all their cards on the table.

What I failed to notice the first time reading this series was that Hodge may have been cowardly and deceptive, but he also cared about Jace and the Lightwoods. He did what he did to help Valentine because he was afraid of him and while what he was doing was wrong, he also wanted to protect these children he had known for most of their lives. I often compared Hodge to Peter Pettigrew in my mind because they both came with stunning betrayals, but while Peter ratted out the Potters to save himself, Hodge ratted out the entire clave to for his own gain, but he still had thoughts of protecting these children that he cared about. He was most definitely wrong in doing so, but I can see where he was coming from.

What I realized during my reread of the series was that I couldn't really remember much of what happened. I could remember key scenes, but not what led up to them or where they were leading. I could remember that basically Clary didn't know anything about the Shadowhunter world and was being introduced, Jace was a bit broody and had a really tragic backstory, they were fighting Valentine because he was racist, not in the traditional sense, but he still wanted a large group of people dead. I was reminded of so many things I had forgotten while reading this book. 

The scene where Clary walked in on Jace and Aline kissing wasn't as terrible as I remembered it. I get really bad second hand embarrassment (seriously, I couldn't watch Seventeen Again) and the first time I read that scene I was mortified, but this time it wasn't bad at all. I had played it up so much in my mind that when I read it I thought to myself "wow that was it? that wasn't bad! what a good book!" 

I feel like it's accomplishing something, but the weirdest thing I think that Jace has done in any of the books, was when he stole a single thread off of Clary's sleeve. I don't know why, maybe to remember her by, maybe as a keepsake. I really don't know, but I think it's really weird to just take a thread. Jace, what a guy.

I prefer how Magnus and Alec became publicly together better in the book than in the TV show. In the show it just significant for the two of them, specifically for Alec because he was coming to terms with who he was. But in the book is was a huge milestone for all of the Shadowhunters. Once Alec planted one on Magnus right there in the middle of a hall full of Shadowhunters, this once, homophobic, society became more open minded. Of course it didn't happen right away, but it did help other characters come to terms with who they were and they felt a lot braver about coming out because they saw Alec and how he was brave enough to do it and they felt that they could do it too. This is something I loved so much in the books, and as much as I also love TV show Malec, I think the book did it better.

Simon and Izzy's relationship just sort of died at the end of City of Bones and was nowhere to be found in City of Ashes, but I was happy to see it make a reappearance during the second half of this novel. Simon and Izzy are more of a side couple. We don't get much of them, but we're rooting for them because they oddly work well together.

Overall, this book was a huge step up from the first two books in the series. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone because I loved it.

Quotes:

“There is no pretending," Jace said with absolute clarity. "I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I'll love you then.” 

“Malachi scowled. "I don't remember the Clave inviting you into the Glass City, Magnus Bane.""They didn't," Magnus said. "Your wards are down.""Really?" the Consul's voice dripped sarcasm. "I hadn't noticed."Magnus looked concerned. "That's terrible. Someone should have told you." He glanced at Luke. "Tell him the wards are down.” 

“I am a man" he told her, "and men do not consume pink beverages. Get thee gone woman, and bring me something brown.” 

“Is this the part where you say if I hurt her, you'll kill me?""No" Simon said, "If you hurt Clary she's quite capable of killing you herself. Possibly with a variety of weapons.” 

“Did you ever think that in a past life Alec was an old woman with ninety cats who was always yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off her lawn? Because I do,” 

(I do too)

“Patience, grasshopper," said Maia. "Good things come to those who wait.""I always thought that was 'Good things come to those who do the wave,'" said Simon. "No wonder I've been so confused all my life.”