Tuesday, December 03, 2013

Review: The Mortal Instruments: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Title: The Mortal Instruments: City of Fallen Angels
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books
Year of Release: 2011
ISBN: 9781406328660
Source: Purchased (Myer, $14.95*)
Number of Pages: 424

Summary:Clary is back in New York and life is good: she's training to be a Shadowhunter and is finally able to call Jace her boyfriend. But nothing comes without a price. When Jace inexplicably begins to pull away from her, Clary is forced to acknowledge that she has set herself in a motion of chain events that could lead to the loss of everything she loves. Even Jace. 
Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever...

The fourth instalment in the New York Times Bestselling Series The Mortal Instruments, City of Fallen Angels had a lot to deliver on after the amazingness that was City of Glass and I was definitely not disappointed. Once again, Clare has written another brilliant novel with just as much action, adventure and suspense as the last few books, if not more. 
(SPOILERS) City of Fallen Angels takes place just several weeks after the last book concluded and our characters are back in New York, trying to resemble some kind of normalcy to their otherwise unstable lives. Alec and Magnus have taken a holiday to various places around the world together, leaving still-adjusting-vampire Simon, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Jocelyn and Luke to get back to their old lives. Luke and Jocelyn have finally accepted their love for each other and are busy with their wedding preparations. Simon, while still adjusting to his vampire status, is now having trouble sorting out his relationships with both Isabelle and Maia. Meanwhile, Jace is being plagued by horrible nightmares that threaten to ruin his relationship with Clary. 
This book introduces us to a few new characters, as well as resurfacing some old ones (wink face). The consequences of Simon bearing the Mark of Cain are revealed in greater detail, which therefore leads to the discovery of someone that holds the potential to put everyone Clary cares about in jeopardy. 
But I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about how hot and steamy Jace and Clary got a few times! My goodness did they get down (in excruciating detail). Scenes such as the one where (SPOILER) the two kiss in the alley and it's raining and they're both so desperate for each other was very much anticipated by the fandom, I can tell you that. 
Against the backdrop of their romance however, evil dark creatures are rising up and threatening to destroy everything they have worked so hard for. The ending of the book was the biggest cliffhanger in the entire series so far in my opinion, and I just want to wrap up this review as quickly as I can and start the next book! This might be a good time to mention, in case you haven't already noticed, that it's difficult to jump into this series without starting from the beginning. So if you're going to read this series, start from the very start or you'll find yourself more confused than... (fails to find suitable comparison). 
Despite all of the amazing things that can be said about this book and the series it belongs to, I dare say I found the book to be kind of lagging behind in story-line and plot as the previous books. While the action and suspense was certainly there, I felt like Clare was dragging on the series with this book. Old problems that we were made to think had been resolved in City of Glass were brought up again but this time they lacked any real substance. However, I think the ending definitely managed to redeem this book, so kudos.

*Prices relevant to Australian stores.

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