 | Title: City of Fallen Angels
 Sexual Content: Kissing. References to homosexuality. Rating:
Okay – A few good points, but with significant flaws. Library/swap/borrow if you want. |
Description
The Mortal War is over, and 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 important of all—Clary can finally call Jace her boyfriend.
But nothing comes without a price.
Someone is murdering the 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.
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.
Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.
Review
(This review contains spoilers from the previous books)
I’ve read all the previous books in The Mortal Instruments series, and after finishing CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS, the overwhelming thought I had when I closed the book was: she should have stopped at book 3. The The impossible love between Clary and Jace has been the driving force of the first three books. And honestly the incestuous obstacle to their romance has always been a real hindrance to my enjoyment of the series overall. I knew eventually it would be revealed that somehow they weren’t actually related, and I had to cling fiercely to that thought every time they started making out thinking they were brother and sister, but it was big on the ick scale even still and I think that particular storyline was drawn out much too long. But after such a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to their love no longer exists, what could possibly trump incest in CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS?
The answer, unfortunately, is nothing.
But Clary and Jace still act like their love is impossible. Jace brings new meaning to the word brooding. His objections to being with Clary felt very thin to me and her response was overly melodramatic. I haven’t been able to loose myself in this series really since the first book, but I felt especially detached from this one. It didn’t help that half the book was devoted to Simon’s perspective and his ongoing struggle to come to grips with his new life as a vampire. He’s never been a strong enough character to hang a book on in my opinion, and he proves that in CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS.
Bottom-line, the Jace/Clary parts of the book were unsuccessfully trying to recreate the romantic tension they had in the previous books, and the Simon parts just weren’t interesting enough to warrant the page time he got. Yes, there is a plot involving demons and murdered Shadowhunters, but with all the characters faux drama, it fell flat me. Diehard fans of the series will no doubt love this latest installment, but if you’ve been lukewarm like me, you might want to pass and try Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices prequel series instead.
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I completely agree, I was like why didn't she stop at City of Glass. It was complete there. I regret buying the book. I couldn't really stand Jace and Clary in this book. 8/
ReplyDeleteThis is why I have avoided buying the book. I feel like the story ended well and I don't really want to mess it up with Jace/Clary getting all angsty again. I am curious to know what happens, but not enough to be in a huge rush to get the book. I think I will hold out on this one and borrow it at the library. I do like Simon though and I think I will enjoy those portions of the book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review!
You said that very well. I completely agree. City of Glass was an amazing ending to a good series. It should have stopped there.
ReplyDeleteYou mention the sub plot of murdered Shadowhunters. The problem there was, we didn't get to see any of it! Instead of telling the readers she should have shown us. But to much of the books focus was Clary and Jace's moody drama.
I had the hardest time getting into her series. Before I started blogging, my friend made me read the first two books, and I couldn't help but wonder what made the books so great. I guess the ick factor of incest got to me too much.
ReplyDeleteIm on the same page,,,I really do like the series..and after I got thru the whole sibling thing,,,It would have been the perfect ending after city of glass..but by the time I read this book,,,I was like,,Isnt time for Jace and Clary's HEA? The only thought that I had,,was she's trying to go somewhere else with the series.but what? .I will continue to read it cause Im like a cat luckily curiosity hasnt killed me yet.and ..cause I suffer from "OCCBSS" (over compulsive complete book series syndrom)I have to complete a series once Ive started it,,lol
ReplyDeleteanyway,,
thanks for sharing..
Jennifer
I thought that this book was just an excuse to squeeze more profit out of the series. It really should have stopped at book three. I was also disgusted at the treatment of Lilith as the ultimate villain in this series. Seriously it took books to defeat Valentine and yet Lilith, the oldest and strongest villain was done in just a few pages. There was so much that she could have done with Lilith as well.
ReplyDeleteI read the first three quite a while ago. Do you think it is necessary to re-read them before starting this one, or is there enough backstory to remind you of what's going on?
ReplyDeleteHmmm...I was happy with the ending of City of Glass, and I would have been content if Clare had left it alone. That said, I liked the book, I think this goes in some interesting new directions. I like the contemplation of mortality versus immortality that's going on with Simon, and with the Alec/Magnus relationship. That's something that's not explored often enough in UF, especially YA -- the mortal characters pretty much just become immortal -- and it creates some interesting conflicts. But I didn't find myself as invested in the Jace/Clary story as I was in previous books. I almost wish Clare had taken a step back from Jace/Clary and focused more on Simon, Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus.
ReplyDelete(That said, Jace does do the broody teenage hero thing so well!)
This review makes me scared I won't enjoy this book as much as I would like to. I already wondered why make a fourth book, since it seemed like a good conclusion at book 3!
ReplyDeleteSorry to have to disappoint everyone, but I was seriously letdown by this installment.
ReplyDeleteMelissa - There isn't a lot of re-cap, so you might need to brush up on the previous books before reading this one.
Kay - If you're anything like me, you won't.
Thanks Abigail. Now, I just have to find the time...
ReplyDelete