City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Fallen Angels
Author: Cassandra Clare
Published: April 5, 2011
Pages: 424/Hardcover
Series: The Mortal Instruments #4
Source: Personal library


Summary: City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. 

Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

Review: I'm pretty sure Cassandra Clare could write about pigs from outer space and it would still be phenomenal. Suffice to say, I loved the fourth book in the Mortal Instruments series.

I liked that the first three books were their own cycle with their own plot so now there's a new plot but with the same characters. It felt like I was starting a whole new series but with characters I already knew and cared about.

The characters definitely seemed different in this book though. I think they all matured quite a bit after what happened in City of Glass. I noticed a change particularly in Jace. He didn't seem as snarky and sarcastic, and I kind of missed it, but I also noticed that he was a lot more serious about his relationships with people (like the Lightwoods and Clary). All the other characters were just as strong as ever. I loved Jordan and Maia, and I hope to see more of them in future books. I also love that the book focused on other relationships, like Simon's with Isabelle and Maia and Jordan's with Maia, instead of just Clary and Jace.

I think a lot of the plot happened in the end of the book. In the first three books of the series you pretty much knew they were after Valentine and he was the bad guy, but City of Fallen Angels was a little more mysterious as far as knowing who the "bad guy" was. I think that's why most of the action happened toward the end.

The ending, oh that ending. From a literary viewpoint it's a genius way to end a book, but from a fan-girl viewpoint (that would be mine) it's an evil way to torture us until the next book's released.

If you're a fan of the Mortal Instruments series you need to read this book. If you haven't read the Mortal Instruments series then you need to fix that...now. 


More Books by Cassandra Clare
City of Bones
City of Ashes
City of Glass
Clockwork Angel

Review: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

(summary from goodreads)

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 Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters 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 new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?

Review: Finally, the ending we've all been waiting on! City of Glass was no less than what I expected it to be. Which is to say it was amazing.

All of the wonderful characters were back and did a wonderful job of concluding the story. The ending was wonderful, too. All the Loose ends were tied up nicely, but not in a way that made it seem like the author was rushing to finish the book.

If you know me then you know that I'm easily irritated by unanswered questions. Thankfully, this book had none. Everything was explained and the questions of who was who were answered.

Overall , this was an amazing wonderful fantastic book, and I'm sooo excited to know that there's more coming. If you have not yet heard about it I STRONGLY encourage you to go here to learn about it.  

Review: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

(summary from goodreads)

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go -- especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil -- and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings -- and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

Review: Maybe it's because this book is in the middle of a series, but it just didn't seem as good as the first one to me. It was still interesting and fun to read, though. 

I don't really like Clary and Simon as a couple. I really did prefer them as friends, because usually (in books) relationships that go from friends to couples end awkwardly and badly. This is a spoiler for book one, and possibly this one too, so highlight to read. I'm not liking the whole Jace and Clary = brother and sister thing. This, however, is a personal thing. As far as the books go I think this twist is genius. But Kathryn's not liking it. It just seems really weird that they still want to be together but can't. I don't want them to be brother and sister yet they are. 'Tis a sad world. Does that make it weird that I'm still rooting for them as a couple?

The other characters are also very enjoyable. I'm really starting to like Isabella and Alec.

The plot, like the first, was very well written. It seemed to go a bit faster in this one because there wasn't as much world building that needed to be done. Overall, a wonderful sequel to an excellent series.  

Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

(summary from goodreads)


When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? 

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know.... 


Review: The Mortal Instruments was the series that made me absolutely love Cassandra Clare, and as the first in a series, City of Bones was wonderful.  


It took quite a while for me to get into this book, but that was mainly because of the amount of detail in the book and the world building. Which brings me to one of the reasons for this series' awesomeness, it was an incredible and unique would that Clare built beautifully. 


At first, Clary got on my nerves. But after the first few chapters I really started to like her. I think Simon made a good friend and there should definitely be more of him in the future. I loved Jace and his snarkiness, but perhaps he needs to tone down said snarkiness. Also, Church, the cat. I love Church. 


I definitely did not see the end coming, and although I don't necessarily like the twist, it was a good one.


Overall, this book was pretty fantastic. So you should read it. Now.