City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments)

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

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

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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.

Sexual Content:
Kissing. References to homosexuality.

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The fourth in the VERY popular YA series, Mortal Instruments, City of Fallen Angels continues the story of Clary, who is now training to be a shadowhunter, her boyfriend Jace who is and always has been a shadowhunter, and Clary's best friend Simon, a slightly geeky nice guy turned vampire and chick

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magnet. There are a few more colourful minor characters as well as way more plot than I could possibly divulge here, so I won't even try.

Critique: You know how sometimes people should just stop? Let go of their characters and move on? Well, 'tis the case here. I'm not sure if Clare's publisher forced her to continue the series for another three books (by all intents and purposes it should have been over by book 3) or what the hell happened, but it took a fun, exciting Buffy the vampire-esque trilogy and made it into a disjointed, more angsty than an emo kid with an anxiety disorder right before she menstruates, confusing mess. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed with this one. Especially since I loved The Clockwork Angel, her prequel to this series that came out last fall.

A note about this book: In the acknowledgments, she mentions that this book was heavily workshopped. Now, speaking from the point of view of a gal who has two writer's groups and relies heavily on their feedback, I'm wondering if there is a lesson to learn here. Did she workshop so much because she was having trouble? Or did the interference from the workshop cause the book to suck? It is a literary chick and the egg thing....

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I was disappointed with this 4th book. Compare to the previous ones, it feels like it was hastily put together to milk out more cash from the series. The story drug very slow, yet the story itself was pretty much I guessed it was going to happen. I also thought this was meant for the promotion for

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"The Infernal Devices series."

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My Summary: It's been six weeks since the war in Idris, and Clary's life has just begun to return to normal - well, as normal as it can get, seeing as her soon-to-be step-father is a werewolf and she and her friends are demon-hunters. But Clary's happy with the way things are: she and Jace are

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finally able to be together, and everything seems right with the world...

But things are far from okay - Simon's being sent mysterious messages and attacked by mysterious figures in hoods; Jace is pulling away and acting strangely; Shadowhunters are being killed and left in places to make it seem like the work of Downworlders...

They thought it was all over when Valentine was killed, but it's only just begun.

My Thoughts: My first attempt at writing a review for this book ended with a a few dozen curse words amidst a whole bunch of gibberish like ihhnk,sndfkl;dsjfphjsdgfdosjsdjfsd, so I took a few hours to calm down and read the dictionary, and now I'm ready to write a review that makes sense (I hope).

Firstly, I absolutely ADORE Cassandra Clare's writing style! It's always smooth and flawless and sarcastic and funny and just plain beautiful. And it seems to just get more and more polished with each and every book!

Secondly, (and this is where the swearing started last time), this book was so incredibly amazing! When I first heard that Cassie was continuing the story, I kinda went, "what else could she do with it? The bad guy's dead!" but of course I never should have doubted her! Cassie took the teeny tiny loose ends from City of Glass and created a suspenseful, mind-boggling read that I can't seem to get out of my head.

I especially loved the development of Simon and the introduction of Kyle! Simon was always one of my favourite characters and I loved getting to see how he adapted to life as a vampire (along with dating two girls who were more than capable of ripping him to shreds)!

Final Thoughts: I don't know if there's much more I can say to make you want to read this amazing book. What are you waiting for? Seriously. I don't care if you haven't even read the first 3 books in the series; go to the bookstore and get all 4! I promise you won't ever regret it.

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I read an interview where Cassie explained why she wrote a fourth book for TMI series, since it was supposed to be a trilogy, and basically she wrote it because some company wanted her to write a story for a graphic novel based on a character of the series, and the whole thing was going to happen

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after the events that took place in City of Glass, naturally she was all happy and excited with the idea and started working on it, until the company went bankrupt and she was left with the story and no graphic novel (which was Simon-based, btw). She couldn't just send all that work to the garbage bin, so she came up with a new set of 3 books to add to the series, and even changed the original end of City of Glass because of it (Glass wasn't printed and on sale yet). These new books would also link TMI series with The Infernal Devices series, so it was supposed to be awesomeness in the form of paper an ink. MY VEREDICT: it isn't. At least not this one, for I suffered through the whole book, really, IT BORED ME TO TEARS! If I had the heart for it, I would give it one star, but some soft spot in my heart stops me from doing it.
I guess this book will appeal to Simon fans, because he's probably the main character in it, but I couldn't care less about him, so.
And I have to say, I'm so, so tired of Jace and Clary's constant dramas...really...enough is enough. (o_O)

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Let me start off with a disclaimer: It took me like 5 tries to type up a review for City of Fallen Angels (safari kept crashing), so that might have a little bit to do with the negativity of this review. (sadly, it's definitely not to blame for all of it though)

I was not impressed with this book.

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It was so full of drama. Stupid drama. If two people love each other as much as Clary and Jace claim to, they don't keep stupid secrets because they think the other person won't understand. They go on and on about how they believe in each other, but won't even consider that the other won't judge them based on stupid things. Like, "I'm having bad dreams, and I just can't tell Clary because it'll prove to her that I'm a bad person. So, instead, I'll treat her like dirt and ignore her." Stupid drama. I feels so bad for Clary because she loves him so much. I hate when a book uses alternating perspectives just to make up misunderstandings that wouldn't have been there otherwise.

I'll be the first to admit that brooding can be super hot in a guy. (think Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. sigh.) However, it just doesn't look good on Jace. Neither does Whinyness. It probably wouldn't have been so bad had I not had to read said brooding from his perspective.

Another negative: not very much Luke. Luke became one of my favorite characters in the last book, and I was hoping to see more of him.

It also frustrates me when it seems like an author (or TV writer) just keeps thinking, "How could I make these miserable people even more and more miserable?" "Ok, I'll write that." And it doesn't seem like that's going to end any time soon based on the ending of Fallen Angels.

Overall, I think this one burnt me out on the primary characters' storyline; however, I found the secondary characters' stories to be intriguing. Simon keeps getting more and more interesting. His concerns and worries are actually legitimate, and I found myself pulled into his story. I liked Maya and Isabel more in this book too. If it weren't for Simon, I don't think I would even consider picking up the next book. (And this would have gotten a 1 star rating.)

I see all the 4 and 5 star reviews on Amazon, and I wonder if maybe I just zoned out and missed the good parts. End rant.

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I wasn't bored reading this, doesn't mean it was all that great either. And honestly speaking, I wonder now what I found so compelling in the first books in the series. Its either that or I'm getting weary of this.

Unfortunately, this last book of The Mortal Instruments series left me very disappointed. Throughout the entire series there has been an extreme sexual tension between the two main characters, Jace and Clary. I thought this book would tie things together but really it just felt like a run-on

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sentence with a bad ending. I received no resolve and I actually felt myself become more annoyed with the book than excited to read it. This book definitely took me the longest to read in the series due to the lack of interest in the book.

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I tried. I tried so hard to finish this book, but, for the life of me, I just couldn't. While writing this review, I realised something: I've never given a book 1 star before. This is a first, and what a shame it happens to be a book from a series that started off so well.

I enjoyed the first three

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books of The Mortal Instruments series, and it's a shame Clare didn't stop there. I held on as long as I could, but this book was doing my head in. What happened to the characters I came to know and love from the first three books? These clones in City of Fallen Angels lacked personality. Like Simon's current existence, these characters were living but were not alive. It was almost as if Clare removed their souls and left the empty shells behind.

This book lacked purpose. I can easily through it out and have no regrets because it left no impression on me whatsoever. It hurts me to give any book a 1 star but the fact that it's a book I was looking forward to just left me heartbroken. It was almost as if City Of Fallen Angels was written by someone else. This can't be the same Cassandra Clare who wrote the first three books.

I could go in depth and point out the hurt this book has inflicted upon me, but I won't because of my loyalty to the first three books. I will not be continuing with the series for the mere fact that it has lost its spark and its significance.

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OH MY GOD.

...review to come....

But OH MY GOD.

So, where do I start on this summary? Well, if you are getting to this book, you've probably already read the first two books and so hooked you don't care what I'm going to say. But I'm going to give it a quick go for you anyway. And if you haven't read the first two books, there WILL BE SPOILERS

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FOR FIRST TWO BOOKS here.

With the end of City of Ashes, we now have a clue from an old friend of Clary's mothers of what we need to do to wake Clary's mom from her self induced coma. Clary is still struggling with Jace being her brother, and wanting more from the relationship and not acting on it. Now we find the Lightwoods, Jace, and Clary are traveling to the home country of the Shadowhunters and the capital city. But as excited as Clary it to go and see the home city, Jace is just as determined to not have Clary go. And Clary nor the others know why. Jace is being very secretive about it again. Will Clary get there? Of course she will, but what will happen when she arrives? And how will she get there?

Well, I have to say I had to rush out to get this book as I couldn't wait to read it. I HAD to know what would happen, mostly with Clary and Jace. And the ride Cassandra takes you on with each book is just amazing. This is another wonderfully written book in which I didn't get much sleep until I was done with it. I just couldn't put it down. And not just because I wanted answers. We start right where City of Ashes leaves off and jump head first into the action. These characters never get a rest from the wicked in this book and I loved it!

We meet new characters and all the old. And we lose a character or two ;) as we go through this one too. I loved the way the characters stay true to who they are from the beginning, yet some have grown so greatly from the beginning. And until the end of this book, I really didn't realize how much these characters had grown.

I am so hooked on this series, I will follow it until Cassandra doesn't write of it anymore. She has really made a true believer and a great fan of her work here.

Thank you Cassandra!

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I will start with this: If you want to avoid a massive, cliff-hanger ending DO NOT READ THE LAST CHAPTER! If you want to submit yourself to the cliffhanger torture, go right ahead. But I warned you.

In general, I am a fan of Cassandra Clare’s writing. She has a distinct style, and the best way

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I’ve come up with to describe it is that it’s got the wit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the grittiness of Angel (Buffy’s spin-off), and a mythology that loosely reminds me of the Constantine movie. The first book takes a while to start, but by the time you reach the end, you’ll be craving the second book. Well, unless you’re like M, who threw the book away in disgust because of the cliff-hanger ending of City of Bones.

So, from here on out, I’m going to assume you’re already a fan of The Mortal Instruments and have read the other three books.
First, let’s talk about characters. I loved what Clare did with Simon in this book. He’s still processing what happened to him at the end of City of Glass, and I loved the balance between his new conception of himself as a bad ass vampire that can’t be hurt and his fear of the impending suck-fest that being a vampire and having the Mark of Cain is going to cause. And Isabelle and Maia! We get back-story and development on both Isabelle and Maia that helps us understand why the two girls are the way they are, especially with regards to how each is dealing with her budding relationship with Simon. Also, there is a Magnus/Camille scene that will make you want to re-read Clockwork Angel.

Now the bad: Jace and Clary. I’m over it (don’t hate me). Their whole relationship is fraught with teen angst, which I think I would be okay with… if it weren’t for the fact that 90% of the impediments to thier relationship are gone by this point. I get that Jace has some issues to work through. Ten years of being told that love is destruction is bond to have some impact on your first relationship, and I think Clare handles it well. There are also two sexy-times scenes that I think capture that rush of teen love really well (and that’s all I’m going to say about that). So what’s my main problem? I think Clary is kind of disappearing into her relationship with Jace. Yes, she’s perfectly within her right to drop out of school to become a Shadowhunter. That’s her choice, her birthright, and not really what I’m talking about. I think the big thing that bothers me is that we see repeated interactions where the two characters proclaim their undying love and talk about how the other is the only thing that matters in the world. Jace seems a little hesitant about this (what with all that emotional abuse he’s sifting through), but Clary dives right in. After all, she repeatedly points out that at the end of the last book she could have been granted anything in the world, and all she wanted was Jace. And that sends off little warning bells in my head.

The action is fantastic, and the plot took some turns that I didn’t see coming. The action and plot would put my rating of this book at 5 stars. It’s just the cliff-hanger and the bordering-on-too-obsessive teen love that puts me off.

And the cliff-hanger. The book is so close to an acceptable ending (for me)! Everything starts to draw to a close, and then in the last chapter there is a MASSIVE TWIST meant to hook you into the next book. We didn’t need that. It was fine. I know evil-ish cliff-hangers are kind of Clare’s thing, but I’m just over them. I want that satisfied, end of book contented sigh. This just makes me feel like Charlie Brown after Lucy has pulled the football away for the fourth time. But damn you, I’m going to read the fifth book anyway, even though I know that’ll be the book where you kick me as you pull the ball away, because your kind seems to think that’s what Book 2 in a trilogy is for.

Rating: 4 stars— You were so close! We were so close to having a completely contained story! WHY did you have to add that last chapter? Sigh.

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Cassandra Clare does a great job intertwining the lives of her cast and characters adjusting to their new lives, new loves, and of course new trouble, all happening around the planning of a wedding. The book is fast paced and enjoyable, though Jace becomes a bit too Emo, and the final scene throws

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the preceding rules out the window in order to set up the next book.

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What is there to say about City of Fallen Angels? Well, for starters its got a lot to live up to. Cassandra Clare's previous Mortal Instruments novels were only awesome and filled with so much page-flipping adventure goodness. It's a tough act to follow, especially since CoFA wasn't in the original

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plan.

This time, the war is over and Clary is ready to get back to her normal life in New York with everything going her way. Not only is she training to be a Shadowhunter, but she's got an awesome boyfriend named Jace. But, of course, it can't be perfect (then we couldn't have another book now, could we?). A second war is brewing, one that could possibly be even more dangerous than the first.

Just as fans have come to expect from Clare, CoFA offers more excellent romance, supernatural action and plenty of great adventure. In fact, I think that Clare's writing is even better here than ever before, and she does a great job of bringing in new characters while still allowing well-known ones to continue to grow and change, rather than stagnating or getting dull for readers.

In fact, I was very impressed by CoFA. I had been afraid that it wouldn't have been able to hold up to the other books in the series, but all my fears were unfounded. CoFA doesn't disappoint.

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The fourth installment in Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, City of Fallen Angels, does NOT disappoint! Stuffed with mystery and suspense, from the very beginning, this action packed novel will leave you breathless again and again.

This installment starts just a little while after the

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epic events of City of Glass. Jace is with Clary, Magnus is with Alec, Luke is with Jocelyn, and Simon is with… Maya and Isabelle? That’s a story of its own… So all the main characters are back (except for one little fellow that parted with us in City of Glass – *crying*). Additionally, fans of Clockwork Angel, the first in the Infernal Devises series, will be glad to see a few people and names pop up like “Will” and “Camille”. (And Twitter followers of Ms. Clare will crack up when "South Carolina" is mentioned.)

When Clary used her one wish to bring Jace back from the dead, she thought that event would be her and Jace’s dirty little secret. She has Jace back, everything is in order again, right? Wrong. Clary’s actions have consequences of immense proportions. There is something wrong with Jace, something really wrong with Jace. On top of that, vampires, thugs and very powerful demons alike want Simon, the daywalker, for their own wicked endeavors. When Clary and the gang finally figure everything out, it might be too late.

I LOVED this installment! I will say that it does not quite top City of Glass for me, but I don’t think any book in this series ever will – but it came quite close. Some side plots irked me a bit, but the development of the main plot had my heart racing, my eyes glued to the pages and my mouth hanging wide open. Let me just say one thing, THE ENDING! Oh my goodness! The ending! I do not think I was the only one shocked by the conclusion to this novel. But wait, shocked does not adequately describe what I was feeling at the time. This does: what?! No! Yes! Ahhhhh! Holy shiz muffins! Take that b****! No, no, no, no, NO! ( ). The space within those parentheses stands for my speechlessness when the words ran out. Even now, relieving those last few chapters makes me anxious….

If you’ve stuck with the series so far (assuming you did, since you’d be insane not to), definitely pick this one up (if you didn’t already read it at midnight).
When does City of Lost Saints come out again? May 1, 2012?! Ugh, it is too far away!

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When I first opened my package this afternoon and held the book in my hands my first thought was "It's so small!" and I was kinda disappointed because less book= less Jace for me to love (I'd say that it is a good 1/4 shorter than "City of Glass" is- but don't quote me on that, I am too lazy to

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check the page numbers). But then I had to remind myself, "Hey Avery... 'Member that time that you thought that this series, your most favourite book series in the entire world and the book series that pretty much defines your life, was going to be three books and now it is six book? Yeah, you remember that? So you CANNOT COMPLAIN THAT IT IS SHORT BECAUSE YOU WERE ONLY ORIGINALLY GOING TO GET THREE BOOKS. YOU GOT AN EXTRA THREE BOOKS SO JUST GET READING IT ALREADY!" So yes...

I don't think that I have ever experienced such an emotional roller coaster than I did while reading this book. On one page I could be laughing my butt off at snarky comments from equally snarky characters and the next page my heart could be stomped upon so hard that nothing, not even an iratze, could heal said stomped upon heart.

Upon finishing this book I have come to realize how flat the characters truly were in the earlier books and it sounds kinda dumb when I say it, because I wouldn't have in a million years considered them to be flat- but compared to this book? Yep, totally flat. Why I say that is because in this book each character's personalities shined and flourished like they never have before. Each and every character has grown enormously and characters that in the earlier books I felt only "meh" towards? Well, I feel head over heels for them in this book (ie. Alec and Izzy) and the characters that I previously loved? Jace, Clary, Simon, Magnus? Well I fell even harder for them (which I didn't think was possible).

As for the Jace front? Well, it is obvious that he loved Clary in the earlier books, but I never fully understood to what extent he did. I didn't fully grasp exactly how much she meant to him until last week (or around then) when Cassie posted the scene from "City of Ashes" when Jace, Clary, and the gang go to see the Seelie Court in Jace's POV (READ IT HERE, IT IS AMAZING). And in this book? Well it is totally obvious how much he truly cares for her this book.

Though this book give us the lovey-dovey-ness that we all expected, it is by far the most action packed and darkest book of the series, and as mentioned, one page you will be laughing, the next you will be bawling your eyes out and hyperventilating. I don't think that anyone will be disappointed by this book.

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Adventurous and sexy, City of Fallen Angels was alluring. Wonderfully written with a new plotline and just enough loose ends to leave you pining for the next one. Filled with adrenaline, fantasy, romance, and more, City of Fallen Angels was absolutely FANTASTIC.

I was really looking forward to reading City of Fallen Angels, and when I got my own copy from Simon & Schuster in the mail, I was totally stoked.
I started reading it that night, and was right away engaged in Simon, Clary and Jace. I loved that the first part of CoFA was in Simon's point of view. I

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liked seeing how he was dealing with the whole vampire / daylighter thing. Next we moved onto Jace and Clary. I loved the way we started with them, the playful training, and flirting, and I was full of goosebumps and butterflies and I was happy for them. I was happy for me too, honestly! I was glad to be diving into the Shadowhunter realm, and I wanted to see Isabelle, and Alec again! I was ready for this!
Then something happened, Jace started avoiding Clary, and I had no idea why! A little while in we found out the reasoning behind this, but I still felt like I missed something. I went back and read a few chapters thinking that maybe in my excitement I missed a page (or 10) and missed a very clear and obvious reason behind Jace’s behaviour. I was wrong though – and the back and forth happenings between Jace and Clary just got a little frustrating.
Clary seems like a whole other character at some points. She doesn’t seem to be the strong willed, independent shadowhunter (in-training) like the other books. And to be honest, we didn’t get into a lot of actual shadowhunter fight scenes which was lackluster for me! I wanted the tension, and the fighting, and get a feel of Clary in her new life as a shadowhunter. There was a pretty wicked scene at the end of the book, which kind of made up for the previous chapters, and Cassandra Clare left us with a HUGE cliffhanger and I swear throughout the last chapter of the book, I was holding my breath the whole time!
Cassandra Clare still has her ways with writing though, she still manages to make her scenes come to life in my eyes with the description she uses. Though at points there were comma’s used excessively (I don’t usually care about this, I use comma’s where I’m sure they aren’t supposed to be, it happens – but it seemed to really stand out to me this book) We’re introduced (or re-introduced) to a few characters from Clockwork Angel, and we meet a new character of whom I’m totally looking forward to seeing more of. The favourites were back of course, Alec, Magnus, Isabelle, Simon, Luke and Jocelyn. And it was great seeing the familiar names.
Overall, I enjoyed City of Fallen Angels because I enjoy the story, the characters, and Clare’s writing. Sure, Clary wasn’t her usual self, and at times the story felt rushed, but overall, it was enjoyable! I’d recommend this book to others who have read the series, and if you haven’t read the Mortal Instruments series, then you should – they are worth it!

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Against my better judgment, I like these books quite a bit. The writing is all right and the plot is decent, if not strong. But there's something about this series that's compelling and I think it's the characters. The choices they make and why they make them are fascinating. And while I get

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frustrated with Jace and Clary's behavior, Clare does a good job of making us understand, at least in part, why. Though this book ends on quite a cliffhanger, it seems to work well. And, uh, I like this series.

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Okay, I'm giving it 5 stars because it's Cassandra Clare and I love how she writes. She's a very elegant writer and one of my favorites so I have to give it 5 stars.
That said, here's what I think. I finished CoFA and felt frustrated (yup, no big news there, everyone else felt the same). I believe

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in elegant endings and this was not an elegant ending. Furthermore, I don't believe Cassandra Clare needs to finish a book with a cliffhanger. People will buy her next book anyway. All she has to do is put her name on it, and people will buy it.
Clary has grown up some, which was nice to see. Simon was the star of the book, and I enjoyed reading him. Alec and Magnus were stellar. Isabelle was unconvincing, I thought, in her sudden change of heart toward Simon. Kyle/Jordan was sweet and concentrated.
Jace annoyed the heck outta me. There were only a few times when he sounded like his old self, like very expensive champagne that goes right up to your head. I din't like the whinny, the tortured, the evasive and, especially not, the evil Jace. There's only so long you can drag on thier (his and Clary's) story; they need to be together. After a certain point the so-called tension between them, that comes with keeping them apart, stops being attractive and shifts toward annoying.
But, like I said, it's Cassandra Clare, so I'm going to keep buying her books because I can't help myself.

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Simon takes center stage in this book where ancient forces emerge to try to manipulate players and undermine the treaty made in Book 3. At times I tired of all the romantic drama between Clary and Jace. All in all though, I enjoyed the journey and look forward to meeting these characters again in

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the next installment.

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As a fan of The Mortal Instruments I was pleased when I heard that the initial trilogy was going to be expanded in to a six book series. I enjoy reading about all the Shadowhunter adventures and particularly appreciate the witty banter between characters. City of Fallen Angels seemed somewhat stale

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to me with more Clary/ Jace drama and another irritating "Cassandra Claresque" cliffhanger ending. Although I would deem Fallen Angels to be the weakest in the series thus far, it is still an enjoyable read with tons of humor, action and fun involving all of our favorite characters.

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Beginning about six weeks after the end of City of Glass, the next book in the Mortal Instruments series begins to explore the repercussions of some of the actions from the previous books. Simon continues to grapple with his new status as a vampire and also with his Mark. Clary and Jace are finally

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able to begin a real relationship but soon discover that love does not make everything easy. And a dark power is rising that will bring foes more difficult to face than any of them could anticipate.

Clare does an excellent job of building on the world she established in the first three books and taking some open-ended plot points from City of Glass and developing them. The characters continue to entertain and it is fascinating to watch them as they deal with the new curves that have been thrown at them. Simon gets considerably more space in this book than in previous books and his character is delightful and endearing. It is also wonderful to see Clary and Jace move beyond the relationship issues they had in the first three books and deal with the realities of their decisions. These two have some *steamy* scenes in this book!

There are a few characters that crop up in this book that appear in Clockwork Angel but reading that book in advance of this one isn't necessary although it does enhance enjoyment of the plot. Clare also rewards readers who have paid attention to seemingly minor details in previous books in the Mortal Instruments series as they play a major role in this book. The book was filled with surprises, only one of which I guessed in advance, and packs one heck of a cliffhanger ending. An excellent continuation of the series.

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To say that I was dying to read this book would be an understatement. I was so so excited for this book to release. Cassandra Clare's writing keeps you enthralled in the world she has created. This book as so many twists (Which Clare is known for) that keep you wanting more. The ending left me

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feeling many emotions: anger, sadness, etc. May 2012 will not come quick enough after reading City of Fallen Angels!

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