Title: City of AshesAuthor: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN: 978-1-4063-0763-4
Pages: 411
Series: The Mortal Instruments #2
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Clary Fray now knows that her past is a lie. Her mother hid her true identity, and Clary's discovery of her role as a Shadowhunter is tainted by the realisation that her crush Jace is in fact her brother. But with their homicidal father Valentine still on the rampage, Clary and Jace must learn to deal with their emotions and begin to fight back against him...and against the dangers from within the Shadowhunter's Clave itself.
This is the second book in the Mortal Instruments series (after City of Bones) and I couldn't wait to see what happened after the shock revelations at the end of the last book. Clary has returned to Luke's and is spending her time with Simon while Jace, Alec and Isabelle have all returned to the Institute. Valentine is still a threat and is continuing his plans to destroy both Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike, and Jace comes under suspicion from the Clave.
The story is quite well paced, although several of the twists aren't fully explored, like Clary's unusual abilities. There's a quite a lot of development of Clary and Jace's backstory, along with several hints that they are not as they appear and may not even be related after all. Valentine is certainly twisted enough to invent that kind of trauma, and also if they are his creations as opposed to his children it is reasonable he would still regard them as siblings.
Simon's story also takes several surprising turns, first with Clary and second with an impulsive decision that has far-reaching consequences. Magnus Bane also reappears and becomes more ingrained in the story through his connection to Alec. In terms of the romance it's a bit all over the place with some ending, some beginning and some muddling through, and rather than affecting a simple love triangle it appears most of the characters have messy love lives.
All in all this was a fun read and I'm looking forward to City of Glass.
Plot: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Cover: 8/10
Overall: 45/50
Posts
Hmmm I couldn't finish reading this book. I think it was the twist at the end (which I read spoilers about) that really put me off! Glad you liked it though.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Lan :) Was it the twist at the end of this book, or the ew-Jace/Clary twist at the end of City of Bones that put you off?
ReplyDelete