City Of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare

“People aren’t born good or bad. Maybe they’re born with tendencies either way, but its the way you live your life that matters.”

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?
Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.

Personal Thoughts:

Most of the time when I read a series, the first book is the only great book within it. It’s rare for me to totally love all books, but with The Mortal Instruments I find every books enjoyable. City Of Glass, the third installment in the Mortal Instruments series is absolutely fantastic. This book lives up to the expectation of the first two books of the supposed to be Trilogy (now will be a series of six books). Cassandra Clare is quickly becoming one of my favorite young adult authors. I’m also loving the multiple points of view writing, it’s a lot more exciting to explore the views of different characters who have different perception of the world around them. Cassandra Clare does a good job of keeping each of these point of view exciting and bringing them together at the right moment. The cliffhangers within chapters where the point of view switches to someone else totally works for me.

The setting of City Of Glass take place to Idris and Alicante, home of Jace and other Shadowhunters. I’ve been imagining this place since book one and I just love the rich descriptions of the place. Every details that Cassandra Clare used makes the place more alive to me. More than 500 pages long, this book is the longest book in the series so far but the pacing of the book is fast enough to stop the story from dragging. Something that is hard to put down once you start reading it.

One of the reasons why I love this series so much is the superb cast of characters. They are all great. All are well crafted and developed one stage at a time, detail by detail. Each characters has distinct voice and easy to recognize. It’s easy to know who is talking right away with each switch of point of view.

Jace is a favorite of mine in this series. He is totally awesome in this book. His character development is beautifully crafted. From being tough, sarcastic and self-loving to the City Of Bones, he also shows more of his softer and less secure side. With his inner struggle fighting his evil side, it’s easy to feel his heart ache. Sometimes emotionally disturbing and frustrating. Clary is still a strong character, sometimes stubborn but somehow still likeable. She become more stronger and braver in this book. She makes mistakes and learned from it. Magnus Bane is still as witty as he is. Inspite of my silly bad hopes for his character I’m glad he doesn’t turn out the bad guy. I love his character so much that I somehow I expect a lot from him. But he is still lovely as he is. He is wise, confident and consistently in character. Alec also grows into the shadowhunter that he was born to be. He acts more as a responsible older brother and he finally face his inner fear which is confronting his ownself. The conversation between him and Jace revealing Alec’s gender is well delivered. Simon also transformed not just literally but his character grows together with the other characters. His conversation with Jace adds more fun into the story.

Valentine’s other side of character is also revealed. The depth in his evil doing are somehow justify. He is not just the typical paper-thin villain afterall. In his own twisted way, Valentine believes that he is doing the Shadowhunters and the world good. His ideas to clean the unseen world and help the humanity is good but for someone who is able to do a lot of evil things might be unable to care for other. Nevertheless Valentine loved his family dearly. When his wife Jocelyn ran away, he spent years searching for her. He was also fully capable of killing Jace, which was in his best interests, but he could not bear to. It simply shows that Valentine, like all people real or imaginary, is not purely black or white, but a moral shade of gray.

The story is quite predictable. I’ve seen much of it coming way ahead, with all the hints given from City Of Ashes. Clary and Jace relation, Jace real identity, his real parents, Shadowhunters and Downworlders unity, Valentines defeat and even Sebastian’s real identity and the location of the third mortal instruments. The only thing that didn’t happen which I thought it would be is that Magnus Bane is one of the evil character. When Clary and Sebastian find Magnus Bane at Ragnor Fell house I thought for awhile that he is actually on Valentines side or he has his own bad motive.

Overall, In-spite of being predictable and derivative this book is beautifully written. I don’t know how Cassandra Clare works magic with this novel, but it is definitely done well. With the right pacing, continuous flow of events, engaging and unforgettable characters, unexpected funny lines, clever detailed fantasy world, thoroughly engrossing writing style this book is impressive. I have enjoyed the series so far and looking forward for the next three books of the series.

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare

“Fate is never fair. You are caught in a current much stronger than you are; struggle against it and you’ll drown not just yourself but those who try to save you. Swim with it. and you’ll survive”

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?

Personal Thoughts:

City Of Ashes is a pretty nice installment to the Mortal Instruments series. Just like its prequel (City Of Bones), it is jam-packed with adventure, standout characters and a solid plot. The writing is as good as the first book. The characters were all well written. There are definitely a lot of them but they are still memorable and easy to distinguish. The old characters from City of Bones are back and there are new characters introduced. There is the Inquisitor, Maryse, Robert, Maia and Seelie Queen. Clary is still a strong protagonist, she is now discovering more of her mysterious power. While Jace become more revealing in this book. He shows a lot of emotions while keeping his strong persona and sarcastic and funny humour at the same time. He also discover more of his abilities and power which the Seelie Queen called “Angel’s own gift”. The other characters are still visible and continue to add more colours to the story.

As for the story, City Of Ashes is much more relationship driven compare to the first book. There were a very good balance between the dangerous actions and the private lives of characters. It continue to emphasize the sibling dilemma between Clary and Jace; the family issue between the lightwoods and Jace; and the father-and-son conflict between Valentine and Jace. There is also Clary dealing with Jace and Simon, Simon dealing with his new life and Alec dealing with his own internal issues. More aspects of the Downworlders are also presented in this book; there are more faeries, werewolves, warlocks, vampires and demons. We also got a chance to see a part of the faerie world. All these and more add more depth and character to the unseen world that Cassandra Clare created.

The magic element of the book is still creatively used in the story. The fantasy magical world seems alive with all the detail and artistic description that Clare used. The fun magic system like the runes, stele and markings are really amazing. I appreciate the idea of giving names for the Seraph Blades even if it’s a bit confusing somehow.

As for the ending, it doesn’t provide much of the resolution. The sibling dilemma between Clary and Jace is not yet solve. But with a few hints given in this book I have the feeling that my theories are correct. Although I love the first book more than this one, I did enjoy it all the same. City Of Ashes is still a great book and a good sequel. It got everything expected from a paranormal series. It has danger, romance, actions, adventures, fantasies, magic and funny moments. With all this, I am excited to continue with City Of Glass to find out more.

City of Bones by (The Mortal Instruments #1) Cassandra Clare

“That to love is to destroy and that to be the one loved is to be the one destroyed.”
– Jace Wayland

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….

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Personal Thoughts:

Despite being almost 500 pages long, the City of Bones is a fast read. It’s hard to get board with this new world created by Cassanrda Clare in Mortal Instruments series. There are so much to imagine and so many characters involved. There are shadowhunters, angels, vampires, werewolves, faeries, warlocks, wizards, witches and demons. It’s full packed, action driven with witty conversations and interesting plot. Cassandra Clare created a fantastic world with such ease. She tells so much yet it’s easy to understand and imagine. As if you just step into a portal and transported in this new world she created.

The writing is neither poetic nor lyrical, it’s more direct and story driven. But it never spoil the description of the unseen world Cassandra Clare built. A new world that is dark, magical, enchanting and edgy. Written in a third-person point of view with different view points used, the story is unbelievably good. She switch views from one character to another without breaking the flow of events. She balances all viewpoints well, and each time, we want just a little more.

The characters are simply great. All are consistent and like-able. Clary as the protagonist shows a strong character. She may not have the physical strength like the other characters but she know how to carry her self. She is smart enough to focus on her mission saving her Mother. She didn’t let anyone push her around. Despite being attracted to Jace, she is not consumed by it, but focus on what is really matters in her life.

Jace is my favorite character in this book. He is good at what he does, quick-witted and sharp tongued. It’s fascinating that in-spite of his strong persona, he has this sense of humor that is so refreshing. I enjoyed his arrogance and sarcastic humor even sometimes it get a bit much, it was still fun nonetheless. The interaction between him and Clary often bring me to laughter. With his tragic past and shadow of mystery he is surely someone to look forward to the next book.

The supporting characters were all well developed and beautifully written. Cassandra Clare captures their distinct personalities incredibly well. Isabelle, Alec, Luke and Simon all played a fairly large role in the story even Magnus Bane and Hodge Starkweather. Each characters are creatively used in the story and not just get thrown around to used as plot devices. I can’t wait to see what Cassandra does with all the characters in the rest of this series.

Overall, City of Bones is a fun read. With a whole bunch of paranormal creatures, characters to love and a plot that makes almost 500 pages seems short this book is worth every page. Cassandra Clare will not just make you read each words she written but will let you absorb, experience and bring them to life. Definitely worth reading.