Review: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on June 4, 2012 | 0 Comments

Review: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #3
Published by Margaret K. McElderry (3.24.2009)
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Paperback, 541 pages
Source: I own it
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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 Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters 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 newfound 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 Timesbestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.

My thoughts

Did I mention I love this series? Being the second time through, I’m amazed it can still affect me like it does. The world of the Mortal Instruments is SO ADDICTING. When I wasn’t reading it, I wanted to be. And it’s the kind of book that you just can’t help but think about – it’s been the main thing occupying my thoughts this past week. I’ve been reading the series consecutively, not reading anything else in between to break up the series, and it’s simply consuming me. As I said before, I’ve been working on a dream cast for the series, and between doing that and reading the books, it’s really taken up all of my time. Anyway, on to the review…

I feel like this was the best one so far. You can tell it was originally meant to be a trilogy, because this one wraps everything up into a neat little package. You finally get closure, and the truth – the real truth. You get to see past all the lies and deceit and get the important background that you’ve been missing. Plus you get to visit Idris – yay!! After all the talk about it and how amazing it is from all the Shadowhunters, Clary finally got to go. I wish it was a real place so I could visit it!

The war aspect was fantastic. I’m not usually a big fan of reading about fighting and battle strategies, but this one was well done. Of course, it didn’t linger on that part, either. That’s probably why. But it was still dark and intense with the looming attack on the city. I loved the Alliance and the rune used. It was awesome!

Clary and Jace pissed me off a bit in this one. Well okay, mainly Jace. The way he treated Clary made me want to punch his lights out. Sure, they’re going to have some major complications due to their relations, but still. I’m not saying I thought that they should continue their relationship knowing what they did, but at least come to some kind of happy medium. Not, you know, purposefully ripping the object of your desire’s heart out because you can’t have her and you’re wallowing in self pity. Grr! Thankfully that douchebaggery was only in the first half. After the initial attack on the city, it faded away and the battle took forefront. Thank goodness, because if Jace had continued, my blood pressure may have suffered.

Again, I find myself wishing I could have read this for the first time. Everything surrounding Jace, Sebastian, Valentine, and Hodge wasn’t a surprise because I already knew it was going to happen. I wish I could go back and relive that surprise again, to capture that initial feeling after learning the truth for the first time. But even still, knowing what I did, there were parts that chilled me as I read them. Max, Jonathan, the Herondales. I don’t want to say any more because I don’t want to give anything away, but just when you think you know something or someone in this series, you end up being wrong! The shock and awe factor is outstanding – Clare sure knows how to keep her readers on her toes!

Favorite character: Probably Magnus this time. I adore Jace, but he pissed me off too much in the beginning to be my favorite.