City of Lost Souls

Warnings: sexual references, swearing, violence
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments

‘Jace is now a servant of evil, bound for all eternity to Sebastian. Only a small band of Shadowhunters believe he can be saved. To do this they must defy the Clave. And they must act without Clary. For Clary is playing a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. Clary is willing to do anything for Jace, but can she trust him?
What price is too high to pay, even for love?’

Soooooo… That was uncomfortable. I enjoyed the bits of the book between heated make out sessions, but I read the last 350+ pages at my mum’s choir performance surrounded by old people and my family and I felt physical discomfort. As someone who isn’t really comfortable with other people showing affection, even if it is only in writing, skim reading through these parts ruined the immersion and experience of the story.

Other than that, I really liked the plot and the development of the characters ALSO MORE GAYS YAY! I love the positive representation of the LGBT+ community in this series because it’s so popular and spreads awareness and acceptance.

The overall storyline is dramatic and draws the reader in, shown in the fact that I spent three straight hours reading it and almost finished it within that time. Clare’s writing style is both sophisticated and reflects the way teenagers in the same situation as Clary and Co. are in during the book. The twists and turns in the story and complex and are also easy for the reader to understand. I LOVE IT.

8/10

-abnormalbookgeek

City of Fallen Angels

Warnings: swearing
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments

‘Clary is back in New York and life is good: she’s training to be a Shadowhunter and is finally able to call Jace her boyfriend. But nothing comes without a price. When Jace inexplicably begins to pull away from her, Clary is forced to acknowledge that she herself has set in motion a chain of events that could lead to the loss of everything she loves. Even Jace.’

Surprisingly, there were no falling angels. Hm.

Although a bit slow moving at the start, as soon as you get into the story, you REALLY get into the story. At first, I thought it was just about the character’s relationship struggles, and to be honest it was a bit dull and angst-y. But the second half is very, very different. It’s all action, high-paced and well written.

The end is a cliffhanger that leaves you craving the next book in the series.

This book in particular I felt really fleshed out the relationship between Alec and Magus – one of the only gay relationship I have found in books outside of fanfiction. They have a realistic relationship, as realistic as a couple consisting of a monster hunter and a warlock can be. I ship them more than I ship anything else in the series apart from Simon and Jace.

7/10

-abnormalbookgeek

City of Glass

Warnings: None
Book 3 in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

Amid the chaos of war, the Shadowhunters must decide to fight with the vampires, werewolves and other Downworlders – or against them. Meanwhile, Jace and Clary have their own decision to make: should they pursue the love they know is forbidden?

First of all, I feel I must make a public service announcement. GO IN MORE SMALL BOOKSHOPS! I got this copy of City of Glass, brand new, at £3.99 and it would’ve cost me £7.99 to buy it in a large bookshop. (The shop was Superbooks on the Lyndhurst high street if anyone lives near there :))

Anyway, on with the review!

Overall I did enjoy this installment in the Mortal Instruments series, it’s dramatic and flashy, with new characters and development into the old characters. Clare’s writing really brings her creatures to life, and the characters are well explained in their actions. Also Alec and Magnus are adorable and I actually can’t k.

BUT

I found the last line pretty cool, as a Supernatural fan. (…in streaking lines of golden fire, like angels falling from the sky.) However, on the page RIGHT AFTER this line, was the words ‘Read on from an extract from the fourth book, CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS‘.

HMM. I WONDER WHAT WILL POSSIBLY HAPPEN IN THE NEXT BOOK. THE ANTICIPATION OF NOT KNOWING IS WONDROUS.

Can you tell that annoyed me? Maybe.

Also, there was a lot of fighting in this book. Which I liked, until it started to get a bit repetitious.

Altogether though, this was a pretty good book that I enjoyed reading.

7/10 stars

– abnormalboogeek