I rated it: 5 out of 5 stars. (teetered on the edge of 4 out of 5)
The summary from Goodreads is: “City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.”
My overall thoughts:
When I heard there would be more to the Clary and Jace saga I was worried that since the first three books told such a complete story, that Clare was only extending the series because of it's popularity. I was worried that the characters would feel tired and worn out and that the story would have that sequel syndrome where it can't really pull me in and I begin to think the author should have just quit while they were ahead.
But I still had faith though in Clare's ability to tell a story, so I anxiously anticipated this book with high hopes. I was not let down.
For me, Clare was able to use the same characters we know and love and come up with a new adventure that captured me almost as much as the first. I can totally envision the beginning of a new saga and yet she was able to do that and still pull elements from the first three books into the plot.
I think what I liked best about it all was that Simon was pulled to the front and used as essentially the main character. You got to see more to him and what he's going through and I was just fascinated with all the scenes with him and Jace and the fun new character Kyle. (LOL I'm almost team Kyle and Jace) I think this is what kept everything from feeling old and repetitive for me.
My one complaint about this book, and the reason for my almost 4 instead of 5 stars was Clary and Jace's relationship. This is the one aspect of the book that felt redundant to me. I can understand the need for Jace to have some inner turmoil as he has to come to terms with everything that happened in the first three books and his lovely identity crisis. But the way he constantly punishes himself by pushing Clary away got so tired by the end of the book. All his "I don't deserve you because I'm so evil and I'm Valentine's son and blah blah blah..." got so exhausting and frustrating. By the end I was wanting to bang my head against a wall whenever Jace and Clary had a scene alone together. And as for the way the book ended it feels bittersweet to me because while I'm fascinated by the idea of where Clare took the story and think there is so much potential for some interesting and amazing developments I'm just worried that it will only heighten my sensitivity to the Jace and Clary drama.
That being said, this is a great book and I think the fans of the Mortal Instruments series will not be disappointed. I definitely wasn't! And of course I'm anxiously waiting for the next one. Hopefully the release of these book will offset the release of the Clockwork Angel series and I can get twice the Cassie Clare fix!
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