Book Review: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

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Title: City of Glass
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #3
Genre: YA - Paranormal Fantasy
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Original Release Date: March 24, 2009
Pages: 508
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library

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 third installment of the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

Blue twilight over Alicante

I waited a very long time between reading City of Ashes and City of Glass. I actually considered not finishing the series because I didn't particularly care much for City of Ashes. But when I heard about how amazing the Infernal Devices series was, I realized that the only way I could get there was to suffer through the rest of the Mortal Instruments books, which is why I chose to listen to City of Glass instead. Boy was I surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

The story was fast paced and the action was easy to follow. It actually felt like the conclusion of a series (which technically it was). The characters were significantly less irritating to me than the previous books, and Ms. Clare seemed to keep the previous books' love triangle to a minimum. The main reason I didn't want to continue with the series is the love triangle. While her character descriptions aren't always the best and I found it difficult to picture what everybody is supposed to look like, she does describe the world that she's created in satisfying detail. Alicante sounds beautiful.

Normally I can predict most YA plot twists toward the beginning of the book, but not this one! I was surprised at how often Ms. Clare surprised me. I was truly emotionally attached to these characters in this installment, even though I didn't particularly care what happened to them in the previous books.

Overall

This was a fantastic book, especially since I went into it with such low expectation. I truly loved it. I particularly loved listening to it. Natalie Moore was a joy to listen to. I am surprisingly excited to continue on with the Shadowhunter series.