City of Fallen Angels//Book Talk

Hello Rad Readers!

This will be discussing the fourth book in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. I have reviews and book talks for books 1-3 if you want to know my feels on those, because boy oh boy do I have a lot! If you haven't read 1-3 obviously you should read them before you read City of Fallen Angels, or even this review!

Okay, now for the non-spoiler-y section! So, for those of you that don't know, TMI was originally supposed to be a trilogy and City of Glass was meant to be the end of it, but Cassandra Clare wanted to write more on it and thus a sort of second trilogy came about, though the stories follow the same plot line and are literally the same series. So, I think at least, because there was a clear conclusion (sort of) at the end of City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels seemed to take a while to find its footing. It certainly took a while for the new conflict to be revealed and so, a lot of the beginning seemed slower and the only parts that really were able to hold my attention were the ones that had to do with Clary and Jace. For the most part though, of course, I really liked it. I enjoyed getting back to their story that I will never be too good to care about. There is something about this world that is just so fun and immersive, and these characters have such a strong hold on me that I could never turn down a book that they are in. As expected, after it found its path, the book was action packed, exciting, adventurous, and INTENSE. Intense would certainly be the best word to describe it!

There is so much to be said that would unfortunately spoil a lot, so I think the best I can say without telling you everything that is in the book is JUST READ IT! I really enjoyed it and though it hasn't been the best addition to the series yet, it is still very very very good! So, if you have not read City of Fallen Angels, go read it and come back and talk about it with us rad readers! :)

SPOILERS COMING AT YOU!

Okay, the beginning of the book, like I said though it didn't really know where it was going, the filler stuff was still really fun to read about, specifically what was going on with Simon... well, what even was going on with Simon? I thought it was absolutely hilarious how he has developed as a character and it is so clear at this point in the story line. He goes from this absolute loser weenie in City of Bones and now he just accidentally kind of has two girlfriends and he just doesn't know what to do about it and I think that is so funny. The collision of Maia and Isabel and him just could not have happened at a less opportune time and it could not have gone worse for him... epically hilarious. Him and Isabelle have definitely come the furthest in the series in terms of developing since it began. They were really just total side characters at first to contribute to Clary and Jace's story, but I really appreciate how the author has incorporated the story lines of so many other characters towards the main plot. It does a lot to make Clary's story feel more important and to make the world bigger and more believable. I thought the other stuff with Simon's family was pretty heart breaking. It's just really sad because he was never meant to be roped into all of this and now he can literally never go home again because of it. Though, all of this is filler until the main action of the novel takes place. --The fact that the filler is still interesting to read also says a lot about the talent of the writer, to get the reader so invested in your characters and story that they will literally read anything about them!

Jace was a whole lot of annoying this time around, but I suppose that is every time around... whatever. So, he is dreaming about killing Clary... thought that was just a little bit concerning, but that is just my opinion. I also thought buddy would learn from the mistakes of the previous books and, oh, ya know, vocalize this extremely concerning detail in his life. When he accidentally stabbed Clary, I was like dawg, how could you not see this coming. Ultimately, Jace's "tortured by greatness, agony, and angst" act is getting O...L...D... OLD! He is being so distant and nobody knows why, but all I'm saying is that it literally is not that hard to just say 'Hey, not really sure why, but these really vivid images of me killing you is, like, haunting my mind...' because guess what bud, a whole lot of stranger and more intense things have happened so far, so saying that? The gang wouldn't even bat an eye. No surprise you ended up stabbing her when you literally did nothing to prevent that from happening. This is the best example, but things like this just kept happening throughout and I just kept thinking, Jace dawg, you are doing this to yourself. Develop some communication skills.

Right off the bat, Kyle was hellaaaa suspicious. Maia was a total homie and then when we found out that Kyle was actually Jordan and Jordan turned Maia into a werewolf and Maia and him had this extremely complicated and hate filled backstory I was like... woah... this is a lot. It was all delivered in a super information dump and it reminded me a lot of how Luke's back story was told at the end of City of Bones. The entire time it was being explained I was trying to read it as fast as possible and skimming so much because after a certain amount of time I was just like, 'okay, cool, we get it and there are way more important things that we are in the middle of right now.' Ya know? For whatever reason that part didn't stick with me as much as it seemed to have with other readers. I did really like both of those characters though!

Luke... I really just don't like him right now. I hated how he was, like, yelling at Clary because she was 'using her powers recklessly,' and 'only using them in life or death scenarios' after she LITERALLY BROUGHT BACK SOMEONE FROM THE DEAD TO FIND OUT WHO THE MURDERER WAS. I was like... Luke... dog, (haha get it because he's a werewolf hahaha) when do you expect her to practice bringing people back to life. That's not exactly something you can pull out during a casual sparing session. Also, nobody is really making an effort to teach her how to use her skills but they are all jumping to get mad at her when she is clueless. I don't know, this is just something that has really bothered me throughout the entire course of the series. They are always so quick to blame her, but she has literally been aware of this entire world for less than a year and she is being expected to essentially save it with like three months of training. Lame. Of course however, Clary brings a lot on herself and home girl still hasn't figured out what common sense is. It genuinely hurts to just sit back and watch her make such obviously horrible decisions. For example when she went into the church before Isabel came and she literally almost got killed so easily. I just don't understand why she is the way that she is sometimes... frustrating.

The comedy was absolute gold in this addition to the series as well. I could read pages and pages of the banter among these friends and I don't think it would ever get old. Such quick witted and smart writing is something I will always have a massive appreciation for. Also, above all that and aside from genuinely making me laugh in a silent library like a lunatic, it develops the relationships between the characters beautifully and seamlessly. Not a moment of this story feels forced or rushed. You see Simon and Jace who just never stop bickering at one another, but in the previous books it was certainly more heavy hearted. Now, the jokes are clearly jokes and I think that contributes a lot to the fact that they are truly friends now. The trust is there. Something that certainly wasn't the case in the previous novels.

Camille is wretched and evil and I have never been so anxious as to when big dog tried to make Simon hit us with the blood oath. I don't care the circumstance, if anywhere, at any time, you are being asked to make a BLOOD OATH... probably --and just hear me out on this one-- not the best decision you could make.

Lillith and Sebastian... the baddest of bad guys am I righttttt??? In the best/worst way possible of course. There is something so fascinating about the way that Sebastian is written. He is so evil and has no conscious. He is literally part demon part Shadowhunter which is a total oxymoron. He is so remorseless that you just never know what he is up to next because virtually nothing has consequences for him. He has no weaknesses in terms of morality, and like I said, once the book found its footing and figured out its conflict, I think it started to go in a very promising and exciting direction. They are trying to start a new breed of Shadowhunters like Sebastian, basically an army of evil Shadowhunters. Now, I am no genius, but that sounds like bad news. Clary showed some solid development when we find out that Lillith has been messing with Jace's head, hence the visions of him killing Clary. She just comes up with a solution-- a logical one finally-- and goes for it! You go girl!

Alec, not the man... not at all. Homie was my least favorite character in this book. He really has got to let Magnus chill.

Jace and Sebastian are connected now, and oh man, this changes everything and this will undoubtedly be leading the rest of the story for the next two books. I. CANNOT. WAIT.

Okayyyyy, that was a lottttttt!

Shadowhunters, am I right?

- C8 ;)

City of Glass (TMI #3)// Book Talk!

Greetings Rad Readers!! This (no surprise) was a banger. It has by far been the best Mortal Instruments book so far in my opinion. It takes off right where City of Ashes leaves off.

Clary is still trying to get her mom back. To do that she needs to get to the City of Glass which is basically the Mecca for Shadowhunters. Entering the city without permission from the Clave is illegal and could lead to major repercussions... we are talking death right now ladies and gentlemen. However the only way that she can enter the City of Glass is without permission of course because Jace is doing everything in his power to prevent her from going. To make matters worse, and to make Clary want to get to Alicante even more, Simon gets pushed through the portal... A vampire in sacred Shadowhunter ground? Beyond a no-go. Simon immediately gets thrown in prison by the new Inquisitor and the rest of the Clave is very suspicious of a vampire that is not effected by sunlight.

Valentine is still a mad bad lad trying to destroy all the Shadowhunters. When Clary gets to the City of Glass she learns more about her family's past, also meeting Sebastian, a Shadowhunter that she knows very little about. His mysterious nature leads to a little suspicion, but he becomes her ally along the way while she is struggling with issues regarding fighting Valentine, getting her mother back, and dealing with the matters of Jace and Simon.

As you can tell by that tiny little synopsis that is not in fact tiny at all, this book is crazy action packed from the very first pages all the way to the end of the book. It is so engaging and exciting and really just epic as a whole. The world, I feel like, has really been expanded on and where it may have been confusing at parts in City of Ashes and City of Bones, everything is very well explained and established now. There are all sorts of things happening at once which is really cool. We get to see even more of the other characters which I think was one of the strongest points of this book, being able to get a better sense of especially Simon and Isabelle. They are even more firmly established in my mind as my favorite characters in this series. Everything thus far in the series is finally explained which is so relieving. I know that this was initially intended to be a trilogy only and this was going to be the last book. The next three weren't originally planned to be written so that is why in the end it has a feeling of finality.

Us readers have been guessing so much along the way and really nothing is totally answered until the end of this book! I really really enjoyed it but unfortunately there is not much to say without revealing spoilers, sooooooo if you have not read City of Glass yet, READ IT! It is the best in TMI series up to this point and if you are like me and didn't love City of Ashes that much, DONT STOP READING THIS SERIES!! IT GETS SO MUCH BETTER!! The twists are still crazy but this time they are awesome and don't make you want to throw your book at a wall (well only sometimes but in a good way this time, not like in the way we threw out books at the end of City of Bones...) trusttt meeee you are going to want to read it! And hint hint... I called it... ;)

Okay, helloooo spoiler gang!

So, I think we can all agree that leaving Clary behind initially was just about the dumbest thing they could have chosen to do. Clary was obviously going to find a way to get there and obviously it was going to be a stupid idea and obviously she is still going to go through with it. OF COURSE the woman is going to get to Alicante! This is Clary Fray we are talking about here! I was really on the edge of my seat during the *seriously* very beginning. When the forsaken came and Simon ended up going through the portal, I knew immediately that this was going to be a good one. Where City of Ashes started out really slow and then started picking up speed, I felt like the pacing of this book was crazy fast the entire time and I really enjoyed that (I know I said it before, but it was just such a strong point throughout the entirety of this book)!

Okay, now onto Sebastian... I knewwwwww from like the very first time we met him that this was a badddd dudeeee. I was low-key disappointed in Clary for not realizing that either. She constantly shows that she is a little tentative and unsure of him, yet she is still so open with him, telling him so much about her life and her situation and trusting him and I was like girllll there is nooooo wayyyyyy this is a good idea... and I was right of course. I knew the whole time that Jace and Clary weren't related, and praise the freaking lord that it was finally actually revealed. I knew it the whole time and I was soooo tired of reading about characters that didn't know what I already knew. It made reading about parts like that feel so forced and slow and I was just nottt here for it. I just didn't know how we were going to find out, and I must say, this was the craziest most amazing way we could have. OF COURSE Sebastian is her evil long lost brother, like, duh, how did I not realize that immediately. OF COURSE he is the one with the demon blood and Jace with the angel blood. UGH how did I not know this right when I read it. There was no way the Jace was evil and had demon in him, and I can't believe I believed that for a little bit right there.

I feel so bad for Simon this entire book! I feel like he is always dragged into everything. He didn't want to be a vampire, he didn't want to be in this Shadowhunter drama. He certainly didn't want to wind up in Alicante and the inquisitor is acting like he has this big evil plot when he literally just accidentally became a vampire and was dragged through a portal by Shadowhunters... That poor guy. Still, I did appreciate this story line becuase we got to spend more time focused on Simon, and he really is one of my favorite characters in this story. His dialogue is always the funniest and same with his thoughts. I thought this aspect really made the book that much better! Like I said, we could have just kept up with the regular old "Defeat Valentine! Oh no!" story line and it would have just been kind of good, but there was so much else going on that made this book always exciting and I LOVED IT!

The whole Hodge story line... crazy... so mad that Sebastian killed him. I know he was a traitor but he was trying to apologize! He was trying to help them and explain himself! However, what I'm even more mad about, nay, infuriated about, would be that Max was killed. I felt soooo bad for Alec and Isabelle and Jace and really all of them. It was so so so heartbreaking. Cassandra Clare why did you have to do us like that!!

Clary finally started doing something helpful! She has been a really frustrating character since the end of City of Bones. Throughout most of City of Bones she was great, then at the end she was lame and in City of Ashes she was lame too. She is strong and smart and has so much to say and so much potential. It is so frustrating to watch a character like that act so weak and stupid and rash at times! I do like Clary a lot though, and I know that a lot of people kind of hate her, and I get that as you can probably tell from what I just said, but I don't hate her. There are times where she redeems herself big time. Chiefly in this book would be when she convinces the Clave and the other Shadowhunters not to surrender and that the way that they could defeat Valentine would be if they went up against him with the Downworlders as their allies. It was a genius idea and also a step in the right direction for that world. It reminded me a lot of S.P.E.W. in Harry Potter actually! Super sick idea and genius world building and crazy crazy crazy stuff going on!

Sick, fantastical, crazy ending. I thought Jace was a goner. He literally died and because I knew that this was supposed to be the last book in the series I thought that it was o-v-e-r over for him, but then when Raziel killed Valentine and brought him back I was like wow... wow... this is just the greatest series ever. I hate Valentine. He isn't even a good evil villain. He had been planning this for years, faked his death and then planned his return for years and this was the most he could amount to? Sacrificing his teenage daughter and then failing at that so then sacrificing Jace? Comeee onnn. Raziel didn't even accept his sacrifice. He was like... dog... you're insane we don't want dead children in exchange for creating a pure breed of Shadowhunters you psychopath. Big ups to Raziel for killing Valentine and putting an end to all that by the way. You know what, while we are on that topic, I can't believe that Valentine was about to sacrifice Clary and then did kill Jace... imagine being the worst ever... I could never. Thankfully Valentine is over and done with but now Sebastian... oh boy, that mad lad is on the move and we know that he is coming back worse than ever in City of Fallen Angels and I cannot wait!!

Okay rad readers, there's my hot take on City of Glass! I have it 5/5 stars on GoodReads and I would have given it 6/5 if I had the option!

Read on! Ave Atque Vale!! (Shadowhunter jokes am I rightttt)

-C8 ;)

City of Ashes: A Book Talk! (Mortal Instruments #2)

Hello fellow literature connoisseurs!

If you have not read the City of Bones it is highly probable that none of the following will make any sense to you whatsoever.

This also may not so much be like my other reviews as I don't feel a recommendation/non-rec review would make much sense for a case like this. Now that I am in the midst of this series (and presumably so are you), it would be an odd approach to take to continue that style of review, so rather this will be more like a book talk, discussing the book, plot development, character development, basically how the series has progressed in its sequel! With that being said, I think it goes without saying that this entire review is one big-ole spoiler. Read with caution!!

BEFORE THE SPOILERS

I loved this book so very much and I sense that my love for the shadow hunter world will not stop at City of Ashes... actually I know it won't because as I write this post I am about 232 pages into City of Glass and boy oh boy things only get better from here my friends!

An aspect of this book that was different from the first was that this is less so about Clary and her development and more about each and every character in this journey. Clary's story, reasoning, and yearning has been firmly established in City of Bones, and I like that the author wasn't about to make that go on and on ad nauseum (latin reference for a subtle nod to the latin references in TMI ;)) about her in this story as well.

The world is more developed but it is written in less of a summarized way because they are discovering as they go rather than just explaining to Clary everything she has just been thrust into. Now every character is being thrust into new conflict so they all have to learn together. It is much more engaging to read about!

The circumstances are certainly far darker now. The dynamic between the characters are more rocky and what is at stake takes a darker shift. Valentine is manipulative and powerful and what he is doing is working! Very spooky, very intense...

If you have gathered with us rad readers today because you just finished the City of Bones and are considering tearing up the book and never reading another book again, let alone finishing the series because of the life shattering ending of that novel, I will leave you with this my fellow Mortal Instruments lovers: life goes on, things get better within the series. You will preserver through this complicated time in the Shadowhunter world. IT IS WORTH IT TO KEEP READING! THINGS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM... *wink wink* Okay, now stop reading this and read City of Ashes!! Ave atque vale... ;)

OKAY NOW PEACE OUT EVERYONE WHO HASN'T READ THIS BOOK YET BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING INTO THE SPOILERS BABYYYY!

Welcome to the discussion my fellow Mortal Instruments connoisseurs!

Well, we did it. We went through an entire book still believing that Clary and Jace are related. I just know that we are going to get a plot twist in City of Glass and I refuse to allow Cassandra Clare to fool me so I'm not even going to touch on this because I refuse to be tricked.

Moving swiftly on, Simon... oh Simon did we go through a whirlwind of character development with him.

Not going to lie he was one of my favorites in City of Bones, but in the beginning of City of Ashes he was by about a country mile my second least favorite only to Clary herself. Simon irked me to say the least in his loud, far from silent, desperation to get out of where he so clearly belongs... the friend zone. I didn't like it when he kind of just said "Yo Clary, you are my girlfriend now," and I disliked it even more when Clary was just like "guess so..." I'm obviously paraphrasing here and by quite a lot, but that was the general gist of things for the first couple chapters and honestly... it was weird.

This brings me to why Clary was my least favorite character for a little more than half of the book. She was simply just too weak minded. She was not thinking logically or for herself or for what was in the best interest of the people she cared about and the people that cared for her. Her woe-is-me attitude drove me to insanity, I was so perplexed as to how such a dope character could have such a steep fall from grace before I was even done reading the prologue. Tisk tisk, wins and losses come with bein' bosses after all.

Simon of course did have a major redeeming quality in medias res, because our golden boy turned into a vampire! Vampire Simon is wayyyyy better than lame unrequited love Simon and I'm not sorry about it. That was probably one of my favorite developments in the series thus far because it made everything so much grander and fantastical. I think it made Clary improve as well because this was when she realized that she needed to get her head on straight and stop thinking about her Jace troubles.

(btw I'm not even going to get into this because of what I said in the beginning about Jace and Clary, but I just have to say that I absolutely hated every scene with them together. It was awkward and weird and had to stop. The entire time I was like Cassandra Clare... I know what you are doing to me and this is so uncool. I know the truth and you need to stop pretending like I don't. I just know. Stop... anyways)

The world building was so creative between the faeries and the vampire scenes. I loved how the author didn't just do the typical beautiful faery that we have seen in a million fantasy books before, or the regular old bitten on the neck vampire transformation. Everything was so dark and well thought out. It was complicated but not confusing and every part of it made sense. It reminded me of the wizarding world of Harry Potter. You can just tell that the author is so immersed in the world that she has built and she knows all about it. It is so engaging and cool! Loved it!

Once Clary got herself together, I liked exploring her talent of drawing runes. It is a very cool ability and I was tired of hearing about how lame and unskilled she was at combat. I was relieved that finally someone threw her a bone and she could stop cowering away and being weak and unuseful. That was when I started liking her again! Also, it was just a very creative and smart way to take the series. She will absolutely explore that later in the series, I know!

As for the conclusion of the book, it all seemed like a little much. The inquisitor was the worst and almost over the top, however it did make me more interested at times when I was so tired of the Clary, Simon, Jace boring annoyingness. I also just know that in the end what she was trying to say was what I have been predicting this whole time: that Clary and Jace aren't related. I was SOOOOO frustrated when she died before she could say it! I know I'm not wrong! I can't be!!

Anyways, the rest of the boat scene I did find a little confusing and a little rushed. It was a little weirdly paced and that made it not as exciting as it was likely meant to be. There was too much going on at the same time and too many attempts at shifts and twists that it kind of felt dumb.

Clary saving the day with her rune powers and Luke's character development was so endearing however, that I couldn't help but be pleased with the ending. Clary and Simon breaking up made me so happy because their relationship was so forced and they just aren't meant to be together and that is a fact... not an opinion. I think I gave this book 3 stars on GoodReads, which I think was well deserved. Definitely not 4 and extremely far from 2. 3.75 Would have been better but I was not allowed the luxury.

So, with that I think it is obvious that I certainly recommend this book and the next and the next and the next until Cassandra Clare is done writing. I love her books. She is so creative and so talented and I am already loving City of Glass more than City of Ashes, so I will prematurely say that I recommend that too. I hope I can stand by that in my review of City of Glass... ahhh!

Finally, I did just realize that my biggest qualm was the fact that there was such a lack of Isabelle in this book!! She deserves so much more attention (which she does get in City of Glass ;))

I will leave you all with much to consider, but know that I think that this was a great compliment to City of Bones but also the worst of TMI so far, which isn't saying much because TMI is so great that even the worst of them is still a great one!

Read on readers, read on

- C8 ;)