12.30.2014 | Tuesday

City of Ashes

Item: City of Ashes
Rating: 5
Author: Kim

category: Book Reviews
tag(s): young adult
0 Comments

title: City of Ashes
author: Cassandra Clare
series: The Mortal Instruments #2
published: 25 August 2008
publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
genre(s): fantasy, romance
pages: 513
source: bought
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | BookBub | StoryGraph | Goodreads

rating:

| series rating:

the blurb

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

my review

City of Ashes is the second in The Mortal Instruments series and just as good as the first. City of Bones threw some wrenches into the romance and the frustration with that is just as palpable in this book. The action is kicked up yet another notch and the twists and turns just don’t end!

The romance… oh, the romance. The frustration is overwhelming at times because what you want as a reader, you just can’t have. The angst is unbelievable and it pulls you into the story, hoping page after page that you will get what you want! Jace and Clary are tormented and so is everyone around them!!

But more than the romance is the story itself. There are so many twists and turns as truths are uncovered and secrets revealed. Just as soon as you think you know where the story may be going, things change and everything is turned on edge again. The anticipation was wonderful.

One again, I am in love with the characters and the banter. I love that the cast is diverse because it makes for some fantastic interactions that are sometimes sad, sometimes serious, and sometimes hilarious. The banter is snarky, but intelligent and full of one-liners that I just want to find occasions to use!

Definately a must-read after City of Bones!

About Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books. Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction. She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts.