Review: City of Glass

Title: City of Glass
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #3
Publication Date: March 4, 2009
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Page Count: 541
Rating: 4/5 starfish
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Synopsis:

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?

My Review:

I do have to say that I enjoyed this book more than the previous two books.  Clare’s writing is getting better and it definitely shows.  But, before I get into what I did like, let’s take a look at what bugged me about this book shall we?

Clary and Jace….oh dear Lord where to start with Clary and Jace. They are the reason I knocked 1 star off my rating.   First of all, them being brother and sister but being in love with each other is a big issue with me.  And it’s not like there was a vague possibility that they were brother and sister because for the last 2 books they, as well as us readers, actually thought they were.  At that point I quit shipping that relationship!  There was one part of the book in particular that really had me making ugly faces.  When Jace comes to visit Clary and he asks to spend the night with her, to lay next to her in bed, but he promises not to touch her.  His thinking is “it’s just this one night.  In the grand scheme of things, how much can one night matter?”  SERIOUSLY????  Does anyone else see an issue with this?  And when Jace tells her “You’re my sister.  My sister, my blood, my family.  I should want to protect you from the sort of boys who want to do with you exactly what I want to do.” NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!!!!

As for the actual story, it was fun and fast paced.   I love Isabell and Simon!  Jace’s story gets a bit complicated and makes you wonder where he really came from and I would like to see more character development when it comes to Clary because, let's face it, shes a bit childlike and immature when compared to the other characters.  The description of the demons, the landscape and the world in general really improved in this book.  Being that it's book 3 I don’t want to go into too much detail so I will stop here, but, one specific part ripped my heart out, threw it on the ground, smashed it with a sledge hammer and pulverized it!

 I will definitely finish out the series because I want to read Lady Midnight and Lord of Shadows!  I would definitely recommend this series if you are new to YA Fantasy or Fantasy in general because it’s easy to follow and the plot isn’t too complicated.