Book Title: City of Fallen Angels
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #4
Series: The Mortal Instruments #4
Date Started: June 9th 2013
Date Completed: June 14th 2013
Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Action, Thriller, Mystery
Rating: Four stars
Review:
I don't want to start this review off sounding really negative, but I'm quite disappointed actually. I have a feeling the first three books in the Mortal Instruments series were written as a trilogy, and then the extra novels were added due to the success of the preceding books - this would explain why I feel like everything didn't tie in with the other stories particularly well; as the first three novels had. Although, I did still enjoy it and the last 100 pages was to the standard of the last two books, which were my favourites.
City of Fallen Angels starts on a high for Clary, Simon and the others; Valentine is no longer a threat and they're slowing coming to terms with their new lives of Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Then Nepilim corpses start showing up in each Downworlder's district, and the Clave suspects Vampires are to blame. Under the threat of war once again, Clary is torn between her friends, her mother and Luke's upcoming wedding and her relationship with Jace (who seems to be growing apart from her). But something darker is lurking behind the scenes ready bring Clary's world around her.
(I apologise for how terrible I've made that seem.)
I've always liked Cassandra Clare's writing style: it's reasonably basic and simple, yet she manages to get an awful lot of information to the reader whilst also making it really interesting and vivid in its imagery. The emotions come through, if a little too obviously.
Overall, everything flows really well and it's a nice, fairly easy read that still has the ability to capture the reader and draw them into the story.
I've also always been impressed by how Clare can have so many subplots going on at the same time and then weave them together to make one main plot. I used to think she must have planned it out in an exceptionally detailed way, but now I seem to get the impression it's just how she writes: which is a very useful talent that I wish I could steal.
I do admit that I felt Clary and Jace's story was a little detached from the rest of the plot, but it didn't lower the standard of the book too much.
I really, really liked the mystery side of the plot though. Clare tends to include a lot of mystery in her stories, but it's never really the main theme. The same goes for this book, and yet I still found myself trying to work everything out before the characters did.
Ultimately, I did work out a fair bit of it - but it wasn't your typically predictable whodunnit.
Clary is a very good protagonist, but I have a horrible feeling I'm getting a little bored of her. When I read reviews for this book - and even the blurb - they implied that Clary was suddenly a different character: now, she was never weak and she always had a strong character with attitude and a lot of courage. But I feel like after her Shadowhunter training she'd be a bit more sarky like any of the Lightwoods. (However, I am glad that she still got scared in the attack situations - because even after a few weeks of training, who wouldn't be terrified of a seven-foot hellhound that was out to kill you?)
I'm annoyed about Jace. I absolutely love Jace, and his character has always interested me and he's always been a brilliant addition to the plots - but Clare just seems to be repeating herself with his conflicting emotions. I know the way he feels isn't going to be gone in a second, but it really doesn't change at all, which just gives less to look into in his character. (After the plot twist though, hopefully we'll see a few more dimensions from now on.)
I have and always will love Simon. He's the most believable character and he's just a lovely person, even though he makes mistakes - the biggest of which are definitely shown in this book. I love his and Clary's relationship, and I'm really proud of Clare for actually not making it all about a love-triangle, but actually showing that friends can have just as tight bonds as lovers can. Isabelle continues to be awesome and kick ass.
Alec continues to be adorable.
Jocelyn still gets on my nerves a little bit.
I like the new character of Kyle - he's cool and awesome and I completely sympathise with his situation.
And Magnus continues to be utterly fabulous and adorable and amazing and hilarious. The Mortal Instruments would not be the same without him.
I understand that Clary and Jace are supposed to be the main love interest in the books, but I actually find the other relationships a lot more interesting - and realistic. It's not that I dislike either Jace or Clary, I just find their story a little bit too repetitive - and since they have the most 'screen-time' together, I feel like I know pretty much everything there is to know, which just takes out a lot of the thrill of it.
Alec and Magnus, on the other hand, have very little time in the limelight, but my favourites parts of the book are when they are having their conversations. I think it's rare to find a relationship like theirs, especially in teen novels, that's presented in such an affection way - yet still shows the inevitable fights and disagreements. The reactions both characters have are completely reasonable, and I just find their relationship a lot more dynamic and interesting than the others.
I also really love Simon and Izzy together - and it's nice to see the softer side of Isabelle.
(Maia and Jordan was also a nice little thing to add in there, and I was glad it was drawn out for a while so it was more believable - yet it still didn't interfere with the main story.)
I like the way the chapters follow the story of a variety of characters. Simon has just as much narration time (although in the 3rd person...) as Clary does. And I always look forward to Jace's chapters too. And we also got a bit of Magnus and Isabelle in there too.
Where has the humour gone though? There's the occasional sarky comment, but I didn't laugh out loud that much, like I did with the other three books. I don't know whether it's because the story is getting more serious and dark, or if I just wasn't in sync with the comedy, but I didn't find it as funny as the other books.
Like I've already said, the last 100 pages was the best part: we had epic fights scenes and finally a really tense ending that involved pretty much everyone. It was fairly typical for a Young Adult hostage/stand-off situation, but actually there were other elements included that made it different enough to still be interesting and engaging. And the last plot twist was very, very good. I always tend to like Clare's endings, and this was no exception. I can tell where the plot might go from here, but I can't actually predict how everything will spin off, so I'll just have to read the next book to see.
I would recommend City of Fallen Angels to anyone who likes romance, fantasy, mystery or action. I would usually say comedy, but it wasn't as obvious as it has been in other books. But don't be disheartened by this review: I really did enjoy it, and the other books are even better, so you should have a look at them. If you are going to read the Mortal Instruments, you need to read them in order to fully understand what's going on since Cassandra Clare lies to span her stories and developments over various novels at a time. Enjoy.
Image Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6LQVmKKkEzx0sswoEOxK3hd0rqeAovmFyZZCEgcPs_rxxsWDwAPGRiviPsFIdvgGhiALpyKiKw7gHHe3caXXywUim8vZxuBWA_Kkexdg3wplv-phY-d6vMDQ5rW7x0QWfDvxbnxzaaVk/s1600/Os+Instrumentos+Mortais+4-2.jpg
I don't want to start this review off sounding really negative, but I'm quite disappointed actually. I have a feeling the first three books in the Mortal Instruments series were written as a trilogy, and then the extra novels were added due to the success of the preceding books - this would explain why I feel like everything didn't tie in with the other stories particularly well; as the first three novels had. Although, I did still enjoy it and the last 100 pages was to the standard of the last two books, which were my favourites.
City of Fallen Angels starts on a high for Clary, Simon and the others; Valentine is no longer a threat and they're slowing coming to terms with their new lives of Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Then Nepilim corpses start showing up in each Downworlder's district, and the Clave suspects Vampires are to blame. Under the threat of war once again, Clary is torn between her friends, her mother and Luke's upcoming wedding and her relationship with Jace (who seems to be growing apart from her). But something darker is lurking behind the scenes ready bring Clary's world around her.
(I apologise for how terrible I've made that seem.)
I've always liked Cassandra Clare's writing style: it's reasonably basic and simple, yet she manages to get an awful lot of information to the reader whilst also making it really interesting and vivid in its imagery. The emotions come through, if a little too obviously.
Overall, everything flows really well and it's a nice, fairly easy read that still has the ability to capture the reader and draw them into the story.
I've also always been impressed by how Clare can have so many subplots going on at the same time and then weave them together to make one main plot. I used to think she must have planned it out in an exceptionally detailed way, but now I seem to get the impression it's just how she writes: which is a very useful talent that I wish I could steal.
I do admit that I felt Clary and Jace's story was a little detached from the rest of the plot, but it didn't lower the standard of the book too much.
I really, really liked the mystery side of the plot though. Clare tends to include a lot of mystery in her stories, but it's never really the main theme. The same goes for this book, and yet I still found myself trying to work everything out before the characters did.
Ultimately, I did work out a fair bit of it - but it wasn't your typically predictable whodunnit.
Clary is a very good protagonist, but I have a horrible feeling I'm getting a little bored of her. When I read reviews for this book - and even the blurb - they implied that Clary was suddenly a different character: now, she was never weak and she always had a strong character with attitude and a lot of courage. But I feel like after her Shadowhunter training she'd be a bit more sarky like any of the Lightwoods. (However, I am glad that she still got scared in the attack situations - because even after a few weeks of training, who wouldn't be terrified of a seven-foot hellhound that was out to kill you?)
I'm annoyed about Jace. I absolutely love Jace, and his character has always interested me and he's always been a brilliant addition to the plots - but Clare just seems to be repeating herself with his conflicting emotions. I know the way he feels isn't going to be gone in a second, but it really doesn't change at all, which just gives less to look into in his character. (After the plot twist though, hopefully we'll see a few more dimensions from now on.)
I have and always will love Simon. He's the most believable character and he's just a lovely person, even though he makes mistakes - the biggest of which are definitely shown in this book. I love his and Clary's relationship, and I'm really proud of Clare for actually not making it all about a love-triangle, but actually showing that friends can have just as tight bonds as lovers can. Isabelle continues to be awesome and kick ass.
Alec continues to be adorable.
Jocelyn still gets on my nerves a little bit.
I like the new character of Kyle - he's cool and awesome and I completely sympathise with his situation.
And Magnus continues to be utterly fabulous and adorable and amazing and hilarious. The Mortal Instruments would not be the same without him.
I understand that Clary and Jace are supposed to be the main love interest in the books, but I actually find the other relationships a lot more interesting - and realistic. It's not that I dislike either Jace or Clary, I just find their story a little bit too repetitive - and since they have the most 'screen-time' together, I feel like I know pretty much everything there is to know, which just takes out a lot of the thrill of it.
Alec and Magnus, on the other hand, have very little time in the limelight, but my favourites parts of the book are when they are having their conversations. I think it's rare to find a relationship like theirs, especially in teen novels, that's presented in such an affection way - yet still shows the inevitable fights and disagreements. The reactions both characters have are completely reasonable, and I just find their relationship a lot more dynamic and interesting than the others.
I also really love Simon and Izzy together - and it's nice to see the softer side of Isabelle.
(Maia and Jordan was also a nice little thing to add in there, and I was glad it was drawn out for a while so it was more believable - yet it still didn't interfere with the main story.)
I like the way the chapters follow the story of a variety of characters. Simon has just as much narration time (although in the 3rd person...) as Clary does. And I always look forward to Jace's chapters too. And we also got a bit of Magnus and Isabelle in there too.
Where has the humour gone though? There's the occasional sarky comment, but I didn't laugh out loud that much, like I did with the other three books. I don't know whether it's because the story is getting more serious and dark, or if I just wasn't in sync with the comedy, but I didn't find it as funny as the other books.
Like I've already said, the last 100 pages was the best part: we had epic fights scenes and finally a really tense ending that involved pretty much everyone. It was fairly typical for a Young Adult hostage/stand-off situation, but actually there were other elements included that made it different enough to still be interesting and engaging. And the last plot twist was very, very good. I always tend to like Clare's endings, and this was no exception. I can tell where the plot might go from here, but I can't actually predict how everything will spin off, so I'll just have to read the next book to see.
I would recommend City of Fallen Angels to anyone who likes romance, fantasy, mystery or action. I would usually say comedy, but it wasn't as obvious as it has been in other books. But don't be disheartened by this review: I really did enjoy it, and the other books are even better, so you should have a look at them. If you are going to read the Mortal Instruments, you need to read them in order to fully understand what's going on since Cassandra Clare lies to span her stories and developments over various novels at a time. Enjoy.
Image Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6LQVmKKkEzx0sswoEOxK3hd0rqeAovmFyZZCEgcPs_rxxsWDwAPGRiviPsFIdvgGhiALpyKiKw7gHHe3caXXywUim8vZxuBWA_Kkexdg3wplv-phY-d6vMDQ5rW7x0QWfDvxbnxzaaVk/s1600/Os+Instrumentos+Mortais+4-2.jpg
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