City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4)

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Release Date: April 5, 2011

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Chapters

The Mortal War is over, and Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And--most important of all--Clary can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her. His mother just found out that he’s a vampire and how he’s homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side--along with the power of the curse that’s wrecking his life. And they’re willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he’s dating two beautiful, dangerous girls--neither of whom knows about the other.

When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of the mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

It’s been two years since I read the first three books in the Mortal Instruments series so I was really looking forward to jumping back in with City of Fallen Angels. I loved being back with all those characters I had fallen in love with the first time around. If anything, I love Cassandra Clare and her writing even more now that I’m done reading her latest book.

Everyone is back in New York and recovering from the events that took place in Idris. Clary can finally call Jace her boyfriend and not be afraid, Luke and Jocelyn are planning their wedding, Alec and Magnus are on a romantic trip together and Simon is dealing with having two girlfriends. But of course all the peace didn’t last very long. Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle are turning up dead all over town and the cause of their deaths could not be more mysterious. On top of everything else, Jace starts acting mysteriously and no one, not even Clary, can seem to figure out what’s going on with him. With a new enemy in town, the stakes are higher for everyone.

Cassandra Clare is a master storyteller. The way she writes the story is just absolutely wonderful and magical and I absolutely cannot get enough. No matter how tired I am or what else I have to do I just kept on turning page after page, until there were none left to turn. The Shadowhunter world she created is also absolutely amazing. There are so many layers to it and there’s always something new to learn. I read a lot of books and there aren’t that many that have a world so well built and a story that is so superbly written. My only problem with the book was the ending, not because it was bad but because it was amazing and left me totally hanging.

Not only does Cassandra Clare write incredible stories but she also creates incredible characters. And it’s not just one character that stands out, it’s all of them. As much as I love Clary and Jace, I loved being able to see more of the other characters. It was great to get scenes told from Isabelle’s, Alec’s and Magnus’s points of view. What I particularly liked what how much of the story was told from Simon’s point of view and getting to know so much more about him. As for Clary and Jace, I really enjoyed seeing Clary grow and develop as a Shadowhunter and how she dealt with her relationship with Jace. Speaking of Jace, he is still as great as ever. He has his dark moments but I can’t bring myself to dislike him one little bit. Much like with the story, with what happened to the characters at the end, I can’t wait to know what happens next.

I’ve already said it but Cassandra Clare is a master of her craft. She writes incredible stories with even more incredible characters. I can’t wait to find out what comes next in both her Mortal Instruments series and her Infernal Devices series.