Book Review: City of Fallen Angels & City of Lost Souls

 City of Fallen Angels Synopsis:

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old 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 importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend. But nothing comes without a price. Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, 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 now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a 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.

synopsis and image via Goodreads

City of Lost Souls Synopsis:
What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

synopsis and image via Goodreads

My Review:

These are books 4 and 5 in The Mortal Instruments series. I reviewed the first 3 here. From my understanding, this series was originally a trilogy. Then, the author decided to extend it with 3 more books. The last one will be released in May. Since the story is continuous, I decided to review them together.

Characters:
I don't really have feelings about the main character Clary one way or the other. Undying, all consuming love always creeps me out. I don't think it's realistic for two people to meet and be head over heels madly in love with each other instantly. That's called infatuation, not love. I'm still also creeped out by the whole I still wanted you even though I thought you were my brother thing. I liked Jace better in the first 3 books. He was very funny with his snarky one liners. However, in these two books I found him annoying (particularly when he was with Clary). I liked Jace the best when he was with Simon. Speaking of Simon, he definitely wins the my favorite character from these books award. I like his loyalty to his friends and I found him the most relate-able. I enjoyed these stories the best when it was Simon's storyline. The villain in these books is Sebastian who I actually like as a villain. He was a much better and more interesting villain than Valentine (who was the villain in the first 3 books).

Plot:
You can definitely tell that there's a disconnect between the first 3 books and these 2. At the end of the 3rd book, there was resolution. The bad guys were dead and everyone was living happily ever after. Then for some reason, the author decided to extend the series. So, a new bad guy has to come along and things can't be as happily ever after as they seemed. In my mind, it's almost like reading 2 different trilogies. I think these books have good potential and would have been better if the author had planned out 6 books from the beginning and they all flowed. At times it felt like she was stretching for something to fill the pages of the books. Overall, they were entertaining which is mainly what I want a book to be.

Resolution:
There technically hasn't been a resolution yet. Each book ended with a little cliffhanger. I'm curious to see how it will all end in the last (unless she decides to extend it more) book. One thing they always bring up is how shadow hunters die young, yet no one important has died in the 5 books I've read so far. So, I'm curious if there will be any deaths in the final book.

My Grade:

I give them both a B.

**I've created an updated page about my book reviews and book challenges. Be sure to check it out to understand my grading system.**