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Book Review: City of Fallen Angels

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Book Review #23: City of Fallen Angels, The Moral Instruments Book #4

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Days to Read: 1 week

Synopsis (as taken from Chapters): 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.

My Thoughts: It’s been a long, long time since I last read a Mortal Instruments book (I read the third book as soon as it came out two years ago). Normally when such a long period of time occurs between reads, I read the entire series before picking the new book up. That wasn’t the case here, however. I remembered every little detail because the series is so good, so I didn’t have to do any re-reading.
As with the other books, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love stories with various voices and points of views, and Cassandra Clare spins each side with ease. She makes it painless jumping from person to person without losing the story.

However, I must say I was at first a little hesitant when I heard Cassandra Clare was writing a fourth book. The Mortal Instruments was originally intended to be a trilogy, and had ended on such a nice note that I really didn’t want—or expect—anything else from the characters. I knew Clare is a genius storyteller and would find some way to make this story continue, but I just didn’t see the point.

That is, until I read it.

This fourth book just reinstated my love for Simon and my indifference for Jace. Yes, I know Jace is sexy and loves Clary with every fibre of his being. But. There’s something to be said for the friends, the sidekicks, the cute vampires that don’t quite know what to do with themselves. And as a lover of Simon, I was most pleased with all his narrations in this book. He really took centre stage in City of Fallen Angels. Some of the other characters also had the chance to share their side of the story. It was refreshing to hear voices other than just Clary’s (like the first three books). It balanced the book out and made me care for each individual character more.

While some characters shined more than others, all of them still had a lasting affect. New characters were introduced to the reader, too. I particularly liked the fact that Clare touched on a topic that I had become worried about in the other book: Alec and Magnus’ relationship. As an everlasting warlock, I knew Magnus’ time with Alec would be limited, and I was worried about how that knowledge would affect them. So I’m glad to see reality found its way to them in this book, made them see their relationship for what it is, and opened their eyes. I know that part of the series isn’t over, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Alec found a way to live forever by the end of it all. Then again…bittersweet mortality could also be a painful, but perfectly honest way to go with regards to their future.

All in all, I found the plot of this book a little blander than the others, which disappointed me. I still enjoyed reading it and still flew through the pages, but I just couldn’t help but feel something was missing. I won’t go into too much detail about the plot, but to all those who have read the book, do you agree with me?

On the whole, I’m glad Clare wrote another book, and I can’t wait to buy the fifth book in the series. Hopefully that’ll be just a bit better than this one! Keep on writing, Clare, keep on writing.

My Rating: 7.9/10  (Yes, I really can be that precise)

Favourite Quotes:
“But I watch my brothers give their hearts away and I think, Don’t you know better? Hearts are breakable. And I think even when you heal, you’re never what you were before.”

“Or maybe it’s just that beautiful things are so easily broken by the world.”

“No. That’s Clary; she’s my best friend,” Simon pocketed his phone. “And she has a boyfriend. Like, really, really, really has a boyfriend. The nuclear bomb of boyfriends. Trust me on this one.”

“Still I pictured having you for fifty, sixty more years. I thought I might be ready then to let you go. But it’s you, and I realize now that I won’t be anymore ready to lose you then than I am right now. Which is not at all.”

“You’d think the Angel would have been foresighted enough to give us a birth-control rune, but no dice.”

“All that running and getting nowhere, he thought. Story of my life.”

“If we are going to the Silent City, you might want to get dressed. I mean, I appreciate the bra-and-panties look, but I don’t know if the Silent Brothers will. There are only a few of them left, and I don’t want them to die of excitement.”

Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character

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It’s normal to fall deeply in love with a character…right? It sure looks like it, from what The Broke and the Bookish’s weekly meme is revealing! Well, regardless, over the years I’ve been smitten with many memorable male characters and I’m all too happy to share my obsessions with you! So, without further ado and in no particular order, here they are:
10) Augustus Waters from John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. He’s charismatic, funny and will fight to the end. I don’t care that he’s younger than me; he’s a total babe.

9) Kartik from Libba Bray’s A Great and Terrible Beauty series. For one, he’s Indian and I’m half-Indian. Secondly, he’s gorgeous, and has a bit of an attitude problem. He’s dark (and no, I don’t just mean his skin colour!), mysterious, a fantastic kisser and cares a ton for Gemma but has a hard time showing it.

8) Gilbert Blythe from L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. He was my first fiction crush (grade three) and I grew up wanting a boy just like him. I’ll always harbour a soft spot for him and will continuously be envious of his and Anne’s chemistry. The movie’s version of Gilbert (played by Jonathan Crombie) was definitely a great casting decision. Mmmm :)

7) Fred Weasley from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. As you’ll see further on, Rowling wrote many wonderful male characters—many of which I fell in love with at least once in my years of reading. But Fred was always my favourite of the twins, mainly because he usually offered the most quips and his personality just radiated through the pages. I love his sense of humour and the way he always cared for Ginny. And the actor who played him in the movies (James Phelps) was absolutely perfect—but I’m still crying over the way they portrayed his death in the seventh movie.

6) Simon Lewis from Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series. Simply put, I loved him WAY more than Jace. I have a thing for guys in glasses and with dark hair, and he fit the bill. Not to mention his total geekiness and strange ways. And his secret love for Clary—unrequited love sucks and back in high school I could more than relate to him.

5) Will Traynor from Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You. As you know from my latest review, I absolutely love this book—and a lot of that has to do with Will. I can’t blame Louisa for falling for the guy. Even though his mobility was limited, his mind was sharp and his personality mesmerizing. He was knowledgable and worldly, he had a great sense of humour and he genuinely cared for Louisa more than he cared for himself. A man like that is hard to find, which is why it was so easy for me to love him.

4) Ron Weasley from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Love. Love. LOVE. I cannot begin to describe my love for Mr. Ronald Weasley—in both the books and the movies (especially the movies). I didn’t fall for him right away, however. It took me a few years to appreciate him, but it definitely hit me in the fourth book when he was trying so hard not to fall for Hermione and ultimately hated Krum. He was too cute. And Rupert Grint made me love Ron Weasley more than Harry Potter in the movies (which is a hard feat, let me tell you…)

3) Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Need I really explain? His dark, brooding, proud, attentive and sexy ways would make any woman swoon. And as you can tell from my in-depth analysis of the movie adaptions, I think that Colin Firth’s portrayal of the infamous man is the best. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen for a movie character so fast as I did for Firth’s Darcy.

2) Peeta Mellark from Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. His character made me laugh, cry, scream, sob, smile, bawl, fret… He made me realize all the emotions I was holding back. I often dreamt of him at night, thought of him during the day, pictured him holding me in his strong arms, and my life with him. Yes. I was that obsessed last year. Josh Hutcherson is a cute Peeta, but not exactly how I pictured him. The Peeta in my head will never be beat. Ever.

1) Harry Potter from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. I’ve been saying it since I first laid my eyes on him in the first book: He’s my soul mate. I grew up with him. I cheered for him. I hated him. I feared for him. I laughed at him. I fell in love with him with each book. I didn’t care if he got moody in the fifth book. I didn’t care that he got overshadowed by Ron and Hermione’s love story in the later books. I can even forgive him for falling for Ginny. But I will never let my love die for him. He shall be mine always, and I’ll always be his. Whether he wants me or not.

Top Ten Series I Haven’t Finished

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We have all done it: said we’ve finished a book or series that, really, we completely forgot about or just could not get through — despite how awesome everyone says it it. We all have our tastes, and sometimes no matter how popular a series may be, we may just not like it. I’m like that. I can sometimes be very picky about books (as you all know) and if I don’t click with the characters, plot or setting, I could care less about the book — often resulting in me just putting the book aside “for later.” The Broke and the Bookish created this meme a long time ago, and I couldn’t wait to admit to you all the series I’ve said I’ve finished but really haven’t!

10) The Immortals by Tamora Pierce

I was in Grade Eight when my friend started gushing about Tamora Pierce and her Immortals series. She and I often shared similar interests book-wise, so I trusted her when I borrowed the first book in the series, Wild Magic. But oh my goodness, I have never been so disinterested in a book before. I couldn’t even make it past the first few chapters. I didn’t want to let my friend down, so after a week or so, I told her that I had loved the book and couldn’t wait to read the second one. She, of course, lent that to me as well and I faked reading it.

9) The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

These books were huge when I was in junior high school, and I couldn’t wait to jump on the bandwagon and read them. I got through the first book no problem, but then I just stopped caring what happened to the characters. The second movie didn’t follow the books at all, I had heard, so I didn’t see the point of reading them. But to this day, I will still discuss the series with people as if I’ve read them.

8) The Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire

I love the musical that this book is based off, but I actually couldn’t make it through half of the first book in the series. I think I was so caught up with school and life, that the book fell to the back burner. And by the time I picked the book back up again, I was disinterested. I hope I can get back into it again soon, because I’m tired of saying of read the books when I really haven’t.

7) Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I loved the first book in the Hush, Hush series. It was well-written, witty and unique. But when I started reading the second book, I began questioning it and wondering why every character had to have some connection to Nora (the protagonist). It didn’t have a realistic edge to it like the first one did, but I kept motoring on. When the third book came out, I tried. I really did. But I lost interest after the first chapter. The Finale is coming out next month though, so maybe I should get back into it again.

6) A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Okay, I know that this series is known world-over and has been said it’s one of the finest children’s series of all time, but honestly? I couldn’t read it. I read the first book, and while it was okay, it just didn’t captivate me the way Harry Potter did (I read both books around the same time; everyone my age started thinking it was better than Harry Potter, which was just ludicrous in my opinion). So to prove that Harry was still the best, I stopped reading this series which was gaining popularity.

5) The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Don’t get me wrong: this is one of my favourite series ever. I read the first three books passionately, but when I thought that it was a trilogy (as Clare had stated back when she was writing the second book), I had closed that part in my heart. So when a fourth book came out, it took me longer to pick it up. I bought it ages ago, but I’ve yet to read it. I will, I will.

4) House of Night by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast

This mother-daughter duo have been given praises for their House of Night series but I don’t know why. It’s so stereotypical and predictable. My friend two years ago raved about the first book, Marked, and told me I just had to read it. So I did. It took me forever to get through it because I was bored all the time. I told her that it wasn’t my favourite and she said that the series gets better, but I’ve yet to believe her. Needless to say, this series is not on my to-read list…

3) Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

The plot to this trilogy is amazing: who wouldn’t want to be able to jump into the pages of their book and experience many adventures? It’s every book lover’s dream, which is why this series appealed to me. I read the first book twice (the first time it took me quite a long time to read, admittedly) and the second book once. But then a year or so went by and when the final book finally came out, I just couldn’t get into it. I still really want to find out how it ends, though, so I’ll read it one day.

2) Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I am obsessed with Anne’s world, as you all well know. But if I’m going to be honest here, I should probably say that I haven’t read any of the books past the first one. For someone who loves Anne, it’s a terrible thing to say, I know. I will get to the series one day when I have more time, because I want to be able to give it the attention it deserves.

1) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Lovers of fantasy will probably scold me, but I admit that I’ve only read one book in this series: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I love Narnia but when I was in elementary, I couldn’t get into Magician’s Nephew, prohibiting me from reading further. I know that this series is like Tolkien’s — a must read. So I will read it one day, promise.

Top 10 Most Vivid Worlds/Settings in Books

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I haven’t done this in a while, and I thought that today’s Top Ten topic (created by the ever fabulous The Broke and the Bookish) would be a very good one to get back on the train again! The setting of a novel is what makes it or breaks it for me — if I’m not captivated within the first chapter or two, it’s hard to get me totally invested in the novel. I love when the author (or the narrator) takes me away to a place that I can only dream about, to a place where I would love to visit. I’ve read many books in my life, but here are my Top 10 Favourite Worlds/Settings in Books:

10) Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

I’ve been obsessed with this little orphan girl (and no, I’m not talking about Annie) since before I can remember. I think it was Anne’s rich imagination and language that really drew me into her world, and that made Prince Edward Island one of my top places to visit. From the Lake of Shining Waters to the White Way of Delight, Anne has such a way of making her surroundings come alive and place you right there next to her.

9) Night by Elie Wiesel

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, this is one of the most terrifying novels I’ve ever read — and that’s because it’s all true. It’s hard to recall a moment in time that was as scary as the Holocaust, and Elie Wiesel’s account of what happened to him and others in the concentration camps really plays with your mind. You see things you don’t want to see, hear screams you don’t want to hear, and smell the decay and destruction of lives that you don’t want to smell.

8) The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

I’m a big fan of fantasy novels, and this series is one of my favourites. I love the mix of modern day New York City with the twist of Old World (and Underworld!) charm. The characters are fantastic, but what I love most is the setting. It’s like I’m there with Clary on her adventures and can feel the anticipation and fear with each breath at every climax. Love it!

7) The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Pretty much every person acquainted with literature knows about The Hunger Games, and for good reason! It’s an amazing novel written in a dystopian country called Panem. With every single new scene, Katniss takes the reader on an unforgettable (and often times nerve-wracking) journey — from District 12 to the Arena, and everywhere in between. It’s hard to think of much else once you finish the novels and it’s most difficult to return to reality after being immersed in a world so unlike (and yet so eerily parallel) our own.

6) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

For many of the same reasons as why I both love and hate Night, The Book Thief also is set in World War II. But instead of it being set in the concentration camps, The Book Thief follows Leisl in Nazi Germany, around her town and within her unique relationships with her family and friends. By the time I read half the novel, I was so engrossed with her tragic surroundings and events. And when the final climax happened that put an end to the novel, I couldn’t breathe for the longest time. Her world was gone, and with that, my world too.

5) Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Who doesn’t love the sweeping landscapes, the cool waters of Mermaid Lagoon, the swashbuckling pirate ship of Captain Hook and the heated Indian tribe of the infamous Neverland? There is so much to relish in and enjoy as one heads to the second star on the right and straight on till morning, and J.M. Barrie couldn’t have created a more captivating world.

4) A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

This is one of my all time favourite books ever. I’m in love with Victorian and Steampunk settings, and this is the best. But the reason it’s a cut above the rest is because it doesn’t only take place in the 1800s — it also takes place in a great and terrible place called the Realms (ha, pun totally intended).

3) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Much like Neverland, Narnia is another amazing world set apart from our reality. With beautiful waters and grand hills, lovely castles and mysterious woods, C.S. Lewis’ fantasy world is amazing — and hey, the talking animals don’t hurt either!

2) The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Middle Earth is one of the most famous literary worlds out there. Even though the books aren’t necessarily the most exciting, it’s the setting that I will remember forever. The Shire, Rivendell, Lothlorien, Helm’s Deep, Fangorn Forest, Dead Marshes and Mina Tirith… all the many haunting, beautiful and grand places of Middle Earth make the trilogy so worth the read.

1) Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Thank you J.K. Rowling. Thank you. I’ve pretty much lived in the magical world of Harry Potter since its inception, and my heart and soul will always remain there. Hogwarts is my home. Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade are my playgrounds. The Burrow is my vacation home. A beautiful quote by Rowling herself says it best: “The stories we love best do live in us forever. So, whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”