City of Lost Souls

I liked this one a lot better than City of Fallen Angels. There was a lot of character development on Sebastian's part which I quite enjoyed. I'm not really dying to find out how it all ends though, I still feel like the extension to the original trilogy is unnecessary, but I'll still be reading the next one to see how it all ends.

I really have to confess that I like the Clockwork books much better. If not for my two faves: Simon and Magnus I would have given up on this series. Clary and Jace- eyeroll Now, add Maia and Jordan into the mix and, ay! The relationship drama is really thick in this installment. I prefer more hacking with swords and less swoony vows of never-dying love, but some good snark from Simon or Magnus always makes my day.

I am behind on my book updates. But I did read this book pretty much immediately when it came out, and I enjoyed it more than the previous book in this series. However, I was behind on the “prequel” companion series and decided to read this right away instead of reading the most recent Infernal Devices book first. I suspect there were some tie-ins I didn't fully get.

my,my....... where is this story going?

WARNING! Spoiler-ridden review, very hard to review without spoiling.

I have always found Cassandra Clare's work an easy and fast read, and I mean that for a compliment. She paces things quite well and knows how to make it difficult for you to put the book down. You get a feverish desire to know what is to come next for your beloved characters. You crave to know what dastardly plan the “bad guy” is cooking up.

It started up a little slow, but that is how she always works it. She works the story a bit slow at first, then it picks up fast and pulls you into the world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders with ease.

First off, I would like to discuss all my feelings about Simon Fucking Lewis. I have given him a new middle name, for he is a glorious and wondrous creature. He is quite possibly my favorite character in a book in a rather long time. I love how I can relate to his interests in music and how he is a pretty massive nerd. I mean, how can you go wrong with a guy who chooses to retell Star Wars to a girl her cares for as a “lull-her-to-sleep” bedtime story. (By the way, it was quite possibly the most beautiful thing when Isabelle tried to say she didn't remember it at all and yet when he asked her a semi-obscure question about the series, she knew it - no hesitation.)

The the rather disturbing, on the verge of being rape-y scene with Sebastian and Clary was a bit rough. It was hard to read that moment. The abuse, the kiss and him fumbling at her jeans? Yeah, I had to nearly force myself through that. I also kind of had to fight a little bit of bile.

On a side note? Luke. Simon. Magnus. Alec. If you have read, you know why I have selected these names in particular.

I swear if Maureen does something to Alec, I will throw a ridiculous tantrum. I already threw one about the whole Magnus breaking up with Alec. And we shant go into my tantrum full of worries about Simon in conjunction with Raphael upon having Raziel take the Mark of Cain from him. I will not delve into that, it makes my heart hurt. I have this terrible feeling that something horrible is going to happen to both Alec and Simon.

If the Star Wars reference was not enough, the Human Torch reference just made me want to hug Miss Clare. The nerd culture references that she drops through Clary and Simon are a wonderful breath of fresh air. For me it adds to their relatability.

OH! I really hope this was not solely something I spotted... But, is it me or does it seem that Brother Zacariah may have some sort of connection to our dear William Herondale. So many things point to the possibility. When Clary asked him if he ever loved anyone and he answered that it was two people. My head immediately went to Tessa and Jem... Maybe I'm crazy but, hmm.

There is so much more that I could add to this, but here is hoping I get some comments or something for further discussion of things I said above.

(Yes, I know this is not the most fluid review and more of a general discussion/rambling, but I think you will all cope with that.)

For mature readers.

Surprisingly I liked this book better than the others and mostly because I find everyone (all of the supporting characters) other than Jace and Clary more interesting.

Jace and Sebastian are missing. The Clave has decided that they are no longer a priority, scaling down their search/crew. This of course doesn't sit well with THE CREW and so they all get together to put Operation Find Jace and Sebastian into action. And so the adventure begins. We get a lot more of Isabelle, Magnus, Alec, Simon, Maia, and Jordan. I have really grown to appreciate these characters. Simon totally annoyed me in the last book and was glad that he was very likable in this one. Isabelle is just kick ass. She really is a great character. Magnus is great as always and Alec needs to grow up in more ways than one BUT Magnus needs to be more understanding of Alec's age/maturity/background. Maia and Jordan... they make me happy. I'm happy that they are happy.

I didn't feel that there were any great twists and turns in this book. In fact there wasn't much of a story. The book lent an opportunity to get to know these characters on a more personal level. You get glimpses of how they've grown and/or matured but mostly you get up close and personal with their HORMONES! This book had everyone coupling up (boo-ing up), a lot of suggested sex, a lot of sexual tension and let's not forget drugs to heighten that sexual tension even more. This read more like an adult book than a YA book. For those that felt that the cover made you feel as if you were reading a romance novel or erotica...YOU WERE! For Teens! Itwasthisclosetobeinganadultbook if a few words would have been added.

Unfortunately my son had read this book before I did and I count my lucky stars that my 10 year old is more like a 40 year old because otherwise I wouldn't have allowed him to read this one. Regardless I wouldn't have allowed him to read this one. I just didn't see it coming.

Incest is revisited in this book...I just rather leave that alone because I don't understand the fascination with it. Clary continues to make huge mistakes, Sebastian is evil and Jace is caught in the middle, as usual, waiting for his strings to be pulled.

The real story for me was left for the last few chapters and of course the author closes the last few chapters with an epic battle. A bigger story unfolds in the epilogue. This means that once again this could have been wrapped up using fewer pages.

With that said the last book of the series (I THINK/HOPE) is not due to be published until 2014.



On to the next...