City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2)

This one picks up just a bit after City of Bones. Jace is pinning for Clary and she for him. Simon is pinning for Clary but she only wants him as a friend. So all that now aside, the plot really heats up in this one. Valentine is so close to getting everything he wants. Jace is really put to the test by fellow Shadowhunters as the Clave doesn't trust him but neither does his father: Valentine. He's caught between them trying to do the right thing.

Clary discovers a new skill, a very kickass one, I might add. I love how Clary pushes through, even though shit goes from bad to worse. She pulls through Simon turning into a vampire and Valentine, when he tries to turn her to the dark side. I just couldn't resist the Star Wars reference. Anyway, she can be a bit whiny in her constant pinning for her brother. No one is perfect though.

I will say the little bites of Alec and Magnus stole the book for me. I just love them to pieces. They are so perfect together. I can't wait for the adult books about Magnus so we can see more of him and Alex. I know we got a little of them in the Bane Chronicles but not as much as I'd hoped. I just feel like I'm going to be waiting forever. 2017 come faster!

Cassandra's writing has greatly improved from City of Bones but she improves over every book and it's so amazing to see. It's just so cool to track a writer's work and see the improvement. What I love most about her writing is the dialogue. It's always funny, witty, and entertaining. I think that helps in making her characters feel so damn real.

I do find it completely funny that she did add a Harry Potter reference in there, since she used to write HP fanfiction. As I like to call it, her 'dark days'.... yeah look into that and you'll see what I mean.

So lastly, I don't know if anyone has noticed but I have been giving a lot less 5 star ratings lately. I have a point as to why, my partner pointed out that I gave out 5 stars to pretty much every book I read, even if I liked it less than another book I'd rated the same thing. So now to get a 5 star rating, I have to completely love the book and find next to no mistakes or plot holes or just things I didn't like.

This doesn't mean that my four star ratings mean the book is bad or that I didn't like it! No way, like this book, I love it! But it's getting a 4 star rating. Even a three star rating means I like the book. So yeah, I just want my 5 star rating to be hard won. Just thought I would let you know so no one thought I'd lost my mind ha ha.

So very long review short, this book is superb and anyone who hasn't read it yet should totally start the series! It's just fantastic!

Well, I'm not really sure what to say.

I didn't enjoy City of Ashes quite as much as City of Bones, but I was still sucked in by the story. While I'm not a huge fan of Clary, I like many of the other characters so it was nice to see them again.

Clary/Jace just didn't do it for me this time. Maybe the whole Thing just kind of threw a wet towel on it for me, though, I might have found it stale anyhow, it's hard to tell. You know, I get the turmoil in their situation, but the whole flip-flopping back and forth between romantic and non-romantic feelings thing really grated on my nerves. Plus, poor Simon is left out in the cold with the short end of the stick. Clary's all "yeah, sure, we can date and kiss and stuff, but I don't really like you that way." I was glad to see Simon coming to his senses a bit at the end. He doesn't just give up on Clary, but he also realizes he can't be mooning after her the rest of his life while she's off making out with some other guy.

Speaking of relationship:
1) I find Simon and Jace's relationship very interesting.
2) Alec and Magnus are freaking adorable.

As I mentioned, I still really like the story, but I really started seeing the flaws while reading City of Ashes. I couldn't possibly count the times I got pulled out of the story by Clare's writing. It was really clunky and she kept using a handful of phrases or words over and over and over again. Basically, this is one of those books/series I enjoy so much that I overlook the writing and various flaws.

The Nutshell: It's really bad, but it's also really good. (And no, I don't mean "it's so bad it's good.")
Hit

Can't wait to see how it goes!

In book two of the Mortal Instruments series, Clary is finally understanding the importance of her Shadowhunter’s duties. There are Downworlder children that are being murdered and removed of their blood and the team of Shadowhunters must find out the reasons behind it.
This will be a little hard to review, only because there is so much going on in the story. In the book we meet new characters and it adds on to the actual story of those characters from the previous book. What I liked about this, is the way Clare was able to bring them all together without making the story seem too strained. It flowed completely and didn’t make me feel overwhelmed.
I also enjoyed the pace that this book moved. With all the things that are going on in this, the plot has no choice but to be quick paced. The book is filled with action and I loved every bit of it.
And the ending!? Oh gosh, that was my favorite part. From the “Aquatruck” on I was like GLUED to the book. I found myself reading it at work, at the dinner table, and anywhere else I could read it. Now I cannot wait to get my hands on City of Glass, the Mortal Instruments #3.
And call me strange, but another thing that I liked about this book was the new creatures we were introduced to. Like the demons? No lie, I was reading it with my eyes wide open and I could only read about them in the day time because the image I was getting of them all scared me lol I was also pretty scared of the fairies. I don't like how they are so sneaky and cunning. Even people like that make me nervous lol
In short, City of Ashes is an impressive sequel to City of Bones. Clare brought life back to her fantasy world and made me once again, not want to leave it.

Reader reviewed by Nikke (sng2098)

I got this book from the library a while ago and I couldn't finish it. I got about 50 pages in and didn't like it. So I went back a couple days ago, and got this one and the third one to make sure I finished it; I'm really glad I did!

Jace and Clary are still trying to figure out how to handle thier feelings for each other while trying to find their father. Simon is attempting to get Clary to feel the same way about him and he does to her. The Lightwoods don't believe Jace anymore so they kick him out of their house, then on top of that a mysterious woman they call "The Inquisitor" comes for a visit when something bad goes down in the Silent City. Now all Shadowhunters are called for a battle, they may not all come out of!

The only problem I had with this book was that there is one part where Jace is at Magnus's house that Cassandra Clare like completely forgot Jace's character, and he is nothing like he is in the rest of the book. Other than that I DEF recommend this seris!

I LOVED this book, I forgot how much I liked the first book until I read this one.

Reader reviewed by Aud

City of Ashes is the second book in The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare. Clary now understands that Valentine is her real father and from the looks of it is also Jace's father. This tends to complicate their love for each other considered they are possibly brother and sister. Valentine has sworn to over take the clave by using a demonic army. All the while her mother is deep in a coma. Her best friend Simon is falling in love with her and her confusion on what to do grows stronger. She does not understand everything but is learning more and more with each passing day about her real life that her mother tried to keep her from. This series has everything from vampires, werewolves, warlocks, fairys and much much more. The writing style of Cassandra Clare is graphic however I enjoyed that I painted a better picture as I read what Clary and her group were up against.