Review: City of Glass- Cassandra Clare

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city withou...more To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?

In my review of 'City of Ashes', I mentioned that the second installment in the Mortal Instruments series was rather action packed. City of Glass tops it with ease as the stakes soar- the action heats up not only when beating Valentine becomes a matter of life and death, but as a mysterious new Shadowhunter, Sebastian, appears on the scene.

Downworlders also get a lot more face time, and relationship drama increases on all fronts- between Jace and Clary, Magnus and Alec, within the Morgenstern family, and even between Luke and a new character that he has a connection to. Simon also gets a bit of action, which is more humorous than anything!

Clary's behavior was occasionally annoying, albeit understandable, and Jace has his usual impulsive moments- of course, I loved him all the more for them! The ending was ultimately satisfying enough that I can't imagine where Cassandra Clare is going to go with book four- I'm worried that it'll be a case of continuing a story that was already over, but I'm sure that she'll find a completely new pathway to lead us down!

lale