City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Glass: The Mortal Instruments
Written by Cassandra Clare
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (March 24, 2009)
Rated: 5/5

This is the third book in a series.  Please seem my reviews of City of Bones and City of Ashes.  Please keep in mind, as book three; there may be spoilers in this review for the first two books.

In case you just magically stumbled upon my blog, you already know I loved City of Bones and ADORED City of Ashes.  Well, folks, I absolutely freaking loved and ADORED and was miserable after I read City of Glass.  Miserable because IT WAS OVER.

I really feel like I can’t stand much about what this book is ABOUT if you haven’t read the first two.  And really, why haven’t you read the first two? Go on; go to Wal-Mart, where I hear they have the trilogy for like 8 bucks a pop.  

You may thank me later.

Okay, stop twisting my arm! If you really want to know what the book is about, here is the product description.

Product Description
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 newfound powers to help save the Glass City — whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.

One thing I really want to say about this series, and it isn’t something I can honestly say about a lot of series (or trilogies for that matter) is that each book is better than the last.  Thats right, BETTER.  It feels pretty obvious to me that these books were conceived as a trilogy.  It doesn’t feel like “oh, well your first book did so well, can you continue the story?” when the story was quite obviously done in the first book (cough, Twilight, cough) and it made for such a better story.  Clare knew where she was going folks and it SHOWS.  The writing is superb; funny, fast, and witty.  No stone is left unturned, no plot is dropped, the characters grow, they actually CHANGE with the storyline, the guys aren’t marble, perfect pansies, and the only problem is you’re left WANTING MORE.  It’s a great summer read, heck, it’s a great, any day read.

As an aside, I did, I promise, I actually did like Twilight.  I did!  That doesn’t stop me from making fun of it at every opportunity.  Because it is excellent fodder to be making fun of.

Anyway, and thank the Lord, Clare is writing another trilogy, this time set in VICTORIAN ENGLAND and I hear that she has notes for a sequel series about SIMON!!!  Can I get a squee??? I cannot wait.

Also by Cassandra Clare:

City of Bones, City of Ashes, Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, Vacations from Hell

Also reviewed by:

Karin’s Book Nook | Melissa’s Book Shelf | YA Reads | Em’s Book Shelf | bookshelves of doom | Necromancy Never Pays | Love Vampires | Reader Rabbit | Persnickety Snark | Becky’s Book Reviews | The Story Siren | And more…