– City of Ashes, 2

Haven't read them yet but these editions are so beautiful!

Clary has never been more confused. The man who threatens all the Shadowhunters is actually her father, Valentine, the boy she couldn't stop thinking about is actually her brother, and there is a whole world her mother kept from her that is full of warlocks, vampires, demons, and werewolves, among other creepy beasties. Having been brought up as a mundane, Clary must find her way in the Shadowhunter world or quickly be devoured by it in City of Ashes: Mortal Instruments, Book Two by Cassandra Clare. Clary doesn't know what to do about Jace now that they recently found out they share a father, and an evil father no less. She has trouble reconciling her feelings for Jace, but she knows her friend Simon, a simple mundane, is the less creepy option. Meanwhile, Jace has been thrown out of the only home he ever knew with the adoptive Lightwood family. Lost and alone, Jace is being punished for the sins of the father he never knew or had allegiance to. But now a war is brewing between Downworlders. A werewolf child and a warlock child were found dead, bled to death, and there is no one more logical to blame than the vampires. The vampires swear they had nothing to do with the deaths, but everyone suspects them. When Jace is investigated by the Clave and held prisoner in the Silent City, his father breaks in. He comes to see Jace and ask for Jace's help, but his own son was not his purpose for visiting the city and killing all the Silent Brothers. He was after the Mortal Sword. With or without Jace's help, Valentine plans to reverse the allegiance of the sword from good to bad so he can control the demons and finally fulfill his purpose- the extermination of the Downworlders who threaten the lives of humans and Shadowhunters alike. Even if the Clave doesn't believe in Jace's innocence, Clary and his adoptive siblings refuse to let him suffer for the evils Valentine has acted on. But will they make it in time to stop the conversion of the Mortal Sword? These books sometimes seem overwhelming because they are quite large, but whenever I read one of Clare's books, I am immediately dragged right into it. I regret to admit I started this series almost 2 years ago and haven't kept up with it since. However, I have been keeping up with the Infernal Devices series, which renewed my interest in this series. Clare does a good job of giving you enough background that you can pick up a book even if you haven't read the one before it in a long while, and for that I was grateful (lately my ever-growing pile of books prevents me from much rereading). And after a few brief pages of catch-up, I was thrown right back into this story with a vengeance. The story was interesting and exciting, and as with all her books, she ends it with a satisfactory conclusion (no real huge cliffhangers) but still keeps you wanting more and leaves the end open for the next installment. The stories are perfect for anyone who likes supernatural or paranormal stories. They are full of mysterious creatures, many of whom balance between their true evil nature and the life the Clave forces them into. There is a god deal of death and violence, but it is mostly of the supernatural type and isn't particularly gory. I love the excitement and in particular, the characters. Jace is that typical bad boy who really has a heart of gold despite his crusty, snarky exterior and you can't help but love him. My one icky-factor is the weirdness between him and Clary, who now appears to be his sister. So we have a Luke and Leia moment, but why is it continuing? And why aren't they grossed out now that they are brother and sister? I can only imagine this will resolve itself eventually and Clare won't have a Flowers in the Attic moment, but who knows where this plans to go... just please make them not be brother and sister because I am all in on team Jace!

One thing i loved in this book was the action in every chapter. Cassandra's writings are amazing, she can put action, drama, love in every chapter, without any error. And the thing i love most of her books is the amazng ending, a thing that not every author owns. In this book Clary develops her abilities of Shadowhunter, even growing up , learning the lessons of every wrong action she does in the Shadowhunter world, fighting for her friends, family. Congratulations to Cassandra Clare for this book. :)

I didn't think it would be possible to love this book anymore than the first but I was pleasantly surprised. Right from the start this book left off from the first and the action leapt straight off the first few pages which made it by far much better than the first. I much prefer the cover on this book than the previous. I feel that the blue's and faint whites go brilliantly against the redness of Clary's hair. It had a much more mysterious feel to it than the first, but also a more dangerous atmospheric style which I feel was much better than the first. Clary herself in the front I was a little disappointed that she was implied to be so slim, especially on her arms, but against the plot inside, the image matched perfectly with the few Marks she possesses, the similar length in hair and confident pose which was implied throughout to show how Clary is growing into her new talents and life. I insanely like the cover so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot within this book, as even though it followed on from the first, it had it's own feel within it like it was a separate adventure from the first. As the plot grew, so did the amount of characters introduced, and I usually get easily irritated by large numbers of characters just appearing throughout series', but in this series, it seems each new character has a much more important role or is to become a larger character deeper into the series, which makes me extremely excited for the further books. Although the plot was centred around following up from the first, and helping bring down Valentine, the inner plot in this focused more on the different species coming together as one, along with all the characters. I had many more characters that I enjoyed due to this, whether it was because the characters began to develop into someone I could relate more to or whether they were new. Throughout this book I really began to like Jace's character more than I had throughout the first. I enjoyed reading about how vulnerable and scared he was throughout the first 100 pages, which gave him a much more, pardon the pun, angelic side to him, making him look innocent and childlike within his warrior persona. Along with this change in his character's personality, his actions towards Clary surprised me so much throughout. He took on a very brotherly vole extremely quickly, and I was heavily shocked to see just how well the both he and Clary had taken the news of their suggestive similar DNA, and while a large number of reviews I had read mentioned they this book almost condoned the incestual romance, I really feel that it didn't and that it portrayed their feelings and their struggles so well that I really wanted them to overcome this problem. I also feel like I have to mention the absolutely terrible timing of other characters either entering scenes or dying before the true relationship between Jace, Clary and Valentine can be revealed, which is just personally frustrating to me now that I already know the truth. Another character who seemed to do nothing other than improve from the first was Luke. I genuinely love his relationship Clary and how he has such a fatherly instinct towards her, even though he isn't her Father. To take on the responsibility of any teenager would be a struggle in normal circumstances, but to take on an entially rogue teenager with some mental skills is something else entirely. Through his love for Jocelyn, he shows compassion and nothing but love towards Clary, and to fight for something or someone you love is nothing but everything I love. For as long as their are people worth fighting for, you fight, and that is exactly what Luke does. Simon is still an absolute favourite it this point, and I was highly distressed when Simon's circumstances change, but not once does his personality change. He is still the charismatic and humorous character he was in the first, if not more, and will stand by Clary through everything. I am extremely happy that he will be a continuous character through the series, as I think it would be a little bit duller without him. New characters or characters that were featured a little more interestingly throughout this book that I really took to immediately were Maia, Max and Valentine. Maia was such a lovable character and after overcoming her initial reactions towards Simon, began to see him just as another person, as equal to herself, and I could tell near enough from the beginning that I loved her personality and shyness, and I really hope she features in more of the books further down the line. I was reminded of a character in another of Clare's books because of Max. His child ways and his persistence to be involved and help his family was so warming and heartfelt. His relationship with his siblings and Jace was something so innocent and beautiful that brought some light inside the book. I think he's the bond between the trio, Jace, Alec and Isabelle, and he's what they always strive to work for, his happiness and that shows a family who love each other dearly, which is lovely. I strangely began to like Valentine much more through this book, and I think his revengeful quality made him so intriguing. The characters language and general personality made him so dark and so interesting that I somehow really took to him and began to like him. No, I'm not evil, don't shoot me. Another character that I enjoyed was less of a character and more of a message to the other characters and that was Agramon. The aspect of him being the Demon of Fear really gave an insight to what different characters feared the most and this gave a great vulnerability to them and made each of them almost relatable. I was almost quite upset when he was destroyed, as I felt he could have been a great weapon later in the series. I also think that Alec and Magnus need a mention because they are so caring and considerate of one another, and their relationship is portrayed in such a beautiful way that I just want to see them being very much a cute cute couple. The writing style became much more prominent in this book as well compared to the first. I found that the scenes involving the the faeries were beautifully described and mesmerising, while the demon and fighting scenes were so amazingly written that it felt like, as a reader, I was with the characters every step of the way, alongside them, within the scenes. Writing styles like this make me want to wake up in their world and dream of it all night, and that's what Clare's does. I am so excited to read the following book in the series and am especially excited for the grand unveiling and for a well needed Mother/Daughter reunion between Clary and Jocelyn. And after hearing that City of Glass was originally the ending for the series, I'm expecting great things from it. Here's hoping it delivers.

It came before the date of arrival and in perfect condicions. It is a good addition to my collection. Great series besides ;))