City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments)
With her mother in a coma and her father hell-bent on destroying the world, Clary is dragged deeper into New York’s terrifying underworld of werewolves, demons and the mysterious Shadowhunters. Discovering the truth about her past was only the beginning, now Clary must save the world from her own father – the rogue Shadowhunter Valentine.
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3.5 stars,
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City of Ashes is the second book in the Mortal Instruments series. It picks up just after the events of the first book, City of Bones.
Having learnt the truth of her heritage, and that the boy she’s fallen for is actually her brother, Clary struggles to keep positive and moving forward. Her mom is in a coma with little chance of recovery, her best friend wants more than she can give, her brother (Jace) is going off the deep end having discovered the truth about his heritage (and Clary may be the only one who can reach him), facing the Inquisitor (a Shadowhunter who seems to have a personal interest in destroying Jace). And, oh yeah, all hell is breaking loose (literally) as Valentine, her father, tries to create a war that will destroy all underworlders, and anyone else who gets in the way, including his kids. Creating the war means recovering the rest of the Mortal Instruments, and turning them to his own dark uses, something Clary, Jace and the rest of the team will do anything to stop.
Like Bones, Ashes is told in third person, but although most of the book is still Clary’s ‘perspective’ there is a lot from Jace’s as well, and a few other characters. The different perspectives help to tell the story pretty well, giving a good look at various aspects of the world. This second book sees Clary and Jace discovering still more about their heritage and the introduction of several new characters adds to the world nicely.
There are time though, where the plot felt a little sluggish. And there is also the odd word that feels like the authors picked up the thesaurus to add more interesting words or something, instead of the normally simple narrative, which doesn’t work particularly well. On the plus side, despite the aforementioned occasional sluggishness, the plot felt a little tighter than the first book. And the simple narrative works to create a book that’s a bit of a lighter read (despite the length) or just easier for young teens to get on with.
There aren’t many real surprises here. Most of the things that happen you can see coming a ways off, the ‘subtle’ hints really aren’t. And the things that are more of a surprise as to what actually happens, you knew something was going to happen, so the impact isn’t so big. There was one moment that really surprised me. Near the very end there is a conversation that takes place that shows real maturity and reality, surprising and impressing me. The lack of surprises do take a little away from the books, but overall I still enjoyed the book. There is a lot of foreshadowing for the next books, though of course I need to read it to find out if it really is or not, but I’d be more surprised if it wasn’t. The series may not be fantastic, but it makes for good lighter reading and I still enjoyed the book, though not quite as much as the first for some reason. Still worth a look.
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|A Thrilling Ride!,
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Clary Fray is drawn further into the underworld of demons and Shadowhunters. Clary and Jace are both still struggling with the revelation that they are related. When her friend, Simon is also drawn into this world, Clary has to make a decision that will change his life forever. Will Clary and her friends be able to stop her father from carrying out his plan?
This is the second book in The Mortal Instruments series. This is a fantastic series that kept me hooked from the first page! The story continues with the Shadowhunters doing what they do best – killing demons (or trying to!). I absolutely love all the characters! We get introduced to a whole host of other characters that Clary meets: Magnus Bane (a warlock), The Faerie Queen, Luke (a werewolf and Clary’s mother’s friend), Maia (another werewolf), Max (Isabelle and Alec’s younger brother) and Raphael (the head vampire). We also get to see the world through the eyes of the other characters. The first book was mostly from Clary’s point of view. This change of perspective gives the story a wider scope, and the reader a larger understanding of the characters and their world. There were some unanswered questions from the first book that were answered in this one. But there were also more questions raised as this story unfolded. However, the story has been so masterfully written that just when you think you’ve got an inkling as to what is happening, Cassandra Clare pulls the rug from under your feet! There were a few twists that I didn’t see coming, but that just added to the excitement of reading this book! I highly recommend this book if you love a fast paced roller-coaster ride full of action and danger!
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|Loved it but wish there was more romance! NO SPOILERS FROM THE SERIES!,
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This book is second in the mortal instruments series and comes after city of bones.
As like first book you just cannot put it down, the way its written swaps from one person to another but in such a way the story flows incredibly well, engrossing you in the characters, their feelings and your desperate to know what happened to them.
I would say this is the best written book i have ever read.
The story continues after the first and is faced paced and full of action, i just wish it had a little bit more hands on romance and slowed the pace sometimes.
If you like the first you will 100% want to read this one.. i did like it and i have now started the third in series “city of glass”… i have also ordered “city of fallen angels” ready for when i have finished City of fallen glass!
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