Review: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Fallen Angels
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: Mortal Instruments #4
Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance (YA)
Buy on Amazon · Add to Shelfari · Add to Goodreads

City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can–training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them–consequences that may strengthen their relationship or rip it apart forever.

Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon–the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side–can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

There are a few slight spoilers for the previous three books in this review.

After reading City of Fallen Angels, I’m almost speechless … almost. It’s better than I could’ve ever imagined or feared it wouldn’t be. It’s my favorite of the series, earning itself a spot on my Favorites shelf just like its predecessors. I also look forward to rereading it in the future. The only problem with it, at this point, is that I have to wait a whole year before the next book in the series is published!

The dynamics of Clary and Jace’s relationship are phenomenal in this book. It was nice to see Clary and Jace together without their guilty feelings of being siblings mixed in with their need to love each other. Seeing their romantic relationship grow was endearing and helped me relate to them even more. Even though their “happiness” was short-lived, I loved all the tender moments interspersed throughout the story. Those moments helped comfort my breaking heart. (I know that sounds cheesy, but I really thought my heart was breaking during some parts of the story because Cassandra Clare is that good at making you feel what the characters feel.)

Clary seriously kicked some demon butt in this novel! It was so awesome to see her grow as a Shadowhunter. Obviously, not growing up as one, she’s not as good as the others her age, but you can tell she’s getting the hang of it and will be just as good or even better than her mom as she continues to train, practice, and gain more experience. She’s going to surprise everyone, not that she already hasn’t with her rune abilities.

I loved being inside more than just Clary, Jace, and Simon’s heads. Even though I love them, it was nice to see the inner workings of Magnus, Isabelle, and even Jordan’s minds. (Magnus’s was particularly fun and interesting.) I also loved seeing the references to the Infernal Devices trilogy and meeting the new characters–Jordan and Maureen. And, I absolutely adored the banter between Jace and Simon. There were several times during the I was laughing my head off.

After having just read East of Eden and seeing the symbolism of Lilith in Cathy Trask’s character, it’s really interesting to see Lilith in Clare’s world as I had always wondered whether “Lilith’s Children” referenced the same Lilith. (If you don’t know who Lilith is, Clare does a great job of explaining, while mixing in her own mythology. But, you can also read about her here. Wait until you’ve read the book, though.)

All in all, it’s such a fantastic book! And, I’m definitely going to be waiting on pins and needles for the release of City of Lost Souls next year.