Review: City of Fallen Angels

by Cassandra Clare
publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
date published: April 5, 2011
format: hardcover
pages: 424
source: borrowed from a friend
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N
challenges: Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge; 2011 YA Reading Challenge

From Goodreads:

The Mortal War is over, and Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most important of all—Clary can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine's Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war. Clary's best friend, Simon, can't help her. His mother just found out that he's a vampire and now he's homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other.

When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

What I Thought

Things continue to be harrowing in the world of Clary, Jace, and Simon. It wouldn't be a Mortal Instruments novel if something sinister wasn't going on. That is, indeed, the case in City of Fallen Angels. Simon takes on a bigger role in this book than he had previously. A lot more of the tale is told from his p.o.v. as he continues to struggle with the implications of his new life as a vampire. Add to that the mysterious string of attacks on former Circle members and an alarming development in Jace's dreams and you have a lot of things going on that are worthy of worry.

You would have thought that Jace was done with the jackass portion of the program, but that just isn't the case, unfortunately. He proved to be very wearing as he brooded in silence over his new problems and, once again, distanced himself from Clary. Have we learned nothing from past experience, Jace? I recognize that tree! We've been here before! I would have liked to see a little something different from him. His problems are understandably upsetting, but he seems to be stuck in a rut as a character with the way he handles things. I hope he starts developing more in City of Lost Souls. As for Clary, I wish she had called him on his b.s. just a little earlier than she did. I suppose there would have been less of a book, but I can't help but be frustrated with these two. At least Simon didn't let me down and showed me something new.

Another thing I was glad of was the overall plot. I kept wondering when the bomb was going to drop and the identity of the culprit would be revealed. It was well worth the wait and the villain certainly delivered by making me wonder whether or not they would all make it out alive. Do they? Well, you're just going to have to read for yourself to find out. I will say that the motive is very chilling I found myself shuddering on more than one occasion. I couldn't believe what this figure had been doing in the background as the protagonists tried to figure out the source of the mysterious events.

I wound up liking COFA a bit more than I thought I would considering my aforementioned criticisms and the alarming number of typos. The editing just felt sloppy in this book, which is so out of sync with the previous books. Spelling is a big pet peeve of mine, so these typos distracted me from the bigger picture that was the plot. However, I did enjoy the plot and the added face time for Simon. I would have to rate this one as a 4, but I really hope things (editing and character development) improve in the next book, otherwise I don't know how forgiving I will feel next time.