Cassandra Clare
Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance, Young adult
Published: September 6th 2012
Pages: 544
Rating: 2 stars
“Jace is now a servant of evil, bound for all eternity to Sebastian. Only a small band of Shadowhunters believe he can be saved. To do this they must defy the Clave. And they must act without Clary. For Clary is playing a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace's soul. Clary is willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?”
I don't know why it's taken me this long to realise that I just do not get on with Cassandra Clare's books. Sure, I enjoyed the start of both the Shadowhunter series, but as they progressed I started to lose interest. The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices had recycled ideas and characters - hell, the characters weren't even recycled, they were carbon copies with different names. City of Lost Souls further cemented the fact that I just do not care.
I think my biggest problem with this book (and the series in general) was Clary and Jace. Good god, I have never come across characters as frustrating and self absorbed as these two. Clary is the whiniest brat who needs to get over herself and focus on something other than 'the bot she'd do anything for'. And Jace. Do not get me started on Jace Wayland-Morgernstern-Herondale-Lightwood or whatever the hell his name is. He is the epitome of arrogance and I don't even care if that's the whole point of his character. He needs a good kick up the backside if you ask me. I just can't even begin to describe how much I hate him. Ugh.
And another thing: Clare needs a better editor. Who in their right mind let these long winded, full of filler that isn't even needed, way too descriptive chapters be published? Why did no one turn around and say 'these changes in POV and setting aren't smooth. Have you thought about starting a new chapter for each transition?' The book would have been vastly improved if things were cut and chapters flowed better. Condensing is your best friend when it comes to books like this, because I really don't care about how the scarf Alec is wearing matches his eyes.
The only real saving grace for this book is that it's the penultimate book in the series. It wasn't totally awful, but it was bad enough to make me want to tear my hair out. I had to keep thinking about City of Bones and how I actually enjoyed it to keep me going through this. If you weren't a big fan of the first three books then I'd definitely stay away from the second half of the series. Just... Spare yourself the trouble.
City of Heavenly Fire is the only book I haven't read in the series and I'm not in a hurry to finish TMI. I remember dragging myself through these books. I agree with your opinion on Clary and Jace. They were really so annoying! I liked The Infernal Devices series more.
ReplyDeleteJulie @ Books and Insomnia
That's just how I feel: like I'm dragging through them. I enjoyed TID more, too, but still didn't think it was amazing.
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