★★★☆☆
Cassandra Clare breathes life into each and every sentence she constructs, transporting the reader to a world that both mirrors our reality and turns it on its head.
★★★☆☆ City of Bones introduces us to Clary Fray, whose mother has attempted to protect her from the dangers of a parallel world by setting up quarters in "Mundane" New York. Unfortunately, the forces of evil never sleep, and the pretense under which Clary has been living is shattered when her home is attacked by demons and a sleeping spell cast upon her mother. Slowly, Clary begins to unravel the truth about her shadow hunter lineage.
Assisted by the charming and mysterious Jace, whose fierce beauty,solitary nature, and martial prowess are reminiscent of a lion, Clary enters a world that has long haunted her dreams. Clary's mundane best friend Simon,and fellow shadow-hunters Alec and Isabelle join the two on the quest for the mortal cup, one of the three legendary mortal instruments sought by Valentine, the seductive, dark lord responsible for the attack of Clary's now-comatose mother.
As the story unfolds, Clary finds it more difficult to resist Jace's charm, and soon finds herself falling in love with him. Meanwhile,Simon also professes his love for the heroine, who feels herself torn between two worlds.
★★★☆☆ City of Ashes delves deeper into Jace's mysterious past, and reveals that the evil Valentine is, in fact, his father. The Clave, which is responsible for maintaining order in the Shadow Hunter world, begins to take an interest in the former, and there are whispered rumors of Jace's allegiance to Valentine. The dark lord has used the mortal cup he obtained in the first novel to summon a greater demon and collect the blood of downworlder children: the children of vampires, werewolves, fairies, and warlocks. Their combined blood is required for a ritual that will further solidify his power.
Meanwhile, unforeseen circumstances cause both Jace and Simon to individually question the extent to which each is capable of loving Clary in the way she deserves.
★★★☆☆ City of Glass follows Clary and her mentor Luke to Alicante. Although she was denied entry through the portal her friend the warlock Magnus Bane created, Clary finds that she can create portals of her own. The ability she exhibited toward the end of City of Ashes is pursued in greater detail. The heroine seeks out the warlock Ragnor Fell per the instructions of an old friend of her mother's who approaches her early in the novel. Assumed truths are reexamined, allegiances and motivations are scrutinized, and downworlders and shadow-hunters are united in the task of fighting Valentine's demon forces and creating a new, better world. No one is left unchanged; even Valentine's resolve wavers before the angel he summons with the united mortal instruments. The effect on the reader is immediate-she feels good and evil as relative to the choices we all make.
★★★☆☆ City of Fallen Angels examines the complicated relationships developed between and among the characters central to the series. As drawn as he is to Clary Fray, Jace also questions his ability to protect and love her. Dark memories of his past threaten to unhinge his mind, and a series of nightmares endanger his sanity. Again and again, he dreams of driving a blade through his beloved. His imposed isolation causes a rift between the two. Meanwhile, Clary's best friend Simon, now transformed into a vampire bearing the Mark of Cain, struggles to keep two girls he's dating from learning of one another's existence. The first is the fierce shadowhunter, Isabelle, sister to Alec and adoptive sister to Jace. The other is the brave Maia, a werewolf belonging to Clary's mother's fiance's New York-based wolf pack.
Larger problems surface when several attempts are made on Simon's life. The Mark of Cain obliterates any who attempt to touch him, a fact that is reminiscent of God's promise to exact vengeance upon any soul who would raise his hand to Cain. Still, the mystery of his assailant's identity tugs at the fabric of Simon's mind--as does the business proposition of the powerful vampire Camille, who has asked him to join her clan. Despite his isolation among his human friends, Simon resists his nature, a truth which the ancient vampiress gleans with ease.
When the bodies of shadow hunters that are part of "The Circle" of The Clave are found murdered in the four "downworlder" territories, suspicion turns to Camille. As Clare's tale unfolds however, it becomes evident that a greater evil is at work.
The novel ends on a cliffhanger, as an evil thought defeated resurfaces and threatens to overturn the tenuous victory of those who would stand against it.
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