Mini-Review: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Glass
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments, #3
Format: Paperback, bought
My rating: 4.5 / 5

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To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third installment of the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

Going into this book, I was fairly certain I wouldn’t like it as much as the majority of readers. I thought the first book was just alright, and the second slightly better and I had pretty much resigned myself that the series might not be for me. I did make a promise that I’d read the first three books in The Mortal Instruments series before I made up my mind whether to continue on or not. I had seen a lot of people mentioning that the third book was the best in the series, and I have to completely agree! I loved City of Glass. Completely loved it! It is easily my favourite so far, and it’s given me a lot of hope that I might like the rest of the series.

For me, the change of setting was a huge reason why I enjoyed the book so much. The descriptions of Alicante were awesome and so easy to picture clearly. Honestly, if the rest of the series was set there, I wouldn’t complain at all! For the most part, I really liked all the characters. We’re introduced to a few new ones, and it seems like they’re going to have a bigger role to play in the next few books. Jace did lack some of his humour, which was a little disappointing, but he’s still my favourite character overall. But the biggest surprise was SIMON! I really liked him here, and I’m so glad he’s developed beyond being the awkward third wheel. Oh, and Malec! Let’s not forget the awesomeness that is Malec! The only character I feel I’m not really connecting with properly is Clary. She was better in this book that the previous one, but honestly, she can be just too whiny. Letting off steam now and again, fine, whatever, we all do it, but sometimes it just drags on for far too long.

Also, I’m glad a certain… thing… has been finally sorted out. It was obviously a lie from the very beginning of the series, and I’m really glad that awkwardness is behind us. The ending was awesome, and the book was wrapped up quite nicely, so it’ll be interesting to find out what direction the series takes next. I’m really glad I decided to stick with the series… but I’m still a little apprehensive about the next book. Hopefully, I’ll love it!