Title: City of Ashes
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #2
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Demons/YA/Romance
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: March 25th, 2008
Edition: Paperback, 455 pages
Source: Purchased
Synopsis:
Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.
To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?
Since re-reading City of Bones, I felt it necessary to re-read this book as well. I'm pretty certain that I'll be re-reading this after the movie comes out as well. There are some books that I love to re-read, and this series is one of them. Much like the Harry Potter series, The Mortal Instruments is a series that I can read and re-read multiple times and not get bored.
This is the book when the proverbial shit hits the fan. Valentine has the Mortal Cup and is harvesting blood from young Downworlders. The Clave is getting antsy, and The Inquisitor is placing blame on Jace. Her hatred for Valentine gets directed at Jace at every turn. She tosses him in the jail cells under The Silent City (the bone city). And while he's there, Valentine breaks in with a fear demon, killing all the Silent Brothers present and stealing the Mortal Sword. Valentine see's Jace locked up and in an attempt to mock Jace in his own way, reveals his plan. Even though Valentine leaves Jace locked in the cell surrounded by the dead Silent Brothers, The Inquisitor still believes that Jace is "Valentine's arrow in the heart of the clave." And locks him up once again in a conjured cell inside the Institute.
This book is chalked full of shenanigans, and between Valentine and the Inquisitor, it's tough to say who is causing the most problems. But while Valentine is power-hungry and slightly deranged, the Inquisitor has, while misplaced, a real reason to feel the way she does. She blames Valentine for the death of her entire family, and it is his fault. She eventually learns that placing blame on Jace was the wrong way to do things. While on Valentine's ship, she notices a star-shaped scar in Jace's shoulder. Bringing to light that Jace might not be who Valentine says he is. This book really is a roller coaster of emotions. All the main characters go through so much development, Clary really starts coming into her own. We also meet a new character Maia, a young werewolf and a member of Luke's pack. I personally don't care that much about her character, at least I didn't the first time reading these books. My perception changed a little the second time around. Which is one reason why I like to re-read certain books.
Valentine captures both Maia and Simon to get back at Jace, though it is a little unclear how he knows that they are important to him especially Maia since we kind of just met her after he turns down Valentine's offer to protect everybody he cares about as long as he joins him. Valentine drains almost all of Simon's blood to use in his ritual. At this point, all the Shadowhunters are on the ship and Jace finds a nearly dead Simon and gives him his blood to revive him. Simon nearly kills Jace in the process. There is just so much in this book, Valentine sees the power with rune's Clary has, and it scares and delights him.
I just really love these books, I only wish I could have discovered them at the same time as everybody else. But being a latecomer to the fandom doesn't make me less of a fan. :) Oh! And I cant forget about Magnus Bane... He and Alec are so cute!
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