City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Readers are brought back into the exciting world introduced in Cassandra Clare incredible City of Bones. Clary’s life can no longer be normal. Her mother is in a coma, her father is deranged, her best friend may no longer be human, and she has feelings that she shouldn’t have toward her brother Jace. Someone is murdering Downworlder children and has stolen the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword. Clary and Jace suspect it to be Valentine with another evil plot, and they know they must stop him. Their world is on the brink of war. Soon, they are swept up into another dangerous adventure as they struggle to save the ones they love as well as their own lives in this epic power struggle.

If possible, City of Ashes was even better than its prequel City of Bones. The story has non-stop action which kept me on the edge of my seat in suspense. I also highly enjoyed the love tensions among nearly all the characters. The story was just as unforgettable as the first, and the end left me hungering for more. City of Ashes is the type of story that I want to read over and over because it is just such a well-written and amazing story.

The characters in City of Ashes are just incredible. Clary is my hero; she’s strong and resourceful, even if she sometimes doubts herself. Jace is an alternate form of Edward Cullen; he’s sexy and will give anything to protect the ones he loves. The cast of characters from the Mortal Instruments series are some of my favorite fictional characters ever. They make me wish I could participate in their attractive, although dangerous, world.

I most definitely recommend the Mortal Instruments series to every eager reader out there (if you couldn’t already tell from my excited raving). Fans of supernatural series such as the Twilight series or the A Great and Terrible Beauty series, among others, will certainly fall in love with this amazing story. If you’ve already read City of Bones but not yet its sequel, then get on it! And if you haven’t even begun the series, you’d better get started. I promise you won’t regret investing your time in this incredible series.

Rating: 5.0

Review copy from personal collection