City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

To reawaken her mother, Clary must seek out a certain warlock in Idris, the land of the Shadowhunters, because only he can concoct the potion to counter the draught Jocelyn has taken and save her. But Jace is completely set against Clary’s entrance into Alicante, the City of Glass, and will do anything to thwart her plans to get there, keeping faith that the illegality of entrance without permissions will curtail Clary’s willful desire to travel there. But Clary, harnessing her newly found powers, defies the Law for the sake of love only to find herself in a worsening situation in the most beautiful and unforgettable city, Alicante: tensions between traditionally thinking and more modern Shadowhunters arise, her best from Simon has been imprisoned for his unusual vampiric qualities, and Valentine’s ever present threat keeps everyone on edge. Limits of endurance will be met and surpassed, truth will be horribly twisted with lie, and unexpected foes and allies will alter this epic struggle. But who will triumph, pure love or pure evil?

In City of Glass, Clare ends her unforgettable Mortal Instruments trilogy with an epic resounding boom. It is so difficult for authors to create such original continuations of an already amazing story without becoming boring and repetitive, and so I must commend Clare for her exquisite work in City of Glass. As in the first two installments of this trilogy, City of Bones and City of Ashes, the story in City of Glass is completely attention consuming and extremely difficult to put down. The plot is just so suspenseful and interesting with totally unpredictable twists and turns, and the reader will want to remember every exciting detail. The characters as well are realistic; I’ve come to know and love Clary, Jace, and Simon, among others, and was glad that they stayed true to themselves. I was also delighted with the several new characters because Clare still manages to familiarize the reader with these new people through just glimpses of their lives. Lastly, I would just like to remark that even though the Mortal Instruments trilogy’s primary greatness comes from the dangerous and alluring world within it, these novels also show what it’s like to be human and the never ending struggle between good and evil: no one is born innately one or the other, but it is our choices in life that define us as more of one over the other.

City of Glass is a satisfying end on a perfect note to an incredible trilogy. Fans of the first two, City of Bones and City of Ashes, will quickly devour this one, and those who have finished reading the trilogy won’t be able to wait for the upcoming prequel trilogy, The Infernal Devices. Readers who love the Mortal Instruments trilogy may also like The Abhorsen Chronicles by Garth Nix, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Tithe by Holly Black, Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Rating: 5.0

Review copy from publisher Simon & Schuster