City of Glass

Title ~ City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, Book Three)
Author ~ Cassandra Clare
Release Date ~ March 23, 2009
Publisher ~ Margret K. McElderry Books
Source ~ Bought from Amazon
Summary: 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 her best friend, 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 final installment of the New York Times bestselling The Mortal Instruments.

    My review: Cassandra Clare's novels are like pizza, even during the worst part, it's still really good. And City of Glass is her best novel yet. 

I have a high standards for Clare's novels, because every one of them have been so good. Yet, every book she goes above my expectations of what I thought is humanly possible in a novel!

First, let's explore one of the things I love most about Cassie's novels: The characters. Her characters are all brilliantly thought-out and they come alive! It doesn't matter if she's writing about our selfless and brave heroine, Clary, the villain, Valentine, or the moody but awesome Jace. They are all greatly crafted!  

    But this novel drags. A bit too much for my liking. It's 500+ pages, and I felt like it could have been kept to 350- 400 pages. They're was too much talking and it felt the characters were chasing their tails, and nothing was progressing. I know people are going to say I'm crazy for wanting less length in Cassie's epic novels, but I think it needs to be said! 

    The best thing about these novels though is the villain. Valentine is awesome in a very freaky way. He's a bit mad, but also a genius when you think about it. He had parallels with Hitler, as he was trying to make a "pure" race of Shadowhunters that don't mingle with Downworlders. He's the kind of guy that you love to hate! 

    The "final" battle of this series should definitely not go unmentioned, because it was the best climax I could imagine in a novel! I think it's on the same scale as Harry Potter and god, that was an awesome battle! 

    The settings in this book are beautifully done, and each detail is like a miniature Mona Lisa! I enjoyed hearing about Iris and the rest of the shadow world! 

    City of Glass is the kind of book I would kill to read. A well-deserved five stars.

 5/5

Cover Comments: I don't really like these covers, though the city (Iris) is nicely depicted.