It goes without saying that I am a lover of books. Stories, characters, and delicious prose...well...these are things that I throw myself into. My shelves are filled with countless books that i have read and loved, stories that I have enjoyed reading.
I have never enjoyed reading a book as much as I enjoyed this one. Never.

It's a scary thing when you get to the final book in a series or trilogy that you particularly care about. There's a certain amount of apprehension involved,correlating directly to your emotional involvement to the story and characters. Its tricky for the author to wrap things up in a way that is true to the characters, consistent with the themes of the previous books, ties up the major and minor story arcs, and is still enjoyable to read. I've never read the final book in any series that managed to seamlessly do all of those things. City of Glass did.

The characters in a story like this should be expected to change, to be affected by the events around them, and to react to them in some way. This was handled fantastically!

Clary was very Clary-ish. Particularly early on in the book she was just as rash and independent and headstrong as ever. Watching her character progression over the span of the book (as well as the series), I must say that she usurps Gemma Doyle for the crown of female protagonists in the category that I refer to as "Girls Who Do Things." And she does "Do Things." Regardless of the fact that Jace disabled her truck tried to keep her from Idris, despite the fact that she lacks the training or even the in depth knowledge of their society, Clary refuses to sit on the sidelines. She refuses to be relegated to the role of bystander or victim. She was very true to the character that we got to know in City of Bones and City of Ashes.

Jace, well, what can I say. Jace's journey here is epic. As he has in every book before, he broke my heart. Watching him struggle with himself, with his past, with things he cannot control...it is beautiful.

The 'minor' characters (though I am loathe to call them that, seeing how real and well developed they are) really shine here, too. I can't really elaborate without giving anything away, but WOW. They all grow to meet the challenges before them, and we see a different side of *everyone* in Idris, though they stay true to the characters we knew. To say that I am ecstatic about the character development here is a gross understatement.

All of the story arcs--both for the individual characters as well as the main conflicts--are tied up nicely. The foundations for everything that happens have been building since COB. The resolutions are not gratuitous or indulgent. They feel as if--rather than the writer giving the series the ending she wanted it to have, regardless of whether or not it fit the themes of the other books--the author allowed these characters to tell their stories through her. It was the way endings should be...but so rarely ever are. Nothing in this book (or the epilogue) will taint your love for the series...it will grow it.

Ashley said that reading City of Glass was like riding a roller coaster in the dark, and she was not wrong. I laughed, I cried, I squealed, I shouted at the characters, I yelled "Yes!" and "No!" Oftentimes I did all of those things within the span of a single chapter. It's an emotional whirlwind reading experience. I was physically unable to put the book down from the moment I picked it up. And the ending? Well, the ending left me breathless.

I don't say this lightly: there are probably two dozen books that I easily list as "one of my favorite books of all time."

City of Glass is not on that list.

City of Glass *IS* my favorite book of all time.

For sheer emotional connect, suspense, excitement, character WIN, romance, frighteningly believable villainy goodness, and moments that made me flail around like a toddler in the candy closet, it is unparalleled. Amazing. Wonderful. Fantastic. Words fail me.

So for those of you eagerly counting down the days between now and March 24, take heart. City of Glass is well worth the wait. I had really high expectations for it, really high hopes, and it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It was better.

First Read ARC on January 15, 2009
Reread 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013