City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2) in Once Upon a Twilight blog

Nov 27, 2010 Hannah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, wishlist

Characters: I loved Jace, as always. I mean, who couldn't? He's that 'bad boy' type that every girl wants, and yet he's sweet(sometimes) and protective(always). So, the first word that comes to my head when I think of Jace would be..hot. No, wait, not hot. Smoking-hot. Oh yeah..Clary is different. And I think that's the only way to describe her. Her feelings are jumbled, her family is, well, a mess. And her love life is a train wreck. Just her feelings for Jace are wacked out. She loves him, but ...more

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Oct 20, 2010 Kajol rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-author, humor, favorites, romance, urban-fantasy, angels, demons, shifters

God, I loved this book! The story was awesome and I loved the twists and turns that came along with it. Like the first book, I still didn't like Clary Fray and felt like whacking the hell out of her a few times. Seriously. And what can I say about Jace? I love Jace- Handsome, adventurous, courageous, funny, charming Jace! With all his flaws, I can't help but admire him. Yeah, I did feel like shaking him at the very end of the book where he told Clary that he wanted to be just "brother and sister ...more

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Aug 18, 2010 Lyndsey O'Halloran rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

My TBR pile is already pretty big but after reading City of Glass, I couldn’t wait for this one and had to buy it straight away. As soon as it arrived I got myself comfortable and began to read…and I didn’t stop.

After the first book, I was quite nervous about how Cassandra Clare was going to approach Clary and Jace’s relationship. I had no reason to be nervous at all though as these parts were so well written and believable. My mind was telling me that I should have thought it sleazy but I just My TBR pile is already pretty big but after reading City of Glass, I couldn’t wait for this one and had to buy it straight away. As soon as it arrived I got myself comfortable and began to read…and I didn’t stop.

After the first book, I was quite nervous about how Cassandra Clare was going to approach Clary and Jace’s relationship. I had no reason to be nervous at all though as these parts were so well written and believable. My mind was telling me that I should have thought it sleazy but I just couldn’t think like that in the end. There is so much tension between the two but neither really wants to talk about it with the other. I thought it was really clever of Cassandra Clare to make this such a big issue throughout the story instead of choosing to ignore it. Secrets regarding both characters were hinted at and I think they will be something to do with this. I still have hope for this relationship to work out in the end somehow.

Jace’s character developed so much this time around. He faces many hard decisions and events throughout the story and the cracks slowly begin to show. Gone is the big macho guy who isn’t afraid of anything. Of course, he doesn’t turn into a complete wimp but he really does begin to show his emotions. I truly enjoyed seeing a softer side to Jace, especially when it came to Clary, but also while he had to deal with Valentine. It was good to see that he could still be cocky and a little bit full of himself at the same time though. I wouldn’t want him to lose any of the things that I love about him.

Many of the secondary characters get a much bigger role in City of Ashes as well as having some new ones introduced. I really loved Simon in City of Glass so I was glad to see that he got a storyline all of his own instead of just being Clary’s friend although I would have liked for him to have had a bit more time if his own. Other characters that I enjoyed learning more about were the Inquisitor because of her past and what she had to do with the story as a whole and I also liked Mr and Mrs Lightwood being around more. I thought that they should have been around in the first book even though their absence was explained.

The excitement kicked in very early on in the story as it began to unfold but it didn’t stop there. There was action throughout the whole story with a lot happening. City of Ashes had one of the most thrilling and exciting fight scenes that I have ever read. I really didn’t want this part of the book to end because I loved it so much. City of Ashes is a rollercoaster ride that made me want to read as fast as I could so that I could find out what was really going on.

One of the things that I love the most about this series is how the real world and the world of Shadowhunters, Vampires and Warlocks etc are intertwined. I love that all different kinds of people are involved in the story and made a part of the action. I did have one small problem with the story though and that was timeline. I have no idea when the book is set. Maybe I missed it so correct me if it is actually stated. Clary and Simon should still be in school and they weren’t at all during this book. I assume they are on break or something but because I didn’t know for sure, it made me wonder.

The inclusion of Clary and Jace’s unknown abilities was fabulous. This gave both characters a lot more depth and mystery as it seems that there is so much more to learn about them. The fact that I got to see snippets of what they might be capable of made me really excited to see what was going to happen in the next book and now the latest three books to be announced.

Although there isn’t much resolution to be found in City of Ashes, it has set the scene well for the next book in the series, City of Glass. I wish I had bought it with this one so that I could pick it up straight after I finished reading City of Ashes. In only two book, I have become a big fan of Cassandra Clare and will be reading anything that she brings out in the future.
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Aug 23, 2010 Amber rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, reviews

Set only a few days after the first novel, City of Ashes works hard on delving further into character relationships which I really appreciated. All of the characters went through traumatic ordeals in the first novel and are still trying to deal with the after effects on their lives. I thought focusing on their relationship with the outside world and each other was the best way to go about crafting these novels and I was pleased to find most of the little chinks I had with the first novel ironed Set only a few days after the first novel, City of Ashes works hard on delving further into character relationships which I really appreciated. All of the characters went through traumatic ordeals in the first novel and are still trying to deal with the after effects on their lives. I thought focusing on their relationship with the outside world and each other was the best way to go about crafting these novels and I was pleased to find most of the little chinks I had with the first novel ironed out.

I enjoyed watching Clary have time to analyze her feelings. However, I still felt like I didn't get Clary. I appreciated her struggle with her mother and sympathized with her situation but I didn't understand her violent mood swings. One minute she was fine and the next she was snarky with someone and I'm left wondering when we changed gears. I also got frustrated with Clary being so passive about what's happening to her. I felt like she didn't try very hard to get out of the situations she was in and even when she did, it just felt unbelievable. For instance, when she confronts Valentine and wants to get the sword, she has to have a forty minute conversation before she grabs the sword. And after all that, she just drops it. I wanted to see Clary power through things and she didn't. She sort of just floated through and that bothered me a lot about this book. I really hope to see her more active in this next installment.

Jace was much better developed in this novel. I felt like I understood his motivations and he tried to be a lot more open with Clary. His frankness allowed me to really enjoy the parts where the reader got to be with him. Since we got to watch his relationship with his adoptive family crumble, it worked to show us why he is the way he is. I felt like all of his actions where justified and therefore I connected with him better.

Likewise, Simon's relationship with Clary was also more open and allowed me to understand what he was feeling. I also really like the direction his character took in this novel. The things that happen to him make for some gripping reading and a lot of ethical questions.

Maia was a fun new character though I felt a bit of Clary-isms in her with her inability to actually act. She's either angry or weepy and doesn't do much to change her situation. I thought her back story was really interesting though and look forward to seeing her grow.

The plot was great in this one. I liked the mystery around why the kids were being killed and that they pretty much knew it was from the beginning. However, I felt like all of the characters were a bit slow putting things together. It sort of felt like someone told them what was going to happen and three pages later they'd be like "aha! I've figured it out all on my own" even though they should have already put it together. The plot also suffered a bit from "a little less conversation, a little more action please". I felt like some of the scene could have been trimmed for believability and flow. Instead of Clary talking to Valentine for eight pages, maybe only four and then have her act on her plan.

The world building was good. I happier to be getting deeper into the Downworlder and Shadowhunting worlds. I will say that they are on a much smaller scale than I originally thought, not that this is a bad thing. My expectations were for a large community but there only seems to be a precious few of them. I am hoping to see more in the next novel but the smaller scale of this one was bigger than the first so I got a good sense of just how much the world is growing. I like that we get it in steps like Clary discovers it. It's not all thrown on our laps at once but gradually so we can thoroughly explore each new feeling.

Clare's writing definitely smoothed out. The first one felt a bit unsure to me but this next installment really brought out Clare's confidence. There were so many beautiful descriptions while she kept her witty dialog which makes her characters so memorable. The growth was noticeable and made for a great read.

City of Ashes showed great improvement from the first and even though this novel had a few problems, I didn't ever leave home without it in my hands. I was pulled in to the last page and can't wait to start the last one. The characters are all set on certain paths and I can't wait to discover where it's going to lead them. I definitely recommend this series if you haven't read it yet. ...more

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