City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4) in Once Upon a Twilight blog

Jul 04, 2010 Monique rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-books

I'm giving this 4 stars because of the depth of the twists and turns of the storyline, I really felt like I was a part of the world that Ms. Clare has created...I had only read the first book in the series, 'City of Bones,' and thought that it rocked...I have now finally purchased the other two previous books in the series so that I can catch up...

That being said...I am so pissed off with the ending of this book...I realize that there are two more books to come in this series before it's done, b I'm giving this 4 stars because of the depth of the twists and turns of the storyline, I really felt like I was a part of the world that Ms. Clare has created...I had only read the first book in the series, 'City of Bones,' and thought that it rocked...I have now finally purchased the other two previous books in the series so that I can catch up...

That being said...I am so pissed off with the ending of this book...I realize that there are two more books to come in this series before it's done, but, after completing this one I worry that no one is going to have any form of a happy ending upon the end of this series...The BS that Clary had to go through with Jace, pissed me off, it was bad enough dealing with the back and forth of one minute he's all in love and the mext he's tormented, granted as the reader we knew why even when Clary didn't until the climax at the end....And then I started to have a hope again once Lillith was taken care of and it seemed like Jace and Clare were finally going to really show their love for one another and express it and be together despite all that had tranpired against both of them over the course of this book....And I was like yes, she'll be back in five minutes, but, then I got this feeling of dread at the same time like wait a minute, she's leaving Jace up ther with Sebastian that can't be good and sure enough more BS transpired...I get that there was going to have to be a clff hanger to lead and trasition us into the next book so we as the reader knew there had to be another book after this one, but, damn can Clary and Jace please catch a break and just be together...otherwise they need to just be spit up for good...I can not take anymore of the back and forth I do not care if they both love each other so, it's just downright frustrating to the reader...

And poor Simon, I mean in every other chap. he was sick from something the other vmapires or someone linked to Clary and Jace wanted him to do...At first in the beginning of this book, I thought ok maybe he's going to catch a break in this book, but, no he didn't and I was also thoroughly pissed of with how he was carried by Lillith in the end...Granted yes, he survived, but, he always seems to get the short end of the stick for everything, his character has got to be tired of that...And add in all of the other characters and there was just so much going on...A frustrating read for me...i'd have to read these books when I want a book to piss me off and not get emotional about it and start ranting like I am right now...

So far I've seen mixed reviews about this installment in the series....a lot of 4-4 1/2 stars but also some 2-3 stars...So I guess of course read this book if you are an avid follower of the series and if you do not mind being pissed of at all of the twists and turns that the book will put you through emotionally... ...more

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Oct 20, 2010 Kajol rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, young-adult, paranormal, vampires, nephilim, demons, favorite-author, shifters

Adjusts her specs, controls her breathing, ignores her hands that are pathetically shaking with conflicting emotions and nervous energy and here we go...

Oh My God! Oh My God! I mean OH MY FREAKING GOD!!!!

As soon as the clock struck 12.00 am on the morning of 5th April, 2011, I went crazy not being able to sleep, searching the internet and going through the old books again (Yes, I am insanely crazy about this series. Don't even dare snort!). As soon as it was timely polite to go knocking on s Adjusts her specs, controls her breathing, ignores her hands that are pathetically shaking with conflicting emotions and nervous energy and here we go...

Oh My God! Oh My God! I mean OH MY FREAKING GOD!!!!

As soon as the clock struck 12.00 am on the morning of 5th April, 2011, I went crazy not being able to sleep, searching the internet and going through the old books again (Yes, I am insanely crazy about this series. Don't even dare snort!). As soon as it was timely polite to go knocking on shop windows, I wasted my day, trying to find the hardcover copy of this book all over town. No success. When I actually did get the book, two days later, I was bubbling with anticipation and excitement of what was to be inside that gorgeous cover and damn, every impatient second I spent on this book was well worth it. It was abso-fucking-lutely AWESOME!!

This book took me through a lot of unexpected twists and turns and I was pleasantly surprised (well, not exactly. I did have an idea about what it was going to be like) to have Simon's detailed POV's and of other supporting characters as well. I really loved the way it was written, making the reader understand those conflicting feelings inside Simon, his insecurities and his thoughts. I also loved the way the characters were detailed and the emotional change in Isabelle's attitude. Maia, Jordon, Alec and Magnus (Lord, I missed that warlock a lot in the beginning of the book. Something I felt could be improved but then again, the "wish you were here Magnus" part also provided as a turn to the story)- I loved how every character slowly evolved in the story. A real change, different from the earlier books in the series.

One thing I wanted to shout all through the book, "WHY CAN'T YOU LET JACE BE HAPPY CASSIE?! WHY? WHY?? WHY???". I actually felt frustrated for, the sarcastic energetic Jace remained miserable down half of the book. I got it how it was necessary and all that, but my heart still ached. Couldn't help with that, could I? Clary, she still annoyed me but I kind of liked her better than I did before.

A really amazing story and I was like "Wow! Cassie is just a short of being miraculous for having such imagination!", the ending was a real bowler though. I just couldn't believe the cliff-hanger end to the novel as I stared with shock at the page, that appeared to be the last. I can't wait to read the next book in this series. I felt angry, frustrated, excited, kinda-happy, thoughtful, adrenaline-pumped (though I don't know how that happened) and the only thing I can say, all through this wild reckless emotional phase of mine, is that I LOVED THIS BOOK! Even though I ended this book muttering "Oh no, oh no, oh no..", biting my lips and trying to see if I might be missing the last page, I can't help but say I LOVED IT!! One of my inner voices- "Go Cassandra!!! You're a genius, lady!"
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Aug 12, 2010 Lucia rated it really liked it

Read the review at iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books.

You have no idea how excited I was for this book. I finished City of Glass in the spring of 2009 and I felt like I would blow up if I didn't have more of Jace and Clary and Isabelle and Simon and Alec and Magnus. And more Jace. Sadly, though, that was a very long time ago. Enough time for my personal book hype to fade away. So of course I was excited when this book arrived at my doorstep. But not as excited as I would've been if it was one year ago. Read the review at iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books.

You have no idea how excited I was for this book. I finished City of Glass in the spring of 2009 and I felt like I would blow up if I didn't have more of Jace and Clary and Isabelle and Simon and Alec and Magnus. And more Jace. Sadly, though, that was a very long time ago. Enough time for my personal book hype to fade away. So of course I was excited when this book arrived at my doorstep. But not as excited as I would've been if it was one year ago.

I suppose I was, at most, satisfied with this book. I just wasn't as into it. I'm pretty sure that if I had re-read the first three The Mortal Instruments novels like I promised myself I would (Hey, life got in the way, okay?) then I would've like it a lot more. I had so much trouble rating this book when I finished it. I didn't want to give it less than a four because it's, well, part of the TMI series. (And there's Jace!) But going by the Goodreads rating system, a four is "I really liked it," which isn't very true in my case. But it's not a 3.5 So then... a 3.75? Maybe it was because I was sleep-deprived while reading this, or maybe it had been too long since City of Glass, but I didn't read this one with much feeling.

Moving on... Simon's story made me sad. Yeah. That's really all I can say. I was never a huge fan of him. I just saw him as the good best friend that had been harboring a crush for years and years. Sure, that was sweet, but I figured that if you like a girl that long, you either make a move, or just give up and move on. I didn't really get how he was totally okay with going out with two girls, though. Is that what society has turned into? You have to discuss "exclusively dating" or it's absolutely okay to be going out with other people? I thought this would be considered cheating. I did feel bad for him. I mean, he's going to end up living forever and ever, after all of the people he loves dies... like Magnus said, it's just "going to be the two of us" afterwards. And I feel bad. He didn't ask for this life.

I was, as usual, a huge fan of Isabelle. I love that girl. She's tough and snarky. But she has a heart, too. I prefer her much more to Jessamine in Clockwork Angel, just saying. She has some of the best lines in the book, and I can't wait to see more of her. She was kind of, well, a b with an itch (if my memory doesn't fail me) in the first couple of books, so I really enjoyed her in this one.

Clary was... Clary. Typical her. I'm not a huge fan of her, either. I always thought of her as an okay character. She's lucky she gets Jace... but I just don't like her personality. I found her too helpless. I'm hoping she grows a bit more in future books. In the end she kind of made me want to throw the book at the wall. She was basically setting herself up to be killed...

And Jace. Ohhhh, Jace. He will always have a special place in my heart. Still swoon-worthy, as always. I almost want to say that he's the only reason I enjoyed this book so much. Good thing there's so much of him. I loved his point of view the most. He always made things interesting. In this book, you see so much more behind that sarcastic, confident shell of his and he's in so much more torment. Of course, it's because of Clary. You'd think those two could finally get together, but nooooo. Apparently not. Makes me want to stab myself.

All in all, this was another good installment of The Mortal Instruments and I will continue with the series till its end. Not as great as the previous three, but definitely enjoyable. I still think this entire series is a must read for everybody, so hopefully I will find the time to re-read all the books and give this one another chance. ...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Lyndsey O'Halloran rated it liked it

Shelves: ya

What I did love about this book though was the characterisation. Although Clary and Jace are the true main characters, I feel as though many others could easily be in the same position. That cannot be said for the other books in the series though and it seems like Cassandra Clare tried to shake things up a little bit this time around.

Clary is quite absent for the majority of the book and only really made an impact towards the end. During the time early on that she was around though, I did feel What I did love about this book though was the characterisation. Although Clary and Jace are the true main characters, I feel as though many others could easily be in the same position. That cannot be said for the other books in the series though and it seems like Cassandra Clare tried to shake things up a little bit this time around.

Clary is quite absent for the majority of the book and only really made an impact towards the end. During the time early on that she was around though, I did feel extremely sorry for her due to everything she had going on. Her life isn’t easy and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better for her, apart from the fact she finally has the boy she loves and has been fighting for all of this time. I don’t really have complaints about Clary but mainly because she wasn’t around enough for me to have any real thoughts about her. Previously, Clary has been a very strong female character but I see this fading slowly over time now. Yes, she can still kick ass but in the way she acts/ reacts is getting weaker all of the time. I really wanted Clary to stand up for herself more and to be a bit more pushy when it came to Jace.

I think so many people are going to get annoyed with me saying this but…I am so over Jace now. After how City of Glass ended, I was really hoping for Jace to have changed and also for his relationship with Clary to have changed. Although this is true in some respects, it isn’t in the way that matters. Jace’s attitude really annoyed me a lot and although I understood the way he was acting, I didn’t think it was entirely necessary to take the story this way. Cant Clary and Jace have some form of happiness for a little while at least? On the plus side though, Jace does change a little bit when around a certain someone and I really liked this aspect of the story but it just didn’t last long enough.

Simon is the character who I loved the most though this time. He has slowly been coming into his own over the course of the series but now, he isn’t just following in Clary’s footsteps anymore. Now, he has his own life and his own story happening. So many interesting and exciting things happen to Simon in CoFA and I think I would have been extremely happy if this book had been all about him. I certainly would have ended up liking it more. Simon is finally coming to terms more with being a vampire but probably because that is the least of his worries now. Simon is complex but interesting, easy to relate to and funny at the same time. How could anyone not like him?!

The plot, although it had new dimension in a sense, was very samey. There was a lot of angst between characters, old problems written in a different way and nothing really getting resolved. For me, the plot was neither nothing new or exciting and I was extremely let down by this. After this book had received so much pre-release hype, it didn’t live up to it. While I was reading CoFA, I was waiting for something completely amazing and heart stopping to happen but it just never came. Many other smaller things do happen throughout but nothing is ever as big or as extravagant as it could and should have been. Up until the very end of the book, the pacing is slow and drawn out and because of this, I wasn’t completely hooked at any point like I had been with the other books.

Overall, I wish this series had been left at the original three books that it was supposed to be. The ending of book three was perfect for me and I couldn’t imagine where the story was going to or could go. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate this book at all but I just didn’t love it either. I’ll still be reading the last two books of the series though.
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May 18, 2011 Gabby (What's Beyond Forks?) rated it it was ok

Shelves: reviewed

After enjoying the previous three books in this series, I was very disappointed in this book. I had to make myself finish reading it as there was very little keeping my attention until the last chapter or so. It seemed to me like the the writing was forced, and it left me wishing the series would have ended with book three like it was originally planned. Hopefully the next book in the series will make up for it.
Full Review at: What's Beyond Forks? ...more

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Jul 11, 2010 Crazy Book Reader (RoseCBR) rated it really liked it

So!!! this was .. crazy .. .really like the book, loved how Izz lead so many situations, loved that not everything were just about Clary and Jace... loveeeeeeeeed the steamy scenes!! As always Cassie Clare amazes us!!

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