"City of Fallen Angels" by Cassandra Clare

Hi lovelies! ♥

Today we'll be talking a little about "City of Fallen Angels" which is the fourth book in Cassandra Clare's 'The Mortal Instruments' series. 

SPOILERS AHEAD: If you haven't read the first three books, do not read this post.

dat mango though

Summary:

The story continues right where 'City of Glass' left it: Jace died and came back from the dead because Clare wished so. They try to get back to normal: Clary is training to become a Shadowhunter while Jace has to come to terms with what happened. Not enough, though, because someone is murdering Shadowhunters and clearly, somebody has to do something about that.

Facts:

Published in 2011

Pages: 424

~ Take a look on Goodreads ♥ ~

My opinion

I did a combined review of books one to three from this series, but I plan on doing the other three individually. You may be asking yourself why: it's because to me they have a different feeling to them. I feel like books one to three really belong together. The newer three feel different to me, comparable to Star Wars Episodes 1 - 3 being different than Episodes 4 - 6. The difference though, is the fact they're still the same characters and the story continues chronologically throughout all 6 books.

With that being said, the story continues where City of Glass left off. In 'City of Glass' it kind of became clear that Sebastian/Jonathan didn't die since they didn't find a body. And we know, if there is no body to be found, the evil hasn't died yet. So even though Valentine is dead, his legacy is continued by his son. There is a change in the villain here, but not completely because the same plans are followed. 

This book has a very different feel to it than the first few books, because the characters grew throughout their journey in the first three books. 'City of Fallen Angels' feels darker and more mature. I feel like the story has also lost a bit of its magic because through Clary's eyes, the world and happenings aren't as new anymore. It is missing a bit of that naive innocent world view that she used to have. The characters all have endured so much that they all have lost their...young perspectives, I guess. 

What I really love is that the book shift their view: it is not only about Clary anymore but a lot more about Simon in this one. Simon went through so much since he became a vampire and the book really explores that. We also get more Sizzy and who doesn't want that? 

Of course Clary and Jace's relationship is one of the main focuses but not as much anymore, so for anyone who found them annoying and liked Simon + Izzy or Magnus + Alex more - you will enjoy this a lot.

And that is what I find this book to be more about - how the characters and their relationships develop more than the plot itself - and I have to admit that I don't like the plot and how the story unfolds as much as I liked it in the first three books. I still like the twists it had and they shocked me or came as a surprise, but the book is more worth a read because of the characters than the plot.

With that being said, I give the book a solid rating: 8 out of 10 hearts. Only 8 because I didn't enjoy it as much as the first three books.