Book Review: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Paranormal

Level: YA

Source: Library

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads): The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?

Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

I just finished reading City of Lost Souls last night and I have to say that I didn't love it as much as it seems everyone else did. And I think this time it was because I read City of Fallen Angels right before and didn't have any wait time between the two. I didn't have time to be excited about the book. I think if I had, I would have liked it more. Cassandra Clare certainly knows how to create suspense and intrigue, but this time I was just too annoyed by other things to fully enjoy the story.

My biggest problem with the book was the fact that the characters from the beginning of the series that I liked so much weren't there anymore. I've never been much of a Clary fan, she's too impulsive and selfish for me, but I do miss Jace. These last two books he was possessed and we've only gotten glimpses of the real Jace that we all fell for in the beginning. I also hated Alec in this book. I wasn't a huge fan of his in the first book, but he really started to grow on me through the series. But this last book made me want to smack him and tell him to grow up. I love Magnus, he's one of my very favorites and I am happy he has been pretty constant in the series, but Alec does not deserve him. I just wish the characters that we've known the entire series could be more likeable by this point.

There were a few things I liked about the book. My favorite part was getting to know the secondary characters more and see their relationships grow. I never thought Isabelle would be one of my favorite characters, but in this book she definitely was. I liked seeing her vulnerable and finally being able to depend on someone else. And I think her relationship with Simon could end up being one of my favorite as well. The Maia/Jordan relationship also gets a lot of attention in this book and I mostly liked it. I hope Clare treats it the way it should be treated and not just turn it into a physical relationship. I've already spoken a little about the Alec/Magnus relationship and I really just wish Alec weren't so stupid. I'm definitely interested to see where the two of them end up, if Alec changes at all in the next one. I'm glad we were able to get more from each of these relationships in this book.

The one part that I really liked in regards to Jace was the realization he had at the end of the book about the connection between him and Valentine and Sebastian. I won't give away what he said, but I was happy with his discovery. It felt that, at last, something good had come from this book for him.

I know this review is a little all over the place, but I just need to ask a question before I wrap it up. Is anyone else bothered at all by the weird brother/sister relationships in this series? Is Clare trying to punish Clary in some way by making her relationships with all of her "brothers" turn physical? I know Sebastian is really messed up and I know Clary and Jace aren't actually related, but I think I would like the series a lot more if the people she thinks are her brothers weren't always trying to kiss her.

Okay, I know it sounded from the review that I hated the book, but honestly I didn't. There were just things about it that annoyed me. If you are a fan of The Mortal Instruments series, you should definitely read it and I think you'll love it. If you want to see some more positive reviews, head over to its Goodreads page. I still liked the book, am glad I read it, and will pick up the next one when it comes out. I gave City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare 3 stars.