Book Review: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

REVIEW:

Everything is assumed as finally over. Valentine is dead and so does his real son, Jonathan Morgenstern. Everything as if has gone back to normal and there are some who made it to amend what they did in the past. But as for Simon Lewis, being a vampire is still a fact that hardly to sink in into him, much less the ability of his being a daylighter. When he knows that despite that there are creatures that are after him as an ally, there are still people who are after him not for him to be on their side but to kill him, he must figure out then who’s behind it, for almost everyone knows how reckless is it for any creature to harm him.

Clarissa Fray is now on training as a shadowhunter under Jace as his teacher. For almost two months has passed since she has used her talent, she thinks that her power has gone off by any chance until in the middle of mysterious killings of shadowhunters it returned to her immediately. The return of her power only affiliates one question: does it mean also a return of a major, past enemy?

The death of Valentine Morgenstern had sunk in already. But as nightmares hunt Jace Lightwood everynight, he still couldn’t drop the idea that in any angle of his life, the reality of his memory still lingers that he had been raised by Valentine and in the sixteen years of his life being with him, the darkness that Valentine had brought into him couldn’t just be put off eventually. And that no matter how right that he’s still not his biological father, it terrifies him to know that he still a silhouette of Valentine and in any time he will kill his beloved ones. Even Clary.

It’s been as if a million(kidding) times I was told not to expect too much; and does read in some discussions and reviews a billion(again) times not to expect too much again. For my part, expecting not too much on a book, except the ones I haven’t heard yet, is like preparing a match that in anytime a certain book suddenly disgusts me, it’ll be too way easier for me to burn it.

I must admit that I really liked this series and I am very much vocal about it. A very good YA book that suits not just to girls but to boys as well. In the first place, I like to bring up what I noticed that made me liked from the first series—the last three books—is the balance of femininity and masculinity approach of the book. A person who feels suicidal about romances in a novel will hardly notice the romance in it, and if they do, they won’t consider as worth throwing up like other books are. However, Clare manages to put a concrete characterization in every character in the story. Everyone has its own special personality with them that would make an easier way for them to be identified separately from each other.

It’s been a year already since I finished reading City of Glass. Some of the information in the last book has been forgotten already but when I read the first page of this book, everything returns in a flash. Quite odd, isn’t it? I was not really thirsty for this book because I was contented at how City of Glass ended. Imperfect, yet it was the nearer thing to perfection—in reality.

To be my rating specific to you, it is 3.7 and don’t dare ask me with my basis because it’s another long story. Yes, apparently it declined on me. I wouldn’t say that there were plot holes because I haven’t seen one or I wasn’t just able to observe it. The main thing that it declined for me I think was the absence of balance that I admired the series before. The declaration of love isn’t really comforting at all that it almost consumed half of the book without some slashing of swords in it. The secondary thing I disliked about is the villains, though I don’t want a further discussion about it because I’m sure it’ll be inevitable not to insert some spoilers. And the last is how the book ended. It wasn’t an ideal ending I was hoping for. It was an ending that will just drown the readers into depression.

On the other hand, there are really things I pretty liked about this book. Though the twists weren’t surprising as her last books did, she did still able to put enough ideas to catch readers’ attention and keep reading. Clare posted several, I mean trillion(kidding again) times that this book is all about Simon. Fortunately, Clare put Simon’s story into more interesting one than the character itself. However, I might totally disagree that this book is all about Simon.

Mortal Instruments dying fans weren’t just excited about this book because some of them are frightened too of what might be the feedback of the sequel series: would it shine like the three or start to slide downhill? One thing to admire about Clare, she said she weren’t supposed to make this book, and yet out of complication I could see with the story, she has able to pass the tiniest hole ever in her story just to make the problems in this book sensible.

One thing to end this review, I liked her writing style. Hardly metaphors in it and this book somehow becomes an easy read. 

Comments

Anonymous said…
Lots of wonderful reading here, thanks! I had been searching on yahoo when I observed your article, I’m going to add your feed to Google Reader, I look forward to more from you.
Hello! It's Angie from the YA Book Club on goodreads! Thought I would stop by and say hello! I can't WAIT to read this book!!

Angie

XOXO Angela's Anxious Life
Rollie said…
Thanks for following my blog Angie. You read this book immediately. :D
joe said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Eesti said…
This book was absolutely AMAZING! I wouldn't have thought that Cassandra Clare would have been able to top the other three...but she certainly did! I love how we got to see from Simon's point of view as well as Clary's and Jace's. It definitely tied the entire thing together at the end! If you haven't read this series, start reading it!!!
Eesti said…
This book was absolutely AMAZING! I wouldn't have thought that Cassandra Clare would have been able to top the other three...but she certainly did! I love how we got to see from Simon's point of view as well as Clary's and Jace's. It definitely tied the entire thing together at the end! If you haven't read this series, start reading it!!!

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