Cover via Amazon
Summary:
One night Clary drags her best friend, Simon, to a goth club called Pandemonium. While there, Clary sees a murder, but no one else, including Simon, sees what she’s talking about. It is her first glimpse into The Shadow World, a reality where demons, vampires, werewolves, and faeries live among humans. For some reason unknown to her, Clary now has The Sight and can see through the glamours that these creatures create to block humans from seeing them. What happens next will change her life forever, introduce her to a world of new people— including a gang of young Shadowhunters, humans trained to hunt and kill demons— and shatter what she thought she knew about her own past and her family.
Comments:
If you asked me if I liked this book when I was halfway through it, I would have said no. I would have said that it reminded me of a bad Harry Potter movie. The main character annoyed me and the author actually labeled humans “mundanes” or “mundies.” I felt like I was trapped in one giant cliché. And I felt like a spectator… like I was just casually observing the characters and not empathizing with them. That’s not what I want in a story; I want it to grab me— especially young adult fiction, because that’s why I read it. But if you asked me if I liked this book when I was finished reading it, I would have said yes. I started to get into it at about two-thirds the way through, which is a long time in my opinion, but the point is that I did eventually get into it. And then, towards the end, I was hooked. I think the last third of the book actually makes up for the rest of it in terms of an interesting, engaging plot with believable characters. I didn’t expect it to surprise me, but it did, and I was impressed. Also, included in the novel are glimpses into the next book in the trilogy as well as another trilogy, the prequel to The Mortal Instruments called The Infernal Devices. Both previews were written very well and piqued my interest.
An irrelevant note: Clary, the main character, looks just like Kim from the movie, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World… in my mind. Likewise, Alec looks just like Wallace, Scott’s roommate. Don’t ask me how or why; I haven’t watched that movie in a while. But it is an awesome movie— if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re living in deprivation.
And another note: I picked up this book because it was recommended by the lovely Susan over at her blog, Page Flirt. It is one of my favorite blogs so check it out!
The Point:
I’m not going to do it right away, but I am in Cassandra Clare’s world now and I have no choice but to pick up the next installment of this series, City of Ashes.
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“I’m not going to do it right away, but I am in Cassandra Clare’s world now and I have no choice but to pick up the next installment of this series, City of Ashes.”
I know exactly what you mean!
Glad we agree!
Oh, you did read it! (: I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it – I know it definitely seems like a really bad cliche throughout the book, but I’ll have to agree with you when you say that it was not something I would have said I enjoyed halfway through. Starting this book was definitely a process; continuing through it was a chore. I loved it toward the end, like you, and I have to say I really loved the next two books in the series as well.
The Infernal Devices, to me, is a much better story. I encourage you to read that sometime if you’re still interested in the series!
Aww, my blog is one of your favorites?! Oh my gosh, I feel so honored! <3
You know, in my copy, there is a peak into The Infernal Devices and I have to admit it looks great— much better than The Mortal Instruments. But I think I’ll have to finish the series before jumping into the prequel. And I think I saw she’s coming out with a fourth?