City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare is the fourth in The Mortal Instruments series of books.  The Mortal Instruments is a series of six books, of which five have been already published and divides into two trilogies.  City of Fallen Angels kicks off the second half with new threats and new challenges for our protagonists.   We start off in a good place – things have been quiet and settled since the events of City of Glass.  Clary’s main preoccupation is preparing for her mother’s wedding to long time love Luke and enjoying her relationship with Jace.  Naturally, that peace doesn’t last for too long…

It has been some time since I finished the first half of The Mortal Instruments, but Clare’s writing style and wonderful characters immediately drew me back into the world of Shadowhunters, demons, vampires and warlocks.   I adore this world and loved reading more of it – I don’t know why it took me so long to get back to it!

What I liked

The worldbuilding – Clare clearly has an excellent grasp of her world.  Everything fits together and holds well to its own internal logic.  

The characters.  While I still retain a slight preference for the characters in Clare’s other series, The Infernal Devices, I still love reading about Clary, Jace, Simon and the Lightwoods.  I particularly enjoyed Simon’s journey in this book and his relationships with Maia and Isabelle.  Isabelle’s journey, too became more interesting to me in this book.

What I didn’t like

The pacing.  I’ve noted slow pacing as an issue for me in several of Clare’s books, and unfortunately City of Fallen Angels is no exception.  As I mentioned, it starts off a whole new arc for our characters, and takes a long time to really get moving.  

The narration.  I really didn’t enjoy the narration for this book at all – I personally found it rather flat.  You may of course feel differently.

Here is a sample:

Added to my library this week

There have been a few great deals I’ve picked up this week, all under $5 each.

I picked up London Belles on both Kindle and Audible.  This sounded like a good read:  London Belles is a tale of four very different young women thrown together by war. Finding freedom and independence – as well as love, passion and heartbreak – for the very first time, a unique bond is formed as the hostilities take their toll on Britain.

Shannon Delaney’s Weather Witch sounded intriguing:  Some fled the Old World to avoid war, and some fled to leave behind magick. Yet even the fiercely regulated New World–with its ranks and emphasis on decorum–cannot staunch the power that wells up in certain people, influencing the weather and calling down storms. Hunted, the Weather Witches are forced to power the rest of the population’s ships, as well as their every necessity, and luxury, in a time when steam power is repressed.  I  picked this up in Kindle format.

I’m really enjoying Audible dramatised productions and when Star Wars (not the Shakespeare version!) was on special offer, I picked it up.  It’s narrated by Anthony Daniels and Mark Hamill, so I’m really looking forward to that.

For those of you having a long weekend this weekend, enjoy – I’ll see you next week.