City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare

Format: Kindle Edition, 464 pages

Published: July 5, 2010 (first published March 25, 2008)

Publisher: Walker

Back cover blurb:

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who’s becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn’t ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary’s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City’s Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

My review:

I liked the story, and was probably gripped by it more than the first book, but it was put-downable, especially in the first half. So that means it wasn’t a five-cupcake read. The Jace/Clary/Simon love triangle didn’t have enough resolution for me (hopefully in the next book it will be revealed they aren’t really what we are led to believe), but the main plotline was satisfying and the action well-written. In my mind the Inquisitor seemed very, very similar to Dolores Umbridge – but this story did start out as HP fanfiction, so maybe that’s why. I did enjoy it, though, and will be reading the next book just to see what happens when and if Clary’s mother wakes up.

My rating: 4.5/5