- Hardcover: 432 pages Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (5 April 2011)
- Genre: Young Adult/ Fantasy/ Paranormal Source; Bought
Rating;
DO NOT READ THE SYNOPSIS AND THE REVIEW IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE PREVIOUS BOOK!
Warning; The review is super super long! Also there's a lot of conflicted feelings buried inside ~ just to let you know.
My Thoughts - City of Fallen Angels
Meanwhile Jace and Clary are trying to hold on to a relationship that is slowly slipping away. The reasons are vague throughout the book unless you really pay attention, but once you figure it out it's pretty sad. For him to punish himself that way, to feel he has to do this to himself. Is just plain sad. Their angsty relationship at times had the tendency to be a little confusing. They get pretty hot and heavy throughout the book but my point is that it serves no purpose. They aren't feeling all lovey dovey at the time, in fact they are seriously pissed of at each other when these little sessions take place which just made the whole thing come across as if it was just written down for the heck of it. At one moment they would be arguing and avoiding each other, and the next she would be against a wall/on a bed and they would be making out/other things. The problem with this is that making out and groping the girl isn't going to make your problems go away, a therapist might but that sure ain't. Just a hint.
Honestly I think the book ended at City of Glass
For the most part? There wasn't much of a plot. It felt like the bad guy/women was just thrown in there for the sake of being the villain. I don't really think they served any purpose and I thought all that was going on with Jace was a little ridiculous. He constantly went on about how gorgeous he was, I mean we get the picture, most of us adore you anyway; you're supposed to be all self pitiful and depressed remember? Talk about how wonderful and amazing you are in the next book. Seriously. It just got a little old and annoying really. Not to be completely insensitive because I understand that he's feeling hurt and is filled with regret and bitterness but I didn't get it. One moment he would be all lost, alone and scared and then he would suddenly start rambling about how awesome he was. It was like really? He didn't pull it off like he once could, he wasn't his charming self and he wasn't charming when he said it, but instead just came across as very self- righteous
Then there was this whole situation where things suddenly got very bleak and you find there is another power at work. I mean where did all this Demonic Hoo ha come from, it was completely random! It felt like more of a plot filler than anything else; Clary's explanation for it was a little lame too. I don't know, I suppose I just thought that the author could have come up with something more interesting and believable; her twists after all have been one of my favourite things about this series.
~ A part of the sentence has been hidden because I'm not all too sure if it's spoiler -ish or not. It doesn't mention names but it does paint a picture of the scenario which goes down at the end. Although it won't make sense to you unless you have read the ending. So, this one I wanted to let you decide for yourself. ~ Highlight to read the text.
You then have people mentioning the ending and how shocking it was. Hardly. When there's a guy and another zombified person in the room, one is bad, the other good what do you expect? Obviously something is going to go down. His thoughts at that point are so depressing that it was obvious to me that something dreadful was going to happen, but when it happened it was more of a "oh" then a "OH MY GOSH no, no, no!" ya know?
If you take away the fact that there isn't much of a plot and don't let it get to you too much you might just be able to focus on the things that made the book more worthwhile. There was Clary and Jace's relationship first of all. Although looking back now and analysing what they have seems to be an awful lot of lust than anything else - I'm bordering on the line that they do love each other? Well the two can't seem to spend a day apart but who knows. I'm still struggling to figure that one out. I have also concluded that they really aren't healthy for each other. Jace is hurting, he's at that point in his life where he needs to heal, and having the one person that is your weakness and possibly the cause of it all nearby isn't the best idea. The thing is she won't leave him and he can't leave her. At this moment they are unhealthy for each other. What they need is a break.
Meanwhile you then have Simon, Maia and Isabelle. All three are linked in someway and there is only one that he can choose. As soon as Kyle enters though, trust me, it will be pretty clear who ends up with who. I felt a little let down by Simon, although I loved that he was a big part of this book I couldn't accept that he was cheating on two girls. He knows better, I know he does and it was that fact that made me loose a little respect for him. I don't want to be harsh but there really is no excuse for it. The whole thing between Kyle and a certain someone is also disturbing. I don't care what the circumstances are, that's plain abuse which is why I wasn't all too happy with the way things ended between him and so -so.
Alec and Magnus are also having their little tiffs. Alec is slowly realising that he isn't going to be young and pretty forever. He'll continue to grow old as Magnus stays the same, so where does that leave him in the next 2o - 40 years, where does that leave them? These reasons are reason enough to cause strain on any relationship, and it's interesting to see how he deals with this new realisation.
I'm not done with Jace just yet. Maybe it's because he has been such a huge reason behind my love for this series that I feel this sudden change in him needs to be talked about in every angle, I need to talk about it, but there's so much that I'm feeling regarding him and it's so jumbled up that I need to let it out even if it doesn't make sense. So, bear with me.
I was at first quite anxious when I heard Jace had changed. They said gone was this; cocky, sarcastic, and his super confident self. That he was different now and that worried me because it meant the Jace I loved, the very person who made the series for me was gone. I noticed that this was true and I'm glad I read those reviews so that I was prepared for it because it probably lessened the blow. The attitude is still there, he can be funny, sarcastic and obnoxious, but there just happens to be a lot less of it. He has the girl basically so that might be one of the contributing factors to him settling down a bit, not to mention Jace seems a little defeated in this book, exhausted and just overall tired of everything. When you're feeling so low I doubt you have much room for humor, but still he manages to slip some in on the good days, and for that slightest moment you will realise how much you miss the old Jace.
I'm still conflicted about him.
During the book there were times when I understood how he felt but it seemed a little silly that all these issues were coming out of the blue now. It made no sense to me that instead of talking it out with her he just avoided her without explanation assuming she would magically disappear, and yet when he did avoid her he was then described as weak, tired with a hollowed face as though not seeing her for some days was literally killing him. If that's the case then stop being so silly and just go to her or deal with it. No I'm serious, get over yourself a minute and deal with it or do something about it. I just got so vexed with him at times in this book. Sometimes I felt sorry for him and wanted him to get help and then I wanted to shout and put some sense into him. Gosh, saying all this is just exhausting in itself.
The highlights of the book were definitely watching all the relationships progress and change. The times Magnus or another character would hint to Will or someone else from the Infernal Devices always resulted in me growing very excited and made me sit up a bit straighter to eagerly listen. Hearing Magnus talk of that past, the very past I had read and witnessed not so long ago made me terribly sad. It made me assume the worst. As in, god Magnus what happened to them? He seemed to sad in a wistful sort of way when he mentioned their names that it got to me. I didn't like the thought of them being lost to us all, and then it dawned on me. Magnus must have been so lonely. Did he miss Will's Wit and charm, Tessa's courage and Jem's determination and loyalty? So many people from his past just gone, and the thought of Magnus watching as they passed away one by one is one that I don't like to think about. I think of how I have only read the first book in that series and I don't like seeing Magnus like this, it makes me dread it all. To top it all off I then came across this quote.
"She was still beautiful. Looking at her, he was in London again. He saw the gaslight and smelled smoke and dirt and horses, the metallic tang of fog, the flowers in Kew Gardens. He saw a boy with black hair and blue eyes like Alec's. A girl with long brown curls and a serious face. In a world where everything went away from him eventually, she was one of the few remaining constants."
And then there was this line
"You left me. You made a pet out of me, and then you left me. If love were food, I would have starved on the bones you gave me." he spoke matter - of - factly. It had been a long time.
Hearing Magnus talk like that made me stop in my tracks for a minute and think. Had I misjudged him? Assumed he was this tough man who never let anything get to him; how had I even let myself assume this whole time that watching those he loved fade away would never affect him. What probably made it harder for me was how he talked of Will and Tessa in the past tense. As if they were long gone and even though it's true I don't know why, but it was painful to hear him say that. It was these little insights to Magnus himself and his past that really stood out to me. Getting to know the characters and watching them grow and mature in this novel at times nearly outweighed the lack of plot and the annoyance I felt towards Clary.
Regarding Clary, I think I'm ready to finally accept this now because I was too busy being in love with this series to notice or even want to notice this some time back.
Clary is not really much of a character. She doesn't bring much to the book apart from playing her role which is being the one who has to be protected all the time; the one Jace is in love with. That's her whole role throughout the series pretty much, and I have to say I was quite excited about her being a full - on Shadowhunter who would fight by their side.
Unfortunately she's not all that useful in that department either. Instead -- to my frustration she got them in trouble more than anything else. Sure she happens to do these little miracles from time to time but they just aren't enough. I needed consistency from her. She just isn't cut out to be a fighter much less a Shadowhunter in my opinion. I also wasn't too fond of the fact that she cried like a school girl because Jace didn't ring her within one day. Come on girl, live a little; be a little more independent and strong. Surely you can't count on hm 24/7 which is the case with her. The problem is that Jace babies her, and he's so protective that she's become used to him babying her. As much as it makes me cringe to say it, it's true. In contrast Isabelle took the lead in this book, she really shined and proved to me that there may just be more to this tough girl than meets the eye.
There was something that I couldn't help but notice. COFA only picks up a few weeks after the end of COG yet not once is there any indication of them grieving for Max. In fact, it's only the mother who still seems to be in a state of shock. The two siblings I'm assuming are too caught up in their love lives to take notice. While we're discussing love lives - was I the only one who thought that Alex's reaction to Magnus exes was absurd. I mean the man has been alive for how many hundred's of years. What did you expect dear boy?
It's tough to come to an overall conclusion because the lack of plot is such a big big deal, as in I seriously considered skipping pages because nothing was really happening, and I have never attempted to do something like that, never even thought of it. I resisted the urge though, I felt like this book deserved more than that, it deserved a chance. Hundred pages in though and still nothing much had gone down. That's a lot of pages. But then I had those moments where it would soften me up a bit and remind me why I fell in love with the series in the first place. I guess what I'm trying to say is that COFA is a decent read, but just not as good as the previous book in the series. I was left majorly let down and very disappointed. It nowhere near met my expectations. I'm just sticking to the hope that the next book has an actual plot to back it up.
However, one of the most rewarding things about this series always has been the incredible quotes and twists that never fail to shock and amaze me, and even though unfortunately the twists were pretty much non existent in this instalment the quotes had me in frenzy. Bookmarking every page or so because there were so many that I loved. I've gone overboard here, I know, but I just had to share the ones that really stuck with me.
Before you do though, don't forget to check out these reviews of the book!
- Life After Jane - Fantastic review: very well written and done quite uniquely. Her thoughts seemed to pretty much mirror my own
- Wondrous Reads - Jenny has been a fan of the series as long as I have and it was interesting to see a different take on the book
- Splash Of Our Worlds - Seemed a little conflicted in their thoughts. I liked how they pointed out the bad and the good
- The Crooked Shelf - Love her reviews! Her enthusiasm for the book is just contagious!
"He thought of her hand in his when they crossed the street, and his own sense of the awesome task that he had undertaken; the responsibility for her safety. He had been in love with her once, and maybe some part of him always would be, because she had been his first. But that wasn't what mattered now. She was Clary; she was part of him; she always had been and would be forever.
I feel a sense of responsibility," said Jordan.
"And where is this feeling located? In your pants, perhaps?"
"And where is this feeling located? In your pants, perhaps?"
"No," said Jace, "I think I'm better than everyone else. An opinion that has been backed up with ample evidence."
"Isabelle chewed thoughtfully on her straw. "That new lead singer they have is hot. Is he single? I'd like to ride him around town like a bad, bad pony-"
"Magnus sighed. "Alexander, I've been alive for hundreds of years. I've been with men, been with women - with faeries and warlocks and vampires, and even a djinn or two." He looked sideways at Maryse, who looked mildly horrified. "Too much information?"
"What's all this about yanking poor Magnus and Alec back from their vacation?" Isabelle demanded. "They have opera tickets!"
"So what was all that about?" "I think," Jace said, "that she just asked if she could touch my mango." "She said that?" Jace Shrugged. "Yeah, then she gave me her number."
"Well, I guess I'll see you around. You're the first Shadowhunter I've ever met." "That's too bad,"said Jace, "since all the ones you meet from now on will be a terrible letdown."
"Do you even really know how vampires are made?'
'Well, when a mommy vampire and a daddy vampire love each other very much..."
'Well, when a mommy vampire and a daddy vampire love each other very much..."
"Why is it, little Shadowhunter, that your angels are so cold and without mercy? Why do they break that which will not obey them?"
"Hearts are breakable," Isabelle said. "And I think even when you heal, you're never what you were before"."
"I love you Clary. More then I ever-- God. More than I probably should. You know that, don't you?"
"You and your name-dropping. I knew Michael. The angel Gabriel did my hair. It's like I'm with the Band with biblical figures."
"But I watch my brothers give their hearts away and I think, Don’t you know better? Hearts are breakable. And I think even when you heal, you’re never what you were before."
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