Book Review: City of Glass
I decided that this book would be the make-or-brake for me reading the rest of this series or deciding to DNF-ing the remainder. I regardless, I plan on reading the Infernal Devices.
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| City of Glass by Cassandra Clare |
♥♥♥♥♥
Title: City of Glass
Author: Cassandra Clare
Year Published: 2009
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Distopian
Format: Audiobook
Format: Audiobook
Plot: ♥♥♥♥♥
Character: ♥♥♥♥♥
World Building: ♥♥♥♥♥
Flow: ♥♥♥♥♥
Synopsis:
To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.
As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?
Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third installment of the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.
As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?
Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third installment of the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.
Review*:
I have decided I am not continuing with the Mortal Instruments series. I just can't handle this story and how problematic these characters are and how juvenile everything is, not to be vague but seriously everything.
I have a huge problem with Jace as a character. He is self-centered, arrogant, and so self righteous. I hated reading all of the sections about his character and wanted to just rage quit whenever he came into a scene. Specifically when he was trying to prevent Clary from saving her own mother. First he blocks her from going to Idris, then goes to Idris with the Lightwoods leaving Clary to literally fend for herself alone in New York with a mother that is in a coma and all this knowledge that her father is trying to destroy the world. He cannot fathom thinking outside of his very narrow perception and it drives me fucking nuts.
The next character I want to complain about is Clary. Despite her motive in this book being noble and trying to help her mother, she is her own worst enemy in so many ways. Despite being told that the dude she has feelings for is her brother, she continues to lust after him. As if just being okay with the fact that she has a brother lover could eventually be acceptable. It's not, no matter what generation or era you are in. Despite being absolutely disgusted by her lack of self control, she is probably the only developed character in this entire fucking series. I do like that her and Sebastian are actually siblings and one was tainted with the devil and the other an angel, it is a sound explanation to what Clary can do magically.
Adults in this series are fucking atrocious. None of them act like adults outside of being condescending. There is nothing realistic about the way the Lightwoods behave, the Clave/Inquisitor, or even Luke. They are such secondary and 2D characters that only present boundaries that clearly these teenages continue to push and break. This also bleeds into the convenience of magic that comes off as a second thought as well. For instance, when Simon is captured he worries about what his parents think and is met with a "theres a spell for that, duh". Like erase him from his parents memories or something earlier so it's not such a messy cover-up later in the book, sure its predictable and simple, but it offers a better explanation.
Simon, Alex, and Isabelle are the only consistent characters in this entire series and honestly the only ones I could claim to like. Simon goes back and forth between being a little shit and being an okay character. I dislike how he entertains Jace's ideas to go behind Clary's back and his motives to try to win her back, but he has been consistently a loyal friend outside of his romantic interest in Clary. Isabelle is a character I would in general like to see more of, she's still under-written enough that she has potential. Alex I enjoy, but again he is a little bit under-written. Outside of being interested in boys there isn't a lot to drive his character.
Over all, I can't see much redemption in this series for the final 3 books. I don't necessarily have a problem with the plot, it's more the characters and how the entire story is written. I'm not interested in the two main characters because up to this point they haven't gained any likable traits. The 2 heart rating is more like a 1.75.
I have decided I am not continuing with the Mortal Instruments series. I just can't handle this story and how problematic these characters are and how juvenile everything is, not to be vague but seriously everything.
I have a huge problem with Jace as a character. He is self-centered, arrogant, and so self righteous. I hated reading all of the sections about his character and wanted to just rage quit whenever he came into a scene. Specifically when he was trying to prevent Clary from saving her own mother. First he blocks her from going to Idris, then goes to Idris with the Lightwoods leaving Clary to literally fend for herself alone in New York with a mother that is in a coma and all this knowledge that her father is trying to destroy the world. He cannot fathom thinking outside of his very narrow perception and it drives me fucking nuts.
The next character I want to complain about is Clary. Despite her motive in this book being noble and trying to help her mother, she is her own worst enemy in so many ways. Despite being told that the dude she has feelings for is her brother, she continues to lust after him. As if just being okay with the fact that she has a brother lover could eventually be acceptable. It's not, no matter what generation or era you are in. Despite being absolutely disgusted by her lack of self control, she is probably the only developed character in this entire fucking series. I do like that her and Sebastian are actually siblings and one was tainted with the devil and the other an angel, it is a sound explanation to what Clary can do magically.
Adults in this series are fucking atrocious. None of them act like adults outside of being condescending. There is nothing realistic about the way the Lightwoods behave, the Clave/Inquisitor, or even Luke. They are such secondary and 2D characters that only present boundaries that clearly these teenages continue to push and break. This also bleeds into the convenience of magic that comes off as a second thought as well. For instance, when Simon is captured he worries about what his parents think and is met with a "theres a spell for that, duh". Like erase him from his parents memories or something earlier so it's not such a messy cover-up later in the book, sure its predictable and simple, but it offers a better explanation.
Simon, Alex, and Isabelle are the only consistent characters in this entire series and honestly the only ones I could claim to like. Simon goes back and forth between being a little shit and being an okay character. I dislike how he entertains Jace's ideas to go behind Clary's back and his motives to try to win her back, but he has been consistently a loyal friend outside of his romantic interest in Clary. Isabelle is a character I would in general like to see more of, she's still under-written enough that she has potential. Alex I enjoy, but again he is a little bit under-written. Outside of being interested in boys there isn't a lot to drive his character.
Over all, I can't see much redemption in this series for the final 3 books. I don't necessarily have a problem with the plot, it's more the characters and how the entire story is written. I'm not interested in the two main characters because up to this point they haven't gained any likable traits. The 2 heart rating is more like a 1.75.
*There may be spoilers in this section of the review. If you do not wish to be spoiled, please stop reading.
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