Words on City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #4)

Demon hunters!
Mar 18, 2015
5 min read

Valentine is dead, and Clary has returned to New York, where she's training to be a Shadowhunter. She's happy that her friends are safe, and she can finally be with Jace now that that the whole siblings thing has been cleaned up. That was messy.Clary's mother doesn't approve of her relationship with Jace, convinced that he's going to end up like Valentine.

Simon has problems of his own as well. He is having trouble keeping up the facade of a human, and his mother is beginning to have second thoughts. Her son has been acting strangely, and she wants to get to the bottom of it. Simon can't let her find out the truth: He's a vampire. He's also found himself with a nasty complication in his love life. He's dating both Maia and Izzy, a combination that isn't going to end well if either girl learns the truth. Simon is also approached by two vampires who want to use him for their own means, Camille and Raphael. Both vampire know about the power of the Mark of Cain that Simon now carries, and the recognize him as having a valuable ability. The two vampires are at each other's throats, both claiming to be the rightful ruler of New York City's vampire clan. Simon is caught in the middle and wants nothing to do with the rival leaders.

The already fragile peace between Downworlders and and Shadowhunters is strained when Shadowhunters are being murdered and the bodies planted in Downworlder territory. Members of both sides would like nothing more that to tear each other to pieces, but an outbreak of fighting would be devastating for both sides. Clary and her friends start looking into the murders, searching for the truth. The young Shadowhunters also find disturbing children that are twisted and damaged, the result of some sort of strange experiment.

How could one forget Jace? Haunted by disturbing dreams, Jace does anything to avoid the people he might hurt, mainly Clary, without any explanation. Distancing himself from the people he loves, he tries to convince himself he's fine. Most importantly, he's convinced that Jocelyn, Clary's mother, is right about him and he's just like Valentine.

When Valentine was killed, everyone was sure that they would have peace at last, seeing that the Circle's leader is finally dead. Unknown to Clary, Simon, Jace, and the others, the war isnt' quite over just yet, and powerful new dark forces are stepping in with their own sinister plans.

My first thought when I saw this book was, "Wow, that's kind of short," It's not a super thin book, but if you compare it to the other books in the series, there's a contrast in size. It's still a good 424 pages long. Not bad at all.

I always did like Simon as the helpful, slightly geeky best friend, and I still do. I had to cringe a little in this book though, because he's totally clueless when it comes to girls. He has no idea how to work out the fact that he's dating both Izzy and Maia. It's bad enough if Maia finds out, but can you imagine what Izzy will do? That girl's not known for being gentle and understanding, I can tell you that. Simon is still trying to figure out how to be a good vampire. He doesn't want to give in and be a bloodsucking vampy living with Raphael & Co. I can understand that - he hasn't had the best impressions with the vampires, and the fact that he's a Daylighter alienates him from his peers a bit.

Speaking of Vampires, on to Camille and Raphael. For those of you who have read The Infernal Devices, (You should. It's wonderful.) she's not a new character, but not much is seen of her in that trilogy. She's clever, manipulative, and unpredictable. However, she's also a bit arrogant and sometimes let her emotions get the best of her, which could prove her undoing. Raphael, like Camille, almost strikes me as power - hungry as he fights for control of Simon and the vampires of the Hotel Dumort. Camille and Raphael both want Simon, and they're telling him different things the other has not in order to try and win his over. Even so, they're not telling him everything, and I agree with his choice to just stay out of it. I think that would be best.

I could say so much about Jace in this book, but it's easier to sum it up in three words: tortured, yet awesome. He cares about Clary so much, too! I wish that he'd open up to people a little more, but then again, I would probably be the same if I had a childhood like his. I guess I can't blame him. Clary is happy and settling into her life as a Shadowhunter, but she's a little insecure that she'll never be as good as, say, Alec and Izzy. I liked that because it helps show her as the normal teen she is despite being a Shadowhunter, because she has normal teen insecurities. Clary's a bit angry at Jocelyn, who's acting way to overprotective and is still trying to keep her daughter safe from the world, almost clashing with Clary several times bacuse she won't ease up. She doesn't think Clary made the right choice in choosing the Shadowhunter lifestyle.

Another thing I really liked about this book was the character development with Izzy. She's fierce and a determined, loyal Shadowhunter, but she's also very fragile, in a way. She's scared to love someone the way her brothers do, worried that she'll get her heart broken, even by someone as sweet and decent as Simon.

One more character and I'll stop - I promise. xD I need way too many words to convey all my thoughts. Anyways, we also meet a new, more minor character named Kyle. As he's described in the book, he's puppy-ish in that cute, scruffy way that makes him a person that you can like very easily as a character. However, he does have some regrets. (Any more would be a spolier!)

I think this was a really good addition to the series. I liked the new characters I met as well as the developments with the characters that we already know. There were a bunch of interesting plot twists that I never say coming, and the cliffhanger ending was full of suspense and left me itching to read (Or in this case, re-read!) the next one. And, of course, the cover was gorgeous as always. 4.5/5 stars! Great book.