City of Ashes, 2

I have to say it took me a while to become immersed in the Shadowhunter world. With other YA novels such as The Hunger Games, and Divergent I found myself loving the world and characters very quickly. However the first Mortal Instruments book really did not pull me in in the same way.However, I decided to give City of Ashes a try, and I'm so glad I did. The plot, which I found to be generic and one-dimensional in the first book (crazy psychopath wants to take over but the good guys will stop him- REVOLUTIONARY), actually fleshed out and became much more exciting to follow. Political undertones, ideas of friendship and betrayal, and an emphasis put on the past which really developed the universe of these books.Additionally the characters which had irritated me in the previous instalment really grew on me. Simon, in particular, went from being some whiney wise-ass, to becoming my favourite character.If you've finished the first book and you're on the fence about this one, I urge you to give it a try.

I first read this when I was six and I was in a church with my Christian friends as the Catholics practiced their Holy Communion and even though I was such a religious child- this book captured me in it's glory and I am so glad when my friend told me to read with her (I was highly literate since I was 3 or 4, so I had no problems with any of the words and I understood all of them). I was so entranced by this book that spoke of Nephilm and 'The Angel' and vampires and lycanthropes, that I found that I had read this book for around 2 hours in that church.This book is the second book in the TMI series and it is amazing- it is actually my favourite TMI book (probably because of the reason above)- and Cassandra Clare never fails to impress. If you have heard of TMI but haven't watched the City of Bones movie, then STOP. Don't watch the movie, read the books first- it's simply better for you.Anyways, I'd like to warn you- you WILL get addicted. It's either you read the book and get addicted, or you don't read the book and stay oblivious- there is no inbetween."Shadowhunters, looking better in black than the widows of our enemies since 1234"

took me some time to get into the first books, lot of explanations and twists but i was really looking forward to what would happen next.and I must say the second book didn't let me down. the story gets better and better, you keep on reading while new things are revealed so you always wanted to know what will happen and what the real connection between the persons is. Clary has found out that she's sister of Jace but they love each other, together they will have to fight their father Valentine who wants to destroy the Downworlders in the world as in which they live.Demons, fights, love relations, story has it all!

I didn't think it would be possible to love this book anymore than the first but I was pleasantly surprised. Right from the start this book left off from the first and the action leapt straight off the first few pages which made it by far much better than the first.I much prefer the cover on this book than the previous. I feel that the blue's and faint whites go brilliantly against the redness of Clary's hair. It had a much more mysterious feel to it than the first, but also a more dangerous atmospheric style which I feel was much better than the first. Clary herself in the front I was a little disappointed that she was implied to be so slim, especially on her arms, but against the plot inside, the image matched perfectly with the few Marks she possesses, the similar length in hair and confident pose which was implied throughout to show how Clary is growing into her new talents and life. I insanely like the cover so much.I thoroughly enjoyed the plot within this book, as even though it followed on from the first, it had it's own feel within it like it was a separate adventure from the first. As the plot grew, so did the amount of characters introduced, and I usually get easily irritated by large numbers of characters just appearing throughout series', but in this series, it seems each new character has a much more important role or is to become a larger character deeper into the series, which makes me extremely excited for the further books. Although the plot was centred around following up from the first, and helping bring down Valentine, the inner plot in this focused more on the different species coming together as one, along with all the characters.I had many more characters that I enjoyed due to this, whether it was because the characters began to develop into someone I could relate more to or whether they were new. Throughout this book I really began to like Jace's character more than I had throughout the first. I enjoyed reading about how vulnerable and scared he was throughout the first 100 pages, which gave him a much more, pardon the pun, angelic side to him, making him look innocent and childlike within his warrior persona. Along with this change in his character's personality, his actions towards Clary surprised me so much throughout. He took on a very brotherly vole extremely quickly, and I was heavily shocked to see just how well the both he and Clary had taken the news of their suggestive similar DNA, and while a large number of reviews I had read mentioned they this book almost condoned the incestual romance, I really feel that it didn't and that it portrayed their feelings and their struggles so well that I really wanted them to overcome this problem. I also feel like I have to mention the absolutely terrible timing of other characters either entering scenes or dying before the true relationship between Jace, Clary and Valentine can be revealed, which is just personally frustrating to me now that I already know the truth.Another character who seemed to do nothing other than improve from the first was Luke. I genuinely love his relationship Clary and how he has such a fatherly instinct towards her, even though he isn't her Father. To take on the responsibility of any teenager would be a struggle in normal circumstances, but to take on an entially rogue teenager with some mental skills is something else entirely. Through his love for Jocelyn, he shows compassion and nothing but love towards Clary, and to fight for something or someone you love is nothing but everything I love. For as long as their are people worth fighting for, you fight, and that is exactly what Luke does.Simon is still an absolute favourite it this point, and I was highly distressed when Simon's circumstances change, but not once does his personality change. He is still the charismatic and humorous character he was in the first, if not more, and will stand by Clary through everything. I am extremely happy that he will be a continuous character through the series, as I think it would be a little bit duller without him.New characters or characters that were featured a little more interestingly throughout this book that I really took to immediately were Maia, Max and Valentine. Maia was such a lovable character and after overcoming her initial reactions towards Simon, began to see him just as another person, as equal to herself, and I could tell near enough from the beginning that I loved her personality and shyness, and I really hope she features in more of the books further down the line. I was reminded of a character in another of Clare's books because of Max. His child ways and his persistence to be involved and help his family was so warming and heartfelt. His relationship with his siblings and Jace was something so innocent and beautiful that brought some light inside the book. I think he's the bond between the trio, Jace, Alec and Isabelle, and he's what they always strive to work for, his happiness and that shows a family who love each other dearly, which is lovely. I strangely began to like Valentine much more through this book, and I think his revengeful quality made him so intriguing. The characters language and general personality made him so dark and so interesting that I somehow really took to him and began to like him. No, I'm not evil, don't shoot me.Another character that I enjoyed was less of a character and more of a message to the other characters and that was Agramon. The aspect of him being the Demon of Fear really gave an insight to what different characters feared the most and this gave a great vulnerability to them and made each of them almost relatable. I was almost quite upset when he was destroyed, as I felt he could have been a great weapon later in the series.I also think that Alec and Magnus need a mention because they are so caring and considerate of one another, and their relationship is portrayed in such a beautiful way that I just want to see them being very much a cute cute couple.The writing style became much more prominent in this book as well compared to the first. I found that the scenes involving the the faeries were beautifully described and mesmerising, while the demon and fighting scenes were so amazingly written that it felt like, as a reader, I was with the characters every step of the way, alongside them, within the scenes. Writing styles like this make me want to wake up in their world and dream of it all night, and that's what Clare's does.I am so excited to read the following book in the series and am especially excited for the grand unveiling and for a well needed Mother/Daughter reunion between Clary and Jocelyn. And after hearing that City of Glass was originally the ending for the series, I'm expecting great things from it. Here's hoping it delivers.

I didn't really enjoy the first book in this series. The writing was clunky and distracting and just not good enough, but I decided to read the second to see if it improved. It really did. It could still have done with a bit of tighter editing, but there is much less redundant detail, the series is getting better at showing rather than telling what is going on and she seems to have a better understanding of her characters emotions and motivations.