Book Review: City of Ashes

TITLE: The Mortal Instruments book 2: City of Ashes
AUTHOR: Cassandra Clare
PUBLISHED: 2008
PART IN SERIES: Book 2 in a trilogy
GENRE: young adult, fantasy, romance, action, trilogy
PREMISE: In the second book of the Mortals Instruments trilogy, Clary struggles with the revelation that Jace is her brother, Valentine who is gathering the Mortal Instruments still, and Simon who goes through a major change.
MY REVIEW: I won't lie, this series is not overly unique. It's pretty on par with what's going on in YA fantasy right now (hot guys, love triangle, easy to read). The writing is average and the characters, while fun are not totally fleshed out. But that is easily made up by the fact that the series is just FUN. The author does have talent in the fact that she knows her audience and manages to keep you entertained throughout with action and witty dialogue.
I also must say, I think Clare's writing has improved since the first book. Some of my issues with the first book were that the plot seemed to jump around a lot and half the time it didn't seem to have a direction. She has much better control of the plot in book 2 and her descriptions have also gotten better in the fact that she has quit using overly flowery prose. I also know the brother/sister thing probably squicked many people but I think she handled it well and realistically and at least she wrote about it! She could have easily gone the safe route and ignored it completely, i.e. Jace and Clary suddenly just act buddy buddy and their feelings magically disapear until it's convenient. So kudos for her for having the nerve to explore it even though it probably made a lot of her readers uncomfortable.
So maybe this book isn't a literary masterpiece, but it is highly entertaining and keeps you addicted throughout. I personally cannot wait to read the third book and am looking forward to Clockwork Angel.
WHO SHOULD READ: Twilight fans, Buffy fans (it's very similar to Buffys tone), fantasy/action fans, if you just like an entertaining fantasy yarn
MY RATING: four out of five shadowhunters

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