bookthief's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I felt really bad for Jace throughout this book because he had the right intentions the whole way through he just didn’t know how to express them. Especially with the Inquisitor. I thought he was quite blunt and could have tried harder to prove he was innocent. I thought it was really cool how he could jump really high and fall from high places and land perfectly.
When they went to the Seelie Court I thought it was really cool for them to be in a different environment and I loved how visual it was and cool the entrance was. I did think it was a bit strange and weird how the Queen made Jace and Clary kiss but I guess they aren’t actually siblings so it’s okay.
I was shocked when Simon was actually a vampire!! Like I thought it was completely unexpected but quite cool to find out how people became vampires. Also it was shocking at the end how he can be in sunlight which is really strange but I’m sure there is some sort of reasoning behind it that will be explained later.
Clary’s ability to create new runes is super cool! And she was extremely powerful and talented when she managed to destroy Valentines boat with a single rune. I loved her and Luke’s relationship!
The epilogue was really interesting with Madeline. I thought her character may return again after Clary and seen her at the Silent City. I am really curious to what the spell was!
And finally Magnus is such a great character I wish we could see more of him and his relationship with Alec!
Overall, this book is more intense and intriguing than the first book. I can’t wait to read the next one !
Graphic: Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Confinement, Death, War, Blood, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Death of parent, and Grief
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Ignoring the incest issue, this book was really boring for about 60% of the way through and then after that point the action started to pick up. When the action picked up I just remember thinking "why should I care about these characters?" Most of the characters, like Alec and Isabell, are one dimensional characters and I have no interest in them.
Isn't Magnus a 1,000 year old Warlock? Why is he dating a 17 year old Alec? Why is he interested in dating a teen, he's old as hell. He's way too old to be dating Alec, that's worst than some Bella and Edward, Twilight shit.
I might continue this series because I recently found 20 Clare books at a thrift store and this series was among the books I found.
Spoiler
I want to see what happens when Jocelynn wakes up and I want to know what it means now that Simon can go into the light despite being a Vampire, after he drank Jace's blood.This book was a miss for me.
I'm giving it 2.5 (rounded up to 3) stars out of 5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Body horror, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Narrated by Natalie Moore
Unabridged
Despite going pretty much straight into the sequel, the inital scene threw me off and had me discombobulated on how much time had passed
Spoiler
(especially with how Jace was acting and the relationship developing with Simon and Clary)Simon has been through shit - to me, he is the star of the show and I want everything good for him. Honestly, I just want to protect him with everything I have. I hope the situations he's been through doesn't fester over this endless time and create a villan out of him.
The angst was real in this installment. Particularly with the trio of Clary, Jace and Simon and now Mia? I feel really weird about certain dynamics continue to unfold and I really hope the direction of romance changes cause... eww.
Spoiler
I'm really hoping that it turns out Jace and Clary aren't siblings because that forced kiss in the fae court wasn't really forced and that made me feel icky... and also, poor Simon, my heart hurts for him!!I still really enjoyed City of Ashes and found it incredibly high action, great entertainment and fast paced, but I definitely would say I preferred City of Bones just that little bit more.
Looking forward to seeing how I feel about book 3.
Graphic: Incest, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
breedawnwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
The tension between Jace and Clary in this book was entirely unhinged, and I loved every single freaking moment of it.
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Incest, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, and Child death
Minor: Cannibalism
chrstnlvly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Mundane humans create distinctions between themselves, distinctions that seem ridiculous to any Shadowhunter. Their distinctions are based on race, religion, national identity, any of a dozen minor and irrelevant markers. To mundanes these seem logical, for though mundanes cannot see, understand, or acknowledge the demon worlds, still somewhere buried in their ancient memories, they know that there are those that walk this earth that are other. That do not belong, that mean only harm and destruction. Since the demon threat is invisible to mundanes, they must assign the threat to others of their own kind. They place the face of their enemy onto the face of their neighbor, and thus are generations of misery assured.
Spoiler
Although Simon turned into a vampire, we saw Robert and Maryse, and there was a battle between the Shadowhunters and Valentine, the plot felt lacking.Spoiler
And yes, the incest thing bothered me more in this book because of Clary.Graphic: Emotional abuse, Incest, Murder, Torture, Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping and Child death
Minor: Animal death
onyxem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
to begin, i really enjoyed the plot developments that occurred in City of Ashes. my critique of the last book was that some explanations were droning on too long, and i was happy to see that there was none of that for me in this one! everything was well paced, especially at the beginning of the book. there was a point at about the 75% mark where it got a bit slow, but other than that it picked up pace for an action-packed ending.
my favorite part of City of Ashes was the Queen of the Seelie Court. oh my gosh, i haven’t in YEARS ducked my face into a book giggling like a child over a character. i absolutely loved everything about the descriptions of the Seelie Court and that’s honestly the highlight of the book for me.
overall, without making this way too many paragraphs, i think i enjoyed this a bit more than the first one! overall, 4.25 stars! :))
(p.s. Jace is my son)
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting and Murder
audragio's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Minor: Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Vomit, Incest, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death, Cursing, and Blood
thatbookbitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Kidnapping, Violence, and War
Moderate: Child death and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Torture, and Genocide
psliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Murder, War, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Misogyny, Incest, Homophobia, Hate crime, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Child death, Death, and Bullying
Minor: Child abuse, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Blood
rachwalker's review against another edition
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Incest