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A review by novelheartbeat
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
4.0
From my blog Auntie Spinelli Reads
This review is a lot harder to write than the previous three. I will always love the world of the Shadowhunters, but in a way, I felt like this series would have been perfect if it could have just been left as a trilogy. Don't get me wrong, I still thoroughly enjoyed CoFA. Although, I think I enjoyed it more the first time I read it. The second time through, it was much more obvious that there wasn't much of a plot going on. There was a lot more focus on teen angst and relationship drama than danger and action.
This is the one where Jace really starts to piss me off. If you read my review for City of Glass, you know that I wasn't too thrilled with him already, but he got even worse. Once you know what his problem is, it's easier to understand, but that still doesn't excuse his asshat tendencies. He acted so bipolar that I felt sorry for poor Clary. One minute he was kissing her like there's no tomorrow, the next he was running away from her - literally. Sigh. Make up your mind, will you?!
Even Simon ticked me off a bit because he acted like a player. What's wrong with you, Simon?! You were supposed to be the sweet gentleman!! Jerk. Being around Jace has rubbed off on you. And no, Jace, that's not a compliment.
I think there should have been a lot more focus on the murdered Clave members. It was kinda swept under the rug in the face of Clary and Jace's problems. It never really went into detail about it, and made it seem like it wasn't really that big of a deal. That should have been a much broader issue than it turned out to be.
The best part of this one was by far the ending. While the story was well written, there wasn't much happening. The end is where it all came together and you got to see the dark and evil plan. I thought throwing Lillith into the mix made for much more excitement! If there had been more building up to that part, it would have made for a much more gripping read.
And talk about a cliffhanger! Again, I already knew it was going to happen, so I felt a little loss of emotion there...but I remember the first time through staring with open mouth shock, mentally screaming, "NO, Jace!! Noooooooo!!!" The whole Mark thing and the protection ritual for new Shadowhunters was pretty awesome. Would have loved to see more of that!
ASSESSMENT
Plot: 3/5
Writing style: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World-building: 5/5
Pace: 4/5
Cover: 4.5/5
Read in 2011, June 2012
This review is a lot harder to write than the previous three. I will always love the world of the Shadowhunters, but in a way, I felt like this series would have been perfect if it could have just been left as a trilogy. Don't get me wrong, I still thoroughly enjoyed CoFA. Although, I think I enjoyed it more the first time I read it. The second time through, it was much more obvious that there wasn't much of a plot going on. There was a lot more focus on teen angst and relationship drama than danger and action.
This is the one where Jace really starts to piss me off. If you read my review for City of Glass, you know that I wasn't too thrilled with him already, but he got even worse. Once you know what his problem is, it's easier to understand, but that still doesn't excuse his asshat tendencies. He acted so bipolar that I felt sorry for poor Clary. One minute he was kissing her like there's no tomorrow, the next he was running away from her - literally. Sigh. Make up your mind, will you?!
Even Simon ticked me off a bit because he acted like a player. What's wrong with you, Simon?! You were supposed to be the sweet gentleman!! Jerk. Being around Jace has rubbed off on you. And no, Jace, that's not a compliment.
I think there should have been a lot more focus on the murdered Clave members. It was kinda swept under the rug in the face of Clary and Jace's problems. It never really went into detail about it, and made it seem like it wasn't really that big of a deal. That should have been a much broader issue than it turned out to be.
The best part of this one was by far the ending. While the story was well written, there wasn't much happening. The end is where it all came together and you got to see the dark and evil plan. I thought throwing Lillith into the mix made for much more excitement! If there had been more building up to that part, it would have made for a much more gripping read.
And talk about a cliffhanger! Again, I already knew it was going to happen, so I felt a little loss of emotion there...but I remember the first time through staring with open mouth shock, mentally screaming, "NO, Jace!! Noooooooo!!!" The whole Mark thing and the protection ritual for new Shadowhunters was pretty awesome. Would have loved to see more of that!
ASSESSMENT
Plot: 3/5
Writing style: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World-building: 5/5
Pace: 4/5
Cover: 4.5/5
Read in 2011, June 2012