Review: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

City of Lost Souls

Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments, Book Five
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 544 pages
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries
 

Synopsis: 
 
Clary and Simon have succeeded in destroying Lilith and Jace is free. But when the rest of the Shadowhunters arrive, Jace is nowhere to be found and neither is Sebastian. No one can find either of their locations and the Clave is about ready to completely give up the search and proclaim Jace dead. But he can’t stay away from Clary and when he returns for her she realizes the horrible truth about Jace and her brother Sebastian. The Clave only has one goal in mind: to destroy Sebastian, even if that means killing Jace too.

The only people that still believe Jace can be saved are Alec, Magnus, Simon, Isabelle, and Clary. They must work together to find a way to save him. From dealing the Seelie Queen, bargaining with demons, and even turning to the weapon-forging Iron Sisters, they try everything. But if even the Iron Sisters can’t help, the only hope left is to challenge Heaven and Hell. But not only would that mean breaking the Law, it could also mean being killed by the creatures of Heaven and Hell themselves.

Clary has gone with Jace to try and help bring him back from the dark, but can she separate this new Jace from the Jace she fell in love with? Clary will do anything for Jace, but she begins to wonder if he needs to be saved or if he is truly lost forever. The price to regain his soul may be too high to pay, even for love.

My Review: 
 
So I fully believed that this was the last book in the Mortal Instruments series. I was wrong and now I am super depressed because the last book doesn’t come out until March, 2014.  I can’t wait that long Cassandra Clare!!! Write faster! Once again, I stayed up way too late last night finishing this book. I actually had a dream about Shadowhunters and faeries last night, that’s how engrossed I am in this world. I keep expecting the next book in the series to be a disappointment or to not be as good or as exciting as its predecessors, but each time, I have not been disappointed. City of Lost Souls was no exception. Once again, Clare has blown me away. I would like to know how she came up with this story. I mean, it is so intricate and fascinating. She is a creative genius. If I had only half of her talent, I could be a New York Times bestselling author too.

This book begins right after Lilith is defeated. Everybody is reuniting with their family and loved ones while Jace is up on the roof guarding Sebastian’s body. When the Shadowhunters go up to relieve him, they discover broken glass and smeared bloodstains, but no Jace and no Sebastian. Clary and Jace just cannot catch a break in their relationship, can they? Every time things finally seem to be going their way, some other unseen force separates them and messes things up. So frustrating!! The Clave has tried every kind of magic they know of to track them and Magnus has been working night and day to try and find them, but to no avail. They have simply vanished from the face of the Earth. Just when everybody is about to give up hope, Jace comes back for Clary who of course, can’t resist him, even though she knows how dangerous it is to go with him. Basically the whole book centers on unweaving Sebastian’s true plans and trying to discover a way to sever the bond between Jace and Sebastian. Kill one and you kill the other. Jace has the worst luck.  

We meet one new character in this book that seems like she is going to play a large role in the final installment, Maureen. She was a love-struck fan of Simon’s and then, by a bad stroke of luck, is turned into a vampire. She doesn’t seem to be an ordinary vampire though. Despite her youthfulness and small size, I believe that she will be a force to be reckoned with. Her character is very mysterious and we don’t learn very much about her in this book, only snippets we hear throughout the story.

We also learn a lot more about Sebastian in this book. The way that Clare tells his story, I actually began to sympathize with him. I think he is lonely and wants to be normal, but the demon blood that runs through his veins prevents him from ever truly caring about anyone. Every time I started to feel really bad for him though, he did something awful and I immediately resumed hating him.

Like all the other books, this one is a whirlwind of events that will make your heart stop and tears fall from your eyes. It is intense, emotional, and adrenaline packed. Clare’s writing is descriptive and beautiful. We get to travel all over the world with Clary and Jace. I felt like I was in the canals of Venice and walking the streets of Paris right alongside the characters. These books are absolutely incredible, my new favorite series. I have no clue how I am going to make it until March for the final book City of Heavenly Fire, slated to be released March 1, 2014. In the meantime, I will dive into the prequel series The Infernal Devices starting with Clockwork Angel which is waiting for me at the library right now. Happy reading all! 

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