I know I lamented in a recent post that I was waaaayy down on the waiting list for this book at the library, but I put myself on the list in the other library system to which I have access and quickly found myself on the top of the list. I finished the book moments ago and rushed to the computer to write this review, which sadly is not going to be as positive as for Clare's other books in the Mortal Instruments series.
It just felt like she was trying too hard. The series had ended as a trilogy and for whatever reasons, that are obviously unknown to me, Clare went ahead and wrote a 4th book for the trilogy. (Yep, I said tri-logy.) She has also embarked upon another series: Infernal Devices, which has some overlapping characters with Mortal Devices.
MINI SPOILER ALERT: In City of Fallen Angels everyone is back from Idris and the battle with Valentine and his son Sebastian (Jonathan). Now that Clary and Jace can be together you would think the angst levels would be down, but not so....always a big fat wrench in the cogs of love. Vampire Simon and some of his werewolf buddies take center stage in this tale. While the adults have always been bit players in the stories, they move even farther into the background here. The two things I think bothered me the most are the contrived plot and excessive teen angst. Is it not enough to be a teen vampire, werewolf, Shadowhunter etc. without also being riddled by guilt, self-doubt, general mopeiness? While I realize this may be an attempt to make the characters more accessible to teens, I for one like to read fantasy because the characters are unlike me.
The book ends with a clear lead in for another in the series. It should be a few months before it is available since the second in the Infernal Devices series is due out in December. I will give the 5th book in the trilogy a try before I give up, but I have high hopes for more like the first 3: less angst, more action and adventure.