The
second book of Cassandra Clare’s The
Mortal Instruments series, City of Ashes, picks up roughly
where City of Bones left off. Clary
attempts to get her life back to normal by ignoring the supernatural world she
now knows exists, and avoiding the Shadowhunters, most especially Jace. Following the destruction of her home, Clary
now lives with Luke while her mother is still comatose in the hospital.
Alec
and Isabelle’s parents have returned and are once again in charge of The
Institute. Jace’s life is suddenly in
turmoil as he not only has to deal with his feelings for Clary and the fact
that she is his sister (see spoiler at the end of this post if you are so
inclined), but he also finds himself homeless when Maryse Lockwood kicks him
out of The Institute for the very same reason he now finds himself being
investigated by The Clave: Nobody believes that he had no knowledge that
Valentine is his father. Should Jace be
found guilty by the Inquisitor, who seems particularly hostile towards him, he
stands to be stripped of his marks and sentenced to life as a mundane.
With
downworlder-children turning up dead and drained of their blood, and a sudden
increase of demon activity, Clary and Jace must put their confusing feelings
for each other aside and work together to not only discover why downworlder
children are being killed, but also prove Valentine’s involvement and Jace’s
innocence.
The
story transitions rather seamlessly from the conclusion of City of Bones to the events of City
of Ashes. The only interesting and
sudden jump that took me by surprise is the fact that Clary and Simon are now a
couple. It was strange finding them making
out in the beginning of the book, especially knowing Clary’s feelings towards
Jace. I was quite frustrated with
Clary’s behaviour towards Jace in this book (actually I was quite frustrated
with Clary in general. Ignoring the
world doesn’t mean you’re not a Shadowhunter.
Quit acting like a mundane!). Jace
is as much a victim of circumstances as she is (if not more so), and I feel he
handles this very unfortunate turn of events much better than Clary does. He never once treats her badly, even when he’s
angry with her. Clary on the other hand
does nothing but hurt Jace all throughout the book. If she’s not ignoring him, she’s yelling at
him and rubbing her relationship with Simon in his face. The chemistry between Clary and Jace is
really well done, and all the angst surrounding their situation is eloquently
handled. As for Simon, I found him to be
even more annoying than he was in City of
Bones. To my mind he forces his
company and his feelings on Clary, taking advantage of her fragile state of
mind. (*Spoiler alert – Simon almost
dies twice, and each time I was disappointed to learn he is still alive. He annoys me that much). By the end of City of Bones Isabelle had just started growing on me, and she’s
sadly very much a non-character in this book.
We see very little of Isabelle.
Alec is slightly more prominent, but I would have liked to see more of
all of the four of them together – Clary, Jace, Isabelle and Alec have a group
dynamic that just works and it was rather frustrating that we didn’t really get
to see it this time around.
As for
the plot, for a whole lot of pages not a whole lot happens. Valentine has stolen another Mortal Instrument and needs the blood of downworlder-children
(sixteen years old or younger) in order to complete a ritual that would make the
Instrument switch its allegiance from The Clave to Valentine. Valentine, who is supposed to be this super villain
who has an army of demons at his beck and call, has trouble finding three
children. I found it quite unrealistic
and I have trouble taking him seriously as a threat if he can’t even find three
children. The Inquisitor makes for a better villain than Valentine! Having said that, he is very charming and
cunning, which at least makes him interesting.
While
this second book in the series is not as exciting or captivating as the first, I
still enjoyed the story and look forward to continuing the journey.
Product information:
Title:
City of Ashes
Series:
The Immortal Instruments (Book 2)
Author:
Cassandra Clare
Publisher:
Walker Books Ltd
Year: 2009
Pages:
476
ISBN-10: 1416972242
ISBN-13: 978-1416972242
ASIN: B003Z0BWR2
Related Posts:
If you
wish to know the nature of Clary and Jace’s relationship, here it is:
They are
not related. Clary and Jace are not
brother and sister. I’m not sure how it
all fits together, but I Googled it to find out because I just cannot read a book
with a romantic plot device about a brother and sister who love each other
inappropriately. I had to know for sure
that they are not brother and sister before I continued this journey with
them. I understand the truth comes out in the next book, City of Glass.
