Review of City of Ashes

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments # 2
Official Website
Description: Clary Fray just wishes her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires and faeries? Clary would love to spend more time with her best friend, Simon. Nut the Shadowhunters won't let her go-especially her handsome, infuriating newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil- and also her father. When the second of the Mortal Instruments is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor suspects Jace. Could Jace really be willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

Includes Spoilers from City of Bones

City of Ashes starts right off with Valentine, the evil, power-hungry Shadowhunter, performing some kind of ritual with a boy named Elias. Personally, whenever I real Prologues, I just get more confused. And so, while reading the prologue, it just shrugged off everything that happened. It actually makes a teeny more sense when something happens in the book. Nothing dramatic like, you needed to read the prologue to understand everything! Okay, I'll tell you. So, Valentine makes this warlock, Elias conjure up this demon, Agramon, who is a fear-detecting demon. And then he uses it later in the book. See, no spoiler.

In COA, Clary is now with Simon, who makes a huge transformation this book (wink, wink). Jace is still arrogant, gorgeous Jace, but he's torn throughout the book between joining his father, and staying with his real family, the Lightwoods. Isabelle is still ass kicking, and I will just say, the greatest quote of this book was her calling Valentine a 'dickhead'. I'm sorry but it was so Isabelle. I just love her. My love for her and her whip grew in this book. Alec was adorable in this book, always hinting at a romance with Magnus Bane. Magnus was a great part in this book, acting like a protective Uncle to the kids and Luke, always healing them. He didn't act like an uncle to Alec, but you get my memo.

 Clary, I felt, matured a lot more from last book. Now, most of her friends get injured in a ferocious battle, and her mother is in a coma, so she had to man-up. I also think she matured with the romantic aspect of the book, the triangle between Simon and Jace. She really starting weighing her options in this book; with Simon, Clary can have stability, maybe get out of the Shadowhunter business, but with Jace, life would be exciting, fighting demons side-by-side. But then again, he's her brother.

The story-line of the book was really great. (I gotta find synonyms for great, awesome, wow, so) Valentine steals the second Mortal Instrument, a Soul Sword, which gives the user the power to summon and control demons. The thing is, he needs blood of all three Downworlder children : faerie, vampire and werewolf. We're introduced to a young, tough werewolf girl, Maia, who I thought would be a love interest for Simon. But I guess not. I thought that'd be cute. So everyone is fixed on blaming Jace for everything his father did. They throw him in jail, keep him locked up, but sooner or later, his father has an ultimatum for Jace: join him, and become powerful and out of the way for the war, or join the Lightwoods, and definitely die. 

Honestly, I started reading COA faster because City of Fallen Angels came out, and everyone was excited for that, and I still didn't read City of Glass. And someone posted a quote from COG, and let's just say it was a huge spoiler for me. Relating to Jace and Clary business.

Overall, City of Ashes was a wonderful (got. to find. synonyms.) addition to the Mortal Instruments series, packed with a huge fighting scene, romantic tension, sibling love, and family. 

"A mundane might have thought that the white scars that snowflaked Jace's skin, remnants of old runes, made him less than perfect, but Alec didn't. They all had those scars; they were badges of honor, not flaw."

- City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare