(Cover picture courtesy of Once Upon a Reader’s Blog.)

To save her mother’s life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters—never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death.  To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family’s past, she finds an ally in the mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian.  With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies.  But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together?  While Jace realizes exactly how much he’s willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City—whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the New York Times bestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.

In City of Glass, I have found something incredibly rare: a good ending to a series.  I’m completely serious here; there are very few ends to series that leave me feeling satisfied.   But City of Glass is definitely one of these books.

It’s exciting, with consistent pacing and much more character development than in the first two novels in the trilogy.  Cassandra Clare’s writing has noticeably improved and she is in her element as she ratchets up the tension near the end while resolving little subplots along the way.  What separates her from other YA authors is that she can throw truly unexpected twists at readers, yet have them make sense in the context of the story.

Unlike in the last two books, Clary is given much more depth.  She finally takes control of her life rather than just helplessly pining after Jace throughout the novel.  As she harnesses her special drawing talent with Runes, she also becomes powerful and independent.  When Jace pushes her away, she finally has enough of loving someone she cannot have and begins to take an interest in Sebastian, a mysterious and handsome young Shadowhunter around her age.  Yet not everything is as it seems, which makes this a great book.

I give this book 4/5 stars.