City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

The Mortal War is over, and Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her.  She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power.  Her mother is getting married to the love of her life.  Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at least.  And—most important of all—Clary can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war.  Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her.  His mother has just found out that he’s a vampire and now he’s homeless.  Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse that’s wrecking his life.  And they’re willing to do anything to get what they want.  At the same time he’s dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other.

When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves.  Even Jace.

Love.  Blood.  Betrayal.  Revenge.  The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

With all of the little unanswered questions at the end of City of Glass, I couldn’t help but be eager for the fourth book.  So now that I’ve returned to The Mortal Instruments series, I can finally review it.

In City of Fallen Angels we see a lot of different characters’ points of view, which I actually like.  Clary has taken a bit of a backseat to Simon, who is coping with being a Daylighter and bearing the cursed mark of Cain.  Did I mention the idiot is dating two girls at once since he doesn’t know how to say no?  Come on, things like that hardly end well and the love triangle feels a bit forced.  Other than that, Cassandra Clare’s characterization is decent, but nothing truly exceptional.

The plot is well paced and there are some unexpected twists.  We also meet some of the characters from Clockwork Angel, which I would recommend you read first.  It’s not necessary, but it helps you understand the vampire Camille and Magnus’ past, especially when Camille and Magnus allude to their past together.  One of the best things about City of Fallen Angels is that we finally get to learn more about demons and their origins as well as about the history of the Shadowhunters.  And with the cliffhanger at the end, I’m anxious to read the fifth book, City of Lost Souls.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

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Guest Posting: Part 2

Since I’m posting over at We Heart Reading today, I figured why not post over at Steam Trains and Ghosts as well?  Margaret, the blog’s owner, asked me if I could write my thoughts on steampunk.  Is steampunk a serious genre?  Is it here to stay?  Find out by clicking here!

Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari

Today is Wednesday which means I’m posting over at We Heart Reading, which has recently been re-vamped with a new author, a new look and new motivation.  So go on over to see me completely trash a rather popular book: Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari.

Wilde’s Army by Krystal Wade

(Cover picture courtesy of Krystal Wade’s blog.)

“Hello, Katriona.”

Those two words spark fear in Katriona Wilde and give way to an unlikely partnership with Perth, the man she’s been traded to marry for a favor. Saving her true love and protector Arland, her family, and their soldiers keeps her motivated, but the at-odds duo soon realizes trust is something that comes and goes with each breath of Encardia’s rotting, stagnant air. The moment when concern for her missing sister spirals out of control, all thoughts of trust are pushed aside and she finds herself trapped by the daemon tricks Perth warned her of.

However, rescuing those she loves is only half the problem.

Kate still must get to Willow Falls, unite her clashing people, and form an army prepared to fight in order to defeat Darkness. When so many she’s grown fond of die along the journey, her ability to play by the gods’ rules is tested.

How will she make allies when the world appears stacked against her? And will she still be Katriona Wilde, the girl with fire?

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

I don’t think I’ve been this excited for the next book in a series since I finished Feed.  And I don’t think I’ve ever been so anxious to get an advanced ebook off NetGalley either.  So with that said, even though Wilde’s Army will only be released tomorrow on the mass market, I can’t wait for the next book in the trilogy, Wilde’s Meadow.  Moving on…

Wilde’s Army is the amazing follow up to Wilde’s Fire.  The romantic tension between Arland and Katriona (Kate) is still there and it adds another dimension to both characters.  Better yet, the relationship feels real, unlike a lot of horribly forced relationships in YA literature.  But Kate’s relationship with Arland is certainly put to the test in this book when she is forced to pretend she loves Perth in order to buy time to gather the army Griandor said she would need.  Add to this the fact that her mother and her sister Brit are now in Encardia, increasing the pressure on Kate even more.

Krystal Wade’s fantastic world-building and masterful plotting are both excellent reasons to pick up her debut series, but the thing that speaks to me the most is her characters.  Kate is memorable because she is very strong when she needs to be, but is also very vulnerable and struggles with the fact that a god (Griandor) has basically told her she will be the one to save or doom Encardia.  Her love for Arland is also very real and never really takes a back seat to anything; in fact it’s probably more prominent in this book than in the first.  One of my favourite characters, other than Kate, was Perth, the Ground Dweller Kate was promised to.  In the first book he doesn’t play a very large role, but in Wilde’s Army he really acquires a nice amount of depth and isn’t all that he seems.

The world-building is even better than ever as we learn about new types of daemons, new peoples and the regional differences in culture and magic use, even among humans.  As for the plot, it was riveting.  Krystal Wade maintains an incredible speed throughout the novel, enough to keep me up reading much later than I should have been.  And she leaves us with one heck of a cliffhanger, so I’m very anxious to see how she ends her trilogy.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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A Quick Poll to Improve Your Reading Experience

Mid-month I have a surprise coming down the pipeline that you’re going to love, but first I want to know what you guys, my readers, would like to see more of.  After all, you’re the reason this blog exists, let alone why I keep it well-maintained.  So, what would you like to see more of here on The Mad Reviewer?  I would really appreciate your input.