City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Ashes
Author: Cassandra Clare
Info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Release Date: March 25th, 2008
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 453
Format: NookBook
Acquired: Bought
Interest: Series
Others in the Series: City of Bones
Age Group: Young Adult
Rating: 5 Stars

Clary Fray just wishes that 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? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to 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. To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

And so the adventure continues! I am just so happy I started this series because Cassandra Clare is possibly one of the best writers I know who frustrates me and can make me laugh and can make me cry all at once.

The stuff with Simon, so not expecting it. And this whole thing between Jace and Clary, like I said before, I don't believe it. They cannot be brother and sister, because unless Cassandra is investing in a new style of writing with incest, I don't believe it for a second. For me, it feels like Valentine is playing some cruel joke on his daughter.

So now someone thinks that Jace is on the wrong team - Valentine's side - and she is about to make Jace's life a living hell. And then there are the dead bodies that keep showing up and things keep heating up as a pending war will most likely break out.

The imagery, I have to say, is Cassandra Clare's best friend, because she is so vivid with her description and can literally draw me into the story and make me feel like I'm a part of it. I love the way she throws in the character's feelings and makes them believable to the reader, and brings out the emotions clearly.

The plot really begins to develop as the characters story line begins to get complex and more is revealed about their past. I like that the author knows how to draw this out and makes the reader hungry for more.

I literally devoured the pages as I was reading, trying to take it all in, especially during the climax scene where everything breaks out on the ship. It was like I could not read fast enough when it came to this book, and I was hating characters and loving them, and confused by them, and mad at them all at once.

And it's no lie that I nearly cried at the end because Jace is a moron and unless things change in the second book I will not like him again.

Twist and turns, with seductive dark secrets that lie in every corner. This story will give people goosebumps.