Reviews tagging 'Blood'

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

52 reviews

e_freckles's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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t_swizzle's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Warning there is a lot of incest in this book
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mollydollydoodah's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This book was much more captivating than the first one. I really enjoyed it, and I read the entire thing in one sitting. It was very interesting and a lot frustrating when it came to the romance side of things, and I really hope that figures itself out soon because I’m dying over here. It was thrilling and adventurous and at times very much gave me second-hand embarrassment, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and couldn’t put it down. It’s one am rn as I’m writing this, but I’ll be glad to start the next novel as soon as I wake up tomorrow. 
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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Updated rating: 4.5/5 stars.

The Mortal Instruments has always been one of my favorite series, but until this reread I would have said City of Ashes was among my least favorite of the individual books. But this reread reminded me how many incredible moments this book holds—moments of friendship, sacrifice, bravery, and love—not to mention how much happens in terms of character and plot development for the larger series. So now, I truly think this one might be among my series favorites. I'm so glad I read it again.

Original review (3 stars, 2013): Alright, so first and foremost I want to say that I refuse to write reviews with spoilers, so, in the interest of not spoiling either this OR City of Bones, this review will likely be very vague. But here goes:

Characters: Still freaking amazing. Slightly evolved, but in good ways.

World: Still freaking amazing. Still under-explained in parts, but so intriguing and exciting and awesome.

Plot: Still MERGH. But better than the first book, in many ways. More issues and twists and side plots to deal with, and I was kept guessing until the very end, which was nice. I didn't like how a few things ended up, but I know it's being set up for the rest of the series, so I can forgive most of it.

The structure of the book was a little jarring in places too, because I'm not a HUGE fan of switching POVs, especially during action-packed sequences, because as soon as I get excited and on the edge of my seat about one situation, I'm switched to another section of the book. That said, I felt like each POV was needed exactly how it was written, and once I adjusted to the switches I didn't mind them: they gave depth to some previously under-explored characters, and added insight to the main characters as well. The ending was an exciting but abrupt cliffhanger, so I know one thing for sure: I cannot wait to get started on City of Glass.
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readwithria's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm pleasantly surprised at how well these books have held up, both to time in general and to me being older than the target age range. I really enjoyed the pace, the action, the characters, and the continued worldbuilding. The addition of new Downworlder characters added more depth to an already exciting world.

My one complaint, which made me consider dropping my rating from a 4 to a 3, was the relationship dynamic between Clary and Jace.
Okay, so at the end of the last book, we are told that these two love interests are siblings. We have no reason to believe that this isn't true. Before this information was revealed, they were love interests. Now in book two, they are still pining for each other even though THEY FULLY BELIEVE THEY'RE SIBLINGS. Neither of them is under the impression that Valentine lied to them, they're both fully on the same page about being siblings, but they also both have the hots for each other. SPOILER FOR BOOK THREE:
of course, anyone who has completed the third book knows that they aren't actually related at all, but another love interest of Clary's is actually related to her.
Why all the almost-incest, Cassie? Why?
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rencraft7's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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sofiija's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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wendy_05's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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ladiicatherine's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

We continue the story of the Shadowhunters as Valentine, already in possession of the Mortal Cup, steals a sword from the Silent Brothers (the name of the sword escapes me, I’m sorry).  Valentine wants to change the sword’s allegiance (good to evil) to summon a demon army to bring down the Clave.

There is a lot to unpack with this continuation!  Always something new in each chapter. 

Love Simon and Magnus.

Not a fan of Clary or Jace so far.

Not as good as the first book, but entertaining in its own right.
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mir_frog73's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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