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kelseyf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
breezy610's review against another edition
5.0
I love this series. I was glad when i found out that Jace and Clary were not slibings. I really can't wait to see where is she is taking this after this book. I wonder what is going to happen to simon and all of the others.
breezy610's review
5.0
pretty good. but i think the other verson works out really well.
Merged review:
totally awesome! I love reading things in Jace's POV and them getting all hot and heavy just makes my blood tingly.
Merged review:
I really think that this version should been in the book but i understand why shorten it down.
Merged review:
A very romantic letter that Jace wrote to Clary as she was sleeping in City of Glass.
Merged review:
totally awesome! I love reading things in Jace's POV and them getting all hot and heavy just makes my blood tingly.
Merged review:
I really think that this version should been in the book but i understand why shorten it down.
Merged review:
A very romantic letter that Jace wrote to Clary as she was sleeping in City of Glass.
becxupnorth's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Took too long to get to the inevitable plot twist but I still liked it.
alexsprice's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
blurrypetals's review
5.0
June 24, 2019
[re-read for Shadowhunter Summer 2019]
All my Shadowhunter Summer 2019 reviews may contain untagged spoilers for all the books in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. If you wish to read a non-spoiler review for this book, you may scroll to the review I wrote on September 21, 2017.
All right, so we've come to the weirdness that is City of Glass! This book was not this weird when I first read it, because I, like many others upon reading this book, believed this to not only be the end of a trilogy, but also to Cassandra Clare writing about Shadowhunters. Luckily, that was very, very wrong, as Clare has gone on to write her best work in the spinoffs and sequels that came from continuing this saga, these Chronicles, but because of that, City of Glass ends up feeling like an incredibly awkward little duck upon revision.
I mentioned my feelings in this regard when I reread the series in 2017, but it truly is strange that this book went from "oh shit this is one epic finale," to "oh I guess it's just a bridge book now.". Much of the things that feel like closure, happy ellipses, and happily ever afters are all just beginnings of something new, something much bigger, something Clare herself had barely begin to conceive of at the time. It's weird, but it's also pretty delightful when you think about it.
As I said, we luckily got so much more than this, but I can scarcely think of much of anything that's better than being told something's over, it's time to pack it up and go home and look on this with fondness going forth as a badass little trilogy when SURPRISE BITCHES you are getting three more books and a prequel spinoff trilogy and then DOUBLE SURPRISE that isn't even everything you have to look forward to for the foreseeable future of your life with this series.
So, the fact that this book got me to believe there was no more when, in actuality, there was so much more in store, honestly makes me love it. It provides a lot of exciting action and adventure and is a perfect ending to the Mortal War with Valentine, clearing the way for the true big bad that is Sebastian Morgenstern as well as Jace's and Clary's future inner demons.
In all retrospects, City of Glass is a really weird bridge book, an awkward middle child, but it's our awkward middle child and I wouldn't trade it for anything else.
September 21, 2017:
[re-read for my Greatest Hits Bookshelf Tour 2017]
I feel like I'm regurgitating words I've already said either now, upon my re-read here in 2017, or from 7 years ago, when I first read these books, but if I repeat myself, then I'm repeating myself for a reason: these books are enrapturing, captivating, fun, well-written, exciting, and just plain fucking awesome. That statement was true for 16 year old Sara just as much as it is for 23 year old Sara.
Now, I've read all of this series before, but when I first read City of Glass, I thought it was the final in a trilogy, just like everyone else did back upon its release. That said, I experienced this book very differently this time around than I did 7 years ago because I viewed it much more as a bridge book and not as much as a finale. Because of that, my opinion of the book has changed to a BIT of a less positive one, but only by a very small fraction.
In my City of Ashes review, I talked a lot about how it was masterful at setup and the same is true of this book for the things from its predecessor it pays off like a work of genius. The Inquisitor's sacrifice, Valentine's little hints, everything was teed up for this book to hit a home run and hit it, it did.
I think City of Bones is now my favorite of the first three The Mortal Instruments as we stand right now, but this book is still one of my all-time favorites. It's one of the best series I've ever read and I'm delighted to be traipsing through it all over again, experiencing it the same way (like my pink cheeks during This Guilty Blood) or in different ways (like the way I feel about the ending).
As I've said, I'm excited to continue going through this journey of rediscovering the things I love about these books and I'm excited to see how I feel about the second half of The Mortal Instruments. Wish me luck ;)
September 5, 2010:
This is my review for all three books, since I read them all so damn fast. Somehow, I managed to read the whole trilogy in about twelve days. It's a damn wonder how I did that with school and everything, but, there you have it.
WELL
There's an expression that many readers use, "I couldn't put the damn thing down." I've said it a few times myself. While yeah, it's an expression, it's almost never true. I say almost, because these were the first books I ever took out to dinner with me, read in between classes, and (gross, I know) took into the bathroom with me. They were that good. It was a very immersive, fantastical world that I was completely and totally drawn into. Amazing descriptions, characters, and conflict.
In City of Bones, when we found out that Clary and Jace were brother and sister (puke) I was 100% unconvinced that they were related. I couldn't swallow it. And I held my guns to that until about a chapter before they revealed Jace to be someone else's son (un-puke). I was seriously having my doubts as to whether I was right or not. So I ended up being surprised in the end. XD
SO all in all, I loved all three books. They were amazingly gripping and made me ridiculously glad that I spend the fifty-odd dollars getting the three in hardcover before I even read the inside covers.
[re-read for Shadowhunter Summer 2019]
"There is no pretending," Jace said with absolute clarity. I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there's a life after that, I'll love you then."
All my Shadowhunter Summer 2019 reviews may contain untagged spoilers for all the books in The Shadowhunter Chronicles. If you wish to read a non-spoiler review for this book, you may scroll to the review I wrote on September 21, 2017.
All right, so we've come to the weirdness that is City of Glass! This book was not this weird when I first read it, because I, like many others upon reading this book, believed this to not only be the end of a trilogy, but also to Cassandra Clare writing about Shadowhunters. Luckily, that was very, very wrong, as Clare has gone on to write her best work in the spinoffs and sequels that came from continuing this saga, these Chronicles, but because of that, City of Glass ends up feeling like an incredibly awkward little duck upon revision.
I mentioned my feelings in this regard when I reread the series in 2017, but it truly is strange that this book went from "oh shit this is one epic finale," to "oh I guess it's just a bridge book now.". Much of the things that feel like closure, happy ellipses, and happily ever afters are all just beginnings of something new, something much bigger, something Clare herself had barely begin to conceive of at the time. It's weird, but it's also pretty delightful when you think about it.
As I said, we luckily got so much more than this, but I can scarcely think of much of anything that's better than being told something's over, it's time to pack it up and go home and look on this with fondness going forth as a badass little trilogy when SURPRISE BITCHES you are getting three more books and a prequel spinoff trilogy and then DOUBLE SURPRISE that isn't even everything you have to look forward to for the foreseeable future of your life with this series.
So, the fact that this book got me to believe there was no more when, in actuality, there was so much more in store, honestly makes me love it. It provides a lot of exciting action and adventure and is a perfect ending to the Mortal War with Valentine, clearing the way for the true big bad that is Sebastian Morgenstern as well as Jace's and Clary's future inner demons.
In all retrospects, City of Glass is a really weird bridge book, an awkward middle child, but it's our awkward middle child and I wouldn't trade it for anything else.
September 21, 2017:
[re-read for my Greatest Hits Bookshelf Tour 2017]
I feel like I'm regurgitating words I've already said either now, upon my re-read here in 2017, or from 7 years ago, when I first read these books, but if I repeat myself, then I'm repeating myself for a reason: these books are enrapturing, captivating, fun, well-written, exciting, and just plain fucking awesome. That statement was true for 16 year old Sara just as much as it is for 23 year old Sara.
Now, I've read all of this series before, but when I first read City of Glass, I thought it was the final in a trilogy, just like everyone else did back upon its release. That said, I experienced this book very differently this time around than I did 7 years ago because I viewed it much more as a bridge book and not as much as a finale. Because of that, my opinion of the book has changed to a BIT of a less positive one, but only by a very small fraction.
In my City of Ashes review, I talked a lot about how it was masterful at setup and the same is true of this book for the things from its predecessor it pays off like a work of genius. The Inquisitor's sacrifice, Valentine's little hints, everything was teed up for this book to hit a home run and hit it, it did.
I think City of Bones is now my favorite of the first three The Mortal Instruments as we stand right now, but this book is still one of my all-time favorites. It's one of the best series I've ever read and I'm delighted to be traipsing through it all over again, experiencing it the same way (like my pink cheeks during This Guilty Blood) or in different ways (like the way I feel about the ending).
As I've said, I'm excited to continue going through this journey of rediscovering the things I love about these books and I'm excited to see how I feel about the second half of The Mortal Instruments. Wish me luck ;)
September 5, 2010:
This is my review for all three books, since I read them all so damn fast. Somehow, I managed to read the whole trilogy in about twelve days. It's a damn wonder how I did that with school and everything, but, there you have it.
WELL
There's an expression that many readers use, "I couldn't put the damn thing down." I've said it a few times myself. While yeah, it's an expression, it's almost never true. I say almost, because these were the first books I ever took out to dinner with me, read in between classes, and (gross, I know) took into the bathroom with me. They were that good. It was a very immersive, fantastical world that I was completely and totally drawn into. Amazing descriptions, characters, and conflict.
In City of Bones, when we found out that Clary and Jace were brother and sister (puke) I was 100% unconvinced that they were related. I couldn't swallow it. And I held my guns to that until about a chapter before they revealed Jace to be someone else's son (un-puke). I was seriously having my doubts as to whether I was right or not. So I ended up being surprised in the end. XD
SO all in all, I loved all three books. They were amazingly gripping and made me ridiculously glad that I spend the fifty-odd dollars getting the three in hardcover before I even read the inside covers.
ilsederoo's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
fueldbymusic's review
4.0
Freaking finally!! I knew Jace couldn't actually be Clary's brother... No way in hell. They were still weird AF for being so flirty before they found out for sure though 😂. I couldn't help being grossed out. I was onto the truth and Sebastian being Jonathan when Clary and him kissed. Then when he started being aggressive towards her and after that they found out Jonathan had demon in him. I was like oooh I am right! Can't wait to see what is in store for the next book!
Synopsis:
City of Glass picks up one week after the end of City of Ashes, the previous installment in the series. Clary Fray prepares for her first visit to Idris, the Shadowhunter homeland, to search for a way to wake her mother from an enchanted sleep and defeat Valentine—her father and Shadowhunter-turned-villain who’s allied himself with a demon army. Valentine seeks the Mortal Glass, the third of the Mortal Instruments, to summon the angel Raziel and “purify” the Shadowhunter race, installing him as the new ruler of the Shadowhunters, able to kill anyone who doesn’t align with his standards. Jace, a Shadowhunter still grappling with his conflicted feelings about Valentine—whom he believes to be his father—joins Clary’s mission along with a growing group of young Shadowhunters who also question whether downworlders (beings that are part human and part demon such as werewolves or vampires) are actually friends and not enemies, as they’ve always been taught.
Fearful that the Clave—the Shadowhunters ruling body—will try to weaponize Clary’s latent Shadowhunter powers for their own purposes, Jace initially prevents Clary from going to Idris, which results in him accidentally bringing Simon (Clary’s vampire friend) into the country with him. After drinking Jace’s blood in City of Ashes, Simon has become a daylighter—a vampire able to walk in sunlight—and the Clave takes him prisoner, seeking information about his transformation, as well as a way to blame Jace’s family for Valentine’s return to power. Angry she was left behind, Clary portals to Alicante, the capital city of Idris, where she meets Sebastian, a Shadowhunter a few years older than her who seems vaguely familiar.
Clary learns her mom used a potion from an ancient spell book to put herself to sleep, and with Jace’s help, she infiltrates one of Valentine’s safe houses to find the spell book. They also find a bound and tortured angel, who shows them images of Valentine’s experiments with demon blood on his unborn son, Jonathan—the name Jace believes he was given at birth. Overwhelmed with shame, Jace is sure his demon blood is the reason he’s attracted to Clary even though she’s his sister, despite the fact that Clary, who has no demon blood, wants him too. Frustrated at a lack of answers, Jace and Clary return to Alicante, where demons ravage the city on Valentine’s orders.
Valentine gives the Shadowhunters a day and a half to make him their undisputed leader before he sends another wave of demons to attack. Clary and Jace free Simon from the Clave’s prison, where they also find Hodge Starkweather, Jace’s old mentor from the New York Shadowhunter Institute, who reveals that the Mortal Glass is not a mirror as they believed, but a lake. Sebastian overhears everything, reveals himself to be a spy for Valentine, attacks Jace and Clary, and escapes. Badly wounded, Jace and Clary return to Alicante, where they learn Sebastian has killed a Shadowhunter child, Alec and Isabelle’s little brother.
In the night, Jace slips away to track Sebastian. After he leaves, Clary and the others learn Sebastian is the real Jonathan, Valentine’s demon son. Meanwhile, the Clave decides to submit to Valentine’s demands. Knowing it’s the only way to change their minds, Clary reveals the power she has over runes, offering a new rune that will let Shadowhunters and downworlders share abilities in order to overpower Valentine’s forces—only by working together can they defeat him. The Clave reluctantly agrees.
Independent of one another, Jace and Clary each learn of Valentine’s plan to summon Raziel at the mirror lake. Jace fights and kills Sebastian and rushes to the lake, where he finds Clary bound and silenced. Valentine kills Jace and uses his blood to summon the angel, unaware that Clary has already disrupted the ritual by switching the name in the pentagon to her own so the angel won’t be bound to grant Valentine’s request. Valentine explains his desire to purify the Shadowhunter race, which the angel recognizes as a prejudiced power grab. The angel kills Valentine, and Clary uses her one request to bring Jace back to life.
With Valentine’s defeated, the demons battling the Shadowhunters disperse. After burying their dead, including Valentine, the Shadowhunters and downworlders throw a victory celebration, where Jace and Clary—now officially not siblings—finally confess their feelings for one another. Amid their friends, they snuggle close as fireworks explode overhead.
Synopsis:
City of Glass picks up one week after the end of City of Ashes, the previous installment in the series. Clary Fray prepares for her first visit to Idris, the Shadowhunter homeland, to search for a way to wake her mother from an enchanted sleep and defeat Valentine—her father and Shadowhunter-turned-villain who’s allied himself with a demon army. Valentine seeks the Mortal Glass, the third of the Mortal Instruments, to summon the angel Raziel and “purify” the Shadowhunter race, installing him as the new ruler of the Shadowhunters, able to kill anyone who doesn’t align with his standards. Jace, a Shadowhunter still grappling with his conflicted feelings about Valentine—whom he believes to be his father—joins Clary’s mission along with a growing group of young Shadowhunters who also question whether downworlders (beings that are part human and part demon such as werewolves or vampires) are actually friends and not enemies, as they’ve always been taught.
Fearful that the Clave—the Shadowhunters ruling body—will try to weaponize Clary’s latent Shadowhunter powers for their own purposes, Jace initially prevents Clary from going to Idris, which results in him accidentally bringing Simon (Clary’s vampire friend) into the country with him. After drinking Jace’s blood in City of Ashes, Simon has become a daylighter—a vampire able to walk in sunlight—and the Clave takes him prisoner, seeking information about his transformation, as well as a way to blame Jace’s family for Valentine’s return to power. Angry she was left behind, Clary portals to Alicante, the capital city of Idris, where she meets Sebastian, a Shadowhunter a few years older than her who seems vaguely familiar.
Clary learns her mom used a potion from an ancient spell book to put herself to sleep, and with Jace’s help, she infiltrates one of Valentine’s safe houses to find the spell book. They also find a bound and tortured angel, who shows them images of Valentine’s experiments with demon blood on his unborn son, Jonathan—the name Jace believes he was given at birth. Overwhelmed with shame, Jace is sure his demon blood is the reason he’s attracted to Clary even though she’s his sister, despite the fact that Clary, who has no demon blood, wants him too. Frustrated at a lack of answers, Jace and Clary return to Alicante, where demons ravage the city on Valentine’s orders.
Valentine gives the Shadowhunters a day and a half to make him their undisputed leader before he sends another wave of demons to attack. Clary and Jace free Simon from the Clave’s prison, where they also find Hodge Starkweather, Jace’s old mentor from the New York Shadowhunter Institute, who reveals that the Mortal Glass is not a mirror as they believed, but a lake. Sebastian overhears everything, reveals himself to be a spy for Valentine, attacks Jace and Clary, and escapes. Badly wounded, Jace and Clary return to Alicante, where they learn Sebastian has killed a Shadowhunter child, Alec and Isabelle’s little brother.
In the night, Jace slips away to track Sebastian. After he leaves, Clary and the others learn Sebastian is the real Jonathan, Valentine’s demon son. Meanwhile, the Clave decides to submit to Valentine’s demands. Knowing it’s the only way to change their minds, Clary reveals the power she has over runes, offering a new rune that will let Shadowhunters and downworlders share abilities in order to overpower Valentine’s forces—only by working together can they defeat him. The Clave reluctantly agrees.
Independent of one another, Jace and Clary each learn of Valentine’s plan to summon Raziel at the mirror lake. Jace fights and kills Sebastian and rushes to the lake, where he finds Clary bound and silenced. Valentine kills Jace and uses his blood to summon the angel, unaware that Clary has already disrupted the ritual by switching the name in the pentagon to her own so the angel won’t be bound to grant Valentine’s request. Valentine explains his desire to purify the Shadowhunter race, which the angel recognizes as a prejudiced power grab. The angel kills Valentine, and Clary uses her one request to bring Jace back to life.
With Valentine’s defeated, the demons battling the Shadowhunters disperse. After burying their dead, including Valentine, the Shadowhunters and downworlders throw a victory celebration, where Jace and Clary—now officially not siblings—finally confess their feelings for one another. Amid their friends, they snuggle close as fireworks explode overhead.