7.21k reviews for:

City of Lost Souls

Cassandra Clare

3.98 AVERAGE

adventurous emotional 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: Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

 So I know I said City of Fallen Angels felt like a filler book but that would mean this book would have to be a filler filler. Honestly, I'm not very impressed with this series. You can really tell that this is where she started. And while I enjoy the world of Shadowhunters, the runes and the institutions and the downworlders and everything else that comes with it (especially because we start to see more of the Adamant Citadel and the Iron Sisters now), I don't enjoy these characters.

Don't get me wrong, I am still obsessed with Cassandra Clare. But this series is nothing like The Last Hours or Infernal Devices. I find the characters to be so immature and irritating and maybe it's because we're on the fifth book in a series that was supposed end with the third, but I just cannot take it. I also feel like this plot of Jace losing himself over and over is getting very old, he is always possessed or not in control and it leaves very little time to experience him as himself and even less time for relationship development between him and Clary.

Then there's Sebastian. I thought that this book was going to be really good because Sebastian has the potential to be a really good villain and yes, what he is planning is absolutely brilliant. But I just found Clary following him around in this book, there was no strategizing, no action. She just went along with him and Jace and at some point, even admitted that it was nice and that she was happy.... Uh, okay. Alex was also very immature in this book and even though I love him and Magnus together, his childishness gets very tiring. I really just can't wait to get to the end of this series so I can't move on in this universe 😂
 
adventurous dark emotional sad tense 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

First read: 24-28th April 2014
Re-read: 2nd July 2016


I feel as tho the second half of this series started going in a different direction. it's still good, but I definitely enjoyed the first half and Infernal devices more.

While I found it better than City of fallen angels, it was pretty slow, but it did pick up near the end.
I'm pretty excited to see how the series will end.

kayhoggie20's review

3.0

Meh. Not great not awful. Definitely better than the last book since actual stuff was happening the whole time and not just only at the very end. The writing is kinda bad and I have to keep reminding myself I’m reading a book about teenagers for teenagers because holy fuck do they act like it. I probably would have adored this series if I’d read it at a younger age but for now I’m just gonna keep trucking along bc I’m committed at this point even tho I’m not having a great time.
adventurous dark fast-paced

That was a pretty good book. It had a very captivating ending, but I have to admit, I wasn’t as motivated to pick the book up in the middle. Maybe it had more to do with my busy schedule than with the book itself, but I had trouble propelling myself through. However, reaching the end, I was very enticed and am looking forward to the next book.

Overall, this second half of the Mortal Instruments series has been pretty enjoyable, if a bit over-the-top, and I was happy to close out the year with this book as my final read.

Wie schon sein Vorgänger konnte mich auch "City of Lost Souls" leider nicht wirklich begeistern.
Zu großen Teilen liegt dies an den Charakteren beziehungsweise daran, was Clare sie tun lässt. Mir hat zwar gut gefallen, dass sich vor allem die Nebenfiguren weiter entwickeln und wir andere Seiten von ihnen zu sehen bekommen, aber viele Charaktere hatten mindestens eine Szene, bei der ich nur den Kopf geschüttelt habe. Gerade Alec und Jace waren für mich ein Quell unendlicher Frustration.

Alecs Verhalten, das ich bereits im vierten Band kritisiert habe, hat sich hier nur noch verschlimmert. Ich verstehe sein Problem wirklich, aber er hätte einfach mit Magnus reden sollen, das hätte ihnen einiges erspart. Stattdessen
Spoilerdenkt er ernsthaft darüber nach, ihm seine Unsterblichkeit zu nehmen, hinter seinem Rücken? Ernsthaft? Ob er es letztlich getan hätte oder nicht, spielt keine Rolle, alleine schon, dass er den Gedanken hatte...
So sehr ich auch hasse, was am Ende des Buches aus ihrer Beziehung wird... es war die einzige logische Konsequenz nach dem, was passiert ist. Da die beiden mein Lieblingspaar der Reihe sind, finde ich wirklich traurig, was die Autorin aus ihnen gemacht hat.
Auch die Geschichte um Jace, Clary und Sebastian/Jonathan hat mich irritiert. Mir war von Anfang an klar, dass etwas vorgeht, das wir Leser noch nicht wissen, aber trotzdem war es für mich anstrengend. Obwohl Jace nicht mein Lieblingscharakter ist, hat mich gestört, wie Clare ihn in diesem Buch verwendet und wie er sich deshalb verhalten hat. Innerhalb der Geschichte ergibt es Sinn, allerdings bin ich der Meinung, dass nicht immer alles ihm passieren muss... er ist mit dem Stigma seines 'Vaters' schon gestraft genug.

Durch die Mitte musste ich mich ein bisschen durchkämpfen. Ich konnte verstehen, dass Clary gehofft hat, ihr Bruder könnte sich bessern, aber für mich war die ganze Zeit offensichtlich, dass das nur eine Illusion ist, weshalb es frustrierend war, über die Unternehmungen der drei zu lesen.
Im letzten Drittel aber wurde die Geschichte wieder richtig spannend. Clare versteht sich darauf, ihre Bücher mit Konflikten zu beenden, die packend, tragisch und emotional sind. Auch die potentiellen Konsequenzen, die sich aus den Ereignissen ergeben könnten, interessieren mich, sodass ich auf den letzten Teil der Reihe gespannt bin. Ich hoffe nur, dass der Abschluss mich zufrieden stellen und die Frustration, die ich beim Lesen von Band 4 und 5 verspürt manchmal habe, sich gelohnt haben wird.

"City of Lost Souls" bekommt von mir, hauptsächlich für die Entwicklungen der Nebencharaktere und einen spannenden Konflikt am Ende, 3,5/5 Sternen.
adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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: Complicated