Summer Reading List: “City of Glass”

I hope you enjoyed the second installment in the mortal instrument series, “City of Ashes.”

Now it’s time for the “City of Glass.”   This book was orginially intended to be final book in the mortal instruments, but it was later announced that there would be three more books in the series, “City of Fallen Angels,” “City of Lost Souls,” and “City of Heavenly Fire,” which we’ll get to later.

Although “City of Glass” isn’t the final book, the events from the first two books are wrapped up.

To save her mother’s life, Clary travels to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters — never mind that by doing so she is breaking the Law, which could mean death.  Even worse, Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by Shadowhunters who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.  Luckily, Clary find an ally in the mysterious Sebastian, who holds a strange attraction for her.  As Valentine musters a demon army, can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their ancient hatred and work together?  And can Clary harness her newfound powers to help save them all — whatever the cost?

My second favorite character after Alec Lightwood is Simon Lewis.  He’s the character who is the most relatable.  Sure, he might be a vampire who can withstand sunlight, but in the first book he was a typical teenager boy who was in love with his best friend, but was too scared to tell her of his feelings.  He is then thrown into a world that he doesn’t quite understand, but he never turns away from the world of Shadowhunters, Downworlders, or most importantly, Clary Fray.

And althought Simon might not have the best opinion of Jace Wayland right now, I think Simon will come around and end up becoming good friends with Jace, whether they like it or not.

As I stated in my post before, when I first started reading the mortal instrument series, I thought it was going to be another “Twilight” just with more creatures than vampires and werewolves.  After reading “City of Bones,” I thought there was going to be a love triangle between Clary, Jace, and Simon.  But then, I found out that Jace was her brother, so it couldn’t be like “Twilight.”

Even if Jace wasn’t Clary’s brother, I don’t think the mortal instruments could be anything like the “Twilight” saga.  For one, there’s an actual storyline.  It’s more than just “I like you.  No, I like you.  No, I like you, but I like him more.”

The mortal instruments is about overcoming what seems like the impossible in your life, and, though, none of us can directly relate to misfourtunes in Clary’s life, we can understand the curveballs that life can throw at you.

Such as an unexpected death of a loved one, being laid off from a job that you thought you would have until retirement, or the discovery of a potentially fatal illness.  And though, these may be extreme cases, what can be learned from the mortal instrument is that through love, family, perseverance and a little bit of faith, you can get past any curveball that life throws your way.

I didn’t meant to get philosophical on you, but it just came out that way.  I tend to type exactly what I’m thinking, and believing, at the time.

I hope you enjoy your reading!

Summer Reading List: “City of Ashes”

I hope you enjoyed the first book in the Mortal Instrument series, “City of Bones.”

When I read the first half of “City of Bones,” I thought that this was going to be just like “Twilight” with their being a potential love triangle between Clary, Jace, & Simon.  But then I found out Jace was Clary’s brother, and I knew this couldn’t be just like “Twilight.”

I’m not saying “Twilight” was a bad movie, but it wasn’t the best movie either.  All I can say is that I can’t wait for the “City of Bones” movie to come out in 2014.  Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell Bower better act their butts off in order to do this book series justice.

I was a little surprised when I found out that Alec was gay.  But I’m glad Cassandra Clare, the author of the Immortal Instruments, introduced a gay character.  Actually, she’s introduced two gay characters, Alec and Magnus.  I’m also glad that Alec has some sort of support from his sister, Isabelle, who seems to be okay with Alec’s sexuality and who seems to love him geniunely and unconditionally.

Hmmm . . . I wonder if Alec and Magnus are going to get together.  Magnus sure was interested in Alec, but is Alec interested in Magnus, or rather is Alec brave enough to show an interest in Magnus?  Alec may be a Shadowhunter, but he is also a scared teenager who doesn’t know if he can come to terms with his sexuality or if the other people in his life will be able to accept him for who he is.  It’ll be interesting to find out just how, or if, Alec comes to terms with his sexuality and how, or if, the other people in Alec’s life are accepting as Isabelle.

Unfortunately, there were a few unanswered questions left at the end of “City of Bones,” and the only way to answer them is to read the next book in the series, “City of Ashes.”

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?  Clary would love to spend more time with her best friend, Simon.  But the Shadowhunters won’t 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.  When the second of the Mortal Instruments is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor suspects Jace.  Could Jace really be willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

I hope you enjoy “City of Ashes” as much as I hope you enjoyed “City of Bones.”

If you have any questions or you just want to share you thoughts about “City of Bones,” “City of Ashes,” or anything regarding the Immortal Instrument series, please feel free to shoot me an email or you can comment on this post if you don’t mind sharing your thoughts with the rest of the WordPress community.