City of Lost Souls Review

 City of Lost Souls
by Cassandra Clare
Mortal Instruments #5
The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?

Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

I've read all of Clare's books. I was a huge fan of the original Mortal Instruments trilogy. I adore the Infernal Devices books. So, I knew that this wasn't going to be an easy read. I started it on May 12th and didn't finish until June 7th. It didn't take me so long to read because I didn't like it or because it dragged on; it took me so long because I was terrified of how things were going to end and because I spent so much time throwing the book on the floor because I wasn't very happy with the characters (more on that in the spoiler section).

The characters were, as always, brilliant. I was surprised and delighted when my favorite character in this book turned out to be Isabelle of all people. I wasn't a big fan of her in the early books, but I love her in this one. And even though I was originally a Maia/Simon shipper, I'm definitely 100% behind Isabelle/Simon now. Isabelle just shows a whole new complex side and I really enjoyed that.

As for Sebastian, I didn't believe it was possible for me to hate him any more than I already did until I read this book. Clare created a whole new level of hatred, just for him.

The cliffhanger was insane and I don't think it's possible for a more shocking one to be written for this story. I know City of Heavenly Fire isn't going to be an easy read, but I desperately want it in my hands.

Overall: 9/10

***SPOILER WARNING***

Alec and Magnus are my favorite couple. They're a good majority of the reasons why I've made it this far into the series. I'm not even sure how to react to the two of them breaking up in the epilogue. I still can't believe Alec went behind his back and even considered taking away his immortality without asking.

Jordan and Maia. I wasn't a big fan of their relationship early on, but now I love the two of them together. Their first kiss was amazing.

Isabelle and Simon are now my new favorite couple. I can't wait for them to finally admit their feelings for each other! I hope they do it very soon.

I love the bits of Infernal Devices references weaved throughout the story. Like Jocelyn telling Clary that there was a female warlock present at her ceremony. I bet it was Tessa. And then there were all the mentions of Will. I'm still confused as to why Valentine had his signed copy of A Tale of Two Cities...Oh, and the fact that the second Mortal Cup is called the INFERNAL Cup. That's so not a coincidence.

I hated Clary in this one. I know that I wasn't her biggest fan in City of Bones but she got better as she went on. But now...when she yelled for Sebastian to stop Jace from going to the Silent Brothers. There's a part of me that understands and a part of me that will never forgive her for that one. I had to stop reading because I was yelling at her too much. It's like she was going to do whatever it took to save Jace, no matter who she hurt including him.

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