City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare Review

Title: The Mortal Instruments Book 4: City of Fallen Angels

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

Page Count: 424 pages

Publish Date: April 5, 2011

Book Type: Library Hardcover

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

ISBN: 9781442403543

Picture from Amazon

From Goodreads: The Mortal War is over, and Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most important of all—Clary can finally call Jace her boyfriend. 

But nothing comes without a price. 

Someone is murdering the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her. His mother just found out he’s a vampire and now he’s homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse wrecking his life. And they’re willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he’s dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other. 

When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace. 

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

My Review: I love how all of the covers in this series have the same look and feel. It always bothers me if a series doesn’t go together.

I started this book last year when it first came out, but I just couldn’t get into it. Back to the library it went. When I was at the library a couple weeks ago, it caught my eye again. I enjoyed it much more this time and it was a pleasant break from reading school books (if you can’t tell from my previous reviews--womp womp). 

I really grew to love Simon in this one. I feel like we got to be in his head a bit more than  the previous books and that was nice. It was also fun to see the evolution of his relationships. I also loved the interactions between Simon and Jace. They’re an unlikely pairing, but it is nice to see. I have a feeling Simon will be helping Jace through his problems that were hinted to at the end of the book. Would be totally fun to read.

Poor Jace and Clary. They can’t seem to catch a break, can they? Cassie always seems to throw a wrench in their relationship, huh? I suppose it wouldn’t be The Mortal Instruments series without that, but I just want it to work out for those two crazy kids.

I always love Cassie’s world building. The moment I start reading one of her books, I can picture the world with no problem. I love that because sometimes it had be hard to imagine a fantasy world. Thanks, Cassie! 

You can check out my reviews of City of Bones and City of Ashes. (I still need to review City of Glass. Hm. I’m not sure why I haven’t). 

Which Mortal Instruments book has been your favorite so far? Or do you prefer The Infernal Devices? I can never decide!

Elixir by Hilary Duff Review

Title: Elixir

Author: Hilary Duff

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance

Page Count: 336 pages, 605KB

Book Type: Kindle e-book

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

ISBN: 9781442408537

ASIN: B003V1WTQS

Pictures from Amazon

From Goodreads: Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington DC politician, she has grown to be a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world. But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea’s photos begin to feature eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful man—a man she has never seen before. 

When fate brings Clea and this man together, she is stunned by the immediate and powerful connection she feels with him. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance, and they discover the centuries old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fates, together they race against time to unravel their pasts in order to save their lives—and their futures.

My Review: I really like the cover with the flower. The flower pops up throughout the book and it was a nice tie-in. The other cover is kind of odd, but it is what shows up on Amazon’s page. I’m pretty sure when I was reading the book on my Kindle it had the flower cover though. Hm.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. It is an interesting journey and I am looking forward to the sequel. I don’t think this could really work as a stand-alone book, so the sequel is much appreciated. I had a definite book crush on Ben. He is nerdy and pretty ideal for me. Clea’s best friend, Rayna, is also a really fun character. The photography nerd/journalism student in me was insanely jealous of Clea’s job traveling as a photographer. 

I don’t like how quickly people seem to fall in love in a lot of YA books. I know that teenagers especially have feelings that are amplified, but Clea had pretty high misgivings about a certain character and then was in love in what seemed like a 12 hour span. (I’m trying to remain spoiler free here, sorry). At times the story didn’t make sense, but I still liked it.

I am disappointed that this is yet another YA book with a love triangle. Seriously, my teenage years were not like that. Hell, my 20s aren’t even like that. Did anyone have teenage years like that? Can we have a YA book without a love triangle, please?

Overall, I would read this one if you are looking for a nice quick read. 

Side note: Whenever I pictured Clea in my head, I always imagined Hilary Duff. Did anyone else do this?

Have you read this book? Looking forward to the sequel or not?