Marching Jo

After the release of City of Fallen Angels, a lot of fans, myself included, wondered if The Mortal Instruments series had gone downhill. After all, the ending of City of Glass seemed very final, and only at the end of City of Fallen Angels did we see the new plot arc emerge. Well, I'm pleased to say that City of Lost Souls pulled the series back to its feet.

In City of Lost Souls, Clary is frantic after Jace, along with Sebastian, goes missing. When the Clave put the issue on the back-burner, she decides to go after him by herself, and in doing so, accidentally stumbles into a horrible plot that threatens all the Shadowhunters have fought for.

One thing that particularly struck me about this book was how much Clary had grown in terms of capability. In City of Bones, I was struck by her physical weakness, which put her at such a disadvantage with the Shadowhunters. Now, her physical toughness means that she can cavort about with the other Shadowhunters, as well as giving her the confidence to deal with crazy-Jace and Sebastian.

I also really enjoyed seeing the different relationships pan out. I can imagine that there will be some dissatisfied shippers out there who want to see how Simon's relationships with Izzy and Maia run, but overall, I think it fits pretty well, and we can still expect to see a few hearts broken.

For those of you who have also read The Infernal Devices, there are a couple of really nice easter eggs that tie the two series together, as well as some mysteries that may be explained, or at least elaborated on in Clockwork Princess. I also have a feeling that some of the characters we see now will also be in the The Dark Artifices.

Some fans may be put off City of Lost Souls by the continuity of a series that seemed, to all intents and purposes, pretty well wrapped up, but most fans will be more than satisfied by the ending of the novel. Hopefully, City of Heavenly Fire will be even better!