REVIEWS: MORTAL INSTRUMENTS SERIES BOOKS 4 & 5

I have read all of the Mortal Instruments books to date, but only reviewed books 4 & 5. I’m a big fan and waiting to see how the movie turns out.

City of Fallen Angels
Author: Cassandra Clare
Walker Books RRP$27.95
Review: Monique Mulligan

THE fourth in the bestselling The Mortal Instruments series, City of Fallen Angels was highly anticipated … for good reason.

In the series, author Cassandra Clare has created a story world with a sassy, intriguing and kick-butt cast of characters including Shadowhunters (nephilim), vampires, werewolves, fairies, warlocks and demons. Mix in plenty of love, betrayal, revenge, high stakes and typical teen angst, and there’s a winning formula for young adult fantasy fiction.

City of Angels opens with key characters Clary and boyfriend Jace engaging in Shadowhunter training and making the most of their burgeoning love. All seems well, but is it? Clary’s best friend Simon, now a vampire, is juggling two girlfriends and fighting off a growing desire for blood. And Jace is inexplicably pulling away, just when things seemed perfect. Clary is forced to acknowledge that she has set in motion a chain of events that could mean she loses everything.

The latest instalment does not disappoint – it’s fast paced, well written and beautifully characterised – don’t be surprised if the book ends up as a movie sometime soon. The door is left open for another book and I am looking forward to that one very much. Highly readable and enjoyable.

Available from good bookstores or Walker Books.  This copy was courtesy of Walker Books.

Mortal Instruments 5: City of Lost Souls
Author: Cassandra Clare
Walker RRP $24.95
Review: Monique Mulligan

THE fifth in the bestselling The Mortal Instruments series, City of Lost Souls was a book I was looking forward to, hoping that it would live up to the previous books in the series. Usually I lose interest after the first couple of books in  young adults’ series – I won’t name names – like most movie sequels. Happily, that was not the case with City of Lost Souls.

With The Mortal Instruments, author Cassandra Clare has created an urban fantasy world with a sassy, intriguing and kick-butt cast of characters including Shadowhunters (nephilim), vampires, werewolves, fairies, warlocks and demons. Mix in plenty of love, betrayal, revenge, high stakes and typical teen angst, and there’s a winning formula.

City of Lost Souls picks up with Clary and her friends searching for her lost love, Jace. Clary’s brother Sebastian has bound Jace to him for all eternity; together the two serve evil and are setting the scene for a showdown between good and evil. Can Jace be saved? Can the lost be reclaimed? Only a few believe Jace can be saved, and to get him back the Shadowhunters must defy the Clave. And Clary must go on her own rescue mission for her love – but is the price too high? And who can she trust?

Once again, themes of love, betrayal, loyalty, revenge, darkness and light interplay to produce a cracking read, with a plot full of surprises – Sebastian’s character surprisingly became more likeable during the book; at times I felt sympathetic towards him. Strange, yes – but testament to Clare’s ability to develop strong characters. The chemistry between Jace and Clary is vivid and more than anything, the reader wants the two to get together. Is it reminiscent of theTwilight Bella/Edward, “will they, won’t they” saga? Perhaps, in the sense that the tension is ongoing, but this works. I just got annoyed with Bella and Edward; with Clary and Jace, the anticipation, the romantic tension, it just keeps building. I love it.

I could write for ages, but I won’t. Just give the series a go. It’s compulsive reading and among the best YA writing I’ve read. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next instalment. And if this series ever gets made into a movie, I hope the cinematic version does the brilliant series justice.

Available from good bookstores and Walker Books. This copy was courtesy of Walker Books.