Review: City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments bk 2)

Title: The City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments bk 2)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Date published: 2008
Type of book: Fantasy/Scifi
Pages: 453
I received this book from/at: Walden Books
My interest in this book is: plot, second book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy

Ideas expressed/message/plot: From the back cover: “A MURDERER IS LOOSE IN NEW YORK CITY… and the victims are Downworlder children. Clary Fray and her fellow Shadowhunters have a strong suspicion that Valentine, Clary’s father, may be behind the killings. But if he is the murderer, then what’s his true motive? To make matters worse, the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, has been stolen, and the mysterious Inquisitor has arrived to investigate, with his eyes vigilantly targeted on Clary’s brother, Jace.
Clary will need to face some terrifying demons and even more terrifying family decisions. No one said that the life of a Shadowhunter would be easy.”

Favorite characters, quotes/lines: Clary: the only thing that bothered me in this book was her dating Simon, but I understand why she did… to me it was like Twilight’s Bella dating Jacob (kind of icky); Simon: funny as usual, but dark as well… I’m glad that he found a way into the new world Clary is a part of…. Otherwise I think he would have had to be left behind; Jace: he is so dark and brooding, I just wanted him and Clary to find a way to be together…; Alec and Magnus: they are entertaining… and I like how they are have so many dimensions for minor characters

When I finished this book I felt: NEED CITY OF GLASS NOW! That’s basically all I could think after I finished City of Ashes. I wanted to know what the Inquisitor meant when she saw Jace’s scar…. What the Faerie Queen meant about the blood in Jace’s veins… What Valentine meant when he said something about his first son… So many unanswered questions! Also I was thinking about how comforting fantasy books are… they have a set formula of good versus evil, good prevailing, and the main heroes coming together in the end. I know everything will work out in these books because everything always works out in these types of books. And I love knowing that and then reading to find out how it will all come together in the end. Also, there are an uncommon number of love triangles in these books.

Other books to read by this author: City of Glass, The Clockwork Princess (2010), The Clockwork Prince (2011)

I would recommend this book to: everyone!