There’s some drama involved in the initial travel to Idris, and certainly there’s action toward the end of the book when Valentine’s plans wreak havoc for the entire Shadowhunter community, but in the middle there’s a lot of conversation and traveling from house to house for more conversation and then back to the first house and more talking and then back to the second house for more explanations. It also feels like there’s less action for a good chunk of the middle chapters in City of Glass. The heavier subject matter in this one is certainly not a bad element, but I thought the difference in tone worth noting. This one, though, is more serious, more emotional, and is a little less laugh-worthy. Jace usually has some good lines, and Simon, but even in general Clare’s sense of humor gave me a good laugh in the first two books. On another note, I do think this volume is less funny than the first two. “I love you, and I’ll love you until I die, and it there’s a life after that, I’ll love you then.” It’s definitely a memorable relationship, if relationship is the correct term for a tortured, incestuous flirtation. It certainly is a unique take on a romance obstacle, though, and I appreciate that. With knowledge of how it ends, I had a lot more patience for all the angst, although I found that knowing where Clary and Jace leave things at the end of this book did not make their strange brother/sister/love relationship any more comfortable for me. There’s a crazy Clace plot twist in this third book which I remembered from my first read seven years ago. The Clary/Jace romance in these first three books is probably the strangest romance I’ve ever read. Even if Valentine is thwarted, though, it won’t change the fact that Clary’s heart is breaking. He’s threatening the Clave even more strongly than usual now that the third mortal instrument is within sight, but there is one way he might be stopped.

Clary’s plan to save her mother meets a surprising snag related to Valentine and his… assistant. Clary, of course, won’t let anyone stop her from doing anything, no matter how much trouble she may find in the process. Simon would do less, but he gets roped into Jace’s scheme in an unexpected way that keeps him in the center of this novel’s intrigue. Jace, however, doesn’t want Clary going somewhere so dangerous and will do almost anything to stop her. This will be a spoiler-free discussion of the third book, but if you haven’t read books one and two yet, check those out before reading further!Ībout the book: Clary has been informed that something in Idris may be able to revive her mother. In fact, I’ve been enjoying them so much that I went ahead and bought the whole series. This year I’ve been rereading/reading for the first time all of Cassandra Clare’s books, and couldn’t wait to pick up her third book, City of Glass.

City of glass clare