Book Review: City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes is the second book in the thrilling series, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.

This book picks up right where the first book, City of Bones, left off.
Now that Clary Fray knows the truth about herself, and realizes that the boy she loves is actually her brother, things get complicated. She knows she shouldn't be attracted to him, and she knows that her best friend Simon loves her, but she can't help but love Jace in ways that she should not. She struggles to keep a positive attitude, and I don't blame her. Her mum is in a coma, she's in love with her brother, her best friend is in love with her but she can only love him as a brother, and her dad is complete psycho.

Now, Jace, having discovered that he is Clary brother, and son of Valentine, an evil Shadowhunter, is now being accused of being his father's spy in the Institute. He is taken away from the Lightwoods, his adoptive family, to be tested to see if he was lying about being a spy. But, the problem is, the Inquisitor seems intent on ruining Jace's life, and nothing can stand in her way.

And to make things worse, Clary and Jace's father is trying to cause a war between Shadowhunters and the downworlders. Nothing can stop him, even his own children. He needs the Mortal Instruments, and what better way to start a war, than to steal them from the Institute? Clary, Jace and the rest of the Institute must work together to make sure that war doesn't break out, as war is something that no sane person would want...

City of Ashes is almost as good as City of Bones. The characters were developed and well written, and they were believable, even in the strange world that they live in. Jace was moody and handsome, just as he should be, and Clary was small and fragile, like in City of Ashes. They both got told they had power, and you can sort of see this in Jace, although, these powers weren't that evident in Clary, and I hope in City of Glass, we will get to see more of her powers.

Also, at some rather momentous points in the book, Clary does not seem to set it out, and this is quite disappointing. Simon went through a transformation, and though I won't say who or what he transformed into, it was annoying that Clary didn't actually explain what happened, just said it was going to happen, it happened, and the she blamed herself for it, and if she had, it would have added to the suspense and tension, and made it better.

But, having said this, there was plenty of tension, suspense and mystery in the book, and the love triangle between Clary, Jace and Simon just added to this. The plotline was well thought out, and it wasn't slow at all, like many other books of this genre can be. Overall, I enjoyed, though perhaps not as much as City of Bones, but I will be reading City of Glass as soon as I can, as I cannot wait to find out what happens!

I give it 4 Feet!