[Book Review] City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

4.5 STARS 

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare is the third book in the Mortal Instruments series. Our main character, Clary Fray has to go to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of Shadowhunters, to save her mother's life. She learns a lot about her past, her family's past, and the ones she loves. She is trying to figure out how to save her mother, stop the big baddie, Valentine, and figure out her feelings for Jace. I did do reviews for the previous two books in this series, so here is my review for City of Bones and City of Ashes.

I really enjoyed this book! I think it is my favorite of the three I have read so far. I found myself not having any problems with the writing when it comes to the author's crazy amount of similes like in the first book, the story kept me engaged, and I really liked the characters and understood their motives.

What I am loving is that the writing has been improving with each book, which is really promising as I have plans to continue on with the stories Clare has written. I think the dialogue was well done, which is something I think Clare actually really shows her writing skills, and I think the character development felt natural. The story kept me engaged and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I felt myself getting emotional at times, and I realized I was more invested than I originally thought I was by the end of the book.

For me, the characters in this series are going to be my favorite part. I really enjoy Clary as a character and although she can be extremely frustrating at times I like her determination and independence. I'm still loving Jace's character. Which I am still kind of shocked about because I wasn't a fan of him when I originally tried reading the series. Although he frustrated me a lot more in this book than the previous two, like Clary, I understood his motives even if I didn't fully agree with his actions. Also, there were definitely less snarky Jace moments in this book, which makes sense because of the events that occur there isn't too much time for a lot of snark. However, I did miss it. I think it was mostly because I know I'll be starting the Infernal Devices series before continuing on with the last three Mortal Instruments books and I know I'll miss Jace. Simon is a character I have had such a love hate relationship with. On one hand, there are moments where I really like him and I think his friendship with Clary is great, and on another hand he drives me absolutely insane because of his jealousy. In this book I think I found myself liking him more than disliking him. I think that is a result of his character arc, which I really appreciated.

There are only two things that I would say are cons for me when it comes to City of Glass. The first being that at times the story could drag. It definitely doesn't help that I have been in a reading slump with has been making my motivation to read even weaker, but the there were a few moments in the story where it took a while for me to get through because it dragged and I was already reading at a slower pace because of the slump. The second con is that I felt like there weren't enough visuals of what the Shadowhunter city looked like. The world building when it comes to understanding how the world works is well written, but the visuals and descriptions were rare. When it comes to the last few books they're in New York, so it's easier to imagine while reading than a fictional Shadowhunter world. The buildings and structures were described pretty well, but the land itself was hard to picture.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this book. I'm reading the books in the order the author recommends so next I'll be reading the Infernal Devices series. I am both excited but also a little nervous when it comes to reading these books. I only got about half way through the first one, Clockwork Angel before giving up, so I am hoping that I am more into the story this time around. 

Thanks for reading!

Have you read this series? Do you like it? I have realized people either love it or they hate it. Do you have an urban fantasy series you recommend? I have realized I want to read more urban fantasy.