Review - City of Glass - Cassandra Clare

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3)Title: City of Glass
Series: The Mortal Instrument #3
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publication: March 24th 2009, Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 509  Pages, Paperback
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Source: Thanks to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of City of Glass in exchange for an honest review!
Rating: 5/5 Cupcakes!
To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.
As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?
Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third installment of the New York Timesbestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

This book was utterly amazing, it was the best of the Mortal Instruments that  I've read so far. It was flawlessly written. The characters were amazing once again and the romance was utterly gorgeous. I don't know why I've been putting off this book but I am so glad that I finally read it. It made me smile, it made me laugh, it made me tear up and  it made me fall in love with the characters all over again. This book was so insanely incredible, that once I had finished reading the last sentence on the page, I merely just sat there, smiling, whilst hugging the book to my chest. If you haven't yet read the City of Glass, you should, as soon as possible!

In the City of Glass, Clary's mom Jocelyn is still in a comatose state in the hospital. In order to save her mother's life, Clary needs to travel to The Glass City, otherwise known as Alicante in Idris, to try and find a warlock who will help Clary find the antidote to cure her mom. When Jace refuses to take her, as he knows about all the possible dangers there, Clary decides to find her own way in.

Despite Clary's worry about saving her mother, there are even more deadly issues she needs to think about. Her and Jace's father, Valentine, already has two of the Mortal Instruments and he just needs the third one, the Mirror, to complete his ruthless plan. The only way the Shadowhunters will be able to fight him, is if they join up with the Downworlders in a bid to save the entire Nephilim race, which Valentine so cruelly wants pure that he is willing to kill all of them in the process. But with the wariness between the two groups, it's looking like an impossible feat to get them to work side-by-side, but if they don't, the world as they know it will be destroyed.

I don't actually know what to say, all that I can say is that I utterly adored this book. It was magical, it was enchanting, it was heart-breaking yet simultaneously uplifting. There were so many fantastic twists, although some of them did seem quite predictable to me and I guessed them before they happened.

With Cassandra's books, I find they are quite hard to get into at times, I don't know if I'm the only one or not who finds that. However, there's a certain point in her books where the plot starts thickening, the pace picks up and before you know it you've read a handful of chapters. In the City of Glass, like the other books of hers that I've read, I wasn't completely grasped immediately but as I kept reading there was a certain point in the novel where I started devouring the words and I couldn't get enough.City of Glass was incredibly fast-paced and I flew through the pages. There was so much action and suspense and there were times where I couldn't catch my breath for all the astounding things that were happening.

Cassandra Clare is an author who obtains a raw natural talent for writing. Everything is so extremely vivid, I can see everything in my mind laid out before me. She brings the characters to life, she makes the places in the story feel like a place you've physically visited. She is a phenomenal writer. She creates these characters that are so real and so unique. This whole world she has created is magical and captivating.

The plot was impeccable. There were things that saddened me in this book, especially the one death of a certain character which was so unnecessary and so cruel. All the questions we've been asking since the first book are answered in this book. I, unfortunately, saw huge spoilers before I managed to read City of Glass, so there were some things I were expecting. But there were also surprises that I weren't expecting. I think it's incredible how Cassandra Clare has lain these little clues throughout the story. I only realised now how complicated the whole story is and how she's given us hints throughout the first three books that leads us to finally see the big picture which is quite surprising, although I did guess some of the stuff, even without the spoilers.

The characters all grew in this book, and you could see the clear change in them from the beginning of the series to now.

In the City of Glass you could see how vulnerable Jace felt and how that facade of not being phased by anything completely just fall away and reveal the lonely, doubtful boy inside. I love how Clary made him feel whole and I believe that the two of them will complete each other and wash away any of the doubt and the feelings of helplessness inside either one of them.

Although I really like Clary, she infuriated me in the City of Glass in the beginning. She was incredibly stubborn and often didn't think things through, but then again, if she didn't go ahead and make her own decisions, no one would have done anything about the mass of problems they were facing.
Clary really impressed me towards the end, and although she doesn't necessarily physically fight (she hasn't ever been trained, so I don't blame her) but she does other things which I find are awesome. I love how she also explains how she sees things from an artist's perspective and her power is awesome too. I could completely relate to the artistic elements of Clary's personality.

I love Simon. He has changed a lot since the first book and I miss the old Simon. The quiet, nerdy Simon. I also adore this Simon too though, I like how he is able to take any comments thrown at him now and come back with something equally witty. I love that even though he's physically changed he is still so sweet and has such a wonderful personality. He has a truly personality and I hope that he'll find a soulmate like Clary has found in Jace.

The supporting characters are fantastic, too. I love Isabelle, it was interesting seeing a more gentle, softer side to her. I also love that Alec has become more self-confident and that he isn't so afraid to accept who he is anymore. Magnus is utter perfection, I adore him. He's so fun and sarcastic and adds so much to the story.

It was interesting being introduced to the new characters and seeing the role they played in the story. Especially Sebastian, who I won't so anything about in case it spoils your reading but you'll be quite surprised.

The City of Glass is the third book in the highly-acclaimed Mortal Instruments series. Cassandra Clare has once again created a finely woven tale filled with stunning characters who will make you smile, who will make you cry and have your heart filling with love for them. She has concocted the perfect blend of a dark fantasy, mythical creatures, charismatic characters, a beautiful love story and an intense plot that will leave you shocked. Her writing is heavenly and she paints the pictures so clearly. All this merged together creates an unforgettable story about life, love and family and the depths a person will go to, and the new-found strength that they'll find inside themselves in order to overcome their inner demons in order to save the person they love. A magical, captivating story.

I give it: 5 CUPCAKES!