Book 3 of the Mortal Instruments series! I still need to buy book 6 (need to find the book with the matching cover to what I already have). Should I just buy the whole box set with the new covers, or go used book surfing?

Read: March 22 – April 10, 2022

Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural
Audience: Young Adult
Book contains: dark elements/themes, demons and monsters

Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca

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Biggest Plot Twist Yet!

A lot of things have changed for Clary by the time this book gets started. Her best friend, Simon, is a vampire, and can somehow withstand direct sunlight now, a first for vampires. Her father, Valentine, is as still evil as ever, and his plans just seem to get closer and closer to fruition. On top of everything, she is navigating the use of her newly discovered powers—powers that the Clave will only want to use if they find out about her. Speaking of the Clave, this is the book where Clary finally sees the Shadowhunter country and the famed city of glass, Idris.

I first expected the city of glass to be full of skyscrapers, you know, like everything was made of glass. Turns out, it’s just a few towers within and around the city that give it its name. These towers have magical properties that play a role in the plot, so that’s all I’ll say for now.

I will say that I almost stopped reading this series because of the romantic relationship between the main characters Clary and Jace, but I’m glad that I followed the advice of fellow Mortal Instruments readers. This book definitely fixed that issue for me, so thank you to everyone who told me to keep reading. It was an interesting reveal, actually, and looking back, I can see how it was set up even in books one and two. I can appreciate that.

I’ll keep my commentary of the design features minimal, as it’s mainly consistent with the rest of the books so far.

This book is quite unique in how it sets up the character plots. There are new characters, of course, as Clary and the others are now in Idris, and I like seeing the old characters interacting with these new characters.

Something I really like about this book series is that even though they’re moving through the book to a destination most of the time, it doesn’t feel like it drags on. Some books have that problem, but with this book, it didn’t feel that way. I often found while I was reading that the characters would get somewhere new, find a new clue, and have to go somewhere else, and it always felt like the story was progressing naturally, not like they’re making pit stops on the way to their final destination.

I’d say the most compelling character in this book is Sebastian—a new character that we are introduced to in Idris. He is peculiar when you meet him and grows even more so as the story continues. He is charming and friendly with those around him, Clary especially—for reasons that I will not disclose here.

The last thing I’m going to mention is the ending, and how much it satisfied me to read. The arc of the story came together so perfectly, and at the same time, it did so well in setting things up for future conflicts and the rest of the series without leaving us, the readers, wanting in this book. I will admit that I’m a little relieved that the next book has fewer pages, though.

Book 3 was an excellent read, and I definitely recommend reading the next book, City of Fallen Angels!

Related Reviews:

The Mortal Instruments Book 1: City of Bones
The Mortal Instruments Book 2: City of Ashes
The Mortal Instruments Book 3: City of Glass
The Mortal Instruments Book 4: City of Fallen Angels
The Mortal Instruments Book 5: City of Lost Souls
The Mortal Instruments Book 6: City of Heavenly Fire
The Infernal Devices Book 1: Clockwork Angel
The Dark Artifices Book 1: Lady Midnight
*The Other Side of Daylight by Nicole Chartier*