YA Paranormal eAudiobook Review: City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare

City of Lost Souls  (The Mortal Instruments #5)
by Cassandra Clare

Description (Goodreads): 
The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.


My Review:
Ok, this book just blew me away. In the last one, I wasn’t quite engaged, but wow, this one was just plain full of excitement and lots of drama and tension.

I particularly loved how the Sebastian and Jace camaraderie played out. There were times I was really doubting my instincts and, right along with Clary, wondering if things weren’t as bad as they seemed. Then there’s a bit of craziness with Magnus and Alec, but it’s more of a side story, kind of underplayed and yet disappointing. But as for relationships, I think my favorite one is Simon and Isabelle’s. They really grow a lot and in interesting ways.

Oh yeah, and the fight scenes are fantastic. Very exciting and dangerous. Clary gets plenty of opportunities to flex her new Shadowhunter skills in this book. The demons she and the others fight are scary, and unfortunately, I could picture them extremely well.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, and as for the narration, I thought it was pretty spot on: good pacing, consistent voices for the characters, and all that. Just one narrator this time, one who’s read for the series before. I started these via audio, so I’m planning to follow through to the end the same way.

One thing that bugged me, however, was the continuing brother-sister tension thing. I thought we were through with that theme in previous books, but it rears up again, only worse. I kept thinking to myself, ‘it’s bad enough,’ and, ‘didn’t we already have this plot line?’ Still, it’s not quite the same, and it works for the story, so I guess that’s just what it is.

Another thing I noticed, which I thought was corny, actually, were all the little remarks like of course everybody loves Jace (or Clary or whomever). They’re perfect. There’s also some clunky writing here and there, particularly with some circular descriptions, where the same word keeps popping up to describe the same thing or even itself in close proximity. Just a bit sloppy, and I was surprised I picked it up, especially since I was listening to it and unable to flip back and check.

Overall, I loved this book and would recommend it to folks who enjoy paranormal YA fiction with lots of action, drama, and excitement. There’s plenty of angst, too, if you like that sort of thing. Still, I picked up on some things that might annoy folks, so take that with a grain of salt.

Good news is, if you want to play it safe, you could always do like me and borrow this from your local library.

-----

Follow the author and find out more about her books here:

Amazon

Goodreads

Her Author Page

Her Blog

Facebook

Twitter @cassieclare

Audiobook Review: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Click to view on Amazon.

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description:
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 Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

My review:
Ah, now I feel satisfied. Is the series over? Well, no… There are at least three more I haven’t gotten to, but book three resolves several issues that have spanned the series up to this point. So, other than satisfied, how do I feel?

Well, good. Happy with the outcome, a little keyed in on a couple of possible problems (glossed over a little) that likely lead into the following books, but overall good. Unlike the others, though, I don’t feel that driving urge to immediately reserve the next copy.

Ok, so the big, burning mover of plot in this installment was the hinting and the wondering about Clary and Jace’s particular issue. If you’ve read the first two books, you know which one. If you haven’t, you should read them, and then you’ll know.

Simon’s growing from kind of a geek you feel sorry for into a geeky hero. Not sure he’s there yet, but there’s progress. And Valentine, what a creep, with even more reasons provided. Other surprises, shocking and satisfying, made this a joy to read, just really fun.

Now all that said, I couldn’t help but recall the Wonder Twins (from the Super Friends) with regard to their special gifts. Clary is like the girl twin (Jayna) who can make herself into any sort of awesome animal, if I remember correctly, while Jace is like the boy twin (Zan) whose only skill is being water of some form. I remember Zan turning into a cup of water once… Anyway, to tie this into the book, Clary’s got a mad, awesome superpower, while Jace’s is just a bit disappointing in comparison.

So, overall, I loved this book, but it seems to resolve everything I cared about in the series, so I’ve lost the drive to pick up the next one. I’m sure I’ll do so, but a bit later, I think.

I borrowed the audiobook of this story from the local library.


View all my reviews

Audiobook Review: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Click to view on Amazon.

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description:
Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

My review:
Main theme, let’s kill off a main character. And if that doesn’t work, let’s do it again. And again. Still, pretty awesome book. I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook, which I borrowed from a local library.

While book one was great, it seemed to feature all the tried and contemporary paranormal prerequisites: monster/demon hunters, vampires and werewolves, fairies, demons, angels. Book two has all those, but also a great deal more plot, action, and romantic suspense.

Clary’s predicament is maddening and page turning, and hints and maybes really drew me along to the very end and right into the next book, which was, thankfully, available the very next day at the library.

I also rather enjoyed the narrator for this volume. Great pacing, easy to listen to, good use of emotion to match the mood of the book.

So, yes, I’d say this is worthy of the hype. I very much enjoyed this and would recommend it to fans of paranormal romance/modern fantasy.


View all my reviews

YA Review: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description:
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

My Review:
City of Bones is all about Clary awakening into a world she didn’t know existed and discovering her place in it. The book unfolds quickly, drawing together elements of normal, mundane life and the supernatural. I found it pretty gripping, though not entirely unique in its themes of werewolf vs. vampire vs. demon vs. Shadowhunter. Still, I was surprised many times by the direction the story took.

I’m obviously a bit late on reading this; I didn’t even know YA was a thing back when this came out, but I do now, and this has all the hallmarks. Teen girl rebelling against her mom. Family secrets that are dangerous, but also key to an unknown, latent power. Crushes. A bit of a love triangle (well-done though). Us vs. the world. Underdogs and heroes. Mistakes and consequences, seemingly insurmountable. And a decent cliffhanger, leaving plenty of story going forward while closing this part of it in a satisfying way.

As for the audio narration, it was alright. The narrator reads at a quick pace (still, it’s over 14 hours of content) and uses different voices for all of the characters; both are good for an audiobook. Also, she does a fairly good job of pacing and adjusting her voice for the energy level required for each scene. I had no trouble following the action or imagining the setting. I guess my only beef was that she gave all the Shadowhunters and former Shadowhunters snooty accents, probably to set them apart from mundanes. It’s hard to root for Jace as a possible love interest when he sounds so stuck up. And, goodness, Clary’s best friend’s not much better. He sounds so uptight.

Overall, I really liked this book and am getting ready to listen to book 2. I’d recommend this book to folks who like a solid YA with an interesting plot, plenty of angst, and lots of action. As there are several books in the series, there’s plenty of story left for those who don’t want it to end after book 1.

I picked up City of Bones from the local library as an audiobook.


View all my reviews

This is the edition I listened to:



And here it is for Kindle: