Review: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments #5
Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Format: Paperback
Published May 8, 2012 by
The author: Tumblr // Twitter
The book: Goodreads // Amazon UK
My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Jace is now a servant of evil, bound for all eternity to Sebastian. Only a small band of Shadowhunters believe he can be saved. To do this they must defy the Clave. And they must act without Clary. For Clary is playing a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace's soul. Clary is willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love? - Summary from Goodreads

My Review

I have always enjoyed The Mortal Instruments Series. It consistently continues to be a favorite of mine, even after the very slight let down of City of Fallen Angels (#4), a controversial topic in the fandom. City of Lost Souls, however, is definitely a return to excellence within this snarky paranormal world. It recaptures the spirit of the series and reaffirms Cassandra Clare's decision to create a six book series out of a trilogy. This fifth instalment will have you wishing there will be more than six books!

Let me get to my one and only gripe first. I still don't know what to call him. Sebastian? Jonathan? I have no clue. If I had my way, it would be Jonathan, as that is actually his name rather than one name he took on for a couple weeks, but he's still constantly referred to as Sebastian! It doesn't make sense to me. While he is basically evil in corporeal form, he was actually well written in this book. I wavered multiple times on whether he might actually be concerned for Clary.

Now that that's all out of the way, let me talk about characters that didn't confuse me. In fact, I love them. Clary has grown into such a brave main character! Yes, she's obsessed with Jace, and in this book she takes risks and really holds her own. Since the beginning of the series, Isabelle in my opinion, has gone from being rather vapid to being one of the most complicated characters. What I love about this book is that every character has their own complications and side plots that weave together brilliantly. Just brilliantly.

Overall, this is an instalment to the series that in my opinion validates Cassandra Clare's decision to expand on the trilogy. The ending wasn't a cliffhanger, but the story was so good it makes me want to jump straight into the final instalment! If you were a bit *meh* with City of Fallen Angels, I definitely suggest reading City of Lost Souls. It's got everything you would want from this series!

Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Series: The Iron Fey #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: Paperback
Published January 21, 2011 by Mira Books
Originally published February 1, 2010 by Harlequin Teen
More about the author: Website // Twitter // Blog
Find the book: Goodreads // Amazon UK

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart. - from Goodreads

My Review

After reading Julie's Immortal Rules, I knew I had to try out her other books. I don't really care for faeries, so I hadn't really read a book about them before. I wasn't really surprised to have been converted by this author. Julie Kagawa's faery world is a lot more menacing and wondrous than I would have believed with faeries straight out of your nightmares and beautiful world-building harking back to Lewis Carroll with a dash of modernity like Cassandra Clare's urban fantasy. Yeah. Ponder that.

The characters in this book are a mixture of a recreated and original cast. Readers may recognize the names of Puck, Oberon, Titania, and Queen Mab but all have been remolded for this plot. The main character, Meg has a close relationship with her little brother and is forced to travel into Neverwhere to save him from faery kidnappers. I really enjoyed her little brother and the supporting characters Ash, Puck, and Grim. Meg just wasn't my favourite, though she did grow on me over time.

Julie Kagawa just has a way with words. Having read her published works out of order, I can tell that she has grown over the years. The Iron King wasn't as fabulous as The Immortal Rules, but I did enjoy it immensely. I'll be continuing the series and hopefully soon! I recommend this book to fantasy and urban fantasy lovers everywhere.

Rating: 4/5 Stars