Oh, City of Ashes why do you do this to me? As far as plot goes, Cassandra Clare did an amazing job. City of Bones left me frustrated and...just completely in awe that Clare could do something so horrible to Jace and Clary. I spent most of City of Ashes just waiting for the situation to resolves itself. In this book, we see Clary and Simon as an item and kind of get a glimpse of what that might have been like but (thank goodness) this doesn't last long. But their relationship definitely added a lot more drama to an already very dramatic book. We see more of Valentine and learn more about Clary and Jace's pasts...I guess. A very entertaining and wonderfully gripping read for sure.
Jace was so...I don't even know. He didn't bother me as much in this book like he did the first. But I think I was so frustrated with his and Clary's situation that I became frustrated with him.
I really enjoy Clary's POV. I'm not quite sure what about it that draws me to it but I just find it to be very enjoyable and satisfying to follow throughout the story.
Simon.... *sigh* Allow me to gripe for a moment. Every single time he almost died I was sitting there thinking, "YES! YES, HE'S FINALLY DYING!" And at one point YES! HE'S DEAD! Then it was, "NO!!!! HE'S ALIVE!. Sorry to all those who like him but I really despised his presence and meddling.
We see more of Alec and Isabelle in this book which was nice. Alec is just a sweat heart and Isabelle is...yeah, I wouldn't want to get in her way.
The writing was, of course, amazing. Clare somehow just pulls me into the character's heads to the point where I sometimes forget the book is written in third person. The delivery of every single detail and revelation is spot on and expertly executed.
