“I am a man" he told her, "and men do not consume pink beverages. Get thee gone woman, and bring me something brown.”

The struggle has been real when it comes to this series, I've made no qualms about sharing my feelings in regards to the first two books. I was left feeling pretty underwhelmed and frustrated to the point of screaming at the characters. But something happened, maybe Clare took a writing class, maybe she went to the crossroads and sold her soul to the devil. Whatever she did, it worked.

This feels so grown up, so wildly different I can't put into my words the joy I felt reading this. I did spent most of it waiting for something to go wrong, but it didn't. This was a solid read, but to me this book is what the first two should have been. If I could throw all logic out the window, this would be a 5 out of 5, but this is the third book and by now I should have been all kinds of invested.

This book and it's characters feels so different, I finally stopped hating Jace...well mostly. I still have problems with his attitude, yes I understand he's putting on a front but behind closed doors he shows little in the way of remorse for his actions and his stubbornness, so it's hard to emphasise with him. Simon finally gets the respect he deserves and gets chapters from his POV, which I'm hoping will lead to Isabelle and Alec getting a chance to steal the spotlight in the final three books.

Of course it's not all sunshine and rainbow pooping unicorns. Clary is still a huge problem, she's rash, acts before thinking and is forever making dumb decisions after another. I understand her goal is to save her mum and help stop Valentine but she never looks at the bigger picture, there are so many consequences to her actions. She's a teenager acting like a kid and it's not for me, fingers crossed she'll stop charging off leaving others to pick up the pieces and fix her mess.

All in all, I'm glad I've stuck with it. City of Glass finally brought it, and it's given me hope for finishing this series. I am however going to take a break from The Mortal instruments and read her prequel series The Infernal Devices next as I need a break from these characters.

This third installment in Cassandra Clare’s Ode to Harry Potter was not quite as fun to hate as the second. I blame the faux incest romantic angst, which was dialed up to unbearable levels. At least there were some decent plot twists and character development. Also, this is the book in which everybody and their werewolf calls Clary out on all her crap, Clary included, and it is glorious! There was a little bit of that in book two, but there was more here. A large percentage of Clary’s character growth came through other characters telling her how horrible she is and her realizing they weren’t kidding, and I was all for it.

I do believe Clare’s writing has improved with each book, which gives me hope for her current endeavors, but I don’t think I’ll put any effort into acquiring more of her books. I am never more fully aware that YA books aren’t written for me than when I’m reading books like this. Not that teen me would have appreciated it much more than adult me. I never had more than two or three romantic bones in my body (and The Last Unicorn shattered one of them permanently—oh! sweet agony!), and I’ve always gotten irritated when the characters keep putting the world-saving on hold to be angstily in love.

I still haaaaaaaaate Jace and Clary and want them to go jump in Lake Lyn, and I need to take a break and do some priority-examining before I pick up book four. This one ended in a nice stopping-place. That’s enough fun-to-hate reading for now.

Amid the chaos of war, the Shadowhunters must decide to fight with the vampires, werewolves and other Downworlders - or against them. Meanwhile, Jace and Clary have their own decision to make: Should they pursue the love they know is forbidden?

This book so far in the series was my favorite. I liked everything about it. We get a little of everything in this book.

Lots of suspense, twist and turns, action, humor and romance.  We learn a lot of new things, meet new people and a lot will be answered. We also see more of the other clans of the downworld.

I think this book was supposed to be the final installment in the series and you can tell how everything just comes together perfectly in the end.

But of course most of the book we get heartbreak with war, clave politics and even some big losses in the war.

The Clave of course thinks that they still know what is best for the Shadowhunters and of course acts on that but that is not always the best as we have learned in the past. They are very stuck in their old ways and really dislike change, any change.

Clary has come a long way since book one where she learned about this new world. She finally knows what she can do and embraces it even more. While she might not be the strongest fighter, she still is a very strong shadowhunter. Clary was not always my favorite person, but I really like who she has become, throughout her many trials and errors. She still has some TSTL moments but overall has much improved.

Jace, is still kind of going through a dark patch in this book but being Jace he fights through it and does what he does best. Fight for the ones he loves. I loved that he comes to terms with his feelings and actually verbalizes them. And not even in his typical snark. No, we got some really beautiful and heartwarming moments with Jace in this book.  We also learn some surprising things about him and his past. He also had some great growth throughout the series so far.

The Lightwoods, take a major hit in the family, but that does not keep them down. No, it makes them stronger in a way. Love Izzy and Alec, also love that Alec has become more open about his feelings. I wish that would be the same about Izzy abut a certain person.

There are some things happening to Joslyn, we get learn a lot more new things about Valentine as well. About both of them and their past. Of course we learn even more about his plans and why and how far he is willing to go and how far he already went.

Simon there are a lot of things happening to Simon again and yes he always has a thing for getting caught in trouble somehow. Some things are stil in the dark and could use some answers about him.

Luke, we get a great deal of Luke. He is actually a major player in this war and how to stop it. I really like what we see of him and how far he also has come and how he seems to be growing more and more back into the shadow- world as a downworlder and trying to unite them all.

Overall, great book loved every minute of it and really looking forward to see what happens next in the series.

I rate this book a full 5 ★

Some of my favorite quotes:

“And I'm suppose to sit by while you date boys and fall in love with someone else, get married...?" His voice tightened. "And meanwhile, I'll die a little bit more every day, watching.”

***

“Not everything is about you," Clary said furiously.

"Possibly," Jace said, "but you do have to admit that the majority of things are.”

***

“People aren't born good or bad. Maybe they're born with tendencies either way, but its the way you live your life that matters.”

***

“Did you ever think that in a past life Alec was an old woman with ninety cats who was always yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off her lawn? Because I do,”

***

“Have you tried talking to her?"

"No. We've been punching her in the face repeatedly. What? You don't think that will work?”

***

“I have a fetish for damsels in distress.”

“Don’t be sexist.”

“Not at all. My services are also available to gentlemen in distress. It’s an equal opportunity fetish.”

***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

loved the ending

Well that escalated quickly ...