City of Glass

     City of Glass is the third book in the series.  I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down.  I have to apologize to anyone who tried to talk to me over the weekend, because I don't remember what you said.  :)
     The plot was somewhat contrived, and I knew who Jace and Sebastian were from the first pages of the book.  However, I was so in love with Jace, Clary, and Simon, I didn't care. 
     Alicante was an amazing setting and I visualized it much like Lothlorien in Lord of the Rings.  This beautiful setting helped me understand the motives of the characters.
     I loved the battle between the demons, angels, and assorted Downworlders.  The bigger themes of prejudice and sacrifice were very relevant to the modern world and gave me many things to ponder this week. 
     I loved the arc the characters followed throughout the three books and was satisfied with the conclusion of the worlds and the characters.  It's nice to know that love conquers all, at least in this world.

City of Bones

     One of my students suggested I read City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.  It seemed like a perfect book for me because it is the story of God's angels (Shadow Hunters) fighting the fallen angels (demons) to protect humans.  Fifteen-year-old Clary finds herself in the middle of the battle after her mother is killed by a demon.  Clary moves in with the shadow hunters for protection and discovers she is not an ordinary girl. 
     Although there were sections of the book that I enjoyed, like the midnight scene with Jace on Clary's birthday, I was bored through most of the book.  I usually enjoy this genre, but found this book to be trite and superficial.  By throwing in demons, vampires, werewolves, angels, and shadow hunters, it became chaotic, rather than exciting.  It almost seemed like Cassandra Clare was trying to appeal to readers of Twilight, which made it lose credibility on its own merits for me. 
     City of Bones reminded me of a soap opera.  One part was straight from Star Wars when Darth Vadar reveals that he is Luke's father.  Jace and Clary have a touching relationship until they discover they are related.  I hated the plot twists because they seemed forced and unnatural for the characters.
     Rarely did I forget I was reading a book and escape into the book.  That was frustrating for me because escape is one of the things I love best about reading novels.
     Oprah chose it for her bookclub and Stephanie Meyer put a quote on the front of the book saying how much she loved this world, but I was disappointed by the hype and the book.  If you love fantasy books, you may enjoy this book, but I think there are far better choices to read in the genre.