“City of Glass” is the action-packed, incredibly slimy and
gore-filled climax to Clary’s story. In
this book, Clary travels to Idris, the City of Glass, in search of the spell
that would waken her mother from her comatose-type sleep. It is an impulsive move that immediately
places Clary and her loved ones in danger, for entering the City of Glass
without permission is against the law and punishable by death.
Clary and Luke seek refuge in the house of Amatis, Luke’s
estranged sister. As Clary searches for
the spell that will set her mother free, she is drawn to Sebastian, a dark and
mysterious Shadowhunter. Meanwhile,
Valentine moves closer to fulfilling his plans of destroying the
Shadowhunters. The only way the
Shadowhunters can fight Valentine is by striking an alliance with the
Downworlders, their mortal enemies. But
will the Shadowhunters and Downworlders trust each other enough to fight
against a common enemy?
“City of Glass” is fairly telenovela-predictable. I suppose the readers who were up in arms
over Clary and Jace’s “incestuous” relationship don’t have enough telenovela
exposure to recognize that of course, there’s a plot twist to make sure
Clary and Jace have their happy ending.
There are also other telenovela elements within the story that
have no shred of logic, at all --- such as the recovery of Clary’s mother
(quite unsatisfying) and what happens to Jace during the big showdown with
Valentine (if that’s not something that you can find in a telenovela, I
don’t know what is!). If you’re a
hard-to-please, nitpicky kind of reader, then you will definitely hate this
book. However, if you’re the type of
reader where anything goes, then you might forgive Cassandra Clare for this
book.
Romance-hungry readers will not be disappointed by “City
of Glass,” for it is filled with numerous angst-ridden romantic moments between
Clary and Jace. However, I wouldn’t
advise parents to allow their children to read this if they’re still quite
young. There are many, many instances
in this book that are quite gory and violent (that scene alone with the
guardian angel Ithuriel made me quite nauseous). Also, there are a few scenes here and there that are too intimate
for young readers to read. No actual sexual
intercourse, but still hot enough for parental guidance. Touchy subjects such as homosexuality,
homosexual relationships and parental abuse are also present. Parents might want to closely supervise
their children if they are going to read this book.
RATING: 4 1/2
