City of Ashes

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description from the Publisher: 

Is love worth betraying everything? Plunge into the second adventure in the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly)—now with a gorgeous new cover, a map, a new foreword, and exclusive bonus content! City of Ashes is a Shadowhunters novel.

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who’s becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn’t ready to let her go—especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary’s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil—and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings—and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures readers back into the dark grip of New York City’s Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

My Review: 
Even though this is book two in the Mortal Instruments series, this novel could be read as its own entity. Readers might not get some of the references, but this book fleshes out the novel and the characters a bit more than the last book. I've heard that Cassandra Clare's writing gets even better as her books go on, and I have to agree. I really enjoyed this book, and I have already started City of Glass. City of Ashes allowed readers an even deeper and more extensive look at the Shadowhunters world and the creatures that inhabit it, including fairies, vampires, and werewolves. The book made me laugh and cry throughout. Because this is such a complex world and the plot threads through all the books, it is hard to write a spoiler-free review. 

I normally don't read books in a series one after the other (except for Harry Potter of course!), but this series keeps me so engaged that I HAVE to read the next book before going on to anything else!