The Mortal Instruments Series is perhaps the only series that evokes every emotion out of me within the time span of ten minutes. Every book was a different experience and I fell in love until City of Fallen Angels. The fourth addition to the series was far from disastrous, honestly, i loved it until the last few chapters. With a heart-wrenching cliffhanger, they implied that there would be another book. I went into City of Lost Souls with an open mind, determined not to give up on the series even though I felt it was impossibly long for no reason and could have ended with the third book. Clare of course revived my hopes in the series with this phenomenal piece of literature.
When the Clave has put the search for Jace and Sebastion secondary to another crisis, Clary takes on the job herself with the assistance of her friends and mother. When she finally finds Jace, he is not how she left him, but strangely willingly helping her brother in his mysterious cabal. The story divides into three points of view - one from Clary who becomes involved in her brother and boyfriend's plans without contact to any of her friends; Alec, who is taking advice from a cryptic source on how to be with Magnus; and everyone else, who are searching for a way to save Jace without help from the Clave. There are so many twists and turns that it seems almost impossible for this story to have a happy ending, but Clare has yet to disapoint.
I'm not one for love stories, especially not teenage ones, but Clarissa Fray (the main character) and her boyfriend Jace Wayland have the most interesting and challenging relationship I've ever read about. Both characters go through absolute hell to be with each other and then to stay together, with just about everything from the Clave to her family to his forever haunting past threatens their lives together.
For those of you unfamiliar with the series, it is definitely a must read- especially before the movie comes out next year(NOT AFTER the movie comes out)- because of its ability to capture an audience with hilarious dialogue, tear jerking love stories, vividly descriptive action scenes, and an unimaginably ingenious fantasy world.
Though the story seems to never end, I applaud Ms. Clare in her creativity and her captivating story lines. You fall in love with nearly every character, evil or not, and find yourself struggling to put the book down once you've begun reading.