Cassandra Clare's "The Mortal Instruments" Series

Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series

I know that I haven't updated in a couple weeks, but it's because I wanted to knock out this whole series before I reviewed it. I had previously reviewed Cassandra Clare's "Clockwork Angel", which is the first book in her prequel series "The Infernal Devices" and I really liked it. While I didn't think that The Mortal Instruments was quite as good, mostly because I preferred the ID characters, it's a very entertaining series.

The heroes of this series are Clary and Jace. Clary is your average sixteen year-old girl, growing up in Brooklyn with her overbearing mom, her substitute father figure, Luke (who reminds me of Luke from Gilmore Girls, plaid shirt and all) and her best friend, the awkward and nerdy Simon. At least she thinks she's the average teen until her life takes a head-on collision with Jace, a handsome and arrogant Shadow Hunter, a secret class of warriors who, hidden from mortal eyes, protect the world from demons. Clary shouldn't even be able to SEE shadow hunters, so the fact that she can proves that she isn't so ordinary afterall, and as it turns out, neither are the other people in her life. While Clary proves to be not-your-ordinary human girl, Jace also proves to be not-your-ordinary shadow hunter, and both characters are lead on long journey to battle the forces of evil and find out who they really are.

While Clary and Jace are both likable characters, the real appeal lies in their fellow characters, "people" like the paternal to everyone, father to none Luke, the feisty and self-assured shadow hunter Isabelle, the forever loyal BFF Simon and the flamboyantly gay warlock, Magnus (who you'll recognize if you've read the Infernal Devices.

The one thing that I didn't care for in the series was that the last book, City of Fallen Angels, ended in a cliffhanger. Of course, I assume this to mean that the series isn't finished, but when I finish a boxset, I like all of my endings to be tied up nice and neat. I'm highly impatient with cliffhangers, and now I'm left thinking "I need to know!!!" Other than that, the series is good. Perhaps not the best fantasy series ever, but definitely worth the read, especially if you plan to see the movies, the first of which, "City of Bones", comes out in March, I believe. To its credit, I can't think of another series that has vampires, werewolves, warlocks, demons, angels, fairies... If it had a dragon, it would have everything.

Speaking of the movies, I had no interest in seeing them, because I felt like it's the kind of story that is preset for a horrible film adaptation... until I saw the casting. Aidan Turner as Luke Garroway?? Yes, PLEASE! As for the rest of the cast, they're all pretty much exactly what I pictured for the characters (or in the case of some, what the cover of the book lead me to believe they would look like). Maybe the movies won't be so bad afterall.

BUY THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS ON AMAZON

BUY A CLOCKWORK ANGEL ON AMAZON

Cassandra Clare's "Clockwork Angel"

"Clockwork Angel" on Amazon.com

They say "never judge a book by its cover", but when it comes to my love for fantasy books, I always judge the book by the cover. When I see a handsome dude in dapper clothes, and it's not a cheest romance novel, there's a good chance that I'll pick it up.

This particular book also peaked another interest of mine, which was find out what this whole "steampunk" genre was about, and Cassandra Clare's "Clockwork Angel" was my first foray into that domain. I'm glad that the book was a strong mix of steampunk and fantasy, because the mechanical elements didn't really appeal to me. I hear the word "automaton" and I instantly assume Will Smith will make an appearance a la "I-Robot". The robots in this book, while it was set in old-time London, were much closer to those of current time than the creepy yet benign automaton of "Hugo".

Cogs and mechanics aside, I loved the fantastical elements - the classic battle between angels and demons, intermingling with humans, vampires, warlocks and the fey. 

This series looks to be a bit darker than most fantasy, with certain scenes that could rival the creepiness of Silent Hill. Fires blaze and blood abounds, so while it's not terribly scary, faint of heart fairy-tale lovers should be warned. This isn't a fairy tale. 

The characters vary from the sensitive and intelligent angel warrior, Jem, to the flighty and shallow yet comically fierce Jessamine and everyone in between. The main focus is on the 17 year-old angel-soldier Will Herondale, who is arrogant and broody yet quite entertaining (and also the handome devil on the cover) and the equally young heroine of the story, polite yet feisty Underworlder, Tessa Gray. With a pairing like that, the obvious sparks and passions ensue. 

The story itself is great. It's well thought out, action packed with all the right elements to keep you engaged. But you can tell that it's a series because it just kind of fizzles out. There are a lot of unanswered questions to lead you into the next book, but no big cliff hanger. That was really the only disappointment. Other than that, it was a definite page-turner. I read all 450ish pages in about a day and a half. 

Kim Gray is a mom, blogger, nutrition fanatic and founder of the Voracious Readers Society and ePaleoCookbooks.net. If you would like to join the society and submit your own book reviews, you can contact her at voraciousreaders@yahoo.com or on twitter @artex1024.