City of Fallen Angels

By Cassandra Clare

Trust is dangerous, and to love is to destroy. Plunge into the fourth installment in the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and “prepare to be hooked” (Entertainment Weekly).

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

The stakes are higher than ever in the #1 New York Times bestselling fourth installment of the Mortal Instruments series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Release date: Apr 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781442403567

Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass. City of Bones was a Locus Award finalist for Best First Novel and an ALA Teens' Top Ten winner. She is also the author of the upcoming YA fantasy trilogy The Infernal Devices. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her boyfriend and two cats.

Reviews for City of Fallen Angels

[bookscantgetenough · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was good but for some reason I didn't enjoy it as much as the other books. I can't wait to read the next one though.

[mhanover10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I like that this series flows from one book to the other. In this book somebody keeps attacking Simon, which is stupid since he has the Mark of Cain on his forehead and anyone who attacks him gets it back seven fold. Then Kyle comes into the picture. Who is this mystery guy. You find out pretty quickly. I like Kyle and Simon as friends. Jace is having really bad dreams and thinks it's best to stay away from Clary. And of course all hell breaks looks a couple times. There are a few "why did you do that" and "oh hell no" moments. Stayed up late finishing this one and immediately picked up the next one. Great series in the genre.

[simplykelina · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just finished the Infernal Devices trilogy, and was looking forward to finishing out The Mortal Instruments. It was fun getting back into these characters, and I connected more with this book after taking a break from the series.I liked how this story focused on Simon being a vampire. There were twists and turns along the way to keep my interest. I also enjoyed the romance more now that we know for sure Jace and Clary are not related.Overall, I am still loving this series. I highly recommend listening to them on audiobook. I am flying threw them. Two more to go!

[rozziereads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I would recommend rereading the first 3 books, before you decide to pick this up.
I will say this much. The next book is a MUST READ when it comes out, not only because of the HUGE ZOMG cliff hanger, but also b/c of all the side stories that I believe are going to build up very interestingly.

[tiffy_reads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a cliffhanger?! This book had me reading late into the night. I can't wait to read the next book.

[samm4-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Liked the book, although it was slow to get into it. It got better once it hit its stride. Looking forward more to Clockwork Prince than the next MI book.

[bryndahlquis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Really, the only thing I'm still reading this series for is Simon. He's rapidly become the most interesting character, and there's only so much Clary/Jace drama I can take. It's just ridiculous. Simon is far more sympathetic. Luckily, the book does heavily center around him rather than just being constant Clary/Jace drama.Even then, it's still not good. It's entertaining, at best. I still like a lot of the characters, but the series has definitely taken on that distinctive run-out-of-actually-good-ideas plot twist.

[benuathanasia · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As Shadowhunters are found dead, a new enemy is revealed. As is a big-bad even worse than Valentine. Unless Satan himself is introduced next, I can't see how Shadowhunters can really introduce a worse villain. Hopefully if Satan is introduced as a character, he won't be so anti-climatically taken down as the enemy in this volume.

[nicolesch-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Honestly, Clary, Simon and Jace have just been getting less likeable as the book has gone on, quite the opposite of what is supposed to happen with character growth. Add to that that the story wasn't as interesting as the first books in the series, and I was quite let down. The first two and a half books dealt with legends and folk-tales, but now that the angels are interacting with the humans every other month, the inaccurate angelology is bothering me. What was with the stupid claim that Adam had a first wife who wouldn't obey him? If Eve couldn't even obey God to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, how can Cassandra Clare expect us to believe that Eve would obey Adam? The story of Genesis is interpretable as a parable, but I honestly don't know how it could be interpreted the way it was in this book. I will probably finish this series because I enjoyed the first two books so much, and I will probably give to new series a try since everyone on booktube seems to be raving about it, but if I don't start to leave these books feeling satisfied, then I will probably stop forcing myself to read them. Even via audiobook, this book felt long.

[banoczi_henrietta · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was just incredible and I am a mess. Magnus and Alec made me cry quite a few times, and there were so many unexpected turns, I love everything about this book, it is pretty much perfect. How does the writing just keep getting better and better, and how does Cassandra Clare come up with such plot-twists?
I really love the character development, especially when it comes to Simon, because, while I was a bit frustrated with him at the beginning of this book, he has now become one of my favourite characters. He just feels very.... human. (hehe)
The new characters are also very enjoyable, they just fit right into the story, without feeling like plot devices or anything.
And I totally called that ending, I just knew that was going to happen. I was still surprised when it did. Jace is an idiot oh my god.

[virago77 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Possible spoilers and LOTS of rambling ahead:
So...to be honest I had no intention of finishing the series because I had read more bad things than good reviews about books 4-6. But then I read The Bane Chronicles and some of the Shadowhunter Academy and I just needed closure on Simon's story arc, Alec and Magnus, as well as Luke.
I read this mostly to see what went down with Alec and Magnus. They were pretty much absent from 85% of the book which was irritating, but at least there was a lot of Simon.

I'm beyond pissed that Isabelle thought it was perfectly cool that she was casual with Simon and dating other people, but was so pissed that he was doing the same thing. And to be honest, it had nothing to do with the fact that it was someone she knew. She's so full of herself that she couldn't believe that anyone--especially nerdy Simon--could be interested in someone other than her. I love that Isabelle is hella confident with herself and her body, but she and Jace have that ridiculous arrogance in common. It seems as though this turn of events put her in her place, and maybe she's rethinking her behaviors. I certainly hope so, because I was routing for Simon and Izzy once I realized that Clary and Jace's relationship was inevitable *gag*.

As for Magnus and Alec, his upset over Magnus' past truly shows his lack of age and experience. I've never understood people's morbid curiosity about heir partner's past. The past is the past. It happened before you knew them so what has it got to do with your current relationship?! And Magnus is hundreds of years old, of course he's had many, many paramours, duh! And should he be lonely because his lover died or left him? He told Alec that before him he had been alone for a very long time, shouldn't that have told him that Magnus didn't just jump from relationship to relationship? Just because your heart aches for one you lost, doesn't mean you can't open your self to someone else. And it certainly doesn't negate the feelings you had for the one you lost just because you move on. I have to say it bothered me, but to me it was very good writing. Alec is young and naive and completely inexperienced with life and love, so it does make sense for him to have this reaction. I have to say I would have been disappoint in the author if she made him completely cool with his former relationships.

I'm actually not looking forward to what is to come because I've been spoiled and know he basics of what's coming in the next book. But I want to see the whole progression and not just all the good stuff. Here's to hoping the author gifts me with proper angst and not just the wah-wah-Jace-Clary show. I am so over them. Jace is arrogant and a damned martyr; it's ridiculous! And Clary never stops to think about anything except how much she needs Jace. I get it, when you love someone so much nothing else matters, but don't get butt hurt when people call you on your selfishness, because it IS selfishness. Don't get me wrong, I'd burn down worlds for my beloved, I'd just be much more awesome about it. But then, I'm not a 16-year-old girl, so I suppose Clary can be forgiven. But it's still annoying as fuck!

[al_stone-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I tried. I tried so hard to finish this book, but, for the life of me, I just couldn't. While writing this review, I realised something: I've never given a book 1 star before. This is a first, and what a shame it happens to be a book from a series that started off so well.I enjoyed the first three books of The Mortal Instruments series, and it's a shame Clare didn't stop there. I held on as long as I could, but this book was doing my head in. What happened to the characters I came to know and love from the first three books? These clones in City of Fallen Angels lacked personality. Like Simon's current existence, these characters were living but were not alive. It was almost as if Clare removed their souls and left the empty shells behind.This book lacked purpose. I can easily through it out and have no regrets because it left no impression on me whatsoever. It hurts me to give any book a 1 star but the fact that it's a book I was looking forward to just left me heartbroken. It was almost as if City Of Fallen Angels was written by someone else. This can't be the same Cassandra Clare who wrote the first three books.I could go in depth and point out the hurt this book has inflicted upon me, but I won't because of my loyalty to the first three books. I will not be continuing with the series for the mere fact that it has lost its spark and its significance.

[gavyng.b1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book starts with the main character, Jace having bad dreams about killing Clary. They take him to the silent city where the silent brothers treat him. They test him and let him rest for a night. In his dream that night he accidentally gets convinced into getting possessed by his half demon brother. His half demon brother, Sebastion go to Sebastion's dad's magic apartment. There Sebastion and possessed Jace make a magic cup they use to turn people into demon soldiers. When they make someone drink from the cup they turn very power. When Sebastion has finally made an army of demon people Clary finally un-possesses Jace.Together they go to Sebastions new demon realm to kill him. Once they kill him all his demon soldiers instantly die. Then the very powerful demon teleports them back to their home realm. I thought City of Fallen Angles was a pretty good book. It was packed with Action, Magic, and mystery. I like how they have the book talking from to different people point of view. The two people are Clary and Jace. I also like that they both have a special power. Clary's being create special Runes. Jace's being super angel power. I like how they refer to humans as mundanes and solve real world mysteries.

[evelynnygren · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful! This book was amazing and angering at the same time. I'm too anticipated to read the next one to find out what happens next, but I very much enjoyed another one of Cassandra Clare's books!!!

[dairyqueen84 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Clary, Simon, Jace, Isabelle, and the rest are back with some new characters not found in the three earlier books of The Mortal Instruments series. Someone is killing Shadowhunters and causing tension between Downworlders and Shadowhunters. Someone is also trying to kill Simon who is adjusting to being a vampire. He is also a Daylighter and bears the Mark of Cain which protects him from attack. Even though he still loves Clary, Simon is dating both Isabelle and Maia, a werewolf. Jace is pulling away from Clary and she does not know why. Clary’s Mom and Luke are getting married and many of the supernaturals are invited to the wedding. Full of action, adventure, romance, and new twists, fans who have enjoyed the series thus far will not be disappointed in this volume with fully developed and likeable characters.

[linyarai · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love the characters and the stroy, can't wait to read the next book!

[triduana-794064 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Still loving this series. This book dropped a star for me as I'm here for the action and this was more character-led (not that it was a problem, but the previous books had their characters develop in the midst of the action). Love Simon. Really liked Jordan too, I'm looking forward to seeing where his story leads. And ooh, that ending. I've started book five now.

[leila.khouane · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 STARS

well this is an interesting turn of events, and i'm impressed. I thought that the story ended in city of glass and the author can do nothing creative to follow the story, but it is amazing how this plot twist are greatly written and perfectly put together.

Plus all the characters are making progress, Finally!

I still don't get why all the boys in perticular needs to be rescued by the girls, each and every single time (except Magnus, he's a strange one)

it starts a bit slow at first, but I DO not mind at all, that end just BLOWN my MIND. Heck I'm still in shock.
And the serie is one of the creepiest one I've ever read (especially the sister/brother thing).

People it a MUST READ!

[tonifgmamtc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great read, but I didn't enjoy it as much as some of the other books in the Shadowhunter universe. Interesting end. I will definitely be continuing the books.

[lvstrongpuff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was really good. I think the series could end here and I would be happy with it.

[completely_melanie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just love this series so much! A lot of this book actually circles around Simon. He has found himself with 2 girlfriends, Maia and Isabelle, and he is not really sure how to handle this situation. He also has people popping up all over the place trying to kill him which only kills them instead because of his new "Mark of Cain", and someone very sinister wants to use him and his special abilities. As far as Jace and Clary go, they are dealing with the consequences of bringing Jace back to life. Oh my gosh, that ending!!! Can't wait to start the next one!

[composingcomposer · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Honestly, Clary, Simon and Jace have just been getting less likeable as the book has gone on, quite the opposite of what is supposed to happen with character growth. Add to that that the story wasn't as interesting as the first books in the series, and I was quite let down. The first two and a half books dealt with legends and folk-tales, but now that the angels are interacting with the humans every other month, the inaccurate angelology is bothering me. What was with the stupid claim that Adam had a first wife who wouldn't obey him? If Eve couldn't even obey God to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, how can Cassandra Clare expect us to believe that Eve would obey Adam? The story of Genesis is interpretable as a parable, but I honestly don't know how it could be interpreted the way it was in this book. I will probably finish this series because I enjoyed the first two books so much, and I will probably give to new series a try since everyone on booktube seems to be raving about it, but if I don't start to leave these books feeling satisfied, then I will probably stop forcing myself to read them. Even via audiobook, this book felt long.

[shahnareads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I missed these characters.
Glad I finally picked this story up again.



My previous reviews for this series are dumb. Clearly written in haste. All copy and pasted. I read the first three before being apart of goodreads so they're all marked as read on the same day.

Past me was stupid.

[mrsdanaalbasha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As mysterious murders threaten the new peace between Shadowhunters and Downworlders, only Simon, the Daylighter vampire, can help bring both groups together.

I just finished the book moments ago, and let me tell you this, though I loved it, I'm so angry at the way this book ended! Where's the Clave? Where is the Silent Brothers? How could they leave Jace under *Spoilers* Sebastian's mercy!? I loved every kissing scene between Jace and Clary, and I loved the new edition to the story, Jordan and Maia's story. For the first time, I could say I found Simon kind of sexy, being a vampire suited him, I don't find the sign of Cain to be a bad thing, it protected him and Clary and Jace, and it killed Lilith. But I think book 5 [City of Lost Souls] will show us Camille's revenge on Simon. I think Jace will break Clary's heart.

I was surprised at the mention of Will Herondale! Is he gay? I thought when I read Clockwork Angel that he was into Tessa Gray!!

Anyway I can't wait till (May 8, 2012) and get my hands on City of Lost Souls!! I hope Jace will be stronger and Clary will save him for once.

From my favorite quotes:

"Jordan looked horrified. "Dude," he said, "do not follow other dudes to the bathroom."

"It was odd, Isabelle thought, watching someone so tall try to make himself look harmless and small."

"I am not a man. I have no male pride for you to trick me with, and I am not interested in single combat. That is entirely a weakness of your sex, not mine. I am a woman. I will use any weapon and all weapons to get what I want."

"You and your name-dropping," he said. "'I knew Michael.' 'I knew Sammael.' 'The angel Gabriel did my hair.' It's like I'm with the Band with biblical figures."

"For a bachelor who'd never had children, Simon thought, Luke had an awful lot of kids to look after."

[heather_brock-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes I wonder what possesses me to read these stories. I'm smarter than what they offer. Then again, reading these is like a vacation for my brain. And we all need a good vacation once in awhile. Also the actual writing continues to disappoint. Lady, buy a thesaurus and learn some new words.

[katieloucks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So good!!!! I loved it. Although it seemed like it could have been a separate series (Clare had planned on only writing three books), I think it still works.

[emilyannward-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read some reviews on Goodreads, and it seems like people either love this book or loathe it. I'm somewhere in between, but I learn toward loving it. I read the first three so quickly. Her writing does that to me - I cannot put the darn book down, I find myself reading ahead and have to force myself to stick to the current line I'm on.After I picked this book up from the library, though, I had to read a summary on the first three because I honestly could remember very little of what happened. Valentine wanted to kill Downworlders, Simon became a vampire who could walk in daylight, Jace and Clary thought they were siblings or fa while, they took Valentine out in the end. . .did anything else happen? Yes, apparently, quite a lot, and I actually had to call my 13 year old sister to ask her, 'Wait, who are Jace's parents again??'Anyways, as predicted, I read this book in a few sittings. Just like when I was fourteen and I was so friggin excited when she'd update Draco Veritas and I'd soak up those words as quickly as I could (though I later learned the words weren't all hers lol), I couldn't put this book down. Well, I did a few times because I had to sleep or go to an appointment, but you get the idea.The book picks up six weeks after City of Glass. Clary's mom and Luke are getting married. Simon is trying to adjust to vampire life, being made offers and also being attacked by strange men. Clary and Jace are training and kind of happy, but not really. Strange things are happening, though - someone is killing Shadowhunters, and someone else is messing with human babies. The crew does their individual research, and they find out that it's all connected by a darker evil than they could have imagined. Yeah, I never said I was really good at writing blurbs, okay?Is it perfect? No. Are Clary and Jace melodramatic? Yes. Does some of the dialogue make me cringe? Yes. Regardless, I thought there were some very intriguing ideas here, and I liked how the plot played out. Plus Simon makes this book very awesome. I love seeing more of him, and even though he was getting a little whiny towards, I think he's finally getting it together by the end. I think at times Clare tries to chase after too many subplots (do I care about Alec and Magnus? No, actually, I don't. And I care about Maia and Jordan only a little bit more). I think if she went deeper into just a few characters, it'd be better.Some people thought the plot moved slowly and had too much dialogue, but I thought it was a reasonable pace. Not everything can go a million miles a minute, and I thought it was a lot more like "real life" even with the demon babies and pillars of salt and everything.I'll be watching for the next installment, and Clockwork Prince (and I liked her little nod to that world!). Who knows? I might even go read the first three again. It'll probably be like reading them for the first time since it went straight through me last time.Sidenote: I don't really like this cover. Clary's eyes look weird. And is that supposed to be Simon? What's with the arrows??Second sidenote I forgot to add: I like Clary. She doesn't wait around for people to save her, but she's also not invincible. Yes, she mopes over Jace, but it doesn't inhibit her from everything. She was probably more preoccupied with Jace in this book than others (although I could be wrong considering I hardly remember the others). I still like her.

[sgcastellini · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this one, it didn't have quite the magic of the last 3, but it certainly exceeded my expectations, and of course, can't wait for the next!

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As much as I like Clary and Jace (although, seriously, aren't Jace's unclear loyalties a little old at this point?), I was really glad to see Simon taking a larger role in this book - although with his multiple girlfriends! Simon has been developing into a very interesting character throughout the last few books and I felt like he really took center stage in this book - and hopefully will continue to do so in future volumes! Fun reading, can't wait to continue this series!

[rwilliab · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you ask me, this is definitely the best of Cassandra Clare's books so far. Excellent twists and deepenings of her semi-Biblical mythos were welcome factors and while Jace's self-esteem issues are as annoying as ever, this outing was very much enjoyable. Probably 4.5, but Goodreads doesn't do half-stars. Too bad.