City of Fallen Angles ~ Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
480 pages
ISBN: 9781481455992
Source: Amazon

Oh, goodness.

I’m very sure that Cassandra Clare was a clinical social worker in her past life.

With that conviction, I’m going to stop apologizing for looking at The Shadowhunters with that lens.

And, I must say, that City of Fallen Angels is the absolute perfect time for me to drop the apologies on that front.

the fourth book in The Mortal Instruments series is perhaps one of my favorites and it is an absolute heartbreaker (for reasons I won’t get into in detail because of spoilers).

Everything looks peaceful and content at the end of City of Glass, everyone arriving home from Idris and settling into their own lives. Simon actually has a love life (perhaps more than he can handle), Clary and Jace are making amend, and even Alec is on his way to happiness. It also looks like the kids and adults are working together instead of deceiving each other for the first time in a few decades.

But, as usual, what looks too good to be true, almost always is, and darkness comes creeping back in on almost every front.

The reason I declared Clare an LCSW was because of that simmering darkness creeping in around the edges of everyone’s lives. Usually, writers in fantasy and young adult in general, have little regard for the PTSD that should shadow these adventures. Cassandra Clare, however, manages to capture the pain and turmoil that really ought to be present in every story with as much combat as The Mortal Instruments.

One of the things that so endears me to the characters is that they doubt themselves even when they are presenting with bravery and confidence. They question their relationships, their history, their strength. For me, seeing vulnerability in fiction is just about the best thing.

I am switching back to Clockwork Prince, now, according to my lovely guides. I hope you all will pick up this series if you haven’t done so, yet!