Emily's Book Review: City Of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4)

Review: City Of Fallen Angels

City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4) is a fantastic but creepy, supernatural book about a mystery of murders that begin to threaten society despite the end of The Mortal War. It is written by Cassandra Clare and first published in 2011. 

The Mortal Instruments series as a whole is undeniably special, but my personal favourite is the fourth book in the series, the only one I actually own a copy of myself! I usually borrow library books to try and read something different every other week, but with the lockdown closing most of my local libraries, I have had to buy a few books of my own I think I would enjoy and this is now one of my favourite books of all time. It has 424 pages in total, which is rather long for a book in a larger series, because of this it is filled to the brim with detail and a constantly evolving plot which will always take the reader by surprise. Don't worry if you haven't read the first three books, City of Fallen Angels eases you in to the story of the last three books with no real need to read them first, which is one of the main reasons this book stands out to me over the others in the series. If you aren't a keen reader or haven't the time to read the first three books, you will not feel like you have missed any of the past story by picking up this book in the series, it is written in a way that readers are well-informed of the previous goings on without taking it away from the new plot of the fourth book.

My only downside to the fourth book is that the story is rather repetitive, making it difficult to stay hooked on certain storylines and particularly annoying characters who seem to make the same mistakes multiple times but don't learn from them - rather complaining about the consequences of those same mistakes over and over again. 

Simon is a character who shines brightest in this novel for his realistic personality, well-developed character and perseverance even though his luck has been rather unfortunate during his time in the series. Although there are a number of main characters in the books, I would say that Simon is more like a protagonist than the others. His friendship with the modest and loyal sixteen-year-old Clary Fray from New York is also a large contribution of Simon's popularity.

The first three books are notable for their individuality and elements of surprise and are thought highly of, though in my opinion, the fourth book is the last of the series to have any real appeal to it as it is an impressive sequel to the third book. Many reviewers have all said the same thing, the next books in the series are pretty poor. I felt so impressed by the initial four books that I didn't want to ruin my experience with the series or the author by reading the latter few books, though with all this time on my hands and a gnawing curiosity, I may do in the future.