534 pages
"The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace freed from captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing, so is the boy she hates: her brother Sebastian, who is determined to bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.
The Clave's magic cannot locate either boy, but Jace can't stay away from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith's magic has wrought--Jace and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other.
Only a few people believe that Jace can still be saved. Together, Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle bargain with the sinister Seelie Queen, contemplate deals with demons, and turn at last to the merciless, weapon-making Iron Sisters, who might be able to forge a weapon that can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. If the Iron Sisters can't help, their only hope is to challenge Heaven and Hell--a risk that could claim their lives.
And they must do it without Clary. For Clary is playing a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace's soul. She's willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?" -Dust Jacket
After reading book 4 I kind of wished this series would have ended with book 3, City of Glass. There was a lot of "hasn't Jace suffered enough?" among fans and it felt like Cassandra Clare was just dragging things along, writing more books to make more money, whatever. But then I read her reason for continuing: that even though other characters thought Jace had been redeemed and was worthy of love, he didn't feel that way and he needed to get to that point for himself; he was still doubting himself at the end of book 3. I liked that idea and started to support the idea of three more books, despite the three-year wait for the end.
I read some of the reviews on Amazon for this book while I waited for it to come in the mail. It got an average 3.5/5 stars, which isn't that great for a 5th book. People complained that it was slow-moving, the author constantly described what people were wearing and how beautiful Jace is, etc. I think because I started it not expecting to like it very much that I liked it better. The first half is a little slow, and she does describe what characters are wearing a lot--which sometimes adds nothing to the story--but the second half was great. I liked that it didn't end with a major cliff-hanger. It sets up the last book for a major showdown which I think will be even more exciting than the showdown with Valentine.
{SPOILERS}
I liked what happened with Jace. He spent most of the book under Sebastian's control but for the few minutes that he was himself again I felt like he'd come a long way personally. Being the mindless servant of someone else showed him how much he loved his life and the people in it and how much he was willing to fight to get it back. It also let him understand Sebastian, Valentine and his real father more, and to be able to see how he is different from those people. His love for Clary is at the heart of everything he does, even under Sebastian's control. One of the characters early on said that some people have special destinies and special tortures reserved for them. Jace is apparently one of those. Being filled with heavenly fire will be an interesting twist for the final book. I'm sure it will allow him to fight (and defeat?) Sebastian; I'm just hoping that it doesn't cost him his life or Clary. I always hope for a happy ending after adversity. It was nice to get the real Jace back and hear his funny, sarcastic remarks again. Thank goodness he finally realized that he and Clary are better off and stronger together, no more pushing each other away to protect the other person. They'll just have to make sure Jace doesn't burn her when they're together. It's always something with them!
Having the angel require the Mark of Cain from Simon in exchange for a weapon that could sever the bond between Jace and Sebastian was a great plot twist. It makes Simon vulnerable again. I think he and Maureen will have to fight in the next book. She's the scariest 13-year-old I've read in a long time.
I don't care for the romance between Alec and Magnus. I like them both individually, but I'm not a fan of their relationship in a young adult book. I wouldn't let my teenager read this series because of that. Plus, Alec is a jealous teenager the whole time. He's jealous that Magnus has been around for so long and that he'll live forever. That jealousy drives him to almost make a deal with Camille to find out how to make him mortal again. Obviously that doesn't go over well with Magnus.
Sebastian is truly evil, but he's also incredibly lonely. I liked getting to know him better in this book. He's still manipulative and tells lies and will do anything it takes to get what he wants, but he also yearns for companionship, to the point where there is a really uncomfortable scene between him and Clary which I think goes to show that despite feeling a little bit sorry for him he's still despicable. He wipes out all sympathy you might have felt for him by the end of the book. I think it was smart to have Jace and Clary spend all that time with him. Even though they don't know where he is or what his end game is by the end of the book, they have learned more about his personality and motives. He is not the same kind of evil as his father. He's much, much worse.
Is Brother Zachariah really Stephen Herondale? Did he not really die? He's got to be someone with a connection to the Lightwoods and Herondales to take such a personal interest in Jace's well-being and what's going on.
I'm getting tired of saying this, but I'll have to wait a year to find out how this ends. I'm not all that interested in Cassandra Clare's other Shadowhunter series. I read Clockwork Angel and it felt like a regurgitated version of The Mortal Instruments just with different characters. I've heard she's going to write a third series now. Maybe it's cool to see how some characters (Magnus) weave in and out of all these stories, and maybe I'll read them eventually, but right now there are just too many other books I want to read.
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