Review: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Publication Date: September 6th 2012
Publisher: Walker Books
Source: Own
Series: The Mortal Instruments #5 
[See reviews of the other books in the series HERE]

[ Goodreads ]            [ Book Depository ]

Blurb: 
What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. 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?

 ** Spoilers ahead for this book and the previous **

I was hesitant getting back into this series as its' been four years or more since I read City of Fallen Angels. But, I was glad to find myself remembering what happened in the previous books quite quickly once I started reading. I did find this reading experience somewhat different than I remember when reading the series when I was younger, but lets explore my thought more! 

So the book picks off from the previous books ending, Jace has been used to resurrect Sebastian and has disappeared. Clary and her friends are desperate to find him and put a stop to Sebastian. 

The plot of this book started off a little slow for me. I think it took a good 50-100 pages for me to get into the plot of the book and feel captivated. The novel focuses around the search for Jace and I found it interesting seeing how his disappearance affects everyone around them and seeing everyone band together in the search for him. I really enjoyed the action aspects of the novel and the suspense around finding the real Jace. 


The writing style of the novel wasn't as gripping as I remembered from the previous novels, but I did find it enjoyable. The action scenes were well written and captivating but some other scenes, mostly toward the first half were somewhat dull. 

The characters in this series really bring it up for me. The characters are so well written and really stay with you after the novel is finished. I think this novel did a great job of showcasing how three dimensional the side characters are who are sometimes forgotten about when Clary & Jace take the spotlight most of the time. 
I loved how this book explored more into the relationships between Maia and Jordan and Simon and Isabelle. Maia and Jordan's past being explored and seeing them fall back together was so enjoyable to read. Simon and Izzy are just meant to be together. Although they are so different, the way they are when they are together is like the best pieces of themselves mixing. I loved the scene when Simon tells her the Star Wars plot as a bedtime story to help her sleep. The scene in which Simon discussed his hatred towards himself being a vampire and Isabelle saying she loved it because it was just another part of him, honestly made me want to cry - too cute. I really hope they finally tell each other how they feel soon. 

The developments and more scenes of Malec was so great. I love their relationship and how they complete each other. Magnus is also such a good friend to the rest of the gang and taking them in to his apartment. My heart was breaking at the end with that scene with Magnus and Alec...too much sadness. 

Sebastian was such a complex villain in this novel. I liked that we got to explore more of him, see his motives, his more human vulnerable side which we never would have in the previous books. From this novel, we can somewhat see more into his evil motivations and how he longs for acceptance and a place / people to belong to. Yet, his dark desires, manipulation and evil plans are too much to over look. He had some seriously creepy moments n the novel where I felt my skin crawl. I'm looking forward to seeing how his plot pays out in the final book. 


Overall, I enjoyed this novel a lot. It was funny, with great characters and some great scenes towards the end. Although, I do have to note it was very slow paced for me. I felt I had to read a lot of scenes were nothing really happened n order to get to a few pages where something actually did happen. I also found myself not as invested in the Clary Jace romance and enjoying the other characters relationship scenes a lot more. Very much looking forward to seeing how this series concludes though! 

If you've read this book, please leave a comment below letting me know what you thought!
Also, I know I probably should have read Clockwork Angel & Clockwork Prince before reading this novel but I didn't.