City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

TL:DR these teenagers are in very high demand

(finished 12/3/15)

I wasn't a very big fan of the first three books of The Mortal Instruments series -- if I remember correctly, I didn't really like them at all. My friend lent me her copy of City of Fallen Angels even though I decided I was going to stop at the third book. 

Part of the reason I finished City of Fallen Angels so easily is because the other book she lent me was Born at Midnight, and I ended up DNFing it. (I actually have a DNF review collection post coming up eventually! I finally let myself do it!!) 

Because of my low investment in this series, this review is going to be shorter than normal and probably spoiler-y for the first three books. (They've been out for a while, though, and if you haven't read them, I'm a little confused as to why you would be reading a review for book #4 ...) 

Anyway! It felt like not all that much happened over the course of the book. It didn't feel drawn out, but there's only one real conflict to the whole thing. A couple scenes could've been cut out without any detrimental damage. Like those touchy-feely scenes between Jace and Clary. I really wish they would stop that. 

I actually didn't have much of a problem with the romance aspect for once, though I do think it could've been toned down some in order to make the story move even faster. I skipped about a full page (front / back) of Jace and Clary making out because that was all that was happening. It wasn't establishing anything else. 

I don't really like how Jordan and Maia's relationship was portrayed, but I think it definitely could've been handled worse. I'm hoping that it'll still be handled fairly delicately by the characters in subsequent books rather than being swept under the rug without any real conclusion. 

The love V that was introduced was fairly interesting (in the fact that it didn't feel boring, per se) but I think we could've gotten away without that, too. I was glad to see the backlash of said love V, though. That was good. 

I think the characters are all a little too overpowered, but I'm a little too indifferent to really care about it. I don't think the plot should have worked out as nicely as it did in terms of favoring either side. (How is it that both the good guys and the bad guys somehow both get things they want? The two should not be able to exist at the same time. They both should not get things they want out of the same ending!)

That's about all I have. All in all, the book felt like a fairly easy and compelling read. I at least appreciated that part. I've also determined I'm invested in at least Simon and Clary as characters. The rest of them as well, but Simon the most. Poor guy. 

TL;DR I think I liked City of Fallen Angels because the other book I was trying to read at the time was giving me major grief. I'm not gonna go out of my way to find the next book, but I'm open to the idea. 

If you guys have read this series, I'd like to hear what your thoughts are! My experience with this series is only through the friend that lent me this book, so I'd love to hear more opinions about it.