City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

THIS IS THE REVIEW FOR BOOK FIVE, SO UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE ONES BEFORE IT, EXPECT TO GET VARIOUS PIECES OF THE PUZZLE SPOILED.

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 534
Series or Stand Alone: Book 5 in the Mortal Instruments series
Summary: Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide?
Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge.
Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Review:
THIS! The reason I re-read the first four Mortal Instruments in a haze of Shadowhunters and demon ichor! I finally got to read City of Lost Souls! (Due to me being extremely busy and neglectful of my blog as of recent times, this was actually like a month and a half ago, but here’s the review!)
Jace is gone, and the Clave has pretty much decided to worry about everything else they have to worry about. Clary has gone off to save him from the dark side, though it turns out that maybe someone is liking the dark side? Only time will tell. Isabelle is dealing with some heavy family issues in addition to the problem of her adopted brother, while Alec is delving into deals with consequences that he is way not prepared for. Simon continues to be an underrated badass intent on helping everyone. This book was pretty much non-stop action and emotional breakdowns, so a lot happened in the 500+ pages.
I have to hand it to her: Clary kicked ass and took names in this book. I heard some complaints about her character before I was able to read it, namely that she obsesses far too much over Jace. Since he was trapped in a forced connection to the dark side, I could understand her concern and single-mindedness when it came to his rescue. And frankly, she did a great job at keeping her head throughout this mess.
Clare dealt with some difficult, incredibly emotional and touchy issues in a very realistic way. The situation with Clary and the information Isabelle deals with are presented with interactions and reactions that make complete sense. I’m being totally vague here, but I’m trying not to speak of spoilers just in case.
Magnus and Alec’s relationship continued to be the best handled in the series. Though I was also very pleased with the way things are going between Isabelle and Simon, especially since Isabelle is such a stubborn, proud female character. It was good to see the development of her trust issues and how she is dealing with past information about her family.
BONUS: Even MORE references to the Infernal Devices, which makes me so happy. I cannot WAIT for Clockwork Princess, regardless of the fact that it’s still like 250 days away.

Rating: 5 - this might actually be my favorite of the Mortal Instrument books so far!