City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

The City of Ashes is the second installment of The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. Published in March 2008, it continues the tale of Clary Fray, a teenager who thought she was ordinary for her entire life until she met Jace and his friends at a local club. In the first book Clary found out that she was a Shadowhunter, fearless beings that live to hunt down demons and kill them. Clary’s mother was kidnapped by Valentine, who turns out to be Clary and Jace’s father. Clary must face her confusion over her relationship with Jace, as she kissed him before finding out they were siblings, and Simon, her best friend turned boyfriend.

At the end of the first book Valentine gained the Mortal Cup, a cup given to man by the angel Raziel to create Shadowhunters, and during City of Ashes he steals the Soul-Sword and kills the Silent Brothers. Valentine’s plan is to turn the Soul-Sword from a sword for killing demons into a sword to kill the Clave. To complete the transformation of the sword, Valentine needs to require blood from different Downworlders before anyone realises what he’s up to.

Things are made worse when the Inquisitor comes to investigate the events that happened at the end of City of Bones. She accuses Jace of being Valentine’s spy and locks him up in the Silent City. Clary, Isabelle and Alec break him out of his jail when the Silent Brothers are killed and the Inquisitor has no option but to let Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn, take Jace into custody.

The book ends after a climactic battle on Valentine’s boat; Clary creates a rune and destroys the boat, but Valentine has escaped with the Sword. Simon, the human turned vampire, had to drink Jace’s blood which gives him the ability to withstand sunlight without burning like most vampires, but he decides to stop seeing Clary after he realises she’ll never love him like she loves Jace. Clary goes to meet Jace to tell him she doesn’t care about them being brother and sister, but he has other ideas.

City of Ashes had a lot to live up to; the first installment was fantastically written, and the sequel was just as brilliant. Clare’s writing style is witty and has the ability to create emotional tension within the pages of her books, and the twists will keep you interested right up to the very end.