City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

2012, Margaret K. McElderry

Series: Book 5 of The Mortal Instruments

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Rating

Synopsis: 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?

The Good: Magnus. Seriously, he's pretty much the reason I keep reading these books. When everything else goes to hell, he rises above. For all his eccentricities, who would have thought Magnus would end up being the seemingly only one who has a rational head on his shoulders?

The Bad: So much pointless drama. I love Jace and Clary, but this second trilogy is killing me. While marginally better than City of Fallen Angels, Lost Souls still feels like a poorly executed attempt to cash in on a popular, but ultimately completed series. The connection between Clary and Jace used to feel real and powerful, but now it's just like they are both looking for trouble in an attempt to keep things interesting. So much more could have been done with a companion trilogy focusing more on the secondary characters.