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Sequel syndrome, as I like to call it, often seems to most affect the second book in a series. I enjoyed the Twilight series, but found New Moon the weakest link. And after loving Hunger Games, I wanted more from Catching Fire. When an author has a multi-book arc in mind, the sophomore attempt always seems story-building, but not all that exciting. So I started City of Ashes with trepidation. You can see my review of City of Bones in this blog. I liked it, but wasn't overwhelmed. City of Ashes continues the story of Clary, who's just beginning to understand her Shadowhunter powers. Her mother is dying, trapped in her own spell, and her father is evil and trying to recruit her brother to the dark side. Simply put, of course.
There's tons of action and the story moves forward at a wonderful speed, no boring story or time spent on too much character development. In my review of the first book, I stated wanting more story for Simon, Clary's friend that yearns to be more, and Luke, her "father" in all the real ways. I'm thrilled to say . . . Simon got his story! I'm running to get the next in the series, City of Glass, just to find out more about Simon. Luke is still under-developed, but you get more glimpses into his character in this sequel. Little to nothing, however, is revealed about Clary's mom, and I really hope that happens in City of Glass.
I'm a bit over this complicated "he's my brother, but I have deeper feelings for him" storyline. The reveal that Jace and Clary are not brother and sister seems obvious to me, but I'm eager to see how the author accomplishes it after spending two books exploiting the will they-won't they.
Overall, I'm impressed with this book, particularly judging it against other lackluster sequels I've read lately. I'm looking forward to reading the next two in the series.
*****
Upcoming reviews: Jackie Bach, our Junior Reviewer, will review Uglies and Pretties by Scott Westerfeld. Hmmmmm, wonder if my daughter will feel the way I do about sequels?
