City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instruments, #5)

by Cassandra Clare

When Jace vanishes with Sebastian, Clary and the Shadowhunters struggle to piece together their shattered world and Clary infiltrates the group planning the world's destruction.

• ISBN10: 1442416874
• ISBN13: 9781442416871
• Publish Date: 4 March 2014 (first published 1 May 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 17 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 535
• Language: English

Reviews

[maggiefan]

well, it was better than the fourth book, which was a mess...

"For as is often the happenstance with that which is precious and lost, when you find him again, he may well not be quite as you left him." (Queen of the Seelie Court)

★ The first half of City of Lost Souls is slow. I could put this book down and not read it for days.
★ The ending makes up for the slow pacing. However, the ending seems rushed.
★ I cannot deal with lovestruck teenagers like Clary. Her world revolves around her boyfriend, Jace, and she would literally damn the world if it meant that she could spend the rest of her life with him. She does so many silly things all in the name of love.
★ Jace is not really Jace in City of Lost Souls and I don't care.
★ I prefer reading about the secondary characters because the main characters, Clary and Jace, do things that I can't understand.
★ Simon goes through so much character development in The Mortal Instruments series and after reading City of Lost Souls, he is now one of my favourite Cassandra Clare characters.
★ Isabelle is my favourite Shadowhunter in City of Lost Souls. She's fierce, headstrong and awesome. In City of Lost Souls, we get to see her vulnerabilities and insecurities.
★ I also like the idea of Sizzy. I enjoyed seeing Isabelle slowly let her walls fall down and realise that she might have feelings for Simon and also seeing Simon give his heart another shot at potential love.
★ Alec has a PoV in City of Lost Souls and although he does some pretty stupid stuff, I kind of understood where he was coming from.
★ I live for the Magnus sass.
★ I'm quite fine with the state of the Malec ship at the end of City of Lost Souls. Magnus breaks-up with Alec after Alec goes behind his back. This is for the best because Alec needs to grow up and get over his insecurities and Magnus deserves better than that.
★ I'm giving Jordan the benefit of doubt in City of Lost Souls.
★ I don't know how to feel about Jordan and Maia, but if they're happy, then I have no complaints.
★ Sebastian is one of those villains that you love to hate. However, the reason for his lack of humanity is the demon blood running through his veins and that's not his fault.
★ I also thought that I was done with reading about incest. I thought wrong.
★ I cannot deal with all the teenage angst.

"They mean that adversity tests one's strength of character. In difficult times, in dark times, some people shine." (Jocelyn Fray)

[pamela]

After the strength of the series thus far the penultimate instalment of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series was such a let down. It probably wasn't really quite a two, but the disappointment I felt at reading it just made it feel it was worse than it actually was. It felt almost like a betrayal.

Nothing much happened in this novel. It made you think it was exciting, but it wasn't. Jace was evil, then Jace was good ,then evil, then good. Clary wants to be with Jace but can't, then can, then can't, Simon loves Isabelle but doesn't tell her, Isabelle loves Simon but doesn't tell her, Alec and Magnus have a weird relationship, Maia and Jordan get back together, and even the parents have dysfunctional relationships. Everyone makes out, a lot. And that's pretty much it.

Basically this book was nothing but the City of Raging Teenage Hormones. One more to go. I hope it redeems itself, because I've enjoyed them up till now. It would be a shame if the last book ruins the excitement I've felt all through this series up until City of Lost Souls.

[Kim Deister]

City of Lost Souls I absolutely love this series and I think that City of Lost Souls is my favorite so far.  Nothing is easy in these books and I like that nod to real life.  This book ran the gamut of emotions... from funny and snarky to dark and suspenseful.  
 
The snarky humor is fantastic, the one-line zingers delivered by Jace, Simon, and Magnus.  It is sarcastic and witty and I love the banter.  I was worried that Jace's story line would take that away from his character, but I was happy to discover that he was just as snarky as ever.  
 
The story was pretty dark in this book, with all kinds of shifting dynamics between the characters.  Jace and Sebastian, Sebastian and Clary, Jace and Clary, Magnus and Alec, Simon and Isabelle, Jordan and Maia.  All of the relationships in this book are affected in different ways by the events of the book and that kept the story interesting.
 
There was a lot of suspense in this book and a lot of twists.  I love that the author isn't afraid to mess with her characters and turn their stories on end!
 
My Recommendation
 
I am ready to start Heavenly Fire, although I am sad to see the series end!

[thebookdisciple]

It was kind of a slow start but once it picked up I couldn't put it down!

[tweetybugshouse]

all caught up now to check all the other series by this amazing author. also is it movie time yet?

[Romance Schmomance]

As much as I love this series, its been very up and down. the 6th book has to be EPIC!

[sstaley]

I had no idea that there was a book 6 coming out that will end this series. I really wish that it had all ended in book 5. There were some things that I didn't like as much in this book as the others. The main reason this book gets a 4 star rating from me is because I really liked Simon's story in this book. His character development is awesome. I'm excited to read book 6 next year to finish this series out.

[angelarenea9]

This was absolutely my favorite of the series. The character development was so much better, and it was so much less predictable. It had a much darker feel to it than the previous books and it had a really interesting plot line. I still have problems with Jace and Clary as a couple and I think that there was a story line gone wrong with Magnus and Alec. I hope that in the sequel series they address Alec giving away his memory and then miraculously getting it back.

[Hixxup]

Cassandra Clare has done it again... she's made me salivate for the next book. This one it was a little rough to get into for the first few chapters or so. But once Clary finally broken away from her mom who by the way I think is highly "ANNOYING!" It got surprisingly better. I really enjoyed seeing Clary, with Jace and Sebastian without any interference it gave you a different perspective on things. Of course Sebastian is an megalomaniac to the extreme, I mean worse than Valentine ever dreamed of being. Jace well even though he wasn't the real Jace you at least got to see him relaxed and having fun. I loved seeing the carefree Jace and I hope to see a little more of him in the further books. I'm so sad though for Alec I loved him and Magnus together I also hope Isabelle gets off her high horse and tells Simon how she feels about him. But the story as a whole, well it's getting more and more interesting as it goes. I'm quite happy that Ms. Clare decided to keep going on with the series, there is just so much you can do with it. Now also with the mentioning's of a "Will Herondale" that I'm totally loving as well. Still a great series and I cannot wait for the next book to come out on both of her series.