The Amateur Writer

Synopsis by Goodreads.com:

The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide? Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

(I know this is a pretty sucky synopsis but what's there to reveal when it's already the fifth book in the series?)



Thoughts:


Clare delivered once again. The book got me giggling like mad as if I was reading her first book, City of Bones. Despite it being the fifth book in the series, the dynamic is not lost since the characters are witty as ever and the plot progression is alright. The book doesn't have any annoying traits to it so reading City of Lost Souls (CLS) was a smooth sail for me. Also despite me not having visiting their world for almost a year (the period between my last time reading the fourth book and this one), I didn't have any trouble picking up where we left off. Unlike with Insurgent because Clare was kind enough to provide a bit of explanation here and there. And it wasn't to the point that she was basically repeating herself like some authors do (and I can just imagine how annoying it would be for people who are reading it straight from Book 1-5).

One thing I have to give props to Clare is her characterization. I've mentioned this before in my previous reviews but I don't think it's humanely possible to make a reader more in love with her characters (especially by the fifth book) but she did. I'm more in love with the characters more than ever. There's not one character that I don't like from Team Good (read CLS and you'll get the joke) and despite the alternating POVs in the book, which I always find annoying in most books, I welcomed it full heartedly because I'm just that happy to know what the other thinks. Like in one second, we're hanging out with Jace and Clary and then we shifted to Simon and the rest of the gang.

This is not a complaint but I'm just merely stating a fact here so that potential readers would know. The Mortal Instruments Series is pretty much a character-driven book. Plot wise, this series is nothing special. The story is not ingenious to those like Ready Player One or Divergent but the characters really made the series amazing. They could just be hanging out and watching TV and I would read that because I love them that much. So to have them battle against these evil forces and to be able to go on this journey with them is pure...bliss. It's a perfect escape from reality for me.

(To Malaysian readers: One of the characters spoke in Malay in CLS and my mind was pretty much blown.)

I've been trying to describe the gang for awhile now. To find the best way to sum up their pure awesomeness  and by CLS, I think I managed to. Clary and her friends are like the badass version of the Famous Five. They're hot, witty and full of badassery that sometimes it's too hard to comprehend. 


I honestly can't wait for the last book to come out sometime in 2013 and the movie too!! I'm quite worried as to whether the movie will be released in Malaysia due to its themes but I hope so!! Lily Collins will play Clary while Jamie Campbell Bower will play Jace!! I am so excited!!! They certainly looked the part so...arghh I can't wait! XD




The Verdict: 4 out of 5


Obsession Rating: 5 out of 5