City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare | Another plunge into YA

I will shamelessly admit that I not only skipped reading book 1 in The Mortal Instruments because I saw the movie, but also that watching the movie was what finally made me want to read these books that my friends have recommended for years... And yes, I actually really enjoyed the movie! Truth be told I was expecting something very Twilight'y, but Jace and Clary kick so much more booty than Bella and Edward can ever dream of doing. It's so refreshing to have a female hero whose solution to everything isn't crying and navel-gazing. But I didn't merely like this universe simply because it isn't Twilight. City of Ashes is fast paced and action-packed. I love that there's a lot of humour and sarcasm. I almost wish I was 16 reading this book, I probably would have loved it more.

City of Ashes picks up right where City of Bones left off. There's awkwardness between Clary and her two "suitors" Simon and Jace. Seeing as the "Darth Vader" of this universe, Valentine, dropped the bomb on Jace and Clary that he's their father, the budding romance between Clary and Jace was abruptly canceled, and now Simon, Clary's lifelong bff has decided to move up to being her bf. In book 1 Valentine acquired the Mortal Cup, one of the mortal instruments of the Shadowhunters. Now, he's upping his game by going after the Mortal Sword, which will give him power to control demons. But rather than focusing on Valentine's plans, the Shadowhunters' Inquisitor goes after Jace, believing him to be one of Valentine's pawns.

Meanwhile, Clary's mom is still unconscious, some very hectic changes are affecting good old Simon, and Clary and Jace are trying to keep each other at arms length. Soon they'll all be thrown together to try throw off the hordes of demons coming to Valentines beck. There will be blood.

What I really enjoy about The Mortal Instruments is that it's so real. Fine, maybe not a lot of us have to cope with the dilemma of falling in love with someone who turns out to be your brother, but there's something real in the emotional drama. The characters feel authentic and keep expanding as we read.

In total there is going to be 6 books in this series. Book 6 is due for release in May 2014. Enough time for me to finish the other books in this series, as well as the prequel trilogy The Infernal Devices. Yay to YA!