City of Fallen Angels Audiobook

City of Fallen Angels is the fourth book in The Mortal Instruments series. Although the author wrapped things up pretty neatly in book three, she now continues the story but with a different plotline; she plans for books four, five and six to form a separate trilogy even though they contain the same characters. Clary and Jace are still at the forefront of the book but Clary's friend Simon becomes a lot more important in this installment of the series.

Simon was just an ordinary boy and Clary's best friend, but since Clary discovered that she was a Shadowhunter and got involved in the supernatural world, Simon also had a number of adventures, the first of which was his being turned into a vampire. After becoming a vampire, he nearly died but was brought back to life by Jace's blood which made him a Daylighter—a vampire who can stand sunlight without bursting into flames. In addition, Clary drew the Mark of Cain on his forehead and now, anyone who tries to attack him will feel the effects sevenfold.

Simon is basically invincible and becomes a hot commodity, with vampires trying to recruit him over to their side. Lilith, the first of all the demons, also tries to get Simon to bring Sebastian back to life. Sebastian is the result of one of Valentine's experiments—a Shadowhunter baby whose mother was fed demon blood. Lilith also manages to get Jace under her control because Jace died and was brought back to life in the previous book which stripped away some of the protection that Shadowhunters are given in a ritual performed in childhood. While he's waiting to have this ritual performed again, Jace comes under Lilith's control and threatens to kill Clary if Simon doesn't do what Lilith says.

Through some quick thinking on Clary's part, Lilith's mark on Jace is temporarily obliterated. At the same time, Simon acts heroically by throwing himself in the path of Lilith's attack; he ends up destroying her, at least for the present. However, demons cannot be completely destroyed, only sent back to the place they came from. So it's possible that in future books, Lilith will return and, in the meantime, Jace continues to walk a fine line between good and evil.

One would have thought that Clare's extensive trilogy which came before this fourth book would have exhausted the possibilities of the world she created and the conflict possible between the characters. However, she has abundantly proved that this is not true. By developing new characters and creating new conflicts, she keeps the action going. If anything, the story has become more vibrant than ever before, as the new villain, Lilith, takes over from the old one, Valentine.

Cassandra Clare's real name is Judith Rumelt and she was born in Iran to American parents. Her family traveled a lot when she was young, so she lived in France, England and Switzerland before the age of ten. Since they were never in one place for too long, young Judith turned to books and always carried one under her arm. As an adult, she worked for various tabloids, writing celebrity gossip, but in 2006, she started writing fiction full time and playfully jokes that she never wants to write about Paris Hilton again. She is friends with Holly Black, also a fantasy writer and the two often refer to characters in each others' books within their own work.

"We have 2 new readers in this book and that was a little strange to be listening to 2 different voices. But I guess it was good because this book was written form both Clary's and Simon's point of view. It was still a great book and I was wondering were the story was going to go and it did not disappoint. Simon is really starting to become a stronger person and I was not happy about Jace pulling away form Clary. This is still an awesome series and I will start the next book and see where Cassandra takes us. "

— Deniella  (5 out of 5 stars)