City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Booyeah I've already finished two books this year! I'm already a step ahead of last year! By this time last year I was just starting Picture of Dorian Grey. I am going to keep telling myself it's not weird that I keep track of when I read books and such. I'll just hide my little journal I keep of the books I've read. I'm not crazy. Ok?

There are few books that I hate to finish because I don't want them to be over. This trio of books by Cassandra Clare was one series I did not want to finish because it meant that I could not be in that world any more. So I dragged out the last chapter and epilogue over a couple days. The more practical side of me kept thinking "Just finish it, Jake! It's driving me nuts!" Ok, maybe I am crazy cuz my "practical side" speaks to me by name. Make the voices stop!

Now, I will give a warning about these books. There is a certain point in the plot (and it's a HUGE part of the plot) that can make some squeamish. I'll just say it (SPOILER ALERT!): The two main characters fall in love, right? But then they are told that they are brother and sister. It's a huge letdown at the end of the first book because they have such great chemistry. Never fear though. Clare hints that something BIG is coming that will allow the two to be together. I won't give that away. You have to just read the books! Trust me, it's worth it.

I usually would hate a book that had anything with incest in it because, come on, that's GROSS! But Clare handles the story so deftly and magically that you don't care. You just want them to be together. Her writing is beautiful. I'm still floored by some of her very vivid descriptions.

This last installment in the trilogy takes place more in the Shadowhunter world of Idris. The City of Glass is Idris. It is enthralling to see this world completely unfold that had, before, only been talked about and shown in glimpses. You can tell Clare has fun with sharing her City of Glass with us. Some elements of the story are predictable but then Clare throws in some exciting little twists to make it worth it. She doesn't pretend that her reader is dumb and doesn't know what is going on which is quite a breath of fresh air for the teen fiction genre.