Book Review: CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wasn't this supposed to be a trilogy? And yet, here is book four - - well - - five if you count Clockwork Angel (a prequel).


I love series, but I get frustrated when the books are promoted as a trilogy and then out comes book four - - "Just kidding!" says the publisher!


And frankly, after book one, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading the series (because of a certain plot element that makes me squeemish - - I wouldn't want to spoil it for you) ... but Clare is such a good writer and the plot was so interesting, I had to finish the "trilogy." And, luckily that icky plot element was resolved for me in book three - - which I KNEW it would be, but I still didn't want to read about it.


So, I figured, BRING ON BOOK 4 (City of Fallen Angels). Previous icky plot element resolved, I can just read and enjoy, right?! WELL ... right! Except for four things that reduced it from five stars to four stars:


1) Silly cliff hanger ending - - - really? I was gonna read the next one anyway. You didn't have to torture me at the end.


2) Darker elements in this book - - - really? I never "knew" Adam (of biblical Adam and Eve fame) had a first wife ... my whole image of him is so shattered now (kidding, just kidding, I get that this is a fictional book!)


3) Writing elements. Supposedly, there are "rules" - - at least that's what I've been told. Clare breaks a few, and the repetitive ones drove me nutso.


4) Plotline was pretty predictable. No amazing twists or turns.


And yet, I love the series.



And, one final note, I was concerned that I might not understand some things in this book, because I had not read CLOCKWORK ANGEL (the prequel to this series) but it was no problem.

View all my reviews

Freaking Cliff Hangers

Guess what?!

I love to read.

Furthermore, I love reading series ... I feel like I'm catching up with old friends. I enjoy finding out what type of adventures my familiar characters are going to get into this time.

HOWEVER, I hate when a book ends on a cliff hanger! HATE IT.

Not just because I'm impatient and I want to find out what's going to happen - - but more importantly because I feel like it is a marketing ploy to get you to buy and read the next book in the series.

I truly believe that if the writing and plot are great, the reader is going to feel compelled to read the next book in the series simply because they love the writing. My favorite series are the ones that each book feels like a stand-alone book. The plot is complete. At the end of the book, I can set it down and favorably reflect on the writing.

Books that end with a freaking cliff hanger tick me off to the point where I want to chuck it across the room! Some series, I've stopped reading because this happens with every book. Now, granted, I will probably go back and read the series again later - - but not until a ton of books are already out or the series is complete.

That's what I did with Hunger Games. I had heard from so many people that there were cliff hangers at the ends of books one and two ... I figured I would just wait until it was all available.  And granted, we were told that was a trilogy. So, I was totally fine waiting until the third book came out. But endless series that have a cliff hanger at the end of every book - - - it drives me crazy!

What do you think? Am I over reacting?

How do you feel about cliff hangers at the END of a book?