Shadowhunters Saturday – City of Fallen Angels

What ELLIE Thought About the Plot

Simon dating Maia and Izzy: 

I thought this was kind of like “Hummm, mate.. Seriously?” and I didn’t like this plot point at all. I get being a teenager and not understand, Simon has just turned into a vampire, people are now interested in him and so many things happened in the 3 previous books… but nope, not a fan. 

Camille offers Simon a deal:

I was surprised by this bit to be honest. I have been struggling to understand the whole “Daylight” stuff and not really having many answers as to why, what, how of it. When I read the name “Camille”, I thought “wait a minute, I know that name” and then we all realised that she was Magnus’s ex. This book kind of took a turn where I feel like Clare just chucked characters left and right to see what stuck, but I was surprised over this plot point and kept wondering where it was going. Having read the whole thing and that scene at the end with Alec and Camille, I’m still not sure what is going on. 

Simon tells his mum he is a vampire:

Well… I was kind of expecting shit to go down with Simon’s mum but I didn’t realise that he could sort of manipulate her mind. I felt really sorry for Simon and how his mum reacted because he never wanted this and has been struggling with the truth of being a vampire for a while.

Jace and Clary in the park; Seelie queen appears: 

I had completely forgotten about the Seelie queen until she popped up and I can’t really remember what the deal with her is, but I’m sure we will find out more in the next books. I am intrigued as to where that plot point is going to be honest. Now that Clary and Jace know they are not related and can be together, I felt like there was a weird vibe between them. Getting to the end of the book you understand why, but I still wanted to slap Jace for the whole book, and even more so now after that last page. 

Shadowhunters being murdered in various patches of the city: 

I was also surprised by this, I mean, it mentions it in the blurb, but I had kind of forgotten it. I’m morbid and would have liked to see more of this and see the Shadowhunter investigations into these deaths. I just felt like for such an important part of the plot, we didn’t get to see that much of it, which is a shame, I think it could have been interesting and not kept the reader in the dark so much. I also think there is more to this point having thought about it a bit because the different places in the city where the different creatures/people live/rule sounds like a ritual to me. But for what? 

Clary uses a rune to make the dead speak:

If I’m honest, this part really creeped me out and yikes, that was an awful scene. I think it really shows that Clary has no idea what she is doing whatsoever with her powers and I’m annoyed that no one is trying to help her understand them. I think this could have been avoided if she knew more about her power to create runes. I didn’t know that Shadowhunters could bring back the dead, this is the second time it’s happened with Clary, so maybe it’s a big part of her power? Either way, seeing that ending and what Lilith told them, there is bound to be consequences from this action. 

Jace starts avoiding Clary

Right from the first time we see Jace again, I wanted to slap him and shake him and shout at him because COME ON MATE! Stop being a moron!! Because he was being so sketchy and weird with Clary, I wasn’t really surprised that it was because of recurring dreams. However, Jace has been so wildly bizarre going from intense to distant, and in love to “I don’t want to speak to you or hurt you or leave you” and I’m even more confused over his feelings to be honest. Also, I wish they would just talk because URGH. 

Clary and Jocelyn visit the hospital and discover someone is trying to make more babies like Sebastian; they see a dead baby with clawed hands and black eyes: 

This was another really gruesome moment that I wasn’t expecting. This was really kind of awful and dark, so warning!! To be honest, at this point, I thought that it was Valentine who had risen from the dead and started making more Sebastians to get back at Clary and Jace and the other Shadowhunters, so I thought “Here we go again…”. Now I’ve read up to the last page, I’m still a little confused as to why they were making more half-demon, half-Shadowhunter babies, so I hope we learn more soon, although I don’t want to see anymore dead and deformed demon babies because that scene in the building with them all dead in a room was atrocious. 

Simon moves in with his new bandmate Kyle:

Leave it to Simon to end up someplace with someone he barely knows and shouldn’t be with (rolls eyes). I think this book shows just how young these characters are because no way in hell would I have gone to live with someone I had only just met, even if I was a vampire with the Mark of Cain. I didn’t expect him to be a werewolf though, and even less to be Maia’s ex-boyfriend. I don’t really know what I think of Jordan/Kyle so far. 

Simon bites a human for the first time. The girls confront him about two timing them:

This was a really hectic chapter and I spent most of it going “NO, OMG, what the hell? Argh!! Simon, you prat”. I thought it was eventually going to happen that Simon would bite someone, but I am a little bit unsure as to whether he will get in trouble for it. I’m also really confused as to how Maureen got turned into a vampire. Did Camille feed her blood? I also knew that it was eventually going to come out that Simon had been a prat with Isabelle and Maia, and I was glad that he got called out. Completely shocked by the turn it took when Maia saw Kyle/Jordan. 

The Church of Talto, Clary takes Jace to the Silent Brothers for help:

I thought the scene in the Church of Talto was spooky with all the demons looking down from the balcony (shudders). Clare is getting better with her battle scenes in my opinion, but I feel like this one was way too fast and over too easily. When Clary and Jace got all jiggy, I thought that they had finally woken up and started to communicate, but then it was kind of surreal when he injured her and then told her about the dreams. I feel like although there was not much character development in this book, Clary has matured a fair bit, especially as regards to Jace, she doesn’t come across as dramatic about him anymore, for me personally anyway. I had actually forgotten that Jace had died in the 3rd book and I was expecting all hell to break lose once they went to the Silent Brothers, which, it did to be honest. But also, ARGH! Brother Zacharia!!! 

Jace is tricked by Lilith in his dream: 

Although there are a tonne of demons and warlocks in this series and universe, I was never expecting Lilith to pop up. I’ve never really thought that she would even be in this book because I know Shadowhunters come from the mix of Angels and humans, so there is bound to be the original demons, but it just never crossed my mind aha. I also wanted to smack Jace but also felt kind of sorry for him. He has been all over the place from the start, but I feel like he needs a break. 

Luke and Jocelyn’s engagement party, i.e.; the night that all the teenagers disappeared and no one seemed to notice: 

I was expecting to see more of Luke and Jocelyn since they are getting married and that was a big part of the plot, but then it was all about Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Jordan, Maia, Simon, Alec and Magnus, which I prefer, but the setting felt a bit forced, like some of the characters have. Also, the adults in this series are just *eye roll*. 

Jace, under Lilith’s control, kidnaps Clary. Simon is also led to Lilith: 

This really surprised me as I had no idea where Maureen was taking Simon, what the hell was happening, why Lilith had Sebastian/Jonathan, etc. I was expecting Jonathan/Sebastian to pop up, much like I was expecting Valentine to pop up because the baddie always comes back, but I must admit, those last 3 chapters just had me on the edge of my seat and totally surprised. I couldn’t read fast enough. Jace is really flighty and impulsive, so my main concern was that he was going to kill Clary under Lilith’s influence. 

Maia, Alec, Izzy and Kyle / Jordan follow to Lilith’s hideout: 

I always think it’s so funny how all the group are split up every time and then all converge back to the same place. This bit also felt a little bit like just fodder for the rest of the story. The room with the dead babies was just atrocious and now I have that image tattooed into my brain. I have grown to like Isabelle a lot more and I like that she seemed to become more important in this book. 

Clary saves Jace from his possession by Lilith 

This was another “omg, yuck” moment in this book, Clare is obviously the champion of yucky and disturbing scenes. I was worried that Simon was going to die, that Jace would kill Clary, that Lilith would kill Jace, that Sebastian/Jonathan would kill them all, ARGH. This was such a weird and disturbing moment for me to be honest and there was so much tension between all the characters, it was nerve-wracking to see it all unfold. Also the bit where Clary cut Jace’s skin off to deface the rune was yuck again, but good thinking! Clary is getting a bit better in tough situations, apart from when she stays hiding in the bush, because of course she would. 

Simon defeats Lilith with the mark of Kane

Ohhhh, this was probably the scene I “liked” the most just because Lilith got what was coming to her, hahaha! I was not a fan of Lilith attacking Clary and Simon and Jace just standing there like plonkers, but I’m so glad Simon came to the rescue. 

Clary and Jace share a moment on the roof 

When Clary left Jace on the roof, I KNEW something bad was going to happen and I still feel like despite they had a moment, Jace is not telling her everything. When they thought their love was forbidden, I believed his feelings more than I do now, and I have no idea why. 

Sebastian is alive and possesses Jace

Oh gosh, this last part was the one that really shocked me and I was also surprised there was no epilogue, like ARGH!! I had no idea that Sebastian/Jonathan was really going to wake up and the fact that him and Jace are linked by that rune is making me scared for what is coming. This ending was just really surprising to me and my brain was going “OMG WHAT??”, and still is. I just, wow, that ending has left me kind of speechless and I have no idea where the next book will go.