35: City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, Book Four), by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments series is a strong teen fantasy offering. It follows the story of Clary Fray, a seemingly average teen girl who is suddenly drawn into a parallel world of demons, vampires, werewolves, and the Shadowhunter race that protects humans from these menaces.  Ultimately, Clary learns that this world is her legacy, and she becomes embroiled in the battle that rages outside human sight.  There is, of course, a need to save the world.  And a very cute boy.

Unfortunately, this fourth book in the series (There's also a 5th related book kicking off a prequel series called The Infernal Devices, which was book 7 in my posts.) doesn't quite live up the the preceding ones, in my estimation.  It still offers the same struggle between good and evil, a cast of interesting supernatural characters, and plenty of action.  Indeed, the battle against Lilith, the biblical Adam's first wife, who would not be subservient and was therefore banished (making her the oldest demon in this version of the myth), is complex and interesting.  However, Clary's immersion in the Shadow World lends itself to fewer overlaps with our "real" world in this volume, which is one of the more compelling aspects of the series.  The religious aspect of the Shadowhunters, who are essentially the children of angels, becomes more heavy handed in this book as well, making it a bit missionary in parts. (Assuming, of course, your brand of religion would allow for vampires, hydra demons, etc.).  Finally, there is a bit too much focus on the romance aspect.  Sure, we know Clary and Jace are connected by a bond beyond measure, but enough already. Get a room.

I'd recommend The Mortal Instruments overall, but I warn you it gets teen angsty in City of Fallen Angels.  Clare's a great storyteller, though, so I look forward to the next book in the series (which this one so clearly sets up), as well as the continuation of the prequel Infernal Devices series, in hopes it will return to the more interesting aspects of the previous books.