City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, Book 5) [Hardcover]

Cassandra Clare (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 8, 2012 | Series: Mortal Instruments (Book 5)

Don’t miss The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, soon to be a major motion picture in theaters August 2013.

The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Editorial Reviews

Review

* "If a cliff-hanger can be considered satisfying, then this book delivers."--VOYA, *STARRED

"The action once again climaxes in a tense, lush battle sequence just waiting for digital cinematic treatment. . . . [A] goth-and-glitter pleasure."--Kirkus Reviews

"The Mortal Instruments series features a rare marriage of extremely intricate, fast-paced plotting with ample digressions into the emotional lives of characters we’ve come to care about deeply. . . . With a movie in the works, this is an excellent time for new readers to jump on board one of the most enjoyable series in YA. Smart, fun, and epic, these books are addictive for all the right reasons."--Locus (Gwenda Bond)

About the Author

Cassandra Clare is the author of the New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Mortal Instruments series and Infernal Devices trilogy. Her books have more than 20 million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Cassandra lives in western Massachusetts. Visit her at CassandraClare.com. Learn more about the world of the Shadowhunters at Shadowhunters.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books; First Edition edition (May 8, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442416866
• ISBN-13: 978-1442416864
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (662 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Teens > Horror
  • #61 in Books > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy
  • #66 in Books > Teens > Love & Romance

More About the Author

Cassandra Clare is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. She was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of books. Cassandra lives in Brooklyn with her boyfriend, their two cats, and these days, even more books.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#23 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#2 in Books > Teens

#23 in Books

#34 in Kindle eBooks

#2 in Books > Teens

#23 in Books

#34 in Kindle eBooks

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 74 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved City Of Lost Souls! Love Cassandra! 4 STARS May 8, 2012

By Way Beyond The Pages

Format:Hardcover

I love this series by Cassandra Clare! I know a lot of people are getting sick of how Cassandra has chosen to write book after book. I was also a little hesitant at first, and thought that the series should've ended at City of glass. But I just can't seem to get enough of Jace!

In City of lost souls Lilith, the demon has been destroyed and Jace and Sebastian are missing. Clary, not getting any help from the Clave, decides to go out and find them herself. Alec, Simon and Isabelle tag along, of course!!
When Clary and Jace meet she feels that he's changed. Hanging around her evil brother, Sebastian, has made Jace into a different person. He's acting like him and Sebastian are close friends, and that he actually likes him. They soon find out that Jace has been bound to Sebastian, and killing one of them would kill the other as well. Since the Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, Clary and her friends must find a way to save Jace.

The cover of this book was so different from the other book covers in this series. But I do feel like it did justice to the story. There was a lot more romance than there was action, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Since the previous books were all so action packed I feel it was the right move by Clare to slow down a little.
The first 100 or so pages were a little slow, but as soon as Jace came back in the picture the story started moving, fast.
I did love the chemistry between Clary and Jace, again! Jace was hot as a baddie!! Still as charming as always. Clary believed that Jace could be saved, it was kind of heartbreaking actually. But I loved how Isabelle, Alec, Magnus and Simon got involved. I had missed Magnus!!
I loved how Cassandra focused a lot on Isabelle and Simon's relationship as well. That part of the story earned some extra points.

What kind of threw me off was the relationship between Clary and her brother Sebastian. I don't understand how Clary could be checking his body out, kind of creeped me out.

Overall I did enjoy City of lost souls! It does not end in a cliffhanger, which is a relief since almost every book in this series has ended in one. I cannot wait to read the next book!
Loved the book and love this series.

35 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't not love Cassandra Clare's novels. May 9, 2012

By Freak-YA-tastic

Format:Hardcover

This book is the fifth installment in The Mortal Instruments series written by the amazing Cassandra Clare who doesn't ceased to write books highly heartbreaking and equally addictive.

I'm a fan of Cassandra Clare, so I may not be the better blogger to tell you if it's good or not since I'm too fond of these characters and this world to really criticize these books, but one thing is for sure, it's far better than City of Fallen Angels.

Some of you thought City of Fallen Angels wasn't as good as the first three books of the series and even if I highly enjoyed it, I tend to think it wasn't that good compared to the other books. But City of Lost Souls is exhausting in a wonderful way. I was always on the edge, almost ruining my not so long fingernails.

With City of Lost Souls, you'll laugh with Simon's good words, you'll fear for Jace and Clary, you'll have you heart broken more than once. It's darker than ever and more thrilling than what I expected.

But, because even with the greater books there's a but, I find the beginning a little... I was about to write slow but it's not a good word since the beginning is really important to put everything in order and to give us some pointers to where it's going to go. No, I would say the beginning is a little long before the readers can really feel immersed in the story. Of course, when you're waiting so eagerly a book, you tend to feel so excited by it that you can barely sit down to read in calm.

What to write more? The characters are still so alive - or not so much alive if you think about Simon - , they're showing other sides of them, more human than ever that can't let you cold and you'll love them even more.

Isabelle is a good surprise. I really like her more and more which wasn't that easy, not that I really disliked her before but now I enjoy her dialogue, her actions and her personality. Simon is as great as he was, Alec is moving, Jordan and Maia are cute and Sebastian/Jonathan is... well, you'll judge by yourself.

I'm really not disappointed by this sequel and I'm even confident for the next and last book of this series. I'm afraid for the characters, I'm curious to know how it'll end and I just can't have enough of my fix of Cassandra Clare's novels.

One thing that I find funny and even interesting is the little references about the characters of her next series in the Shadowhunters world that will take place in LA.

So, in a few words, even if I'm more a fan of The Infernal Devices series, I find City of Lost Souls too amazing to not read it even if you were disappointed by CoFA. This book has everything you loved first when you discovered Cassandra Clare. Moreover, her world had not revealed all of its secrets. Don't wait any longer and read this novel. But don't forget to breath!

31 of 42 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Still a fan... May 9, 2012

By B. Montano

Format:Hardcover

I love the worlds Cassandra Clare creates. I have read all of her other books several times, but this one let me down. Very little is happening for the first 3/4 of the book. It's mostly the various couples making out with one another. A lot of "His body fit perfectly with hers while laying side by side..." and "He tugged at her curls..." and "...the familiar feel of his lips/hands/tongue/etc..." A lot of description into everyone's hair and bodies. She described Jace as golden literally every single time Jace was mentioned. Despite the lack of plot I ended up with more questions than answers, like why is Magnus so secretive about his past and his father? And why is Brother Zachariah so invested in their lives?

On the bright side, once the "action" stops and the action begins it's pretty good albeit very brief. I also like the Alec/Magnus storyline, it kept me interested in the book. There was very little to love in City of Lost Souls but I'll forgive her because I've loved every other book and I've really come to care about what happens to these characters. I hope the next books are less making out and more story and that they answer my questions.