City of Ashes is the second book in the Mortal Instruments series.

Recently Clary’s life has been turned upside down.  A few weeks ago she had a pretty solid understanding of the word normal. Now?  She’s part of the demon-slaying world of Shadowhunters and she can suddenly see werewolves, vampires, and faeries. Where exactly does normal apply to that kind of situation?  Clary’s struggling to figure out which world she belongs in (the mundane or the Shadowhunter world), how to wake her mother up out of a magically induced coma (due to some serious marital issues), and come to terms with the fact that Jace is her very handsome (and infuriatingly annoying) brother. So, you know, no big deal, just a few things to do. Not to mention that Valentine’s still out there and he has the Mortal Cup, which gives him even more power than he had to begin with.

Meanwhile, someone is killing Downworlder children and draining their blood. As if that’s not enough, now the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, has been stolen and the Inquisitor suspects Jace. And the Inquisitor?  She’s not playing fair. Nor is she the kind grandmotherly sort, more like the seriously terrifying sort.

City of Ashes is just as amazing as the first book, City of Bones. This series has great characters and an interesting plot full of action and well-written fantasy. One of the best things about this book, and the series in general, is that the characters are still relatable and very human personality-wise. Cassandra Clare writes with a great sense of humour, and has a witty and amusingly sarcastic tone that makes her books both funny and entertaining. I would recommend any of Cassandra Clare’s books to anyone who enjoys fantasy or people-based stories.