This is the first of Cassie’s books that didn’t get a 5 out of 5 stars from me. I give it a 3, at best. While Clockwork Prince was head and shoulders above anything she’d written before, City of Lost Souls was by far the weakest entry in her seven-book bibliography.

Gosh, where to begin? First, let’s start with the writing style. This book got to the point where I rolled my eyes every time “T-shirt” or “scar” was mentioned… which was at least on every damn page. We get it, Cassie! Shadowhunters have lots of scars. Jace (and Sebastian to a lesser degree) likes to wear t-shirts. Clary is always noticing the many white scars on Jace’s golden skin underneath his [frayed/thin/cotton] [insert color here] T-shirt. Can we please talk about something else now? I have a strange urge to wear a button-down tomorrow.

Next, more than half the focus in the book is on Clary. Which I suppose makes sense, since she’s on the cover and all. But there’s also the problem of Clary being the DULLEST character in the entire series. She was my favorite in the first two or three books. Now I had to force myself not to skim through her parts. Why would I want to hear about all the other (infinitely more interesting) characters summoning angels and demons when I can get Clary’s travelogue of Europe, complete with lengthy descriptions of hot chocolate and the like?

Clary has also become horribly unlikable. She has this grand plan to save Jace, and then forgets all about it as she travels with him and makes out with him, occasionally pausing long enough to whine about how “it’s not really Jace, but I want him, and he’s happy…” She’s also unbelievably selfish – she essentially decides the entire world can go to Hell in a hand basket as long as her precious Jace isn’t harmed (very reminiscent of City of Glass, where she’s perfectly okay with Max and dozens of other people staying dead, as long as Jace is alive).

Clare is also one of the wimpiest writers I’ve ever read, in that she is so utterly unwilling to kill off a character with any importance. Yet she wants to have her cake and eat it too – she writes wonderful death scenes for characters, but they always end with “OMG there’s a faint pulse! I love you!” in the case of heroes, or a resurrection one book later in the case of villains. I suppose it’s a wonder Valentine has stayed dead for two whole books. At this point, I’ve stopped being concerned during these death scenes.

Giving credit where credit is due, Clare does have a gift for fleshing out minor characters, and the ensemble cast of CoLS is where the book is at its strongest. Simon, Izzy, Alec, and Magnus are a delight to read about, whether they’re snarking at each other or angsting about their respective relationships (and boy, do they angst a lot!). Jordan and Maia are really growing on me. And this book developed Jocelyn quite well, so that was nice.

More happens in this book’s 20-odd-page epilogue than in the middle 200 pages or so, so I am quite interested in reading the conclusion to this series. However, that pales in comparison with my need for Clockwork Princess RIGHT NOW. The main characters in that series are just as interesting as the supporting cast that surrounds them, if not more so, whereas I think it’s about time to retire from Clary and Jace.