After discovering that she is a Shadowhunter, Clary is torn between the world she knew and the supernatural world she can’t help but see now. When several downworlders are found drained of blood, and another Mortal Instrument is stolen, everyone is on high alert.

I’ll be honest when I say that my main motivation in continuing this series was to see what happened after the end of the first book. If you haven’t read City of Bone and don’t know what I’m talking about, consider this your SPOILER WARNING! There is a shocking plot twist revealing that two of our main characters (who have been crushing on each other) are brother and sister. But their romantic feelings for one another do not stop! Why, Cassandra Clare?!? Why!?! I was really bothered by the romantic thoughts and the fact that they still really liked kissing each other after learning they were siblings. I couldn’t handle it. I did something I never do–I went to google. I never do that with books. But I couldn’t go on that way. What I learned helped a little bit, but I remained disturbed by this whole situation throughout the book. I don’t understand why this is part of the story.

I enjoyed the imagery and the world building that has taken place in the series so far. We learned a little more about the politics of the Shadowhunter world and about some of the other creatures they interact with. The fairies were diabolical. The demons summoned by a certain villain were pretty creepy. The wide range of ‘species’ involved in the story keeps things very interesting. I really enjoyed the quest our characters were on. It was a wild ride.

There was one moment that really caught me off guard while I was reading. The author was describing one of the main warlocks in the story and she said that he dressed like the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. That sentence caused me to freeze–jaw dropped, eyes bugged out of my head! The child catcher was the face of my nightmares for years as a kid! We used to watch that movie all the time and that guy always freaked me out. The way he was creeping around with his candy and the disguised carriage/cage has been permanently burned into my brain. It was equal parts horrifying and humorous to have the warlock in this story compared to one of the villains from my childhood. And, yes, now the songs from the movie are stuck in my head. If you’ve never seen it, check it out. It’s a classic. At least look up the child catcher.

Overall, I liked the story. I can see how it has so many books in the series. I think I may have liked this more when I was younger, but I guarantee I would be equally disturbed by the brother/sister thing.