City of Lost Souls

I put it off as long as I could. I couldn't stand the thought of another Mortal Instruments series ending with Jace and Clary torn apart by evil things. But I bit the bullet and low and behold, not disappointed in this one. The fifth book in this series by Cassandra Clare starts with the search for Jace. When last we left him, he had disappeared from the roof with Sebastian and he had been tied to him. The Clave is looking for him, but Clary isn't satisfied with the effort. She enlists the help of her boy Friday, Simon, Isabelle and Alec and Magnus Bane. Together they form many crazy schemes to get Jace back. Clary, as always, throws herself into the fire by running away with Jace and Sebastian in order to find out what they are up to. Jace isn't himself, he is at Sebastian's mercy and Clary tries to break through to him while fending off the every creepy advances of her brother Sebastian. When in the brief moments Jace returns to his usual sarcastic, loyal, fierce self, he is able to share Sebastian's plan even as he knows he will have to go along with it. Simon does many heroic things to help Clary while cultivating his romance with Isabelle. Magnus and Alec hit some snags in their relationship, (spoiler alert) but if you were paying attention at the end, you know it wasn't Magnus.... Luke almost dies, Maia and Jordan get back together and (surprise) Sebastian might get away again. My favorite parts of this book were the references to Will Herondale...Tale of Two Cities, the little box, the picture Magnus has etc. But I have to ask you my friends- Is Brother Zacariah who I think he is????? I liked the ending of this book and don'f feel let down. Jace and Clary are side by side where they belong, even if Jace is a little changed. He still rates a spot in the top ten. I am now determined to read Silence and finish Becca Fitzpatrick's series about Patch and Nora. It's off to an interesting start. Happy reading my friends.