Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3)

City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3)
City of Glass - Mortal Instruments, Bk 3
Author: Cassandra Clare
To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that enter-ing the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhun...  more »
Info icon
The Market's bargain prices are even better for Paperbackswap club members!
Retail Price: $24.99
Buy New (Hardcover): $17.39 (save 30%) or
Become a PBS member and pay $13.49+1 PBS book credit Help icon(save 46%)
ISBN-13: 9781416914303
ISBN-10: 1416914307
Publication Date: 3/24/2009
Pages: 541
Rating:
  • Currently 4.4/5 Stars.
 288

4.4 stars, based on 288 ratings
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

teaspa05 avatar reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
This is the third book of the Mortal Instruments trilogy. It is a shame it has to end. This book along with the other two were superb reads. It gave depth into the characters by drawing you into their worlds, thoughts, and feelings. The description of the places were great- felt like I was there.

If you have not read the other two (city of bones, city of ash), you will need to before reading this one. The other books lay groundwork for this book that otherwise will have you lost. GREAT READ AND SERIES!!!!!!!
GeniusJen avatar reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Reviewed by coollibrarianchick for TeensReadToo.com

I really have to stop reading books out by the pool. When I do this, especially with the good books, I forget about the thing called the "sun" and I end up getting roasted. I should've known better yesterday when I sat down to read Cassandra Clare's CITY OF GLASS. I should've known that I was not going to be able to put down the book, and now, unlike Simon who is not affected by the sun, I am a little bit burned.

It has been one really long - as well as crazy, heartbreaking, exhilarating, and anxiety-filled - month for Clary. She has been one busy girl - mixing it up with vampires, werewolves, and fairies, fighting demons, and falling in love completely and totally. Like I said, it has been one helluva month for Clary.

When we last saw her, both Clary and Jace were reeling from the fact that they were brother and sister. I think you were able to hear a collective moan of "oh no" across the country when everyone reading the book got to that part. On top of that, her mother was in a coma and Simon, her BFF, was turned into a vampire. Seriously, can anything else go wrong?

Welcome to the final chapter in THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS trilogy.

The trip has been planned. Everyone is going to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters. Clary was going to save her mother, learn more about her past. Life was going to be good once again. However, keep in mind the saying "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry"....

So what goes wrong? For starters, Jace doesn't want her to go, claiming that it is too dangerous, especially if people, the wrong people, find out what she can do with runes. Then the Forsaken attack before Clary arrives, wrecking havoc and forcing everyone left alive (including Simon) to escape through the portal to Idris.

It is not easy getting into Idris. You have to get permission from the ruling body, and if you enter without permission, you run the risk of death. Uh oh.... now how in the world is Clary going to save her mother? Clave be damned is how, and she draws her own portal rune to transport her. Luke latches on at the last second in hopes of saving her, but it is too late - and they both wind up in Idris.

Good news is they made it; bad news is that Downworlders like Luke aren't exactly welcome.

The action in this installment starts early and doesn't let up until the very last page, but now with Clary, Luke, and Simon (who really shouldn't be there) in Idris, the twists and turns really begin. If you thought what happened on the ship in the last book was intense, you haven't read anything yet. Valentine, who has yet to show all of his cards, is planning something huge. He is just itching to use the mortal cup and he already has the sword. Everybody is on full alert, ready to battle for his or her lives.

I don't want to reveal that many spoilers, so lets just say Ms. Clare wrote a satisfying conclusion that will please her legions of fans. There is a lot going on in this book, that much I will say. This one was probably my favorite out of the three. The story moved at a very good pace and delved more into the relationships that have entwined all of the characters together. Familial issues take center stage, and romantic issues also abound.

There is also one really big surprise. Does that mean Jace and Clary are together in the end?

I'm not telling....
reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 93 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Oh My! I loved this book so much. The best analogy I can give is this: When you are reading a good book & you get to those last couple chapters where it gets so compelling to finish & you cant read it fast enough - that is the way this whole book was from beginning to end. I would say this trilogy was one of my very favorites. I do not want to give spoilers, so I will just say everything is explained and tied up in this last book of the trilogy, although, I can still see places where there could possible be a spin-off of the story. I hope there is!! I would hate for it to be over.
sfvamp avatar reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 108 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This is the best book out of the trilogy. Clare finally ironed out some of her writing flaws such as cardboard characterization, underdeveloped scenes, and a propensity to copy Harry Potter. The scenes between Clary and Jace and between Alec and Magnus were outstanding and the plot flowed much better than it did in City of Glass (or City of Bones for that matter). It felt like Clare became truly comfortable with her world and with her own unique voice. I liked the resolution between all the main couples and that Clary finally had a bigger role in the destruction of Valentine than it seemed was going to happen. I still felt some characters were more obvious than Clare intended them to be--I picked out Hodge's and Sebastian's identities a mile away. However Valentine finally got a little fleshing out and his final scene with Clary is very satisfying. I read not so flattering reviews of the sequel to this book (City of Fallen Angels) and so I choose to end my journey in the world of Mortal Instruments here with this nicely wrapped and packaged conclusion. This was a very nice way to end the series and I wouldn't ruin that sense of harmony by attempting to read a new book that could essentially unravel everything good about this book.
barbsis avatar reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 1076 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This was spectacular! I can't say a single thing about it without giving something away so I'll just setting on superb! Lots and lots of surprises. Get ready for a super conclusion to the series though I've heard that book 4 is coming next year. If you liked the first two books in the series, you will absolutely love this one. If you didn't, why are you even looking at book 3?
Read All 31 Book Reviews of "City of Glass Mortal Instruments Bk 3"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

kiorabree avatar reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 39 more book reviews
As mentioned before, a once over of the back of the fourth book already revealed the big twist at the end so I can't honestly say that I would have predicted the outcome. However, if I hadn't, I would be highly surprised as the author eluded and ushered the reader, quite unsubtly, to the big revelation in only 1.75 books.
Thankfully, the resolution between Alec and Magnus only took 1.5 ;) Though it took the Luke/Jocelyn item 3 whole volumes, plus a whole lot of history.
laina42107 avatar reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 115 more book reviews
Wow I really loved this book!!! I finished it in a 24 hour time span. So that alone says a lot. Only a couple of books have sucked me in like that. Loved the ending! Everything was wrapped up or so I thought until the epilogue. Not really sure if it was a good idea or a bad idea to continue this series. It was all wrapped up and everyone was happy. I just hope the next installments in the series are not a let down!
reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 15 more book reviews
This was one of my favorite books in the Mortal Instrument series. There was a lot going on and it wasn't able to lag because of everything you had to take in. With each book things get more intense for everyone involved. By the end of this one, I was really happy with where the story was going. When there's a lot of books in a series you get to know each and every character more intimately, which I love. By this time you're literally involved in their lives and you want to see what unfolds with all of them. That's why I loved this one. I now felt like I was a part of this wonderful group of people and what was happening to them was now happening to me as well. Clare is an excellent story teller in that sense.

Valentine is at it again and everyone has just about had it. This time he is planning the ultimate attack on the Shadowhunters and it's very possible that he could succeed. New characters come into play and others tend to fade away. I have to admit that I really liked Sebastian coming into the mix. I love characters that bring something new to the story and his tale was definitely an intriguing one. The situation between Clary and Jace also made this one of my favorite thus far. Things never seem to go right for these two but they finally catch a break and all is well in the Shadowhunter world. Except of course for Valentine and his evil plan. Will it ever end?
dragoneyes avatar reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 836 more book reviews
This is the 3rd book in the series and initially it was the final book as well. There was enough closure at the end of this book to make it satisfying but 3 more books will follow this one. Not sure how I feel about that. Sometimes great things come in small packages (or a trilogy). I will definitely continue on though since my curiosity always gets the best of me.
In this books we find Clary going to the City of Glass - Home of the Shadowhunters, Simon gets put in Shadowhunter prison, Jace doesn't want Clary there, and there is a all out battle at the end.
Clare does it again with non-stop action and adventure, twists and turns, and many sleepless nights.
diamondsae82 avatar reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 30 more book reviews
I read the first three books in this series one right after another. Every book is so good that I just did not want the story to end, and this book was no different. I would almost say that this third installment is the best one in the series so far. It is action packed and full of unexpected twists and turns.

Clary is getting ready to leave for Alicante to find the warlock who can save her mother. Jace is adamantly against this decision. He doesn't want the Clave to find out what Clary is capable of or what really happened on Valentine's ship. In an effort to recruit Simon's help in deceiving Clary so she will miss the portal, the Institute is attacked by Forsaken and Simon is pulled through the portal with the Lightwoods. Underworlders entering into Alicante is strictly forbidden, and the Clave is immediately interested in the Daylighter. When Clary and Luke arrive to leave for Alicante, they only find Magnus Bane. He proceeds to tell them what happened, but only part of the story. Clary decides to put her new found rune powers to the test and tries to make her own portal. Luke finds her just as she is stepping through and into the world of the clave they go.

I loved this book. I think I spent just about every moment I was awake and not working to read. It has action, suspense, love, and lots of twists. There is a very sad part in this book, but that is all I will say about that. The most disappointing part of this book is that it needs more Jace. This book puts so many pieces together. There were some parts that I thought Clary was annoying. She tends to just do whatever she feels like without thinking about how it will affect others, but at the same time she is more bad ass in this book. She isn't afraid of anything and will do anything to help the ones she loves.
I have to say that I have not liked Simon's character in this series at all until this book. He is almost a totally different person than he has been. It is nice to see that he accepts the way Clary feels for Jace and stops pining after her. He is a much better friend than jealous tag along.
Jace is wonderful as usual. We learn so much more about him in this book, and its beyond what you would think. It is nice to learn more about who he really is.

This book is non-stop from the first page to the last. You can tell that at one time it was intended to be the last in the series, but the end is still pretty open-ended. Cassandra Clare leaves some questions hanging unanswered. I am excited to carry on in the series, and hope that it doesn't drag on or ruin the relationship between the characters.
carolinachapa avatar reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 22 more book reviews
LOVED THIS BOOK. It was fast-paced and action packed. I was just thoroughly satisfied with all of this book and the series overall. I cannot wait to finish Fallen Angels and Lost Souls and wait for Heavenly Fire!
kiorabree avatar reviewed City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Bk 3) on + 39 more book reviews
Definitely took some unexpected twists and turns. Still highly appreciating the humor laced throughout the story

Book Wiki

Series
People/Characters
Clary Fray (Primary Character)
Jace Lightwood (Primary Character)
Simon Lewis (Major Character)
Alec Lightwood (Major Character)
Isabelle Lightwood (Major Character)
(Show all 9 People/Characters)
Fictional Places
Important Events

Genres: