Book review for the mortal instruments series by cassandra clare

Note: This review contains spoilers galore!
Book: The Mortal Instruments Series
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fantasy
Age: For readers 14 and up 
Rating: 3/ 5 stars for the series as a whole
​
City of Bones: ⅗
City of Ashes: 2 /5 
City of Glass: 3 /5
City of Fallen Angels: 3.5 /5
City of Lost Souls: 2.5 /5
City of Heavenly Fire: 3.5/5

Note: NO HATE TO THE DARK ARTIFICES. That series is amazing and Emma and Julian are awesome. I actually can’t believe TDA and TMI were written by the same person

After finishing The Mortal Instruments (TMI) for the second time, I had one question: Why do we even need electrical chairs and other torture instruments when we have the Mortal Instruments series instead?! For real... I have NO IDEA how I loved this series the first time around. I remember last year reading all 6 books in 5 days and having a severe book depression after it. Bruh.... what was I even thinking. This series is so cringy and juvenile. Clace (Clary and Jace) make me want to straight up BARF... Ok this is turning out to be a jumbled up review but it’s actually quite fitting since this series is a bunch of jumbled up nonsense anyways. 

Ok here’s the rant:

1. Alec and Magnus: First of all why is Alec so irritated with Magnus for the entirety of book 4 and 5 just because he’s been in relationships before? He’s like 500 years old... what does Alec expect? But nothing fueled my anger up as much as Malec in City of Heavenly Fire! In City of Lost Souls, Alec tries to shorten Magnus’s life and Magnus, rightfully, gets angry. I MEAN WHO WOULDN’T?! But in CoHF, Alec and the rest of the group say a dumb line like this: “None of them could believe Magnus and Alec broke up. They all thought Magnus loved Alec and Alec did too.” WHAT?! This has NOTHING to do with Magnus’s love for Alec and has everything to do with how Alec is a crappy human being. It’s the equivalent of someone you love trying to sell your kidney without your consent. AND THEN the group proceeds to come to Magnus’s house individually to bully him into getting back with Alec. Jace even has the nerve to say something similar to “you don’t even care about Alec”.... Um ok. OH and I can’t forget about when someone (I forget who) said “I can’t believe Magnus hasn’t forgiven Alec. If Alec was sorry enough he should forgive”. NO HE SHOULDN’T. What Alec did was unforgivable and completely wrong. 
2. Clace.... BOILS MY BLOOD. Literally every convo between them:
   Clary: Jace-

          Jace: Don’t.  
DON’T WHAT?! I JUST WANNA KNOW. The amount of times I’ve seen this conversation in this series is absurd

1. Clary- SHE’S SUCH A STUPID LITTLE WHINY BRAT. Like can you please get it through your thick head that THERE ARE MORE THINGS IN THE WORLD THAN JACE?!? Ugh, oh and why does everyone call her “stubborn” like it’s a good thing? She’s a newbie shadowhunter who doesn’t follow instructions at all and always needs someone to save her.... Why is everyone encouraging this behavior and giving her excuses like “oh she’s just stubborn”. Even Clary herself was like “you can’t stop me. I’m stubborn”.... GROW UP! Stop giving yourself excuses so that you can go and act reckless. 
2. Clary and Jocelyn: Clary’s so rude to Jocelyn, her own mother. And don’t tell me Jocelyn deserves it because she doesn’t. Throughout Clary’s life, she was just trying to protect Clary because she knew Valentine was out there and it was dangerous. The way she protected her? Yah ok fine it might not have been the best way. But what she did was out of motherly concern. BESIDES SHE’S HER MOTHER... the way Clary treats her is appalling. Who talks to their mother like this? In City of Glass, her mom came out of a coma and the first thing Clary says is “Jocelyn.... what are you doing here”. First of all, why are you calling her Jocelyn instead of mom when you've never addressed your mom by your first name before. Second of all, can you please put your frustrations aside for one second and just be happy that your mom came out of a coma? Here’s another example of Clary’s rudeness: in City of Lost Souls, Jocelyn is like “I should have killed Jonathan when he was a child... all this is my fault” and Clary is like “I feel a flash of anger for my mom. She should have killed her own baby. Then none of this would’ve happened”. Clary, how do you expect a mother to kill her own baby?! And then she proceeds to contradict herself in City of Glass when Jocelyn was like “I knew Jonathan was a monster the first time I held him” and Clary thinks: “How could my mother even think that?! How could she judge a baby blah blah.” SHE LITERALLY CONTRADICTS HERSELF. Make it make sense Clary.
3. Jace and Clary are siblings- Gross... this plot point was so random and unnecessary.... ew. And just saying, there are many other incestuous plots in this book. Like Clary and Sebastien in book 5, Alec liking Jace in book 1 even though Jace and Alec are like siblings, when Isabelle called Jace “super hot” when they are basically siblings, etc.
4. Alec and Jace being Parabatai- Really?.... well they didn’t act like it. Name one scene where Jace and Alec acted close and all super bonded and parabatai like.
5. Jace- To think that I ever liked this boy to begin with.... *shakes head*. He’s SO ANNOYING. Spoiler: Here is City of Fallen Angels in a nutshell:

Jace: I don’t deserve you Clary... let me die
Clary: Nooo... Jace-
Jace: Don’t...
Clary and Jace have a romantic (cringy) moment.
Repeat on the next page.

1. Jordan and Maia- Um what was this?! Ok I get Maia accepting his apology since he wasn’t in control of himself and didn’t mean to hurt her, but that doesn’t erase the fact that he still abused her and she has trauma from it.... instead Jordan forces her into liking him. Example: When Maia stops Jordan from kissing her, Jordan protests and gets angry. 2nd example from City of Lost Souls: Maia says “I accept your apology and want to be friends”. Jordan: “I don’t want to be friends. I’m in love with you. Why can’t you see that I want to be with you?!” SERIOUSLY?! Not cool... you’re guilt tripping her into being with you? It’s good enough that she accepts your apology.... stop pushing it further. She has no obligation to be with you. AND don’t even GET ME STARTED on how clingy he is. In City of Lost Souls, Maia leaves him alone for A SECOND to go talk to Luke. Then Jordan thinks to himself: “She hates me... she’s disgusted by me..” Uh... clingy much?! She left you alone for one second. Chill
2. More of a question than a dislike but why was Simon so eager to get rid of the Mark of Cain? Like is it that bad? Why does Simon consider it a curse? From my perspective it literally doesn’t harm Simon or anything and it's actually super useful and saved Simon’s life countless times. Besides it only punishes the evil people who do something bad to Simon first, so I don’t see why Simon was like “it’s a curse. I hate it. I’m so excited to give it away to an angel even if it means that everyone who hates me can easily kill me now”
3. Ok just a note but how stupid is everyone to actually believe that the Faeries were on their side? Like Clary, Jace and the gang KNEW Meliorn was half Fae and couldn’t lie. Plus if this is a government as strict and careful as the Clave, then why didn’t they background check all the Downworld representatives?! It should have been immediately found out that Meliorn was half Fae and could lie. And Clary, who was visited by the Queen numerous times to ask if Clary could make Meliorn a representative should’ve at least raised Clary’s suspicions a little. 

What I liked:

1. Simon and Izzy
2. The introduction of Emma and Julian... AWWWW CUTIES
3. The hallucination scenes in Edom where they all enter the place and hallucinate their deepest wish. These scenes just hit differently. I legit felt emotion in these scenes (Rare I know... the TMI books usually evoke zero emotion from me). But seeing Clary with her life if Sebastian in it and seeing Isabelle grow up while Max stays nine forever were very touching.

Aaaaaaand that’s where the list ends.

Moral of the Story: Don’t waste your time on this series.

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