City of Glass is a thrilling continuation of The Mortal Instruments series. In this book, Clary Fray travels to the Shadowhunter city of Alicante in the realm of Iris. Her goal is to find a way to cure her mother, who is trapped in a magical coma. Meanwhile, Clary’s brother, Sebastian, is shown to be a spy for their father Valentine.
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare continues the story of Clary Fray, Jace Herondale, Simon Lewis and their friends as they work through the aftermath of Valentine’s defeat and the restoration of peace. However, the peace is short lived as new threats develop. As Clary begins her training to become a true Shadowhunter and plans her future with Jace, Simon struggles with his new life as a Daylighter vampire.
The Secret Hour has a very imaginative paranormal premise, and it was enjoyable to read; I finished this book for reluctant readers in two sittings. I love the idea of a hidden hour after midnight where only a select few can visit, and the continuing threads of mystery and “what’s going on?” kept me reading this urban fantasy. The characters are not all best buddies, but are unique individuals with their own motivations which are shown in the fast pace.
When I was in elementary school, I read many, many books on monsters and the paranormal. Books about ghosts, UFOs, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, mummies, werewolves...and vampires. Outside of books, there wasn't a lot to see with vampires at the time. You might catch classic Universal monster movies or the later, bloodier Hammer horror movies on late night TV (assuming you could convince your parents to let you stay up that late).
