After the dramatic ending of City of Fallen Angels with Jace bringing “Sebastian” back to life the fifth instalment could have went absolutely anywhere, and where we end up is with a missing Jace who seems to have been brain washed by Sebastian/Jonathan and also joined as one; you hurt one you hurt the other.

Although the Clave are looking for Jace, it soon becomes apparent to the ‘gang’ that they aren’t so much looking for Jace to save him but because he will be Sebastian to kill. Because of that, they are reluctant to share the information that they are joined as the Clave appears to have no issue killing one of its own to save the many. Therefore, the adventure begins of not only trying to find Jace, but also find a way to separate them so that Sebastian can be killed without hurting Jace.

It feels like this instalment is a little bit more grown up than the others. We see Jace and Clary’s relationship move into less fluffy territory. Alec and Magnus begin having some relationship issues. Maia and Jordan address their history and Izzy and Simon start to explore what is between them. I like the shared narrative that the books have developed rather than being the Clary show it makes it much more interesting. But boy! Are these books long! They all seem to be taking me forever to read so I’m actually quite looking forward to finishing the last one!