Looking for Next Best Series? the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

If you are like me, after you finish a good series you are left with the feeling of wanting more. This is what it was like for a pretty long time after I closed the back flap of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book. I wanted more from the world of magic and fantasy. About seven months later I was introduced to the Twilight saga which was good but not great. Then I stumbled upon a wonderful series by Cassandra Clare called The Mortal Instruments. It is a trilogy of books: City of Bones, City of Ashes, and the last one, City of Glass, which just came out this past March. Not as good as Harry Potter but it trumps Twilight in my opinion. It is similar to Twilight in that creatures of the night walk among us as we go unaware but the story is so much stronger and complex.

Cassandra Clare creates a dark and exciting world of shadowhunters, demons, warlocks, werewolves, vampires and fairies.

The plot of The Mortal Instruments is deep and only gets deeper as it unfolds across the trilogy. The basic overall plot of the story is that the shadowhunters are considered the good guys who fight the demons. Everyone else is considered a downworlder, or mundanes (humans), whom the shadowhunters want nothing to do with. When one character, Valentine, rises up and decides to threaten the shadowhunters very world because he feels they have been misguided, in order to save it, they must find away to all work together.

The sub-plots in The Mortal Instruments are equally deep and take on many twists and a big turn at the end that I did not see coming. What makes this enjoyable series even more enjoyable is the up and down turmoil of the lives of the main characters: Clary, Jace, Simon and Valentine. That is the best part with Cassandra Clare is the not knowing what is going to happen makes the reading experience all the more pleasing, which is why I loved Harry Potter so much and why Twilight pales in comparison.

The settings for The Mortal Instruments are fascinating. The first two books are based in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The third book takes us to another country, Idris and its capital city Alicante, of purely of Cassandra Clare's creation, a place which I would love to visit if it were real.

The characters in The Mortal Instruments are real and have strong substance to them and each one feels important to the plot even when they are not up front and on center stage. For instance, with the sub-plot of Clary's quest to save her mother, her mother is not always around but you feel her presence in every risk Clary takes.

I was glad to have come across The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare as they were all good reads. In addition, I also eagerly await and look forward to the prequel which will also be a trilogy that Cassandra Clare will be writing next called The Infernal Devices. Until then I now go in search for the next great series and I will keep you posted.