City of Bones
Quotes from the Book
You're just worried they'll hire a male instructor and he'll be hotter than you." Jace's eyebrows went up. "Hotter than me?" "It could happen," Clary said, "You know, theoretically." "Theoretically the planet could suddenly crack in half, leaving me on one side and you on the other, forever and tragically parted, but I'm not worried about that either. Some things," Jace said, with his customary crooked smile, "are just too unlikely to dwell upon.
You're the first Shadowhunter I've ever met." “That’s too bad,” said Jace, “since all the others you meet from now on will be a terrible letdown.
You know, some people think Shadowhunters are just myths. Like mummies and genies." Kyle grinned at Jace. "Can you grant wishes?" "That depends," he said. "Do you wish to be punched in the face?
No. That's Clary; shes's my best friend." Simon pocketed his phone. "And she has a boyfriend. Like, really, really, really has a boyfriend. The nuclear bomb of boyfriends. Trust me on this one.
So what was that all about?" "I think," Jace said, "that she asked if she could touch my mango." "She said that?" Jace shrugged. "Yeah, then she gave me her number.
Hearts are breakable," Isabelle said. "And I think even when you heal, you're never what you were before".
It’s fascinating. You know all these words, and they’re all English, but when you string them together into sentences, they just don’t make any sense.
I suppose you've always been amazing at this stuff."- Clary "I was born amazing." - Jace
But I watch my brothers give their hearts away and I think, Don’t you know better? Hearts are breakable. And I think even when you heal, you’re never what you were before.
Or maybe it's just that beautiful things are so easily broken by the world.
White for Shadowhunters is the color of funerals," Luke explained. “ But for mundanes, Jace, it’ s the color of weddings. Brides wear white to symbolize their purity.” “I thought Jocelyn said her dress wasn’t white,” Simon said. “Well,” said Jace, “I suppose that ship has sailed.” Luke choked on his coffee.
Aren’t they supposed to be hiring someone else to train me full-time anyway?” “Yes,” he said, getting up and pulling her to her feet along with him,“ and I’m worried that if you get into the habit of making out with your instructors, you’ll wind up making out with him, too.” “ Don’t be sexist. They could find me a female instructor.” “In that case you have my permission to make out with her, as long as I can watch.
What's the point in wasting a perfectly good brick wall when you have someone to throw against it, that's what I always say.
Jace perched on the windowsill and looked down at him. "You really don't get this bodyguard thing, do you?" "I didn't even think you liked me all that much," said Simon. "Is this one of those keep-your-friends-close-and-your-enemies-closer things?" "I thought it was keep your friends close so you have someone to drive the car when you sneak over to your enemy's house a night and throw up in his mailbox." "I'm pretty sure that's not it
Hey," said Jace. who was sitting on an overturned speaker, looking at his cellphone, "do you want to see a photo of Alec and Magnus in Berlin?" "Not really," said Simon. "Magnus is wearing lederhosen." "And yet, still no.
Still I pictured having you for fifty, sixty more years. I thought I might be ready then to let you go. But it's you, and I realize now that I won't be anymore ready to lose you then than I am right now. Which is not at all.
L'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle. "It means that love is the most powerful force in the world. That love can do anything.
Thank you,” Simon said. “It’s a joke, Isabelle. He’s the Count. He likes counting. You know. ‘What did the Count eat today, children? One chocolate chip cookie, two chocolate chip cookies, three chocolate chip cookies . . .’” There was a rush of cold air as the door of the restaurant opened, letting in another customer. Isabelle shivered and reached for her black silk scarf. “It’s not realistic.” “What would you prefer? ‘What did the Count eat today, children? One helpless villager, two helpless villagers, three helpless villagers . . .
What's this?" "That's a mango." Simon stared at Jace. Sometimes it really is like Shadowhunters were from an alien planet. "I don't think I've seen one of those that wasn't already cut up," Jace mused. "I like mangoes." Simon grabbed the mango and tossed it into the cart. "Great. What else do you like?" Jace pondered for a moment. "Tomato soup," he said finally. "Tomato soup? You want tomato soup and a mango for dinner?" Jace shrugged. "I don't really care about food.
Medium clever,” Simon acknowledged. “Like a cross between George Clooney in Ocean’s Eleven and those MythBusters guys, but, you know, better-looking.” “I’m always so glad I have no idea what you’re vacantly chattering about,” said Jace. “It fills me with a sense of peace and well-being.
You look lousy,' he said. Jace blinked. 'Seems an odd time to start an insult contest, but if you insist, I could probably think up something good.' 'No I mean it. You don't look good.' 'This is from a guy ho has all the sex appeal of a penguin. Look, I realize you may be jealous that the good Lord didn't deal you the same chiseled hand he dealt me, but that's no reason to-' 'I am not trying to insult you.' Simon snapped.
Alec keeps sending me annoying photos. Lots of captions like Wish you were here, except not really.
He looks," Simon had once said to Isabelle, "like he's thinking about something deep and meaningful, but if you ask him what it is, he'll punch you in the face.
So you're trying to make her happy despite the fact that the reason she's unhappy in the first place is you," said Simon, not very kindly. "That seems contradictory, doesn't it?" "Love is a contradiction," said Jace.
Dudes," He said, "Do not follow other dudes to the bathroom." Isabelle sighed. "Latent homosexual panic will do you in every time
I guess you're coming as my date now." Simon shoved the phone into his pocket. "I'm secure enough in my masculinity to accept that," said Jordan. "We better get you something nice to wear, though," he called as Simon headed back into his room. "I want you to look pretty.
You left me. You made a pet out of me, and then you left me. If love were food, I would have starved on the bones you gave me.
They think they're better than everyone else." "No," said Jace. "I think I'm better than everyone else. An opinion that has been backed up with ample evidence." Kyle looked at Simon. "Does he always talk like this?" "Yes.
You don't get to decide," she said, "where I go, or when." "I know." His voice was ragged. "I've always known that about you. I don't know why I had to fall in love with someone who's more stubborn than I am.
Magnus sighed. "Alexander, I've been alive for hundreds of years. I've been with men, been with women - with faeries and warlocks and vampires, and even a djinn or two." He looked sideways at Maryse, who looked mildly horrified. "Too much information?
Did you know?
- It is the fourth book in The Mortal Instruments series, opening a second story arc after the original trilogy concluded with City of Glass.
- The novel was published on April 5, 2011, by Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
- It is followed by City of Lost Souls (2012) and City of Heavenly Fire (2014).
- Much of the story centers on Simon Lewis adjusting to life as a Daylighter vampire.
- The Mortal Instruments series was adapted into the 2013 film City of Bones and the television series Shadowhunters (2016-2019).
About Cassandra Clare
More by Cassandra Clare
All books by Cassandra Clare →About the book
"City of Fallen Angels" is the fourth novel in Cassandra Clare's urban-fantasy series The Mortal Instruments, published in 2011. Set in a contemporary New York where demon-hunting Shadowhunters live hidden alongside vampires, werewolves and other Downworlders, the book picks up after the Mortal War: Clary Fray is training as a Shadowhunter and has finally begun a relationship with Jace, while her best friend Simon adjusts to his new life as a vampire. That fragile peace is broken when someone begins murdering Shadowhunters, threatening to reignite conflict between Downworlders and the Clave.
At its center the novel is about the cost of the choices its characters made in earlier books. Simon, torn between two girls and rejected by his own mother when she learns he is a vampire, becomes a target of dangerous supernatural forces. Jace pulls away from Clary without explanation, and she is drawn into a mystery whose answer touches her own past and fears. The story leans into themes of love, guilt, family and identity, extending the arcs of a cast readers already knew from the first trilogy rather than resetting them.
Where the original trilogy told a self-contained story, "City of Fallen Angels" reopened The Mortal Instruments for a second three-book arc, followed by "City of Lost Souls" and "City of Heavenly Fire." The series became a cornerstone of 2010s young-adult fantasy and was adapted first as the 2013 film "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" and later as the television series "Shadowhunters" (2016-2019), helping cement Clare as one of the best-known authors in the genre.
Key characters
- Clary FrayYoung Shadowhunter protagonist
- Jace HerondaleShadowhunter and Clary's boyfriend
- Simon LewisClary's best friend, now a Daylighter vampire
- Isabelle LightwoodShadowhunter with a growing interest in Simon
- Alec LightwoodShadowhunter and Jace's parabatai
Book details
- First published
- 2011
- Length
- 425 pages
- Reading time
- 15 hours
- Author
- Cassandra Clare
- Genre
- Fantasy
- Goodreads rating
- 4.07 (648k ratings) →
Series & reading order
- 1 City of Bones
- 2 City of Ashes
- 3 City of Glass
- 4 City of Fallen Angels
- 5 City of Lost Souls
- 6 City of Heavenly Fire
Movie & TV adaptations
- IMDb
- IMDb
If you liked this, read…
- 1City of Lost SoulsThe direct sequel, continuing the same characters and arc.
- 2Clockwork AngelCassandra Clare's related Infernal Devices prequel set in the same Shadowhunter world.
Keep reading
City of Glass
City of Bones
City of Ashes
Awry
The Angel
Succubus on Top
Magic Bites
Succubus Shadows
Sapphire Blue
The Ship of the Dead
Ashes of Honor
Fall of Night
Gunmetal Magic
Frostbite
Night Play
Industrial Magic
Lover Unbound
Fate's Edge
Grace and Glory
Supernaturally
The Darkest Night
Alpha
Untold
Dead of Winter
Splintered
Evernight
Angel
Blood Games
Halo
Bone Crossed
Unmade
The Throne of Fire
Burnt Offerings
Wayward Son
Iced
Angels' Flight
Carpe Corpus
Unspoken
Check & Mate
Storm's Heart
Embrace
Valiant
Wicked Nights
Dangerous Creatures
Lover Enshrined
Awakened
Drink Deep
Carry On
Archangel's Legion
Ruin and Rising
Frozen Tides
Any Way the Wind Blows
Moon Called
End of Days
Dream Lake
Demonglass
Chimes at Midnight
A Job From Hell
The Darkest Secret
Kingdom of the Wicked

