City of Ashes

The Mortal Instruments, Book Two

By: Cassandra Clare

Narrated by: Natalie Moore

Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Clary Fray just wants her life to go back to normal - but that turns out to be impossible. For one thing, her mother is still in the hospital, in a mysterious coma. For another, she and her brother, Jace, have fallen under a cloud of suspicion now that the Shadowhunter world knows that Valentine is still alive - and that Jace and Clary are his son and daughter. Not to mention that someone in New York is killing Downworlders and draining their blood, creating a climate of suspicion that sends Downworld Manhattan to the brink of civil war.

When the Silent Brothers are murdered and the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Sword of Souls, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor is dispatched from Idris to investigate. She clearly harbors a personal grudge against Jace, and she drives a wedge between him and his adoptive family. When Clary's romance with her best friend, Simon, starts to heat up, Jace feels abandoned. But has he, as the Inquisitor accuses, joined up with his father?

Then Simon is turned into a vampire and kidnapped by Valentine, who intends to sacrifice him as part of a bloody ritual that will make the Mortal Instruments his own forever. Jace knows he needs to save Simon's life, for Clary's sake. But what if he's too late? What if Valentine has already made the Mortal Instruments his own?

©2008 Cassandra Claire, LLC (P)2008 Simon and Schuster, Inc.

fast moving. can't put it down

it is fast. moving story you just don't want to put down.
great story. with strong characters.

Still good

Have you listened to any of Natalie Moore’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but she did a good job. Easy to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Continue to love the characters

Great story, terrible narrator

Really enjoying this series. Don’t want to put it down! But the narrator is one of the worst I’ve ever heard. Voices are terrible and accents even worse. She mispronounces words and changes one character’s accent pathway through the book. Push through though, the story is worth it!

great book boring va

loved the book. the va didn't do anywhere near as good as the one who did the book before but still did decent

fantastic!

The story itself is intriguing and well written. the performance is just as heart felt. 10 out of 10 all around

Terrible Narration

First book was narrated great. This one not so much. Made it very hard to listen to.

love this story

I read these books on a whim several years ago and love the story.

the narrator

the narrator was awful, the first book narrator was amazing but not this one, she didn't read everything in the book.

Love the Story. Hated the Narrator.

Would you listen to City of Ashes again? Why?

I would listen to it again as it is a good story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's difficult to pick one favorite as they all have wonderful qualities. I think that Jocelyn Fray (Fairchild) would be my favorite because of her dedication as a mother. She risked her life to protect Clary. She was the perfect example of what a mother should be and I love her for that.

Would you be willing to try another one of Natalie Moore’s performances?

I am forced to so that I can finish the books that she has narrated. I would not listen to any books outside of this series narrated by her.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did get bored with some parts of it, but there were no extreme emotions.

Any additional comments?

I think May Whitman was such a better narrator! I was so disappointed when they changed the narrator to Natalie Moore. I had come to know the characters through May's portrayal of them and I was lost with Natalie Moore. There wasn't a lot of distinction between the characters and I hated how she changed Magnus Bane's voice and accent.

Good story but dislikable narration

I like the Mortal Instruments books and this book was good. But the narrator took away from the story. I didn't like the way she pronounced words and her tone. I really enjoyed the narration of the first book and I like the accents. The narrator of the second book should have keep consistent with that.