Hey guys! I’m so excited to be participating in the Mortal Instruments | City of Bones Read-a-Long. This read-a-long began August 1 and is a great way to get ready for the movie before it hits theaters on August 21st! This read-a-long is hosted by Ramblings of a Book Junkie.

Chapter 18 Recap

So, today is August 18th, and we are going to be recapping CHAPTER 18 in City of Bones.

Chapter 18:

We begin this chapter in Jace’s POV. He is laying in bed pretending to be asleep, hurting from the fight from the night before. There is a knock on his door and he knows it is Clary.

So, opening the door, he gets all ooey-gooey inside seeing her there. He couldn’t figure out what she was doing there, because of what he had said to her.

He makes a smart comment about Simon being turned into an ocelot (my favorite animal, just in case you were wondering!), and Clary lets him know it is important.

She comes in with her sketchpad and he makes a smart comment about her needing a nude model, which sparks her to scream at him to listen up and be serious for a moment.

He’s got more head canon happening about wanting to put his arms around her, telling her everything is alright, but he doesn’t.

She then proceeds to tell Jace that she has figured out her mother’s secret – how she hid the Mortal Cup. She shows him how she put the coffee cup inside the drawing, which surprises him beyond belief and compels him to use the word “egad”.

She tells him she had some runes come to her while she was in her room (and pointedly makes sure to say it was AFTER Simon left). He thinks they came form the Gray Book, but she says she has no idea where they came from. He then thinks her mom taught her and had Magnus remove the memory.

She then breaks the news that she thinks the painted tarot cards her mother made for Madame Dorothea were the most likely place she’d hide the cup — that she remembered seeing it on the Ace. They realize this would be a great hiding place, because Madame Dorthea wouldn’t take them anywhere or let them out of her sight, so they’d be safe without her even knowning she had them.

Clary then thinks if her mom hadn’t hid the cup so well, she wouldn’t have been taken, but Jace assures her this isn’t the case and that is probably the only reason she is still alive.

Jace and Clary then tell the rest of the Institute (Alec, Isabelle, and Hodge) They argue about whether to go to Madame Dorthea themselves, or let the Clave handle it, but Clary thinks MD will trust her. They then argue about needing a car, prompting Clary to call Simon, since he is the only one with a license. Simon doesn’t seem to want to help, but Clary thinks they can use the cup with Valentine to get her mom back and she eventually talks him into it.

While waiting, Hodge has a chat with Clary about unrequited love and the imbalance of power within relationships. He tells her pointedly that Simon’s love of her could grow to hate over time if she keeps using him, and then tells her about Lucian’s love of her mom and how it could have turned him to betray her. Clary argues that isn’t the case and the conversation turns to the next step after receiving the cup.

On the way there, Clary tries to talk about the night before, and says, “I know that when you said you loved me, what I said back wasn’t what you wanted to hear,” to which Simon replies that he would have wanted a response like Leia to Han in Return of the jedi. He then makes a subtle reference to Clary’s feelings for Jace.

When they get there, they know demons have been there, but the sensor isn’t picking anything up, so they go ahead with the plan. They talk about where Clary landed through the portal, if she found her mother, and about the Mortal Cup. Clary breaks the news that the cup is there, that she has it in the cards. Clary pulls the cup out and the card turns to ash.

—-

So, a lot of things were packed in that one chapter. We learn from Jace that he does have feelings for Clary, much as he doesn’t want to. We also learned that Clary is developing her power as a Shadowhunter and how to retrieve the cup. We learn from Hodge that Clary is going to have to make a decision when it comes to Simon and that Luke may have not been the friend to her mother they always thought them to be. And most of all, Clary and the gang retrieve the cup that has been lost/hidden for so long.

What did you think about this chapter? What what your favorite part?

MINE was definitely learning that Jace is feeling emotional turmoil about Clary. Seeing inside his head for a moment was great. And another part I loved was the talk with Hodge about the imbalance of power and unrequited love. I think it was a pivotal point of the book as far as Jace/Alec and Clary/Simon go.

City of Bones Playlist

Authors love to use music to inspire them while writing. Curious as to what songs Cassandra Clare lists as the playlist for City of Bones? Well here they are!

Song Name	Artist
Standing	Vnv Nation
Demons	Guster
Hello, My Treacherous Friends	Ok Go
Hold On, Hold On	Neko Case
Chocolate	Snow Patrol
Ballad of Maxwell Demon	Shudder to Think
I Know I Know I Know	Tegan and Sara
Pretty When You Cry	VAST
Caught By the River	Doves
The Crane Wife 3	The Decemberists
Morningstar	AFI
Bones	Embrace
My Heart	The Perishers
I Will Follow You Into the Dark	Death Cab for Cutie

What songs on here are your favorites? Are there any that surprise you?

There is a tour-wide giveaway as well! You will need to follow the following instruction to win:

Choose the e-book you’d like to win and enter the giveaway through the rafflecopter below. Take as many chances as you can following the instructions. The giveaway is sponsored by FLY HIGH, Maria Grazia’s blog. It is open internationally and will end on August 22nd. There will be two winners. Good luck, everyone!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

♥

Want to keep up with the rest of the read-a-thon? Here’s the schedule:

August 19th- (Amanda)
August 20th- (Ivy) & (Liliana)
August 21st (Kayla)