City of Glass: The Mortal Instruments, Book 3 (by Cassandra Clare)

In this conclusion to the Mortal Instruments trilogy (the conclusion to the first cycle of three anyway), Clary makes her way to the hidden Shadowhunter country of Idris, seeking a cure to her mother's magical affliction. While there, her father delivers an ultimatum to the Shadowhunter ruling council: declare him their leader, or he will use the Mortal Instruments to unleash a plague of demons and wipe them out. Meanwhile, Clary struggles to learn how to use her unique powers, discover her secret heritage, and figure out her relationship with her maybe-brother, Jace.

Derivative, predictable, and melodramatic can be good things when they're played for fun and done well, and this is done really well. Action, horror, complexity, romance, twists that aren't too hard to see coming, mysteries the reader will figure out before the characters -- they're all here, in just the right amounts, and mostly with just the right pacing, though, like most 500+ page books, it sags in places.

It's easy to find things to criticize: the climactic battle happens offstage; the religious and incestuous aspects may disturb some; there's a fair bit of repetition. But with characters who grow ever more satisfying, a cleverly detailed fantasy world, a thoroughly engrossing writing style, and a host of questions from the earlier books answered before the end, fans of the series will find this everything they had hoped for. And if you haven't read the first two books? Don't even think of trying this.