City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
Published: May 27th, 2014
Genre: Fantasy, Ya Paranormal
In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of a nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell. The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris – but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons? When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee – even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned…Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!
Get on Goodreads & Amazon
Rating:
“Take London, my love, and turn it all to blood,” she said. “My gift to you.”
This was my favorite book out of the whole series. It really wrapped up so perfectly and I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. All the characters were just as awesome and funny as before. We even got to meet some new one and delve deeper into old ones which I will get to later. What I will say is I felt that The Mortal Instruments should’ve been a trilogy. Number one should’ve had the war with Valentine cut in half to fit into one book and set up Sebastian’s war as well. Book two should’ve had the ending of four and all of five and then end with book six as book three. Books 3-4 for me felt very useless and a lot of back and forth of the same thing happening. Also, I mean six books and the Clave still doesn’t learn how to listen to reason or the core group of teens when they tell them things like about Sebastian. This was a great story and I enjoyed how we got the relationships in this story but it wasn’t all about that. We got more plot and story but, also the beautiful romances on the side.
1)Characters
“And when I die and they burn my body and I become ashes that mix with the air, and part of the ground and the trees and the stars, everyone who breathes that air or sees the flowers that grow out of the ground or looks up at the stars will remember you and love you, because I love you that much.”
There was a lot of growth in the characters and I loved seeing that. Clary was tough as nails and I was so proud to see how far she came from a girl who knew nothing of this life to a girl who saved the world. Isabelle was obviously just as dope as before but we got to see a new soft side of Isabelle and see her open her heart to something new with Simon. Alec was a pessimistic little turd and I loved it lol but we are one in the same. But, we also got to see a side of Alec where he lets people in and became his own and realized how great of a person he is. Magnus was someone who thought letting someone in would hurt him and I loved seeing him open up and see that in a relationship you don’t need to guard yourself so much and shoulder everything. Jace really struggled with who he was this whole series and I was so happy to see him grow into his own. He took the name he wanted and decided that he writes his own destiny I was so proud. With Maia, we got to actually see her own story and development into the pack leader and what it was she really wanted in life. It hurt losing Jordan but even though Maia was going to leave him I am happy he died knowing he was loved. I LOVE EMMA AND JULIAN. I know this was just an intro to their characters for their own story and I am so hyped for them. They were so strong, they have been through everything together and the cutest best friends ever (like Julain needing Emma ugh done.) I am so excited to see them as parabati. Last but not least Sebastian. He is literally one of my favorite villains. But, that small character redemption right at the end tore my heart in half because Jocelyn and Clary lost out on the son/brother they could’ve had.
2) Plot
“If you flinch from it, you give it power over you,” said Diana. “Take it, and cut your brother’s throat with it, and take back the honor of your blood.”
Straight from the prologue the story picks up and has action. Basically, Sebastian wasted no time leaving me shook with his actions. The story picks up right where we left off and now Sebastian is attacking institutes around the world to turn them into Edarkend and he is in cahoots with the Seelie Queen and fair folk. That left me speechless to be honest because I know she is out for her own gain but dang. There was literally so much Death caused by him and his followers and the twist in trying to get the Downworlders to turn against the Shadowhunters again left me shook. What happened to Brother Zacharia rendered me speechless. The whole plot just flowed perfectly and constantly surprised me.
3) Writing/World Building
“…when finally she closed her eyes, she thought she saw the cavern blaze up in gold and white, wrapping them both in heavenly fire, the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.”
I think her writing seriously improved from books one through four. The author also really got some funny lines in this book especially like on page 540. The world building was awesome especially in the demon realm because I could picture things clearly.
4) Romance
“And Nemphilim—we do tend to love very overwhelmingly. To fall in love only once, to die of grief over love—my old tutor used to say that the hearts of Nemphilim were like the hearts of angels: They felt every human pain, and never healed.”
I always loved Jace and Clary. They were extra great and beautiful in this book. I was so happy to see them flourish. Oh, and sexy times in a demon realm beach equals BIG MOOD. Mangus and Alec had a rough start but a beautiful ending. They finally opened up to each other especially Magnus. Isabelle and Simon literally stole my heart. They were blooming and beautiful and working through everything. I was shook when I thought Simon was gone for good but, Isabelle got the ending she deserved with him.
This was awesome and I loved it so much. What did you think of this story?
