City of Heavenly Fire - Review

City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6)

By: Cassandra Clare

Published: May 27, 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry

725 pages

Source: Personal Library

(Goodreads / Amazon)

Summary:

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 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 world in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!

MY REVIEW:
Wow, there is a TON that happens in this book! With 725 pages one would expect a lot to happen. I thought I would've had more to say after I finished, but sometimes after such a long book, I'm left with very little to say. At times it seemed a bit overwhelming how many different stories were taking place at once and I would wonder how it would all come together at the end. It had almost nonstop action of some form from the beginning to the ending which is important for a long book.

I have to wonder though - am I the only one that felt it wrapped up all too neatly? Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the ending since I'm a happy-ending-most-of-the-time kind of girl. It wasn't a completely perfect ending for everyone involved as many Shadowhunters and Downworlders lost their lives. But it almost seemed too cleanly wrapped up. I did enjoy the addition of new characters, Emma and Julian, of whom the next series The Dark Artifices will be about. These two kids honestly stole the spotlight a bit when the story would switch to them. I also enjoyed how Jem's story intersected here and we got to see what happened to him before he came back to Tessa at the end of The Infernal Devices.

This final installment to The Mortal Instruments is the final battle between Sebastian Morgenstern and all Shadowhunters. Sebastian, being the master manipulator that he is, is able to drive wedges between the Downworlders and the Shadowhunters and those that won't serve and follow him willingly he uses the Internal Cup to turn into mindless soldiers obeying his every command. For the first time ever in their history Shadowhunters are having to fight, and kill, those who were once their own.

At the end the reader can clearly see what's to come in the next series, what the potential danger is to the young Shadowhunters, Emma and Julian. And I'm thinking, quite possibly, we haven't seen the last of Clary, Jace, Simon, Isabelle, Alec and Magnus.

Favorite Quotes:
"Your boyfriend's crazy," he said to Clary. "Yeah, but he's hot," said Clary. "So there's that."

"So what's their plan, hitting Sebastian over the head with Jace until he passes out?"

"She'll have to learn what you did: that family isn't blood. It's the people who love you. The people who have your back."

"No other family does so much for love, or feels so much guilt for it. Don't carry the weight of the world on you, Jace. It's too heavy for even a Herondale to bear."

"Every time I think I'm missing a piece of me, you give it back."

We are all the pieces of what we remember. We hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss.

Final Rating - 4 stars