REVIEW: City of Heavenly Fire

 



City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
Published: May 27th 2014 by Margaret K. McElderr
Genres: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Pages: 725
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 9.5/10
Quick Run-Down: Clary and her friends fight Sebastian Morgenstern, Clary’s brother. He is systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Dark Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers.

Oh, the epic conclusion to one of my all-time favorite book series, “The Mortal Instruments.” What can I say about you? Firstly, the feelings. This book made me cry in four different parts. Four. And laugh, too! Clare is SO funny, and not in a cheesy way.

Being the sixth book, I feel way too attached to these fictional characters. I love these enigmatic characters so much. From Simon’s quirk and sass, to the mysteriousness of the Faerie Folk, to the pure majesty of the Shadowhunters. Clary, Jace, Isabel, Alec, Magnus… I just love them all so much.
Now the book. I felt like Emma Carstairs’s parts were a bit slow, and it honestly felt like a bit of a filler section. I know the purpose was the introduce Emma as she is going to be a protagonist to another series by Clare, but still.
The romance stuff was adorable. There was more than enough Clace and Sizzy, but the moments of tension with Alec/Magnus were my favorite. I wish we got to see Luke and Jocelyn’s wedding, though. We waited so long!
The parts in the demon realms were by far the most captivating. It was SO COOL. Sebastian’s downfall and the manner in which he died was so emotional and beautifully written. I wish all villains could go like that… with only the good parts of them remaining. Yep, I cried here. Simon’s memory and everything had me screaming. There were so many parts that me so emotional. It surprised me HOW EMOTIONALLY INVESTED I AM IN THESE FICTIONAL LIVES.
A popular critique is that there wasn’t enough destruction in this book because all the main characters stay alive, and the couples stay together. I agree, however the lack of tragic deaths and giant shocking plot twists don’t take much away from the story.
Overall, I couldn’t ask for a better conclusion. It tied up all the loose ends, and kept me in a very fragile state afterwards. The Mortal Instruments is a truly wonderful series.