City of Heavenly Fire

Book Title: City of Heavenly Fire

Author: Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments #6

Date Started: May 29th 2014

Date Completed: May 31st 2014

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Comedy

Rating: Five stars

Review:

City of Heavenly Fire was an awesome end to the Mortal Instruments series, and even though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, it impressed me, entertained me and made me genuinely feel upset or scared or angry more than once. It's sad that the series is over, but I'm excited for the next Shadowhunter Chronicles.

'I am coming', Sebastian had said. And now, with tensions between Shadowhunters and Downworlders at its height, Clary and the others must find a way to put a stop to the slaughter of their kind and defeat the new enemy born of an old one. But he hides in a place no mortal has ever returned from, and Clary must put the lives of her friends and family at risk if they are to succeed. But it's too late: Sebastian has come.

Clare has a wonderful flow to her writing, and a humorous twist in the dialogue and narration that makes her style unique. I've always been impressed with her skill to entwine various characters and stories together in one neat bundle, and she didn't disappoint this time. With even more new faces than before, City of Heavenly Fire might seem confusing at times, when considering each character and their journey, but on a technical level it can only really be admired.

In addition, the action in this book was awesome yet again, and I was glad to see some more capability from previously quiet characters, and less arrogance from those more skilled. The trust and maturity built between the characters through the six books is clear and realistic, and I really enjoyed that. It also had me literally laughing out loud several times.

I have to say, the first part of this book didn't have me jumping for joy: it was too full of unnecessary romance for me. I might ship Malec, Heline and Sizzy, but I'm not too huge on Clace, and even so I like stories that aren't centered around love.

Having said that, once everything kicked off, I was hooked and literally couldn't put the book down. The middle part of this book was definitely the best; so much happens. I was on the edge of my seat for the action scenes; really getting into the political side of the story; and puzzling over the family ties and parabatai relationships. I think this world has so many unique elements to it, and that's what really gives Clare something to stand away from the majority of Young Adult Urban Fantasy.

On the other hand, I believe there were some genuinely good twists in the story that weren't really elaborated on enough in my opinion. Though these were little things that I suppose wouldn't have impacted on the story, I am still curious as to why they weren't answered, or if they were simply forgotten.

Moving on to the end of the book, the climax came far too early for me. Although it felt like a big deal, I thought there was going to be more events afterwards since it seemed so early, and then when it was over I was a bit surprised. Because of this I don't think I appreciated it as much as I could have, which is a shame. I was also let down by the (slight spoiler) lack of death and destruction to come from a seemingly unstoppable adversary.

Then, with a good sixty-or-so pages left for the wind down, the story started to drag a little. It didn't get boring to read, it simply just felt strange to have such a long, quiet ending to the story. I'm not entirely sure I liked it, though I can't say I dislike it either. However, despite the annoying fact that the characters really need to learn to move on, I did enjoy Jem and Tessa's appearance and everything drew together nicely at the end. It really does feel like goodbye.

Unique characters have always been Clare's strong point in her stories: her way of showing their development and the relationships built between them mirrors that of real life and gives something relatable for the audience to understand as they go into a truly fantastical world.

Clary and Jace, though sometimes annoying, do make a good pair. I have to say I did get slightly bored of them quite early on, and they didn't really develop through the story as much as I would have liked - but at least they got the ending everyone wanted them to have.

Simon was my favourite character at the start of the series, and I partly remember why now. He's the least selfish of the group and is probably the best person out of them. Character-wise there isn't much room for growing opinions, however we all love him anyway.

Alec is undeniable my favourite character of the whole series, and his sister Isabelle has joined him. The relationships they have with the other characters are by far the most interesting, and each develop as people so much every book. The main reason I love these two characters so much is because they're complicated, and they have lots of different sides: they sometimes make the wrong choices, and sometimes they feel neglected. They're the most human of the cast, in my opinion, and I will never tire of their banter and their loveable personalities and their darker moments.

Magnus was, as ever, fabulous. It was nice to see him around some of the older characters for a change - though Magnus is always moving around different people, seeing how he reacted around a reasonably tight group of people was interesting. And then, everyone loves sarcastic Magnus, but I love and admire wise and old Magnus too.

I've grown to absolutely love Aline Penhallow and Helen Blackthorn during this book, and I really hope they're included in another Shadowhunter series, because I think they're really good characters and have a great story to tell. I also loved the new inclusion of Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn. I think they're both adorable characters in themselves, but they also had a very different impact on the story and have a long way to go in a future series.

Clare's books are always reasonably fast paced with a engaging action scene here and there to keep the reader's attention, but this book impressed me in the way that even the slower, explanation scenes weren't rushed and took their time to allow the reader to understand what was happening. I think this was especially important in this novel since so many strings are tied up to conclude the series.

For fans of Clare's writing, I think this book was a perfect conclusion to the series, and demonstrated just how far the author has come since the first book. The Mortal Instruments is the kind of series where it's important to read the story in order, and I would even recommend getting through the Infernal Devices trilogy before you dive into City of Heavenly Fire, so if you're interested, try the earlier novels, but hold in mind they get far more in-depth and complex.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18137193-city-of-heavenly-fire