City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra ClareMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
BEWARE -- SPOILERS
While I enjoyed The Mortal Instruments series and gave books 2-5 all 5 star ratings, I couldn't give this one. This along with City of Bones got 4 stars from me. For a conclusion I felt like a lot of action and drama was missing. I was totally geared up for a kickass war, some awe inspiring ending and major deaths. There just wasn't enough action in it for me to truly love it as a conclusion.
The beginning of this book was a great introduction to little miss Emma Carstairs and the Blackthorns. She is a firecracker for only 12 years old, so I'm excited to read about her series, The Dark Artifices. Emma was a bold little girl, she reminded me of both Clary and Jace so I'm ready to see what she brings to the Shadowhunter world.
Clary and Jace define love in such a beautiful way. Their relationship continues to blossom and while Jace is scared of hurting Clary, she never backs down or runs away. Their love is unbreakable in everyway. Clary is still willing to go the extra mile to protect those she loves and Jace is willing to get himself killed. One thing that made me laugh was the sex scene --- I mean Jace seriously just happened to have a condom with him in Edom (Edom is Hell) and thought it was the perfect time to have sex with Clary -- I still get a kick from it. They are just too stinking cute.
The way Clary handled things with her brother, Sebastian, was incredible. It really blew my mind with how things went at the end. I really thought it was over for her, but the fact that she played him so well and he NEVER expected it was pretty damn awesome. Jace has the heavenly fire in him and it gets out of control. He doesn't know how to truly wield it until Clary tells him to trust her. They worked as a team and defeated Sebastian in a way that I never thought they could. I am so happy and proud of them.
Sebastian is just as evil as can be. I mean he literally started off with a bang turning Shadowhunters and then he killed Jordan and a bunch of other wolves. He is ruthless and shamefully wants love and acceptance from Clary -- both in a familail and romantic sense. I always knew his downfall would be his desire to have Clary in his life. His ending was too nice -- he needed a more painful death, but I love that he became his true self as the Jonathan that Jocelyn always dreamed of.
Maia is a BOSS!!! I love the way she challenged Rufus and went at him with every fiber of her being. I love how she killed Maureen, with the help of Lily, and didn't think twice about it. She definitely deserved the role as pack leader and Council rep and I'm glad Luke gave it to her. She was loyal to the very end!
Alec and Magnus are just too damn cute and annoying. The way Alec went to save Magnus and the way they rekindled their relationship was beautiful. I love that Magnus finally realized that he had to open up and took the time to write a book for Alec to read. That showed commitment to his betterment. As for finding out who Magnus' dad -- holy hell (pun intended) I just couldn't believe his dad was the Asmodeus, one of the nine princes of hell. That was a monkey wrench thrown into this book!
Simon and Isabelle are unexpectedly cute. Isabelle puts on this tough girl persona because of the things she knew about her parents and how her father cheated, but inside she was just afraid of being hurt by love. I liked when she finally embraced it and said how she felt for Simon. Simon is the got damn man (after Jace of course) because he did the damn thing in this book. What blew my mind is when Simon offered his mortality in exchange for Magnus' -- I mean that is love. Not only did he become a mundane again, but he also had all of his memories taken away. I hated what Magnus' dad did, but Simon being Simon was able to remember the Mortal Instruments and felt empty -- that ending for him, becoming a Shadowhunter was truly life!
Brother Zachariah is just fantastic -- I totally loved him as a Silent Brother and then when he saved Jace and got touched by the Heavenly Fire he became a Shadowhunter again. Zachariah is just one of those characters I will always love!
The ending was beautiful, Luke and Jocelyn finally get married and despite all the drama between everyone and the war the couples are all together hanging out and plan to enjoy their life.
Good book, but I'm ready for some more books in the Shadowhunter world. I can't wait to read about Emma and learn about her relationship with Julian and how it grows. I hope Jace and Clary make an appearance.
Good stuff!
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