City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

(4 stars)

City of Heavenly Fire

Published: May 27th 2014

Synopsis from Goodreads: 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...

The finale to The Mortal Instruments series was not only absolutely huge in size, but huge terms of how far the world has grown and developed since City of Bones. The stakes were the highest they've ever been before, and the characters we have grown to know and love are at the end of their tale.

It's hard to know where to start when reviewing this book because so much happened. I did like the plot of City of Heavenly Fire, it felt planned, shocking, and bittersweet. As an antagonist, Sebastian feels almost unbeatable, which really upped the tension throughout the add-on three books to the original three. 

I did enjoy the introduction of Emma Carstairs and her friends, although I did think it was very odd to include basically a whole new cast of characters in the final book in a series. I understand that these characters are going to feature in the next series, The Dark Artifices, but I'm not planning to read that series at this point. For that reason, it was a little bit tedious to have all of their backstory, but some parts were entertaining. I was more concerned about the original characters, and the book might have been half the size without their new characters having whole chapters. 

Stand out characters for me were Simon, Alec & Maia. I love all of the gang and I'll miss them all, including Jace, Clary, and Isabelle, but the first three have a special place in my heart. 

I have to be honest, the reason why I even read The Mortal Instruments anymore is pretty simple. SIMON LEWIS. Since City of Bones he's been my favourite character, I absolutely adore him. He had some wonderful moments in CoHF – drunk Simon being my favourite one. However, this book, I felt, completely failed him as a character. Yes, sacrifices are made in war, but WHY DO BAD THINGS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO SIMON? Honestly, that's most of the reason I ended up not enjoying this book as much, and why I'm not sure I want to read TDA.

I don't have much faith in endings when it comes to Cassandra Clare. I didn't particularly enjoy the ending of Clockwork Princess and now, I found myself a little disappointed with the ending of The Mortal Instruments. I genuinely think I would've preferred it to end with City of Glass. That was the last ending of Clare's I felt satisfied with. Having said that, I enjoying the character arcs and, as always, I absolutely love the witty, sarcastic banter between the gang. Some moments were laugh out loud hilarious, and a reason I do love the books. The plot twists were emotional and hard to stomach, the betrayal was shocking but not unbelievable. Also, it was slightly odd that this series does now spoil The Infernal Devices, unless read in order of publication.

As a conclusion to a pretty epic series, City of Heavenly Fire delivers as a complicated, enormous ending. The writing is solid, the loose ends are all (mostly) nicely tied up. I can't imagine the amount of planning and editing that went into a novel of this scale, and for that I am quite in awe of it. With a fandom as huge as The Mortal Instruments, inevitably some of the scenes felt kind of like fan-service, but that's mostly nitpicking. 

A bittersweet end to a huge series, City of Heavenly Fire definitely packs a punch. Despite devastating moments which did ruin some of the enjoyment for me, I'm relieved that it is over and pretty angry, kind of happy, but mostly relieved the characters can't be hurt further! (I hope!)

Have you read City of Heavenly Fire? Did you enjoy the finale?