Publisher:
Walker
Release
Date: 27th
May 2014
Edition:
UK paperback
and e-book, purchased
Other
Titles by this Author: Clockwork
Angel, Clockwork
Prince, Clockwork
Princess, City
of Bones, City of Ashes, City
of Glass, City
of Fallen Angels, City
of Lost Souls
Sebastian
Morgernstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against
Shadowhunter. 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 to the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has ever set foot
before, and from which no human being has ever returned. Love will be
sacrificed and lives lost in this thrilling and long-awaited final instalment
of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Mortal Instruments.
SPOILERS
AHEAD. There is no way I can review this book without spoiling events of
previous books in the series, or describe my feelings about this without
mentioning events in the novel. Read on at your doom...
I have followed Clary and Jace
since 2009. That’s how long they’ve been in my heart and in my mind; the ending
of their story is a big deal for me, so I was understandably worried about
reading City of Heavenly Fire after I
was disappointed by Clockwork Princess. But,
thankfully, I loved it.
Now, I was perfectly content
with how Clary and the gang ended their adventures in City of Glass. I felt that the announcement of the second trilogy
was unnecessary and I was scared of the pain my babies would be put through, and
I was right to be afraid of the pain... Though I loved Fallen Angels, Lost Souls and Heavenly
Fire, I do still think they weren’t entirely necessary, but they were still
brilliant and I’m always up for more Shadowhunter fun. Not that anyone had much
fun in City of Heavenly Fire...
After rescuing Jace from
Sebastian’s evil compulsion in City of
Lost Souls, Clary had a marker on her back. Sebastian was going to try and
get her back at all costs, and she would do everything in her power to kill him
and end the increasing threat to her world. Sebastian is a much better villain
than Valentine was. He’s so much more present in the story and his threat seems
more bloody and visceral and personal – he wants Clary and Jace – and the death
of Shadowhunters. He’s a brilliant character and I felt genuinely creeped out
by him, especially with comments he made to and about Clary with regards to
them ruling together and his views on how love should be *shudder*.
Sebastian’s threat showed the
true colours of the Clave and really gave the next Shadowhunter series, The Dark Artifices, a solid launching
pad. As they became more scared of what would happen, they closed themselves
further and further off from the world and their people. They underestimated
what their warriors would face because they didn’t want to believe their
situation was all that bad. The corruption of the Clave and its leaders really
came into full view in City of Heavenly
Fire and it was a horrible realisation for everybody, but it also sent
Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Alec and Simon on their biggest and most dangerous
adventure yet: into Hell to rescue Luke, Jocelyn and Magnus from Sebastian’s
grasp.
The drastic change in scenery
through everyone into a different frame of mind and completely changed the
dynamics of the story. As usual, Jace was leading the way, but the power of the
Heavenly Fire singing in his veins posed a little bit of danger, and nearly got
him carried off by demons. Tensions were high as they trekked across the barren
landscape of an alternate Alicante. They were praying the safe retrieval of
Luke, Jocelyn and Magnus while not being entirely sure they were still alive, battling
with the concept that any or all of them could die at any moment and fracturing
with fear and desperation. I think that it was in this book that all of the
characters acted the most like human beings – they reacted reasonably and
genuinely, they were scared and worried, they were literally in Hell.
I loved that their plans didn’t
go smoothly, that there were moments when I gasped in shock and fully believed
that maybe they wouldn’t get out of this unscathed – there had a be a big
death, right? – and I thought that they might be trapped in Hell. Thankfully,
that didn’t happen, but there was a cost to their freedom. I could not believe it when we finally
discovered who Magnus’ father is and what his price for their freedom was. I was
shocked and horrified and scared. I thought that was it. That would be the
thing that ruined the novel for me. I couldn’t been more relieved when Simon
swept in and saved the day. I was both relieved and disappointed that there
hadn’t been a more shocking and heartbreaking ending as that is what I’d been
promised. I couldn’t believe that Jordan was the only death in the collection
of vaguely main characters. Not, of course, that I wanted Jace or Alec or
Isabelle or Simon aor Magnus to die, but it was a little bit of an anti-climax.
What wasn’t an anti-climax was
meeting the stars of the next trilogy: Emma and Jules. I was a bit miffed when I
first started the novel that they got so much page time, but I quickly fell in love
with them. They’re strong, feisty and five or six years before their story
officially starts, there’s already some things that are going to prove a little
tricky, and maybe throw up a seriously forbidden romance *rubs hands together
with glee*. I’m seriously looking forward to reading The Dark Artifices now. I do love the way that Clare’s series’
interact, especially when we get to see characters like Tessa and Jem. Speaking
of Jem, woah. Biggest surprise ever! I loved it. It was a fantastic twist and
was probably one of my favourite elements of the novel. I have a feeling we’ll
be seeing those two in the next Shadowhunter series; I hope so, anyway.
City
of Heavenly Fire had
a lot to achieve, and for me, it was a brilliant ending to a series I have
loved dearly for a long time. It shoved my heart into my throat, made me chew
on my nails with anxiety and got me grinning like a loon. Mission accomplished.
I hope Clary and Jace live happily ever after and that we get to catch up with
them in further series’.
Sophie
The Mortal Instruments is my favourite series of all time, and I loved City of Heavenly Fire. I actually thought that the ending where Simon loses his memory was heart breaking, as he is one of my favourite characters in the series. I had to put the book down because I was crying so much haha. I'm so happy that he's going to Ascend and that he's going to get a collection of short stories written about him. I too was shocked that there weren't any really big deaths in the book, but I'm so happy because I love Clary, Jace, Simon, Isabelle, Magnus and Alec too much. I'm really excited for the Dark Artifices too. I loved Emma Carstairs from the moment she stabbed Sebastian Morgenstern in the chest :)
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