Shining Pages

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In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother.

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...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!

The Mortal Instruments series has been redeemed for me after reading this book! I enjoyed this a lot more than the previous two books in the series, and I'm quite happy with how everything went in City of Heavenly Fire. The major reason I enjoyed this more than City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls was that the relationship drama between Clary and Jace was at a minimum. I felt like there was more going on with the plot than pure drama in the relationships and I liked how everything was resolved by the end. 

Honestly, this book really intimidated me by the sheer size of it, but I found that I liked how the plot was moving, so I chugged along until I was done! The last hundred pages were like a breeze for me, because there were so many things that I was interested in to see how they were resolved. I was intrigued by the introduction of the new characters, and I'm happy that Cassandra Clare didn't kill of *too* many characters. Hopefully, no one was too attached to the ones that she did...

Cassandra Clare is truly amazing though. I am always in awe by how well she was able to tie together her series and keep everything so connected. Like, it seems like an actual world with real-life people. These Shadowhunters and Downworlders are doing a very good job of hiding themselves... She just deserves a lot of respect for her books because she has shown so much growth and development since City of Bones and I don't know how she does it! I am so excited to read Lady Midnight; I've heard so much hype for The Dark Artifices series, so I'm ready!!

(Proceed with caution: spoilers ahead!!)

What Worked:

• Brother Zachariah
• Of course, he is my first bullet for what worked! He was basically a minor character in this book, but I still love him all the same. I am so happy about him and Tessa finding each other after so many years (but I am sad that he is not immortal anymore, because Tessa will have to deal with that heartbreak once it comes). 
• He is just my little angel and I love him, like seriously. Every scene that he was in, I was like: That's my boy!!!
• The scene when he was talking to Jace about parabatai!! I was happy that he was getting his chance to fight as a Shadowhunter again, but I was sad that he didn't have his partner in crime with him :( So many feelings!! 
• And, when he steals Church from the Lightwoods! I was dying laughing.
• Introduction of new characters
• This book really got me excited for The Dark Artifices series. I wasn't expecting the new characters to be introduced, but they were, and I think it worked! We know a little about them now, so we're ready to see how their story progresses in the next series. 
• Heosphoros
• That sword was so cool. At first, I was wondering why Clary would want a weapon that was attached to the Morgenstern name, but I think she made it her own. The combination of her rune making powers and that sword was deadly. Literally. 
• Sacrifices
• City of Heavenly Fire was chock full of sacrifices. One of them that made me emotional was Raphael's. He was one of those characters that I didn't really know if he was good or bad, but he proved himself in this book. I am so glad that I read The Bane Chronicles because I wouldn't have understood why he made that sacrifice for Magnus if I hadn't read them. Magnus saved Raphael, so Raphael saved Magnus. 
• I am happy that no major characters died in this book. Don't get me wrong, I am sad about the minor characters that were killed, as I said about Raphael. But, I'm pleased that a major character wasn't killed because that wouldn't have felt right. Like, imagine if Isabelle was killed or Magnus?! That would've been so weird to end the series without them. 
• Epilogue
• Compared to Clockwork Princess, this epilogue was a happy ending. I liked both of them. Clockwork Princess was a pretty emotional ending, but I kind of like when books make me feel emotions. City of Heavenly Fire made me content though. I am glad that it wasn't a sad ending because my heart wouldn't have been able to take it. It makes me feel prepared for the next series (hopefully that one isn't a sad ending, but I guess I will see). 
• I was just so happy that Jocelyn and Luke finally had their wedding and they were figuring out a way to help Simon get his memories back. (If that was not possible, I would have been really upset with how the book ended. That would have basically been like killing off the character of Simon and that's just not right!) Everyone seems to be happy and recovering from the drama of the past six books. Here's to hoping they don't get hit with a lot more drama in The Dark Artifices, but I am predicting they will be. Cassandra Clare would never let them off that easy. 

• I'm trying to think about things that I didn't really like in this book, and I'm not coming up with much. I was pretty content with this final installment in The Mortal Instruments series. 
• The only thing I can think of that was daunting about the book was the size of it. But, everything had to be resolved, so I get why it was so long. It was just intimidating! 

"We are all the pieces of what we remember. We hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss."

• Clary
• Clary was not super annoying in this book! YAY. She still made reckless decisions, but at least some of them were helpful. I was just happy that there wasn't too much relationship drama with Jace in this one because I would not have been able to get through it. 
• She shows that she should not be messed with and ultimately brings the demise of Sebastian. Although, that part was kind of sad because his good self was like so good and it made me kind of forget how evil he was...so I felt bad. But, the evil Sebastian needed to be stopped, so props to Clary for following through! 
• That part where she meets Tessa!! I was like, YES!! I never thought about their similarities until I read that part, and I was like wait, they both lost their brother and father, and are in love with a Herondale, and have unique powers. 
• I wonder if she is going to be a large part of The Dark Artifices series, now that she was so friendly with Emma. Hmm, we'll see. 
• Jace
• The boy who is on fire! LOL, bad jokes. There really weren't that many scenes with Jace that stand out in my head, which is weird. A lot of the times if something was happening to Jace, Clary would step in and steal the show or save the day. He did have his moment with Alec, which was nice to see because I feel like we didn't see a lot of Jace and Alec scenes. 
• I feel like we didn't get as much of Jace's sarcasm in this book (or just not enough for me), I don't know, I missed it!
• Sebastian
• The evil villain of The Mortal Instruments series. He was insane and conniving, but I thought it was kind of sad when the good Jonathan died with him as well. I mean, if Jonathan survived, I would have been afraid that Lilith would turn him evil again in the next series or something would happen where he was brought back from the dead...again. But, it was still emotional when Jocelyn had to lose her child again, when the good Jonathan never really had a chance. 
• Sebastian was still evil though. Compared to Valentine, this boy wanted to burn down the world, so I think that's a little bit worse. 
• Alec
• Alec was a badass in this book. Every time there was a fight with a demon, Alec would be the first to shoot an arrow or approach it. He was so different than in City of Bones, when he hadn't killed a demon yet and would usually just protect Jace or Isabelle. I think he learned that he can be a good Shadowhunter, without Jace overshadowing him, because he has unique qualities that Jace doesn't have. It was nice to see his confidence boost and show what he can do. 
• Isabelle
• Isabelle is such a great character. She is confident and knows that she is a great Shadowhunter, slaying demons with that whip. But, she also shows depth and emotions as she is scared of getting hurt by opening her heart up to a boy. She understands what her parents went through and she is afraid that it could happen to her if she lets down her walls. She is so protective of the people that she loves and she will do anything to make sure they aren't hurt. I think she is such a relatable character!
• Magnus
• We finally found out who is father is! I kind of guessed it when they were talking about the demon that rules that realm, but it was still fascinating to see his interaction with him. 
• Magnus spent the majority of the book bound up in the cell, but we get to see him letting his guard down with Alec at the end of the book. He knows that if he doesn't open up his heart to Alec, it will just kill him gradually, so he finally decides to let Alec in. Awww.
• Simon
• I always talk about how Simon makes sacrifices for his friends, and boy, did he make a huge one in City of Heavenly Fire. It was honestly nerve-wracking because I thought we were losing a major character! But, I'm happy with where I think it's going. Simon never wanted to be immortal and he hated that he was a vampire, so it is interesting that he may be becoming a Shadowhunter. I don't know how Magnus helped Simon get some of his memories back, but I'm hoping they all come back! That part where he comes to the wedding and he sees Clary and knows that she was his best friend made me cry. 
• Maia/Jordan
• I put them in a bullet together again because they are two eh characters for me. From that, you will probably predict that I didn't care too much that Jordan was killed in this book. I mean, okay, it was a sad moment, but I was glad that it wasn't somebody else that I am more attached to! 
• And, did anyone else think that Maia was going to tell Jordan that she was pregnant? I was not expecting her to be like, Oh, I don't care about Jordan all that much. I lied to him when I told him I loved him. We read through all of those sex scenes for no reason, apparently. 
• I just don't care all that much for Maia. I feel like she was a random character in this series, and we don't really know her like the other characters. We will probably see more of her if they talk about the New York characters in The Dark Artifices, as she is the new leader of the clan, but I hope it's more scenes with characters that I like. 
• Jocelyn/Luke
• I wasn't really attached to these characters either. Yes, I like them, but I am not too connected with them. They care about each other and Clary, and that's all they really talk about. Jocelyn also says that she should have killed her son a lot. Luke sometimes talks about werewolf things. I wasn't really interested in this story line basically, but I'm glad that they are happy!
• Brother Zachariah/Tessa
• My two favorites. Will, come back!! I lived for their scenes together, and there was not enough. I am so happy about him being able to be with Tessa again and giving her some happiness, no matter how short it may be. 
• I just love The Infernal Devices so much and I want them to play big roles in The Dark Artifices, because I miss them. I would never get tired of these two. They can have all of the relationship drama that Clary and Jace had, and I would still love them to death. 
• Emma Carstairs/The Blackthorns
• I thought it was so cute that Emma wants to be like Jace and thinks he is the best Shadowhunter in the world. She is so young, but she understands so much and I think she has a lot of potential to become a great Shadowhunter as well.
• It was nice to see her warming up to Clary and I love her and Julian. Something tells me that she and Julian should not be parabatai, but should be a romantic relationship. Parabatai aren't allowed to fall in love though, so that should be interesting to see where that goes. 
• I love how Brother Zachariah is looking out for her and already knew her middle name. I hope we see some conversations between them in The Dark Artifices.
• Also, it brought back so many feelings when she receives Cortana. If Will hadn't refused to take it, it would have ended up with the Herondales, but I think it's so fitting that she gets it! It brings her a lot of strength after she loses her parents and doesn't know what to do without them. So many feels. 

"'Heroes aren't always the ones who win,' she said. 'They're the ones who lose, sometimes. But they keep fighting, they keep coming back. They don't give up. That's what makes them heroes.'"

Those were my thoughts on City of Heavenly Fire! They are kind of a mess (per usual), but I did enjoy the book! I am excited to start reading Lady Midnight right now...

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