The Mortal Instruments Series Book #6: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Shockingly, it didn’t take me forever to start reading this book. Usually, when I purchase new releases, it takes me forever to get to them (or like in Scarlet and Cress’s case, I still have yet to read them). But this time around, Clare was next on my reading list once I finished the stack of books I had from the library. So, I’m warning you now, this review does contain spoilers – even though I tried to be vague with my updates on Goodreads – and I’ve split this review into parts based on the book. So you have been warned. Venture further at your own risk.

Part 1: Bring Forth a Fire

So this book begins with quite a prologue. Instead of going back to the usual setting for these books of the New York Institute, COHF starts at the Los Angeles Institute where we focus on Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn – Helen’s brother – and what appears to be a normal training day turns deadly. Sebastian and his army of Endarkened Shadowhunters attack the Institute, and the kids are sent running for safety as all the adults are either killed or Turned. Emma, while trying to rescue the young Blackthorns from the nursery stumbles upon the scene and tries to stop Sebastian from killing Julian’s brother Mark. She throws a knife that sticks into Sebastian’s heart, but he doesn’t die. Emma and the other children escape to Idris and I wish I could say that that is as intense as it gets during the first part…but this is Cassandra Clare we’re talking about and it is the final book in an epic series.

So, a quick summary of the first 365 pages: Jace is still dealing with the heavenly fire inside of his veins. Alec is still recovering from Magnus breaking up with him – although there is that one scene that sends a lot of mixed signals – Simon is dealing with Maureen’s crazy obsession with him, Isabelle finally blows up at her father for cheating on her mother, and everyone ends up back in Idris because of these attacks on the Institutes. While there, Sebastian tries to attack the London Institute, but they are warned, and he attacks the Praetor. Jordan dies in Maia’s arms. Sebastian turns out to be in league with the Seelie Queen, which includes their representative on the Council. A dinner is planned for the other Downworlders, and you know something bad is going to happen at it and it does. Magnus, Luke, Raphael, and Jocelyn are kidnapped and the only way they will be returned is if the Clave hands over Jace and Clary to Sebastian. The Council decides to hold a vote, but while they are discussing the two’s fate, they figure out where Sebastian is hiding.

Favorite part: When Brother Zachariah is returned to his human form. I was literally screaming. Now the events at the end of Clockwork Princess make sense!

Part 2: That World Inverted

Clary, Simon, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle go to the demon realm of Edom – Lilith’s domain – and as usual, they are very subtle upon their entrance and as they try to make their way to Sebastian’s hideout. Jace is attacked by a demon and lets out the heavenly fire. Clary finally figures out what the rune that she’s been seeing does. Isabelle almost dies. Alec and Simon bond.

Meanwhile, the Clave is preparing for battle. Emma figures out that there was something strange about the way her parents were murdered. Magnus, Raphael, and Luke are trying to figure out where they are, although Magnus does have a clue because his father – who turns out to be a demon prince – is trying to get him to call on him. Sebastian comes and offers Raphael the chance to join his side, the only thing he has to do is kill Magnus. Because the warlock saved his life before, Raphael returns the favor and spares him, at the cost of his own undead life.

The ending killed me, multiple times. Whether it was Clary and Jace’s plan to finally get rid of Sebastian, the revelation that Jonathon actually existed, or the deal that was made to get the group out of Edom I was just an absolute mess. I won’t even get into the epilogue because I’ll just start crying over my keyboard.

Favorite Quote: 

"Should I change my Facebook status from 'it's complicated' to 'in a relationship'?" 

"You have a book that's also a face?" 

Died at this.

So I’ll admit that this book, originally, scared the crap out of me. As I state, a lot, I am not a fan of endings, and from what I was hearing about the finale from Cassandra Clare, I was scared out of my mind that my favorite characters were going to die. But I should have known better, especially considering what she did in Clockwork Princess, I should have known that these characters were in good hands. This book was perfect, it finished the story while also not only tying in the previous series, but setting up for The Dark Artifices and The Last Hours as well. I can’t wait to read more.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. There’s a reason Clare is one of my favorite authors and the way that she ends series is definitely one of them.

Bookshelf worthy? Obviously.

The Mortal Instruments Series Book #5: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

After the way the last book ended with Sebastian coming back to life thanks to Jace, there is no possible way the events in this book could get any worse. Right?

Ha-ha. Not.

Simon’s mom? Totally hates her son and bans him from the house. Clary is under scrutiny from the Clave because of what happened at the end of book 3. Jace and Sebastian are gone and when they do show up again at Clary’s house it turns out that they are bound. You can’t injure one without injuring the other. And Jace isn’t really Jace. Thanks to the Mark that Lilith made on him in the last book, Sebastian can control him.

I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll keep this as brief as possible.

The Seelie Queen is still the baddest bitch of them all, okay? And the fact that Clary kind of sort of trusts her and her rings was a very, very stupid move.

The whole Jace isn’t really Jace thing made me feel like I was watching my Sailor Moon fanfics Shadows of the Night and Shadows of the Night: Darkness Remains in real time. Seriously. As I updated on GoodReads on page 136 – the book was killing me. I was so happy when the real Jace made a brief appearance in Paris.

Maia and Jordan’s hook up? Fantastic. I’ve been rooting for them since the last book. Isabelle and Simon? Even better. It’s about time the vixen settled down with someone.

Jocelyn…I get where she is coming from, but some of the things she said were not called for. And honestly, I understand that she was grieving because of Luke’s injury but still. Get off your high horse lady.

Page 510. Yeah. I agree with the tumblr post – I’m denying that happened. It just…

And then there’s Sebastian. I’ll admit I did kind of almost fall for his ‘I’ve changed. You’re my sister’ act that he was trying to pull over on Clary. I mean, he did save her from those demons. He looked really happy that she called for him when Jace tried to give himself up to the Clave. But somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that something wasn’t right with all of this. There was no way that after everything he went through that he was going to summon Greater Demons to destroy them. ‘You belong to me.’ …yeah…that whole scene freaked me out. Like this:

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. I think I finally know where Cassandra Clare is going with the new set of books, and I’m quite curious what she has in store for book 6. Especially ‘cause it’s over 700 pages long!!

Bookshelf worthy? Faeries still haven’t come and stolen the box set that I own so…

The Mortal Instruments Series Book #4: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Originally read in June 2013 reread again in February 2014.

My feelings about City of Fallen Angels – not only finding out about the book, but after reading it – can be summed up into this one GIF:

After the way City of Glass ended I was kind of pissed to find out there were two – soon to be three – more books. Um…Cassandra Clare, there’s these things called happy endings in which the characters live happily ever after. Nothing else happens to them, and after the shit you put Clary and the gang through – don’t you think they deserve it? So what could you possibly have in store for them now?

*reads*

Clary and Jace are together. Simon is dating not only Isabelle but Maia as well. Jocelyn and Luke are getting married. Alec is on vacation with Magnus and his parents seem to be okay with it.  Okay, that’s not bad, but are you really wasting my time with this? You could have just written a novella and called it a day.

*continues to read*

Simon almost gets abducted twice. Jace is having dreams where he kills Clary constantly. Eventually that transpires to the waking world, causing him to spend less time with her. She thinks he’s trying to break up with her. The Seelie Queen shows up and causes more mayhem just because she could. Okay, see now this is interesting in a psychotic way. What the hell is going on Jace? I mean, seriously, like I said above, after everything they went through you’re going to place all this stress and strain on their relationship? Why??

But, if anything, Clare is an equal opportunist when it comes to torturing relationships. Isabelle and Maia find out about each other. Oh, and the guy who Turned Maia shows up to make sure Simon is adjusting to life as a vampire – and also to check on Maia. And Magnus’ ex-girlfriend drags back in the one happy couple that isn’t even in New York, the vampire Camille that causes even more problems.

So, eventually it is revealed what is causing the bad dreams that Jace has been having. Apparently, when Jace was killed and then brought back to life by the Angel Raziel it broke the protection spells that were placed on him when he was a baby. These spells protected him from possession or persuasion by demons and warlocks. And the person who was sending these dreams to him turns out to be Lilith the baddest bitch ever.

I’ll admit when I first found out it was Lilith I was shocked. During the whole book I kept thinking that it was Sebastian – aka Clary’s brother Jonathon – who was sending these dreams to him. But…I guess in a way that it was him too since the whole reason Lilith was sending him the dreams was so she could bring Jonathon back to life.

In the end, the only issue I really had with this book was the character of Jace. I understood him in the first three books – he has daddy issues, the love of his life is really his sister, etc. – but in this book I wanted to shake him. As this ultimate Shadowhunter that he always claims himself to be, he’s really daft. I mean, he keeps pushing Clary away, even though she’s going to figure out that something is wrong with him. And then when he does figure out that the dreams he’s been having are being sent to him by a demon, he has a dream and then goes a head and does what the ‘dream Max’ tells him to do. Seriously? What. An. Idiot. 

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. As much as I was shocked and appalled to find out that the first three books weren’t it for this series, it got really interesting there at the end. Especially the ending! Holy crap!! I also liked seeing the development of Alec and Clary’s relationship. For a guy who hated her – only because he was in love with Jace – they have really become good friends.

Bookshelf worthy? Still own the boxed set of the first five books so…

The Mortal Instruments Series Book #3: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Originally read in April 2013 reread in February 2014.

So, City of Ashes ended with a mysterious woman approaching Clary telling her that she knows what her mother took and can help her find the antidote. City of Glass takes place right after, with Clary packing for Idris even though Jace doesn’t want her to go. It turns out that Clary isn’t the only one going to the Shadowhunter’s homeland; because of Valentine’s possession of both the Mortal Cup and the Mortal Sword a session of the Clave needs to be held.

Due to some interesting circumstances Simon also comes with the Lightwoods and Jace into Idris – which leads to a whole set of problems. Like for instance, because of Imogene’s death a new Inquisitor had to be appointed and honestly. Is it some sort of job requirement that the Inquisitor has to have a vendetta against Downworlders? Or have a screw loose in their head? I mean, honestly. Adeltree is quite the ass, I was really happy when Valentine reached into his chest and ripped out his heart. How sad is that?

As for that relationship that I should have felt bad for rooting for because it was incestuous, but I didn’t because…well, I have a feeling that they weren’t really brother and sister – well, as it turns out I was right! I was literally jumping up and down with joy when I read Jocelyn’s tale that Jace isn’t her son – the ass that was Sebastian Valec is actually her brother. Can I just say that I loved Simon’s reaction to this bit of news? “Well, it turns out you still kissed your brother.” Dude.

Anyway, everything works out in the end. Valentine is killed by Raziel. Jace kills Jonathon. The Angel brings Jace back to life. There seems to be a new pact with the Downworlders. The only thing that pissed me off was the fact that Max – the youngest Lightwood – was killed. That was just… God. *reaches for Kleenex* Even during the second read, I was so pissed off when Sebastian – no, wait, Jonathon – killed him. GAHHHHHH!

Anyway. With everything ending happily that’s it. The End.

Wait. What do you mean there’s another three books?

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Great tie up and tremendous reveal of who Clary’s brother REALLY is. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that there are another three books considering Jonathon’s body was never found.

Bookshelf worthy? …I own them already, so what does that tell you?

The Mortal Instruments Series Book #2: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

First reading February 2013. Reread November 2013.

Okay, so after Valentine’s bomb that Jace and Clary are sibling, him stealing the Mortal Cup and Clary’s mom being found but not being able to wake up, how exactly do you top that?

Answer: by having mysterious Downworlder’s deaths, killing off the Silent Brothers, introducing the Mortal Sword, and introducing the Inquisitor who turns out to be a total bitch and has a vendetta against Jace because of who his father is.

It turns out though that all these things are connected. The Silent Brothers – a part of the Shadowhunters who have more powerful runes – have the Mortal Sword, which allows the holder to tell the truth. Valentine attacks the Silent City to obtain the Sword and kills off the Silent Brothers. The mysterious deaths of the Downworlders are because he is trying to complete a ritual.

All of this leads to a major battle on a ship, where Valentine doesn’t succeed in his ritual – but he does succeed in being a horrible person. Clary and Jace’s ‘relationship’ that can’t be, is revealed to their friends because of a tricky faerie queen, and Jace finally decides that they’re better off as siblings. Oh, and did I mention Clary and Simon were dating and Simon was turned into a vampire? I really feel for Simon in this book. He is an underrated character who’s affections, I believe, I really misguided.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Again, the plot continues to thicken and the characters are so well written that I trembled with anger every time the Inquisitor showed up.

Bookshelf worthy? Since I already own it anyway….

The Mortal Instruments Series Book #1: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Originally read in December 2012. Reread again in November 2013 because I bought the box set of the first five and I’m preparing for book 6 later on this year…so forgive me if I’m a little hazy on some of the details.

Clarissa Fray – Clary for short – is celebrating her birthday when she sees something that she shouldn’t see; a vampire being killed by a trio of teenagers. Only she doesn’t know the man being killed is a vampire, she thinks he’s just a regular guy. But the thing is, Clary isn’t supposed to see the teenagers at all. They’re glamoured.

While she’s trying to figure out who those teens were and why the blonde haired boy with an attitude is calling her a mundane, the apartment she lives in with her mother gets broken into and her mother is taken. When she arrives, the place is in ruins and her mother is gone, but the apartment isn’t empty. Something is still lurking and attacks her. The blonde boy comes in and saves her and takes her back to the Institute – a sort of home base for what the boy and his friends are.

It turns out they’re Shadowhunters, people who hunt demons and try to keep the world that mundanes – normal people – live in safe from Downworlders and the demons. Jace – the blonde – takes an instant ‘liking’ to Clary and shows her the basics of the Shadowhunter trade. Alec Lightwood isn’t so keen on her though, and that’s mostly because he has a thing for Jace too.

The book revolves around Clary trying to find her mother, figure out why she can see Jace and the others even though they are glamoured, saving Simon – her best friend – from vampires and finding the first Mortal Instrument – the Mortal Cup – before Valentine – an evil guy who was a Shadowhunter – can get his hands on it.

There’s also some great romantic angst between Jace and Clary – the greenhouse scene! But that’s all turned to crap when Valentine reveals that Jace and Clary are brother and sister. …I’m sorry, say what?! Figures the one relationship I actually liked in this book that had so much potential turns to something you shouldn’t be rooting for.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Even though it was a slow start – as most first books in a series are – the action picked up fairly quickly and I loved the characters, even Hodge.

Bookshelf worthy? Um…since I already own them…this is sort of an obvious yes.