City of Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare

Sebastian is out there somewhere and Clary, Jace and friends are under the constant shadow of war. There is pain and destruction, darkness and sorrow and nothing will be the same again. We follow their journey into the pits of hell, where they will face loss and sacrifice but will it make any difference to the rest of the world. Without shadow hunters, can the human world survive?



In the last instalment of the Mortal Instruments, we not only follow Clary and Jace, but it would seem every single person we have met on this 6 book journey along with a few new faces. It starts with action and continues for the most part in the same vein. We are introduced to Emma Carstairs at the very beginning and it is obvious that she will be an important part of this story and others. What I found in this one, with Cassandra Clare’s need to tie everything and everyone together, we are constantly jumping from one person’s point of view to another. We see how Maia is doing, Simon, Raphael, Magnus, Emma, Luke, Alec, Sebastian and of course Clary and Jace. For me it felt disjointed, yes we know that this war affects everyone, but do we really need to hear everyone’s thoughts on this, see everyone’s opinion?



As always the writing is great, the pace on the whole moved with an ease that I couldn’t believe I had read so much in one sitting. Once in the demon realm, things slowed down and after another round of knowing that everyone was at the verge of death, we finally got to the main battle. And yes I did shed a tear, but at the end of a series like this I wanted a little more closure. It left so many questions unanswered, let us know who the new enemy would be, and who would be fighting it. To me it felt that the author was using her success on this series to introduce us to a new project. Surely she could have introduced the new threat in her new books.



I am not saying I disliked this book because I didn’t, and maybe because the first three books captured me completed, I expected a little more, but it was a good read. I love the author’s style of writing, even admire it and like everyone who has fallen for characters in books, I wanted more. I suppose I had my own thoughts as to how it would end, and when it didn’t quite finish that way, I was a little disappointed.

On the whole this is a great series and I have loved reading them. If you are a fan then of course you will enjoy the final chapter of the long and wonderful journey.