City of Heavenly Fire releases on 27 May 2014 -which is also my birthday!! - and after two weeks of "is it here yet?" , my copy of City of Heavenly Fire finally arrived from Amazon, -I live in Asia so it took two weeks- and I had activities going on from morning until the afternoon. When I reached home at night, I was so tired I could only read for 100 pages until I had to sleep, so it took me like five days to finish City of Heavenly Fire and I feel so very happy with how everything turned out that I just had to make a book talk this morning. Now City of Heavenly Fire sleeps with me on my bedside table every night.
If you have not read City of Heavenly Fire, The Mortal Instruments or The Infernal Devices, I suggest that you stop reading right now because I will full on spoil you in the book talk. I also highly recommend The Infernal Devices if you've not read it.
Buy City of Heavenly Fire here
BOOK TALK STARTS HERE. THERE IS GOING TO BE SPOILERS.
The cover was so beautiful, and finally getting the book was so surreal because we'd been looking at the cover for a few months before the release, and now that I finally have the book in my hands, it is ... unbelievable.
I cried a little at the acknowledgements. I remember being like, Cassandra Clare thanked us!! and tearing up because it finally struck me -The Mortal instruments series is finally, finally, coming to an end. I hadn't even gotten into the prologue and I was already an emotional wreck, but that was okay, because the entire book was so amazing.
We all know that a lot could happen in 725 pages, good or bad. The prologue was excellent; we were introduced to Emma Carstairs and Julian and the rest of the Blackthorn family, and I knew right there and then that I, along with everybody else, would be growing to love Emma later in this book.
When the screaming started, my first thought was: Sebastian. Emma Carstairs, being the badass that she is, succeeds in getting away from the Institute with Julian. I love the fact that Julian was actually pleading the Clave to keep the Portal open because Emma hadn't arrived at the office. He was waiting for her so that they could go through together, and it was so obvious that they had to be parabatai.
In the beginning, we were also told how Emma got her blade, Cortana. I loved it when John Carstairs said, "Temper us in the fire, and we grow stronger. When we suffer, we survive."
According to Shadowhunter wiki, in the Infernal Devices, this blade was originally meant for Jem, but because he had become a Silent Brother, Elias passed it on to his children after Will declined to accept the sword as a gift. I wonder if Jem would have felt anything for the sword if he saw Emma with it. I'm guessing that he probably wouldn't have because Jem wouldn't have known about the sword, but we never know!
I loved it when Jace broke Alec's phone, just like that. Like he decided that he had had enough with Alec and his phone and just decided to stop it once and for all.
If you have not read City of Heavenly Fire, The Mortal Instruments or The Infernal Devices, I suggest that you stop reading right now because I will full on spoil you in the book talk. I also highly recommend The Infernal Devices if you've not read it.
Buy City of Heavenly Fire here
BOOK TALK STARTS HERE. THERE IS GOING TO BE SPOILERS.
The cover was so beautiful, and finally getting the book was so surreal because we'd been looking at the cover for a few months before the release, and now that I finally have the book in my hands, it is ... unbelievable.
I cried a little at the acknowledgements. I remember being like, Cassandra Clare thanked us!! and tearing up because it finally struck me -The Mortal instruments series is finally, finally, coming to an end. I hadn't even gotten into the prologue and I was already an emotional wreck, but that was okay, because the entire book was so amazing.
We all know that a lot could happen in 725 pages, good or bad. The prologue was excellent; we were introduced to Emma Carstairs and Julian and the rest of the Blackthorn family, and I knew right there and then that I, along with everybody else, would be growing to love Emma later in this book.
When the screaming started, my first thought was: Sebastian. Emma Carstairs, being the badass that she is, succeeds in getting away from the Institute with Julian. I love the fact that Julian was actually pleading the Clave to keep the Portal open because Emma hadn't arrived at the office. He was waiting for her so that they could go through together, and it was so obvious that they had to be parabatai.
In the beginning, we were also told how Emma got her blade, Cortana. I loved it when John Carstairs said, "Temper us in the fire, and we grow stronger. When we suffer, we survive."
According to Shadowhunter wiki, in the Infernal Devices, this blade was originally meant for Jem, but because he had become a Silent Brother, Elias passed it on to his children after Will declined to accept the sword as a gift. I wonder if Jem would have felt anything for the sword if he saw Emma with it. I'm guessing that he probably wouldn't have because Jem wouldn't have known about the sword, but we never know!
I loved it when Jace broke Alec's phone, just like that. Like he decided that he had had enough with Alec and his phone and just decided to stop it once and for all.
One of the many scenes I loved in City of Heavenly Fire was the scene where Clary and the Shadowhunters had to leave New York City. I got very emotional reading this scene and there were just so many beautiful goodbyes-
"No, don't say anything, I don't want you to say anything."-Clary
"I guess this is the part where we say good-bye?" -Izzy
"I guess this is the part where we say good-bye?" -Izzy
I want to have a whole discussion on Malec. Cassandra Clare said that, in City of Heavenly Fire, that Magnus was going to forgive Alec, and I was waiting for that so badly. Malec is one of my favorite OTPs, and I just wanted them to apologize and get back together, and I finally got that in the departure scene.
"Okay," Magnus said. "You wanted to talk to me. So talk."
This is the first time they've actually talked since they broke up, and Magnus was talking to Alec so coldly. I had this feeling that they were going to kiss and make up eventually, and they did kiss, but it wasn't that clear whether they were going to get together again or not. However, it was clear that Magnus still feels affectionate towards Alec, but they were still sort of arguing and I didn't want that. I didn't want any of that.
That part where Alec told Magnus that Jace broke his phone so he couldn't tell Magnus that he was going away- that part leads to "You're just--you're so--I really want to kiss you,"
"Okay," Magnus said. "You wanted to talk to me. So talk."
This is the first time they've actually talked since they broke up, and Magnus was talking to Alec so coldly. I had this feeling that they were going to kiss and make up eventually, and they did kiss, but it wasn't that clear whether they were going to get together again or not. However, it was clear that Magnus still feels affectionate towards Alec, but they were still sort of arguing and I didn't want that. I didn't want any of that.
That part where Alec told Magnus that Jace broke his phone so he couldn't tell Magnus that he was going away- that part leads to "You're just--you're so--I really want to kiss you,"
When Magnus said "I knew a girl, once, immortal like me--"
WE ALL KNEW WHO HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
And Alec asked, "What happened?"
"He died," Magnus said.
AS IF WE NEEDED TO BE REMINDED.
I wanted so much for Magnus to say that he could change for Alec, but then THIS came along:
"I need you to live," he breathed, and turned around, very abruptly, and walked away.
"Alec sat down on the frozen stone bench and put his face in his hands."
NO MORE. NOTHING. ALEC WAS HURTING SO MUCH AND HE STILL HAD TO DEAL WITH SEBASTIAN AND-
WE ALL KNEW WHO HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
And Alec asked, "What happened?"
"He died," Magnus said.
AS IF WE NEEDED TO BE REMINDED.
I wanted so much for Magnus to say that he could change for Alec, but then THIS came along:
"I need you to live," he breathed, and turned around, very abruptly, and walked away.
"Alec sat down on the frozen stone bench and put his face in his hands."
NO MORE. NOTHING. ALEC WAS HURTING SO MUCH AND HE STILL HAD TO DEAL WITH SEBASTIAN AND-
And then we get to the part where Izzy gives -loans- Simon her ruby pendant. On the back of the pendant is the Latin phrase "Amor verus numquam moritur" which means "True love never dies." and I was thinking, does that mean that Izzy lent the pendant to Simon, thinking that their love will never die too?
There was this part where Sebastian was with the Seelie Queen and I felt so disgusted at that. I was also angry at the Seelie Queen but WE ALL KNEW THAT THE SEELIE QUEEN WOULD GANG UP WITH SEBASTIAN. I just didn't have the impression that the Seelie Queen actually loved Sebastian that much, which is so disgusting.
At the Citadel when the fight was over, and Jem was trying to help Jace, the heavenly fire actually healed Jem! So this was the cure that Jem mentioned to Tessa in the epilogue of Clockwork Princess! I was so happy when Jace visited Jem and he saw that Jem was no more a Silent Brother, because that means that we'd get to see more of the real Jem, the Jem who feels more.
There wasn't many deaths for us to cry over in City of Heavenly Fire, thank goodness. Jordan's death was sad, because- Maia was going to break up with him! I'd always thought that Maia had already forgiven and forgotten her issue with Jordan, so I was bit confused when Maia said that she was going to break up with Jordan.
To make it worse, the Praetor building was already destroyed and there were werewolves lying everywhere dead, and when it just seemed like we couldn't handle any more deaths right then, BAM. Sebastian stabs Jordan.
In CoHF, Simon also gets kidnapped by Maureen. I was so annoyed at Simon and Maia and Jordan because, obviously something bad is going to happen to Simon if he leaves the apartment and no one goes with him! My mind was screaming at Maia and Jordan, wanting one of them to help Simon escape from the apartment with him, because DON'T THEY GET IT?! ONCE SIMON IS ALONE, SOMETHING BAD WILL HAPPEN TO HIM!! THAT HAS HAPPENED SO MANY TIMES AND STILL NO ONE LEARNS ANYTHING FROM IT!
I liked it that Maia doesn't go all zombie after Jordan dies. She still stays strong and even manages to become the temporary pack leader, and I like that about her.
You know how Clary, Jace, Izzy, Alec and Simon each gets a vision of sort of their deepest desires when they entered Hell? I actually liked that because you get to see what they really yearn for inside but they also get that realization that somehow, the illusion is wrong and then they wake up from it.
THE CAVE SCENE WHERE CLARY AND JACE FINALLY DOES THE FRICK FRACK. THAT WAS SO AWESOME. IT WAS HOT AND STEAMY AND I DO NOT NEED A FURTHER EXPLANATION ON THIS.
Click here to read about Cassandra Clare's explanation of why Jace brought condoms with him into Hell.
To be honest, I never expected Raphael's death to be saddening for me, but it was, although that was mainly because we learned that Magnus saved and helped Raphael before. If I had not known about that though, I think I would have been okay with his death because he had wanted to kill Simon before. Afterwards, when he rescued Simon from Maureen and took him to Idris, my distrust and wariness towards him had lessened. However, when Sebastian demanded Raphael to kill Magnus to show his loyalties, I was screaming, pleading at Raphael, although at one point I knew that Cassandra Clare wouldn't dare to kill Magnus.
I was still tricked though, because there was this tiny, tiny chance that Raphael would actually kill Magnus. It was all so real, that Raphael was holding the blade against Magnus's throat. I was holding my breath when Magnus was whispering to Raphael, convincing Raphael not to kill him. Raphael was so close to killing Magnus, and I'm so glad that Magnus had helped Raphael before, because I wouldn't dare think of what would've happened had he not helped Raphael.
The speech that Jia Penhallow gave before Sebastian's army was going to attack Idris was beautiful. It warmed my heart when she said that the Endarkened have no humanity left in them. "Fire tests gold. In this fire we will be tested, and we will shine out. You know the protocol; you know what to do. Go forth, children of the Angel." "Go forth and light the lights of war."
That last line was per-fect. What the speech meant to me was that being a Shadowhunter, you have to know what is right and wrong. Although their enemies will have the faces of their families, they will need to have the determination to bring them down because that's what they do. Being a Shadowhunter unites all of them, and they will have to unite more strongly than ever because what they are facing in this book will be hard.
When Jem came to help defend the Endarkened so that Julian, Emma and the kids could be brought to safety, I was so, so happy. What he told Emma was so true, "Sometimes it's braver not to fight. Protect them, and save your vengeance for another day." I loved it.
Let's get to the badass moments in CoHF. When Clary drew a Portal for Jace to get the skeptron- that was so brilliant. I was already counting on them to win this war, and it got even more awesome when Jace told Sebastian that he knew what he was thinking.
We also get another Malec moment where Alec finally finds Magnus and Magnus goes, "Oh, my Alec," he said. "You've been so sad. I didn't know."
There wasn't many deaths for us to cry over in City of Heavenly Fire, thank goodness. Jordan's death was sad, because- Maia was going to break up with him! I'd always thought that Maia had already forgiven and forgotten her issue with Jordan, so I was bit confused when Maia said that she was going to break up with Jordan.
To make it worse, the Praetor building was already destroyed and there were werewolves lying everywhere dead, and when it just seemed like we couldn't handle any more deaths right then, BAM. Sebastian stabs Jordan.
In CoHF, Simon also gets kidnapped by Maureen. I was so annoyed at Simon and Maia and Jordan because, obviously something bad is going to happen to Simon if he leaves the apartment and no one goes with him! My mind was screaming at Maia and Jordan, wanting one of them to help Simon escape from the apartment with him, because DON'T THEY GET IT?! ONCE SIMON IS ALONE, SOMETHING BAD WILL HAPPEN TO HIM!! THAT HAS HAPPENED SO MANY TIMES AND STILL NO ONE LEARNS ANYTHING FROM IT!
I liked it that Maia doesn't go all zombie after Jordan dies. She still stays strong and even manages to become the temporary pack leader, and I like that about her.
You know how Clary, Jace, Izzy, Alec and Simon each gets a vision of sort of their deepest desires when they entered Hell? I actually liked that because you get to see what they really yearn for inside but they also get that realization that somehow, the illusion is wrong and then they wake up from it.
THE CAVE SCENE WHERE CLARY AND JACE FINALLY DOES THE FRICK FRACK. THAT WAS SO AWESOME. IT WAS HOT AND STEAMY AND I DO NOT NEED A FURTHER EXPLANATION ON THIS.
Click here to read about Cassandra Clare's explanation of why Jace brought condoms with him into Hell.
To be honest, I never expected Raphael's death to be saddening for me, but it was, although that was mainly because we learned that Magnus saved and helped Raphael before. If I had not known about that though, I think I would have been okay with his death because he had wanted to kill Simon before. Afterwards, when he rescued Simon from Maureen and took him to Idris, my distrust and wariness towards him had lessened. However, when Sebastian demanded Raphael to kill Magnus to show his loyalties, I was screaming, pleading at Raphael, although at one point I knew that Cassandra Clare wouldn't dare to kill Magnus.
I was still tricked though, because there was this tiny, tiny chance that Raphael would actually kill Magnus. It was all so real, that Raphael was holding the blade against Magnus's throat. I was holding my breath when Magnus was whispering to Raphael, convincing Raphael not to kill him. Raphael was so close to killing Magnus, and I'm so glad that Magnus had helped Raphael before, because I wouldn't dare think of what would've happened had he not helped Raphael.
The speech that Jia Penhallow gave before Sebastian's army was going to attack Idris was beautiful. It warmed my heart when she said that the Endarkened have no humanity left in them. "Fire tests gold. In this fire we will be tested, and we will shine out. You know the protocol; you know what to do. Go forth, children of the Angel." "Go forth and light the lights of war."
That last line was per-fect. What the speech meant to me was that being a Shadowhunter, you have to know what is right and wrong. Although their enemies will have the faces of their families, they will need to have the determination to bring them down because that's what they do. Being a Shadowhunter unites all of them, and they will have to unite more strongly than ever because what they are facing in this book will be hard.
When Jem came to help defend the Endarkened so that Julian, Emma and the kids could be brought to safety, I was so, so happy. What he told Emma was so true, "Sometimes it's braver not to fight. Protect them, and save your vengeance for another day." I loved it.
Let's get to the badass moments in CoHF. When Clary drew a Portal for Jace to get the skeptron- that was so brilliant. I was already counting on them to win this war, and it got even more awesome when Jace told Sebastian that he knew what he was thinking.
We also get another Malec moment where Alec finally finds Magnus and Magnus goes, "Oh, my Alec," he said. "You've been so sad. I didn't know."
One of the most epic and awesome moments in City of Heavenly Fire was Clary. Killing. Sebastian. I always thought that in the end it was going to wind down to Clary that was going to kill Sebastian, because it was clear that Sebastian was always giving Clary these chances and although his love for Clary was all wrong, Clary had the advantage. We knew something was wrong when she agreed to rule Hell with Sebastian, and when Jace wouldn't even look at Clary... something was definitely wrong. I just couldn't place what. All I knew was that Clary and Jace still had this secret master plan of theirs and they still hadn't used it yet.
AND WHEN CLARY KILLED SEBASTIAN - THAT WAS SO FRIGGIN AWESOME AND JUST-
I mean, we get so used to the fact that Sebastian was (almost) invincible, when Jace was passed out on the floor I had so little hope left. But when Sebastian wanted to kiss Clary and she even asked Sebastian to put his arms around her-
NO. NO. NOPE.
BUT THEN, CLARY SAID, "Hail, master," and stabbed him--
THAT WAS SO SMART.
However, I wasn't expecting to see the good side of Sebastian afterwards. Or rather, Jonathan.
"His eyes were green."
I don't know if I would've liked him as a real character, but what has to be done is done. Sebastian has to go, but I think that if Sebastian had a chance to be Jonathan, to be good, he would've treated Clary like a real sister, loved her, cared for her, and actually made her feel happy to have an older brother.
But after our small and saddening victory, we still have that tiny problem of how to get back to Idris. And we finally get to know who Magnus's father is.
My feels when Magnus was trying to convince the others that he could sacrifice himself, and the others were protecting him from his father and telling him that he couldn't do that. YOU JUST DON'T KILL MAGNUS IN CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE, OKAY? OKAY. HE HAS COME WAY TOO FAR TO DIE AND WE'VE BEEN WITH HIM SO LONG IN THE BOOKS THAT YOU JUST DON'T KILL HIM. NO.
But then Simon volunteers, and for a moment it was okay, because Asmodeus said that he would make Simon's heart beat again.
BUT THEN. HIS MEMORIES HAVE TO BE EXCHANGED, AND IT WAS AS PAINFUL AS GIVING MAGNUS UP TO ASMODEUS, BECAUSE- SIMON HAS BEEN WITH CLARY SINCE THE FIRST BOOK, SINCE CITY OF BONES, AND WITHOUT HIM THE ENTIRE SERIES WOULDN'T BE COMPLETE! JUST- NOOOOOOO!!
Simon's memories of Clary and the Shadowhunter world were erased, and they arrived back at Idris safely, only without Simon. At this point I had to stop reading and just stare wordlessly at City of Heavenly Fire because I was kind of going numb.
Reading about Clary calling Simon and going to school to meet Simon was awful. Clary realizes that Simon is having a very normal life and that he doesn't remember Clary and also everything that went down for the past days, and - that is just terrible, because without Simon, there would be no The Mortal Instruments. Simon was always there for Clary when she was feeling down, and Clary finds comfort with him. He is always there for Clary and she relies on him so much and vice versa.
Besides, how about Izzy?? Simon is the only person that she can genuinely call a boyfriend, and who is going to love her the way Simon loves Izzy again??
However, we get a satisfying conclusion when Magnus suddenly finds a way that Simon could remember and be friends with all of them again - Simon could Ascend and be a Shadowhunter! That makes things even more exciting. It is still saddening though, when Simon is struggling to remember Clary and Izzy and all of the others, but I think that it will all work out in the end.
And I loved especially how Cassandra Clare ends City of Heavenly Fire with everyone happy and Malec and Sizzy are back together, and Jocelyn and Luke had their wedding after all, and the Herondale ring was passed on by Clary from Tessa to Jace, and everything is just perfect.
However, I wasn't expecting to see the good side of Sebastian afterwards. Or rather, Jonathan.
"His eyes were green."
I don't know if I would've liked him as a real character, but what has to be done is done. Sebastian has to go, but I think that if Sebastian had a chance to be Jonathan, to be good, he would've treated Clary like a real sister, loved her, cared for her, and actually made her feel happy to have an older brother.
But after our small and saddening victory, we still have that tiny problem of how to get back to Idris. And we finally get to know who Magnus's father is.
My feels when Magnus was trying to convince the others that he could sacrifice himself, and the others were protecting him from his father and telling him that he couldn't do that. YOU JUST DON'T KILL MAGNUS IN CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE, OKAY? OKAY. HE HAS COME WAY TOO FAR TO DIE AND WE'VE BEEN WITH HIM SO LONG IN THE BOOKS THAT YOU JUST DON'T KILL HIM. NO.
But then Simon volunteers, and for a moment it was okay, because Asmodeus said that he would make Simon's heart beat again.
BUT THEN. HIS MEMORIES HAVE TO BE EXCHANGED, AND IT WAS AS PAINFUL AS GIVING MAGNUS UP TO ASMODEUS, BECAUSE- SIMON HAS BEEN WITH CLARY SINCE THE FIRST BOOK, SINCE CITY OF BONES, AND WITHOUT HIM THE ENTIRE SERIES WOULDN'T BE COMPLETE! JUST- NOOOOOOO!!
Simon's memories of Clary and the Shadowhunter world were erased, and they arrived back at Idris safely, only without Simon. At this point I had to stop reading and just stare wordlessly at City of Heavenly Fire because I was kind of going numb.
Reading about Clary calling Simon and going to school to meet Simon was awful. Clary realizes that Simon is having a very normal life and that he doesn't remember Clary and also everything that went down for the past days, and - that is just terrible, because without Simon, there would be no The Mortal Instruments. Simon was always there for Clary when she was feeling down, and Clary finds comfort with him. He is always there for Clary and she relies on him so much and vice versa.
Besides, how about Izzy?? Simon is the only person that she can genuinely call a boyfriend, and who is going to love her the way Simon loves Izzy again??
However, we get a satisfying conclusion when Magnus suddenly finds a way that Simon could remember and be friends with all of them again - Simon could Ascend and be a Shadowhunter! That makes things even more exciting. It is still saddening though, when Simon is struggling to remember Clary and Izzy and all of the others, but I think that it will all work out in the end.
And I loved especially how Cassandra Clare ends City of Heavenly Fire with everyone happy and Malec and Sizzy are back together, and Jocelyn and Luke had their wedding after all, and the Herondale ring was passed on by Clary from Tessa to Jace, and everything is just perfect.
If you're thinking that I didn't talk much about Emma and Julian and the Blackthorn family, that is mainly because there will be another series that revolves around them, and there will be enough time to fangirl about them when we read The Dark Artifices. City of Heavenly Fire is the last book in The Mortal Instruments, and this is the last time we can really fangirl and talk about them, because let's face it, we are going to read and fangirl about them less when The Dark Artifices releases in 2015, so... I feel like I have to talk about them more when we still can. We'll still read about them in The Dark Artifices, but they'll be all grown up and they won't be the main characters anymore.
Also, there are still scenes in the book that I didn't include in the book talk, but that doesn't mean that it is unimportant nor does it mean that I don't like them. I loved the book, but there's just so much you can talk about a 725 page book.
All in all, City of Heavenly Fire left me feeling satisfied and I just want to give Cassandra Clare a big, big hug because - that's how you write an epic conclusion! This book had me crying and then cheering for the characters and I didn't know what to expect next. I am very honored to have the same birthday as this book and I would like to thank Cassandra Clare for writing such a beautiful series, City of Heavenly Fire moved me so much and this series has had such a great and wondrous impact on my life, I'm sad that it has ended but this ending is so spectacular that I sort of don't mind.
I hope you enjoyed my review, and I hope that I did the book justice. Thank you for reading, have a nice day, and happy reading!
Also, there are still scenes in the book that I didn't include in the book talk, but that doesn't mean that it is unimportant nor does it mean that I don't like them. I loved the book, but there's just so much you can talk about a 725 page book.
All in all, City of Heavenly Fire left me feeling satisfied and I just want to give Cassandra Clare a big, big hug because - that's how you write an epic conclusion! This book had me crying and then cheering for the characters and I didn't know what to expect next. I am very honored to have the same birthday as this book and I would like to thank Cassandra Clare for writing such a beautiful series, City of Heavenly Fire moved me so much and this series has had such a great and wondrous impact on my life, I'm sad that it has ended but this ending is so spectacular that I sort of don't mind.
I hope you enjoyed my review, and I hope that I did the book justice. Thank you for reading, have a nice day, and happy reading!