Review
I have been a strong follower of The Mortal Instruments for years and I could not wait to get my hands on this novel. This last novel of this series I have been a strong follower of The Mortal Instruments for years and I could not wait to get my hands on this novel. This last novel of this series was amazing but not quite as great as I had hoped for.
As always Clare does an amazing job with the relationships that we all love and care for. Jace and Clary were actually happy throughout this entire book and I was so excited that we did not have Clace drama. I would not have like that much. I loved the intensity between them and there constant fight to let nothing come between them. However I felt as if the drama with the other couples: Alec and Magnus, Simon and Isabelle was a bit much and took away from the story. I mean the world is going to be destroyed and everyone will die, they should have been a bit more worried about that.
With that said though I did like how she involved problems such as cheating because throughout her other novels she gives the Shadowhunters a sense of purity and that they are better than mundanes. As you read City of Heavenly Fire, Clare shows how Shadowhunters are not as different or better than humans then they seem or portray themselves as.
I loved the involvement of children Shadowhunters because throughout the books you only see the teen and adult side of things. The perspective of the children just shows you a deeper understanding of what growing up as a shadowhunter truly is like. This view point showed the reader how the children are affected by Sebastian's attacks and how they are just as at risk as everyone else, if not more so.
I feel that Clare captured the maturity of the children fantastically.
Throughout the novel there is an undercurrent of religion. I loved how Clare had brought both Heaven and Hell to earth and mixed it with the beliefs of the shadowhunters in a way that makes sense and is realistic, yet didn't shove it in your face.
On a more negative note though, I had had a hard time getting through this novel because it felt as if you were dragging your feet and the constant view point changes almost make it worse. I do believe that the view point changes were needed at times but there could have been less of them. Sebastian is a great character and Clare did a great job at showing just how messed up he was but he was missing the level of evil that Valentine had had in the earlier books. I was expecting a bigger defeat at the end and was disappointed when the novel was done. I was still left with tons of questions and felt as if nothing was really answered through the entire book and you had more questions than you started with.
Overall though, City of Heavenly was a good book with a lot of lessons within it. It has amazing imagery and does hold a lot of thought provoking situations, such as the overall meaning of right and wrong. There are great loves and friendships, deaths (even if unnecessary), betrayals, a few teary moments, and more. I do suggest reading this to anyone who loves the world and the characters.
Rating: *** (3.5/5 Stars)
Books Within This Series:
City of Bones (Book 1)
City of Ashes (Book 2)
City of Glass (Book 3)
City of Fallen Angels (Book 4)
City of Lost Souls (Book 5)
City of Heavenly Fire (Book 6)
Novella Series:
The Infernal Devices
The Bane Chronicles
The Shadow Hunters Codex