Not-Quite Review: My Thoughts and Feelings on City of Heavenly Fire

“Freely we serve
Because we freely love, as in our will
To love or not; in this we stand or fall.”

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I spent two weeks reading City of Heavenly Fire -- a long time for me -- because I had to squeeze in other books and because there were so many characters that I was overwhelmed several times. It was a long time ago when I read City of Lost Souls (book 5) so I already forgot or only semi-remember some characters. Halfway through the book, I finally got in the groove and excitement shot through me. This is it, I said to myself. This is the end.

Warning: Some vague spoilers below. It won't ruin your experience but if you haven't read it yet and don't want to get ideas, stopping reading this NOW.

I haven't read The Infernal Devices trilogy yet but I was aware of the TID character references in CoHF. Which then made me want to read TID. I like being fully acquainted with the characters and I was really intrigued about Brother Zachariah, who I'm guessing is Jem from TID. Am I right, TID readers?

I've said in the past that this series should have ended with City of Glass (book 3), that the characters deserved to be happy then. But I am happy that CoHF did a great job at finishing off all the plot lines. Which is also sad because I have seen these characters grow and I loved love them.

I never minded Alec and Magnus much in the previous books but CoHF showed me Alec in a new light. He changed, he matured. His occasional show of emotions to his parabatai and his friends surprised and made me silently root for him. I felt so bad about Magnus, too, because he's super old and he's been through a lot and lost a lot. I kinda wished that his suffering would finish because a man can only take so much. Then again, Alec deserved to be happy, too, and being with Magnus made him happy.

Clary and Jace were nothing short of awesome, as usual. We already know that Jace is a hero, physically strong and also strong-willed. The Heavenly Fire within him was an added bonus because it's the only thing that can kill Sebastian. Clary, on the other hand, was probably the strongest of the bunch in this book. Alec, Jace, Simon and Isabelle relied on her and her powers when there's nothing else they could do.

Speaking of Heavenly Fire, Clary and Jace did something with the Heavenly Fire but they didn't share it with Alec, Simon, and Izzy. The readers were left to guess what they actually did and I really thought my theory was right! But no. Did you guess right?

Also, how strange is it to bring a condom with you on a demon realm?! I mean, really? Were you thinking of having sex before you decided to plunge into hell?!

But probably the most surprising character here was Simon. And I've always liked Simon. I actually like him more than I like Jace. In CoHF, Simon proved once again that he's not mundane anymore and that he's just as valuable as his Shadowhunter friends are. He's become strong and more confident of himself in a way that vampires are. His moments with Izzy were sweet, honest, and heartbreaking. Very, very heartbreaking.

Fans of The Mortal Instruments can expect to feel every emotion with this book: sadness, fear, adrenaline rush, happiness, pain, anger, and pity. I felt all that with CoHF. This book also felt like goodbye in so many ways. Even as they were celebrating a special occasion, it still felt like a farewell to these beloved characters and the beautiful, exciting Shadow World.

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But the beauty of books is that even after you close it, you know that it's not really finished. In your mind it goes on. You continue their stories. Or not. It's totally up to you to think when and how it ends. So how did it end for me? Well, I'd like to think that whoever's still alive is happy right now, a little bit sad because of their losses but trying to move on. But Cassandra Clare might have hinted through Magnus (or it could be just my imagination) that the story might not be over yet, or at least another story might begin many years later. I do hope CoHF is the last of these books because our Shadowhunter and Downworlder friends deserve to rest.

Have you read City of Heavenly Fire? What did you think about it? How did you feel? Share your thoughts below. :)

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