City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6)
By Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Recommended Ages: 18+

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris – but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee – even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned…

The Gist

I have to admit, I was very ready for this series to be over. It seemed like the last three books were just a spinning wheel of the same thing. I was glad that a lot of the romantic angst (for the most part) between Clary and Jace was gone as that was getting tiring.  I thought the pace suffered some under the switching back and forth between story lines. But I did enjoy the continued character growth and strong camaraderie between Clary and the gang.

What I Liked:

I liked watching the twists and turns of Alec and Magnus’ relationship.  It seemed well written and dramatic but not over-dramatic. And speaking of relationships, I was so happy to see some movement with Simon and Isabelle.

The threat of Sebastian loomed over the entire book and added that fear and suspense that some of the previous books in the series lacked for me. This helped keep the book moving along in parts because I wanted to know what he’d do next and how the Shadowhunters would respond.

The second half of the book was my favorite. The threat was more imminent, they were in a different and new world to the reader, and their common goal was clearly evident and driving all their actions. It was filled with more action and twists and turns.

What I Didn’t Like:

I failed to see why it was so important to have Emma’s alternate storyline in the book. For me, all it did was dampen the pace and get confusing with the switching back and forth. Actually a couple of the alternate storylines didn’t really grab my interest. I failed to see them support the main plot enough. Like, what’s up with Maureen?

And while I’m on the subject of back and forth, I grew weary of the constant changing of location. This could totally be a personal opinion of mine, but too much going from one place to another doesn’t allow me to really get ingrained in a story.

My biggest complaint is there was too much down time between action and things that really matters; pieces that moved the plot along. Too much conversations, too much internal processing, etc. It felt like a story of peaks and valleys as opposed to a plot consistently gaining momentum.

Ugh, the epilogue took FOREVER. I was just ready for it to be over. Too much extra fluffy stuff. It should have just been added in as extra chapters. It took too long to resolve the story.

I have to say that in general, I did not enjoy this series. I’m probably in the minority, but I didn’t find it nearly as engaging as a lot of other wonderful fantasy series. I personally would not recommend it to friends.

LunasLuckyRating: 2.5/5 Lunas