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adeleinwanderland's review against another edition
5.0
God bless you Cassandra Clare, God bless you!
sunnyevie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Omg, I am finally done. This book gets a 4 star for... I'm not even completely sure what for, maybe a weird nostalgia even though I hadn't read it before?
Look, I read and loved the original trilogy YEARS ago and since I had never finished if but I'm recently back into reading I wanted to finally complete the Mortal Instruments story. So nostalgia for the characters and world even though books 4, 5 &6 were new. But I don't know if I actually liked these books (and if it were not for the epilogue I think it would have gotten a 3 cause amnesia-ing off one of my favorite characters FOREVER would have been a bridge to far).
This book was absurdly long. Parts definitely could have been sped up and dealt with faster and a lot of the angst could have been cut down. The plot was pretty good though and one of the most satisfying conclusions was Jonathan's death. I like that we get to grieve the boy he should have been with seeing a glimpse of the real him. The Emma POV parts really dragged for me and I asked myself many a time "why should I care?" only to find out that the dark artifices are apparently out of her institute and probably heavily feature her pov, so that's why, but it BOGGED DOWN THIS BOOK WITH SO MANY WORDS, OMG.
Anyway, it's kinda fine, kinda enjoyable, and kinda not. I almost wish I could say I want to go back in time and not waste my time with these, but if you want to delve into the dark artifices, I'm guessing you should read these or you'll be a bit lost. Whatever then, I dunno.
Look, I read and loved the original trilogy YEARS ago and since I had never finished if but I'm recently back into reading I wanted to finally complete the Mortal Instruments story. So nostalgia for the characters and world even though books 4, 5 &6 were new. But I don't know if I actually liked these books (and if it were not for the epilogue I think it would have gotten a 3 cause amnesia-ing off one of my favorite characters FOREVER would have been a bridge to far).
This book was absurdly long. Parts definitely could have been sped up and dealt with faster and a lot of the angst could have been cut down. The plot was pretty good though and one of the most satisfying conclusions was Jonathan's death. I like that we get to grieve the boy he should have been with seeing a glimpse of the real him. The Emma POV parts really dragged for me and I asked myself many a time "why should I care?" only to find out that the dark artifices are apparently out of her institute and probably heavily feature her pov, so that's why, but it BOGGED DOWN THIS BOOK WITH SO MANY WORDS, OMG.
Anyway, it's kinda fine, kinda enjoyable, and kinda not. I almost wish I could say I want to go back in time and not waste my time with these, but if you want to delve into the dark artifices, I'm guessing you should read these or you'll be a bit lost. Whatever then, I dunno.
apm1998's review against another edition
3.0
I don’t even know what to say any more with these books…
City of Heavenly Fire is the last book in The Mortal Instruments series ( not the whole Shadowhunter series, still have 3 more to go) and it was pretty brutal. I read the first three books back in 2007 when my adolescent angst was at its highest and I fell in love with them! Fast forward to 2023 when I decided to read all of the book in historical order and I have to say I am disappointed with this portion.
First of all, I think that we can ALL agree (TMI readers) that this series should have finished at book three but here we are on book 6 going through yet another predictable storyline.
Secondly, it bothers me that the world is ending in this book and no one seems to care. Everyone is sad and worried bla bla bla but like why are we focused on the romantic relationships of every character? I’m a huge fan of romance don’t get me wrong but come on people. A massacre of children just happened and then the author switches to Alec crying about his breakup?!
Lastly, *SPOILERS* the only thing that stopped me from giving this book a two-star rating is the ending where Simon gets his memories taken away. I was truly shocked to my core and low-key shed a tear. Clare has a history of killing characters for no reason, specifically characters no one cares about and drags on the plot. However, Simon was hands down the best character in this series. He was the perfect combination of witty, awkward, and brave and had the most growth (in my opinion). He was so easy to love and was the definition of unconditional love. So for Cassandra to do the one thing worse than killing him (making him forget his life of magic and everyone he loved) broke my heart. I finished this chapter like “Wow, Cassandra has redeemed herself :’(“. Nonetheless, she managed to ruin even this moment by being like “Haha jkjk he regained his memory now :p” in the epilogue.
Anyways, I don’t know if I have the strength to read the next three books in the sequel so pray for me because I already bought them on one of my self-care indigo trips.
City of Heavenly Fire is the last book in The Mortal Instruments series ( not the whole Shadowhunter series, still have 3 more to go) and it was pretty brutal. I read the first three books back in 2007 when my adolescent angst was at its highest and I fell in love with them! Fast forward to 2023 when I decided to read all of the book in historical order and I have to say I am disappointed with this portion.
First of all, I think that we can ALL agree (TMI readers) that this series should have finished at book three but here we are on book 6 going through yet another predictable storyline.
Secondly, it bothers me that the world is ending in this book and no one seems to care. Everyone is sad and worried bla bla bla but like why are we focused on the romantic relationships of every character? I’m a huge fan of romance don’t get me wrong but come on people. A massacre of children just happened and then the author switches to Alec crying about his breakup?!
Lastly, *SPOILERS* the only thing that stopped me from giving this book a two-star rating is the ending where Simon gets his memories taken away. I was truly shocked to my core and low-key shed a tear. Clare has a history of killing characters for no reason, specifically characters no one cares about and drags on the plot. However, Simon was hands down the best character in this series. He was the perfect combination of witty, awkward, and brave and had the most growth (in my opinion). He was so easy to love and was the definition of unconditional love. So for Cassandra to do the one thing worse than killing him (making him forget his life of magic and everyone he loved) broke my heart. I finished this chapter like “Wow, Cassandra has redeemed herself :’(“. Nonetheless, she managed to ruin even this moment by being like “Haha jkjk he regained his memory now :p” in the epilogue.
Anyways, I don’t know if I have the strength to read the next three books in the sequel so pray for me because I already bought them on one of my self-care indigo trips.
alexdaresto's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lily47270's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
slayva03's review against another edition
4.0
I wish we got to see Maureen as a villain for longer she was really funny and such wasted potential
vbibz18's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this novel i think more than the rest of the books in this series, except maybe the first - cuz nostalgia.
But Simon is my favourite character and to have that fate put upon him literally makes me acquire a slight distaste towards the series.
I LOVE SIMON, always have.
His character and his commentary always lightened up a scene. To strip that away, even for a bit, not a great choice.
I thought that more deaths were going to happen considering its the last book (and biggest) in a 6 book series, that is meant to have an epic ending.
I don't know, to please me with a good ending, that's rare.
It was a cute ending, albeit. Tied up lose ends and gave closure to the readers on certain situations/relationships.
But Simon is my favourite character and to have that fate put upon him literally makes me acquire a slight distaste towards the series.
I LOVE SIMON, always have.
His character and his commentary always lightened up a scene. To strip that away, even for a bit, not a great choice.
I thought that more deaths were going to happen considering its the last book (and biggest) in a 6 book series, that is meant to have an epic ending.
I don't know, to please me with a good ending, that's rare.
It was a cute ending, albeit. Tied up lose ends and gave closure to the readers on certain situations/relationships.
mommakay42's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sgrubb24's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0