The Mortal Instruments: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

   Clary and Jace once again continue their story.  Sebastian, aka Jonathan Morgenstern, has stepped up his game immensely and once again has put the lives of many into danger.  This time though he comes with the powers of Hell behind him.  His interests have changed, and it seems that he would burn the world down for his own amusement.  The only person who has any hold on his dark heart is Clary.  His sister is the only one he would see unharmed by anyone else.  And Sebastian has made allies that will help him achieve his goals.
   Jace is still battling the Heavenly Fire that burns within his veins.  It is hard to control and because of that fact he has a hard time even kissing Clary because of the fear that he will hurt her in some way.  Evidence suggests that it could happen as well.   Even though it is good news that Heavenly Fire could harm Sebastian, it is almost useless when you don't know how to wield the power inside of you.
   The fight, though, will come down to just Sebastian and Clary.  Unfortunately there will be losses and hurt, double-crossing and more.  The Endarkened warriors Sebastian has created come for them all and want blood.  And if Clary, Jace, and their friends cannot stop Sebastian then the whole world will pay.


"You know what I mean. I don't know how I got here. My life was ordinary. I was ordinary-" (Clary)
"You've never been ordinary," (Jace)


"I remember you said this war was a story of Lightwoods and Herondales and Fairchilds, and it is, and Blackthorns and Carstairs as well, and it's amazing to see them..."  (Tessa)


   City of Heavenly Fire was a very good read; one in an ever expanding line of books about The Mortal Instruments.  However, I do have my few complaints about the book.
1. It was a very long book. Cassandra Clare's books are not exactly known for being short, so this is just a minor inconvenience.  And the story is unwrapped so that it keeps your attention throughout.  That balances out the length of it.
2. Perhaps the biggest complaint I have about the book is the fact that there is a scene with teenage sex taking place.  Anyone who has read the books before knew that it was just a matter of time before Jace and Clary went that far.  What I didn't expect was two teenagers under the age of 18.  In fact, it's pointed out in the book that Jace is 17 and Clary is six months younger than he is.  This one part I just felt was a little unnecessary considering who the audience to many of these books tend to be.  Sex sells but that doesn't mean that you should write it.  The only up side to this is the fact that it doesn't go into great detail about it.  However, there's just a definite element of knowing what is going on. (Should you want to avoid this part, it's about 70% of the way through the book.)
3. Do you ever wonder if there will be an end to the series?  I do.  This is book six and it's looking like there will be another book, although this could have been an excellent ending to the series.  The end of the book is wound up together so well you start to think this is the end. Then at the very end there is that glimmer of more trouble on the horizon for the Shadowhunters.  Isn't there always some type of trouble though?  A series that ends well is much better than one that keeps going until you are absolutely tired of reading the books.  There's only so far you can stretch a story.