My thoughts on: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

City of Heavenly Fire

Series: The Mortal Instruments #6

Author: Cassadra Clare

Pages: 725

My rating: 6 stars (special rating)

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother.

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...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!

So, this not a review at all, just a lot of thoughts about the last book in the series that turned me into a reader.

I guess that the reason I’ll never say anything bad about TMI, because if it wasn't for City of Bones, five years ago, I would have never been a reader. I would be a boring and angry zero-girl.

Anyway, even If I wasn't thankful for this series there’s no reason to say something bad about City of Heavenly Fire.

It was perfect.

It was an emotionally draining rollercoaster.

It was an incredibly satisfying ending.

I devoured this book even when I was trying to read it as slowly as possible. It was impossible. Cassandra Clare’s writing is addictive and phenomenal! I cannot even believe I read 725 pages and I never got bored, I never wanted to stop, I never got tired of any of these characters.

I still have a book hangover because after all these years loving every characters, every challenge against the Shadowhunters, loving the world-building, the stories, it’s impossible not to feel like a part of your life is missing.

“There are memories that time does not erase... Forever does not make loss forgettable, only bearable.”

City of Heavenly Fire is epic, beautiful and heartbreaking.

I’m still amazed about how different each character is. The plot developed perfectly and the romance was always there, sweet and painful and real.

Oh, and well, I guess this is the part where I say that Simon Lewis is my favorite character ever! Yes, favorite, in the whole bookish world.

But is not just Simon that I love, I love all of them. Jace was my first book-boyfriend, Clary and Izzy are my heroines. And the others, well, I would NEVER forget their names. They’re immortal to me.

So, about City of Heavenly Fire again… It was unforgettable. It had a lot of different POVs. Each of them was unique and important for the plot.

Betrayals, passionate romances, the strongest friendships and a thrilling and unforgettable last battle. City of Heavenly Fire is the best book I’ve read this year.

“Heroes aren't always the ones who win... They're the ones who lose, sometimes. But they keep fighting, they keep coming back. They don't give up. That's what makes them heroes.”

Read More

Book Review: Rapture by Lauren Kate

Rapture (Fallen #4)

Author: Lauren Kate

Pages: 448

Buying links: Amazon/ B&N/ TBD

My Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis:

The sky is dark with wings....

Like sand through an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the angels fell to earth.

Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this — live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies...and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed.

And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her — and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now is the only one that truly matters.

In the fight for Luce, who will win? 

Rapture is the astonishing conclusion to the Fallen series. Heaven can’t wait any longer.

 

 

I have a signed copy of Rapture since… like 2 years ago, but I wasn’t able read it because, first: I didn’t want to say goodbye to this characters. Second: because I absolutely love the cover and I was worried I could ruin it while reading (and yes, I know that this is a stupid reason).
Anyway, thanks to Fiktshun, I joined once again to the challenge Don’t let it end, and I forced myself to read this book. And I did.
And I’m so happy, because after all those crappy ending, I finally managed to read an ending that wasn’t mind-blowing, but wasn’t disappointing, either.

The first half of this book was slow paced; I had a hard time reading page after page of Luce’s thoughts.
Also, there were some things that were too convenient. For example, Luce has been a silly and passive girl in the previous books, I know she was meant to grow up, but in Rapture it was ridiculous, it was like Luce suddenly became a genius and she was the only one figuring out everything. It was a little hard to believe.
The second half of the book was much better. When I get used to the new-smart Luce, I started enjoying more the story. Lauren Kate’s descriptions were beautiful and the plot became more exciting.
I loved that finally all the questions were answered, the nature of the curse was revealed, and though, I already expected something it never stopped to amaze me some of the discoveries and twist and turns the story took.

Oh, and the ending…
The ending was beautiful!! The Fallen Series are my 4 stars series. I’ve given 4 stars to all the books, but this ending is worth 5 stars (if I just could forget what I didn’t like).
So, I never ever thought I would cry… but I did. I absolutely loved the way Luce’s and Daniel’s story ended. It made realize there’s nothing wrong with happy endings.

And since I said that Finale had the worst epilogue in the world. Rapture has the BEST epilogue ever.
Rapture was more than what I expected. It was amazing and the perfect final for the series.


On a very personal note:
This book was hard for me because I’m a Christian, I’m catholic, I believe in real angels, and reading about angels and God like they’re fiction, somehow made me feel uncomfortable.
I think this will be the last book about angels that I read (except for those from Susan Ee which are too mind-blowing to miss).
Don’t get me wrong, I’m open minded, and I never mix my feelings between fantasy and faith. But somehow Rapture made me think about it. I cannot tell you exactly what happened because that’s a huge spoiler, but the thing is… I didn’t like “that” thing, and I don’t want to feel like I’m betraying my belief (which I don’t but the conscience is a bitch).
Like I say, this is a very personal note. It doesn’t have anything to do with the book except for the realization that I rather not to read angel books again.

Read More