Pages: 725 pages
Released: May 27 2014
Publisher: Simon + Schuster
Favourite Quote: “We are all the pieces of what we remember. We hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss.”
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Goodreads Synopsis:
'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!'
My Review
I feel so accomplished right now. That book was massive. And I finished it in a month at a time when I had quite a few assignments and exams. I should win an award. I had dedication, haha.
I can't believe this series is coming to an end. It feels like forever ago that I picked up the first book and overtook my friends. They were about half way into book 2 when I started reading book 1 and I overtook them and read all the books that were released at the time (I think it was up to book 5). Gosh, that seems like a lifetime ago.
CoHF was an enjoyable read. Going into this, I was wondering if Cassandra Clare would be able to keep me entertained for 700+ pages. And she did (well, most of them anyway). The storyline was very entertaining. There were a few surprises that I didn't expect to happen. And that one that happened right at the end. That was a COMPLETE shock. I'm still processing that one.
The writing was ok. The storyline was in third person, which I don't have a problem with. However, what annoyed me was the frequent changes of perspectives throughout the book. I felt like every 5 pages, I was reading from someone else's view point. I would just be getting used to reading it from, say Clary's view, and them bam. We have changed viewpoints to Maia or Alec or something. I understand the change of perspective, I just didn't enjoy how often it occurred. That being said, I was able to keep track of where I was reading from when it happened. It wasn't one of those books where I kept getting confused between all the different viewpoints (like in Allegiant) so that was good. That helped to make it easier to read.
Another problem I had was my inability to 'binge-read' (is that even a term?). In many other books, I am able to read chapter after chapter very easily. I didn't get tired and I would have to tell myself that I needed to stop reading and go to bed. However with CoHF, I was unable to do that. I could not read more than 1 chapter in one sitting. And sometimes I even wanted to stop half way through a chapter. It was because it was very tiresome, for me, to read. I'm not sure if it was the writing style or the high use of descriptive language but I was very upset by it. Some nights, I would not even be tired enough to go to bed, but reading the book made me tired. And a lot of the time, it wasn't even because it was boring. I wanted to find out what happened next, but just didn't have the energy to read it.
My favourite part of the novel would have to be the Infernal Devices crossover. I love the Infernal Devices. I love Will, Tessa and Jem. Honestly, that is one of my favourite series and one of the big reasons why I chose to read CoHF (I was always going to read it, I just read it earlier that I planned) was because I knew that Tessa and a certain someone was going to be in it. I even full fangirled whenever Tessa's name was mentioned (and that happened quite a bit). I loved the role she had in the last part of the book. She wasn't in it a lot, but enough that she had an impact on both Clary and Jace's life. The gifts she gave was so generous of her and I know that it would have been hard for her to do. (ok, I sense that my inner fangirl is coming out. I should stop talking about them)
4 out of 5 Stars
Spoiler Section
As this is the last book in the series, I thought that I would go more into the storyline. But to do that means that I am going to spoiler some things. Therefore, if you have not read CoHF, don't read, unless you want to be spoiled.
Let me start with my fustration over the Clave. You do not accuse someone of being untrustworthy just because they have a tad bit of fairy blood in them. Last time I checked, Helen did nothing wrong in the Dark War. She stayed, fought and looked after her family. She did not leak out information to the Seelie Court or do anything that would make her to appear as untrustworthy. And how could you just not go and at least try to save Mark? Really? Just because he has fairy blood in him? Gosh, that whole scene was so fustrating to read. All the characters were so annoying. You don't just go against your people like that.
I really loved Simon in the novel. How he was so willing to save his friends even if it meant that he may not remember them again. That was such a very noble and brave thing for him to do. I liked the idea of Simon becoming a mundane again. It made sense. He started off as a mundane and ended as one. I wasn't too pleased with the idea that he would become a Shadowhunter. It felt wrong to me. All through the book, he was always the third wheel, either by being a mundane or vampire. And to make him a Shadowhunter meant that he was officially no longer a third wheel. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy now that Simon will start to remember Clary and the rest of the gang and will no longer be left out of everything, but it just felt wrong. I would have preferred if Simon ended up a mundane with his memories. That would have been better.
Sebastian. How much I hated him. He should have died in the last book. Anyway, the one thing I did liked about him was that he did love his sister (even though he should stay the hell away from her). All he wanted was for someone to stand beside him and be with him. Clary was basically the only person he loved a bit. That was actually quite sad. How Valentine taught him so little about love and therefore Sebastian didn't actually know what love was. Anyway, I thought he died very suddenly. I was expecting this epic battle to the death type of thing but that didn't happen. I'm actually happy that it didn't. I loved how Clary out smarted him and defeated him in the end. That was nice - it showed that good always won, even without a war.
There were so many funny scenes in the novel. I love how, out of nowhere, this hilarious scene would just pop up or someone would say something really funny. Like when Simon asked 'Should I change my Facebook status to 'it's complicated' to 'in a relationship'' and Isabelle replied 'You have a book that's also a face?'. OMG, I cracked up laughing. Or when Alec kept walking in on Simon and Isabelle. Gosh, that was funny.
Overall, it was a great conclusion to a long series. I can see where her other spin off The Dark Artifices is going to go. I'm still not sure when I will read it, but I will definitely read it at some point.
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