City of Heavenly Fire, by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #6)

Synopsis: 

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...

I can't believe I hadn't written about this yet; but I guess it's true I just needed time to think it all through, to recover from the book. Because it really did kill me. I couldn't stop thinking about it for days and days after I finished it. It was mainly because of what I read, but the fact that The Mortal Instruments, a saga that I've grown up with, spent all my teenage years with, was over also destroyed me... 

Since it's the last book in the series I just need to spill everything out and talk and talk about everything that's happened, which means it's a post full of SPOILERS. I'm just warning, because I've seen people complaining about getting spoiled after reading something, so I'm just saying it in advanced. If you haven't read City of Heavenly Fire, don't read this. 

I am going to start my saying that my favorite thing in TMI and my ultimate ship is the perfect couple that Alec and Magnus make. So after they broke up in City of Lost Souls I was devastated, and nothing mattered most to me than them getting back together and getting the happy ending they have always deserved. And I got to say that they did get it. Which made me the happiest person on Earth after crying for over fifty pages. (If you've read more posts from me you'll probably think I cry a lot but that's it, I'm really emotional, and books and TV shows get tears out of me all the time).

I have to say that I ended up liking the ending. I knew from the beginning that it was the last book, so there was no way it was ending happily ever after for every single character; some of my beloved ones had to die and I was really worried. Since it came out and before I had the opportunity to buy it (which I did halfway through July while I was in Scotland) I spent my time thinking about the characters and who had more chances to die. I am very used to my favorite characters dying, but I knew I wasn't ready for TMI to finish and rip my soul again and again. But for months I was sure Alec was going to die. I was so so so so so worried... My favorite character was in my mind the one with more chances of dying. There was no way that Magnus and Alec could fix the immortality problem (Alec wasn't going to become a vampire or anything because it would be too cliche and nothing like him, and Magnus didn't look like he could lose his immortality that easily), and Alec looked the most likely to die and for his death to have a big impact on his friends. Isabelle wasn't going to be the Lightwood to die, obviously, so Alec had more chances than someone like Jace and Clary (obviously the two main characters couldn't be the ones to die)... Even though we already lost Max so many years ago in City of Glass and losing another Lightwood would be plain cruel... Idk, I just had that constant anxiety and pain in my heart. But then, after everything, Simon was the one to suffer. I must say I loved Simon in the last book, since he got way better than how he started in City of Bones, and I wasn't actually expecting him to be the one who ended tragically. I got so very sad with the scene with Magnus's father. It crushed my heart. For this really brief moment, barely half a page, I thought everything could end greatly and that Magnus could give his immortality to his father in exchange of going back to their world and everything could be perfect. But then I remembered why I admire Cassandra Clare and why I've enjoyed her books so much. Even though the ending of Clockwork Princess was... not that good, since she managed to make everyone happy in different moments of time; I enjoyed this ending way more. Not because it made me happy (which it didn't) but because it wasn't typical or stereotyped and I deeply enjoy that. But the ending ending did have too much happiness in it, which I disapprove of in a last book, but every author does it differently... So Magnus couldn't get rid of his immortality, and they didn't find it that easy to go back home. Someone had to sacrifice themself, and I wasn't expecting it to be Simon... An incredible amount of sadness just suddenly stroke me and I couldn't believe I was crying again. I had been crying some pages before when Sebastian died, because he was one of my favorite characters too and his becoming the Jonathan in Clary's dreams and then dying was too much for me. And everything was sad and sad and sad and the ending came and there were lots of pages left for everything to be more or less fixed in the epilogue. More or less because a happy ending, a completely happy ending, isn't believable after everything that happened. But the wedding was nice, the way they got Simon to the party was good but Simon "remembering" Isabelle and stuff was too nice to be true. Too safe, Cassie. The book should've felt sadder. It should have been more... torture to us. It was too safe and happy at the end. Oh, and Simon's band being named The Mortal Instruments was just epic. 

Speaking of Simon, one of the best things in the novel was the awkward "I swear I am not attracted to you" scene in the tunnels when Simon was supposed to feed on Alec. Vampire & gay shadowhunter. Perfect scene. I laughed so much.

My favorite thing (and one of the saddest ones) was the chapter about their deepest dreams. When entering the demon realm to save Magnus, Luke, Jocelyn and Raphael (RIP, I loved him. Had forgotten he was just a 14-year-old kid, though, until he died... I got really sad), they get absorbed by a demon that feeds on their dreams and then they experience their heart's deepest wishes. Isabelle's made me sad because it revolved around Max and even though I don't remember much about him, since it's been a really long while since I read both City of Ashes and City of Glass, it was really emotional. Clary's was also very sad, because Jonathan (my beloved Jonathan a.k.a. Sebastian) was her brother, her good, older brother and she was getting married to Jace and her mom had had a daughter, Val, with Luke and everything was too perfect to be true... I didn't like Simon's that much because I felt this sort of betrayal towards my Sizzy feelings; I hadn't pictured Simon and Clary as a couple in a long time and didn't thing he could be still thinking about it. But Alec's was also sort of sad. His strict father was proud of him, everyone was happy because of his engagement to Magnus (Malec!) and Max was there too... And Jace's dream didn't appear and he said he had seen nothing and it got me really worried but then afterwards everything was figured out. So I loved that chapter. 

Another awesome thing which was the most popular thing I have since in Twitter, Jem stealing Church. It needs to comments, it was just as epic as it sounds. 

I also liked the idea of introducing our new main characters, Emma and Julian and everyone else that's going to be in The Dark Artifices next year, but after some chapters I got really tired of them and even though I found them cute I couldn't stop thinking that they are going to have a series of their own so they shouldn't steal screen time from Jace and company. But I think Emma's strong and she's going to make a good main character, sort of like Jace. Emma, I'm going to love you so much. 

Someone I am not going to complain about being there is Jem. Let's take a minute to talk about how perfect it was to have former Brother Zachariah in the book as handsome young Shadowhunter James Carstairs. I loved how Isabelle kept saying how hot Brother Zachariah looked, it really made me smile. And then he was there, going to see Tessa! Part of me got really happy, even though I couldn't stop thinking about Will... And then Jem telling Jace stuff about the Herondales and everything... But Tessa. Tessa, couldn't you mention Will's name or even say Jem's name out loud? I needed that. 

There are characters who I liked way more in this book than before. While I didn't like the way Maia had been dealing with dating Jordan, I really did like how she fought for the NY pack and showed how strong she really is. 

I am still mourning for all the lives lost during the books, and mainly in City of Heavenly Fire. Jordan, who I had grown to like and feel sorry for. Raphael, who deserved a bigger storyline. Sebastian, who had always a Jonathan inside. Simon's memories (which ended up being fixed too swiftly and happily for my taste, but whatever). Maureen died, yeah, but she was insane. She had to die. And Amatis did too, which was sort of sad for Luke, but she hadn't been developed that much so I didn't feel it that much. The other known person who died was Andrew Blackthorn, and that was the trigger for TDA, so it was okay. But, even though I couldn't have been able to handle it and I would be complaining now, I wish Cassie would've been a bit more... bold with deaths. 

Let's take a moment and admire Clary and Jace's scene at the cave. Finally. After six books. 

There were so many beautiful quotes in the book, so many sassy comments that I couldn't stop laughing about... I'm going to share some (there are thousands of good quotes, so read the whole book again!): 

“Brother Zachariah,” Isabelle said. “Months January through December of the Hot Silent Brothers Calendar. What’s he doing here?”“There’s a Hot Silent Brothers Calendar?” said Alec. “Do they sell it?”

“You're pining," said Jace.

Alec shrugged. "Look who's talking. 'oh I love her. Oh, she's my sister. Oh why, why, why—” 

“Herondales." Zachariah's voice was a breath, half laughter, half pain. "I had almost forgotten. No other family does so much for love, or feels so much guilt for it. Don't carry the weight of the world on you, Jace. It's too heavy for even a Herondale to bear.”

Sassy Jace. Sassy Alec. I am so glad I met them through Cassandra Clare's writing. I am so thankful for TMI and TID and everything that's about to come... But mainly TMI because it means growing up for me, going through my teenage years and growing up just like Clary. I was younger than her when City of Bones came out, and now I'm seventeen so these books meant so much to me... The characters have grown on me, to story has developed more and more and it ended up being perfect and I am really thankful for it. When you love evil characters like Sebastian, you know that the author is doing something good while giving them the deep stories that make them so lovable. For that and for Clace, for Malec and Sizzy, for being so human that both good and bad characters have died, I am thankful (even though it helped me survive, it was too good to be true to have all the ships stay intact. But if Cassandra Clare had killed Alec, I would've been forever and ever dead. Ever). Thank you for Alec's evolution. He was the best thing that's happened to TMI, because he's learnt a lot from Jace ;)

Thank you, Cassie. 

(PS. I'm probably going to keep remembering more stuff to comment on later on and probably be modifying the post, so... idk)

#TMITuesday

The release day for City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare, the sixth and last book in the Mortal Instruments series, is finally coming soon for you English-speakers. On May 27th, the ending chapter of the series following Clary, Jace and the rest of the Shadowhunter world will be released, and it will be over... But let's not think about that. Let's think about how kind Cassie Clare is by letting us read or see a new piece of writing or drawings belonging to any of her works every Tuesday. 

Until now, we've been able to see Cassie reveal 3 COHF secrets, an exclusive first look at the new drawings of Alec, Isabelle, Simon and Maia, together with some quotes, and some exclusive excerpts from the book, including one from the prologue (the one that came out today) which features Emma and the rest of characters that we'll be able to see soon in Cassie's new series The Dark Artifices, also set in the Shadowhunter world. 

So if you haven't checked them out yet, go do it here!! The only thing you have to do is share it, whether it's by Twitter, Tumblr, e-mail or Facebook, and be back next week for more exclusive content! Remember to mark your calendars for City of Heavenly Fire, released on May 27th!! :)

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie

So I finally went to watch City of Bones last night! I was so excited about it... I expected a lot from that movie, because The Mortal Instruments is one of my favourite sagas and I wanted it to be perfect. And maybe that's the reason why I'm so disappointed and mad, because I expected a lot from it. 

Let's keep this straight. It's not a bad movie, it's quite good, with all those special effects and the storyline and everything, but it's not the right movie for the book. It's a movie made for those who haven't read the book. 

But not completely, since the movie didn't really talk about the Clave, the Downworlders, the Accords, the Circle, the Silent Brothers..., which makes it difficult for people who haven't read the books to understand everything. It didn't really explain anything about the Shadowhunter world. It didn't say that Jocelyn had been married to Valentine. So I'm complaining because it didn't explain enough, but also because it showed things that weren't from the first book. Like, why has Simon been bitten by a vampire and doesn't need glasses anymore? How is that happening so early? Without mentioning that he didn't even become a rat...

I could complain about it all day, but I don't think you want to read my post if I keep complaining all the time. So I'm just going to say the key problems in the movie (or good things).

Before watching the movie, only with the trailer and some pictures, I didn't like most of the cast. I absolutely loved Godfrey Gao as Magnus Bane, but I wasn't sure about the rest of them. But after watching the movie, I love Robert Sheehan as Simon, he's perfect. And I even started to adore Lily Collins as Clary. I wasn't sure about it mainly because I have never particularly liked her, but after seeing her as Clary, I saw what a great job she did. I imagined Clary as a perfectly normal girl who ends up in a complicated situation, and that's exactly what Lily portraits in the movie. In my mind, Isabelle is a tall, slim, extremely beautiful girl, and Jemima West looked... well, more normal. But in the movie, with all the Marks and the Shadowhunter look, that was Isabelle Lightwood. Kevin Zegers as Alec wasn't that bad, but it could be better. Seeing Lena Headey as Jocelyn was weird; I couldn't stop thinking of Cersei Lannister... And the main character I have left: Jace. I don't really like Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace. That's it, I said it. The main problem with all these movies based in books is that the main male character is always imagined as completely flawless and perfect, and there's no one, no one in real life who could be that person. So about Jace... all those witty comments Jace says in the book were said by Jamie in the movie, but they weren't funny or anything, just simple words. So when Clary starts to fall for Jace, it doesn't feel like it was in the book, it doesn't feel real. And why does this Jace were an earring? Book Jace's personality was enough for a bad boy. But this is all my opinion, so maybe someone loves him. I mean, I don't hate him as Jace; I know it could be worse (it can always be worse), so with his blond hair, his Shadowhunter looks and all, he's not that bad. If I hadn't read the book and had a very concrete image of how Jace looks in my mind, I may like him. Maybe.

Another main problem in the movie was the fact that things weren't in their right order. Why do Clary and Simon go to Eric's poetry reading before going to Pandemonium? Why does Clary meet Valentine before finding out that Luke's a werewolf? Why does Hugo, Hodge's bird, catch Jace and Clary in the greenhouse before they even kiss? Mystery. And there have been two scenes which were like the ones in the book. Only two; the one where Alec tells Clary to leave the Institute, which is quite like the book one, and the one where Jace is kissing Clary and Simon opens the door. Every sentence Jace says after that, the ones about having someone else in her bed and about their love, were the exact same ones as in the book. I loved that scene. 

And you want to know the worst of it? The ending was completely different. Since the moment when they get the Mortal Cup, everything is wrong. Everything is different! That ruined the movie. And the worst part? Why does Clary keep the Mortal Cup at the end of the movie? This is all wrong! And how are they going to make Valentine have it in City of Ashes if he doesn't? Even if he believes he has it... And all those special effects at the ending, with the demons and all those birds..., who needed that? They spent money in effects that weren't necessary! Why is Hodge good at the end? Hodge isn't meant to be good! He gave the Cup to Valentine? And why doesn't he earn his freedom? And why does Jace kill everything? The Ravener, Abbadon... He's taking Clary and Simon's opportunity of killing demons! And that obsession with the Nephilim rune that Clary had? That's all made up! And can someone tell me why is there a Portal in the Institute? And where's Raphael? And how is it possible that Jocelyn's been in the Institute the whole time and no one's found her?! 

I could keep asking more and more questions forever, but there's no answer that I can accept. If making it the right way would mean spending lots of money or being too difficult to make it, I would undertand. But that's not it. Making it the book way is easier in most cases. So why does this happen?

I'm pretty sure that this is the longest post I've written until now, but I can't help it. If anyone wants to talk about the movie or anything, tweet me or email me or whatever (About Me page). I love analyzing movies and books :)

So I'm really mad and disappointed at the movie, and it's only been the first one of the series... They better fix it. Please. I do not hate the movie, it just let me down. A lot. But if you liked it, that's great. I'm honestly happy for you. Because I hate having great expectations about something that will end up disappointing me. And, even though, I still expect a lot from the Vampire Academy, Divergent and Catching Fire movie. I expected a lot from The Host and loved it. And I know it could have always been worse.

TMI: CoB is out!

Yeah, I know I'm a couple of days late for this, and it's not that I've been waiting to post it till I saw the movie, because I haven't yet but... I don't know, just needed to post this.

City of Bones was out in every English-speaking countries on August 21st, and I still have to wait until the 30th, and then I'll try to convince my parents that going to see the movie is a life or death decision. 

Just wanted you to know that I still haven't seen it and that I'm really, really excited to do so!!

Clockwork Princess, Cassandra Clare (The Infernal Devices #3)

Synopsis:

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

I got Clockwork Princess for my birthday (June 11th), because my parents, seeing how much I wanted the book, decided that they wanted to be the ones giving it to me. So I had to wait until then while some of my friends and everyone on Twitter had already read it. And everyone was talking about how the book had made them feel... 

When I read it, I understood. The first half of the book went by pretty quickly, and I spent all that time wondering how it would end, who would Tessa end up with and... yes, who would Tessa end up with. 

I'm not writing spoilers here, but it's just... there are no words to describe it. If you've read it, you'll understand. Let me just say that I had never cried as much as I did with the last 30 pages of Clockwork Princess. Ever. So many things were happening, so many sad things altogether... I admire Cassandra Clare for the way she writes, and I will always admire her, because this ending was devastating. She clearly didn't want to disappoint anyone, not the people who love Will, not the people who love Jem, and she tried to make the best ending that she could. 

The problem with this is that there are only two possibilities concerning that ending; whether you hate it for what it makes you feel, or you love it for what it makes you feel. Same reason, different feelings. But awesome. 

The only way to really talk about this book is by crying while talking to someone who's already read it. So if you haven't read the ending chapter of The Infernal Devices, go do it right now. And if you haven't read The Infernal Devices, or even The Mortal Instruments, I don't know how can you live without knowing about the world of Shadowhunters that Cassandra Clare has made for us. 

City of Lost Souls, Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #5)

Can't believe it took me so long to find the book and then read it... But it was worth it. I've loved every single book in The Mortal Instruments series, and think Cassandra Clare has a great imagination. I don't know if you've read the rest of the books in the series, but you should totally read them. 

Synopsis:

The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?

Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

Yeah, a long synopsis, but this book couldn't be explained in any other way. Every book int The Mortal Instruments seems to have every single detail ready to be important in the next book. Everything that happens seems calculated, and that's something I love. 

I don't usually love the main girl character in some books, but Clary in TMI is one of the few I do, besides Hermione in Harry Potter and Rose in Vampire Academy. But usually, the main girl makes me nervous. 

I love Clary because of how her character is built. Her personality, her love for Jace and her stubborness are some of the things I admire in her. I love how she always does everything she can, even if it's really stupid and dangerous for her. But that's how she is. Reckless. 

And then there's Jace. During the whole book, he's "possessed" by Clary's evil brother Sebastian, who's real name is Jonathan. He's not the real Jace, and Clary doesn't know what to   feel towards him, doesn't know if she'll be ever to make the real Jace come back to her. She doesn't know if that person standing in front of her saying he loves her has anything of the old Jace inside. 

The whole book is about finding out what Sebastian's plans are and how to make Jace come back, the real one. Clary goes alone with them, risking her life and her love for Jace, while her friends, Isabelle, Simon, Maia, Jordan and Alec, with Magnus, try to help from the distance. 

Isabelle and Simon discover unknown feelings, while Alec struggles with his fear of growing up while Magnus stays immortal. Maia and Jordan try to solve their differences after all those years, while Luke, the leader of the werewolves of New York, is about to marry Clary's mom, Jocelyn. While they struggle with their own problems, they have to deal with evil Sebastian trying to make dark Shadowhunters and help demons.

In a world where demons and angels live as well as humans (who don't know about them at all), things like love, friendship and family can make a difference between being evil as a demon or being good as an angel.

I totally recommend the whole series to anyone who wants to read something different, a different world where demons and angels exist, where witches and wizards are immortal and vampires don't sparkle, and where being a werewolf means having a family. 

Have you read it? Did you like it? :)