Words cannot even describe how much this book made me feel. Seriously, I'm sitting down to write this review right after I've finished reading the book - my face is still wet with tears - and I just don't even know where to start.
The beginning of this book introduces a whole heap of new characters of the Carstairs and Blackthorn variety. I fell in love with all the children instantly; they all had really distinct personalities, yet were all so similar in their short-lived sense of innocence and inexperience. I saw the name Carstairs and I got so excited, and then Emma was introduced and she was just awesome! I loved her strength and independence and her relationship with Julian was written perfectly. Although, there were some aspects of their characters that I thought were too old for their ages and I kept picturing them as a lot older than twelve in my head, but I'm not complaining because I loved them both. I also loved the twins, Livvy and Ty, because they were so close and had their own special connection that couldn't be matched by anyone else, which I thought was really nice.
All of that stuff, basically the entire prologue and all the other parts with Emma and Julian, has made me so excited for The Dark Artifices series because I'm really interested to see how their story pans out and whether they start to date or become parabati. Their chemistry is so complicated already and they're only twelve years old. Hectic.
So we move right along to Jace and Jordan trying to meditate outside. When Jace said weapons bring him peace, I laughed so much. I love the way the Clare implements some humour into her books, because she often is dealing with some pretty dark content, yet she always finds time for the odd sarcastic comment and funny moments.
When Simon was kidnapped, I hated Maureen so much. I already hated her because she was crazy, but when she kidnapped Simon and put him in those tights, I was so frustrated by her. Her immaturity and nativity and just plain stupidity was so frustrating, so I was extremely happy when Maia killed her later on.
Maia really stepped up in this book, and she was already on such a high level. Throughout her life, Maia had been through a lot and was already a really strong character. So they way she dealt with Jordan's death and didn't let it stop her from saving the world was really admirable. I was a little mystified as to why she was breaking up with Jordan though; I mean I know he had treated her like rubbish before, but I though she was past that and they were going well... There wasn't really much foreshadowing of their relationship breakdown, but I suppose that was kind of the point; Maia was keeping it all hidden.
So Jordan's death... I was shocked. When we went to the Praetor and saw the destruction, I was devastated; Sebastian and his stupid Endarkened warriors had wiped out an entire community of werewolves that were so committed to making things easier for people who were struggling. And that was such a shock (good planning by Sebastian though, trying to get the Downworlders to turn against the Shadowhunters), and then Jordan is killed. I don't know how else to describe it other than saying I was shocked because there was so much death in that section! And then I felt so sorry for Maia, who not only just watched her boyfriend die and discovered the bodies of her own kind dead, but then had to play messenger for Sebastian and tell her story over and over again.
When Sebastian was in the Seelie Court with the Seelie Queen, I wasn't as surprised as I know other people were when they read it. The Queen has sided with Sebastian before, and I don't blame her for feeling like she had chosen the winning side for her people. But at the same time, I thought she would have been smart enough to realise that Sebastian was just using her, and that he would have killed her and all the Fair Folk when it suited him anyway. I was frustrated because if the Fair Folk had sided with the Shadowhunters in the first place, defeating Sebastian would have been much easier. And the Queen is just so manipulative and annoying because she tricks everyone.
The first huge battle scene at the Citadel of the Iron Sisters was frustrating for me. Again, the Clave just didn't listen to Clary and Jace, despite them being the only people who really understood the entire situation. The Clave was just too proud and arrogant and stubborn and if they had just listened, then they wouldn't have lost so many of their own. Seriously, how many times does the Clave have to make the same mistake before they realise? The same thing frustrated me in the end, when the Clave was voting on what to do with the Fair Folk, and Magnus said they were being too harsh and that this would lead to another war, but no. The Clave can't think of the future, they can only think of right now. And no, they can't see past Helen and Mark's bloodlines to see how loyal Helen has been. They're just stupid. People are stupid. The Clave are idiots.
I thought Edom was described nicely, well, as nicely as a barren and ugly dessert can be described. Clare wrote the scenes well so that the realm could be visualised easily, which was important because it was a completely new setting for the series. Seeing how the realm was actually a parallel world to the one described in the books was an interesting twist, which I really enjoyed.
The Clace sex seen. I don't even need to say anything else about it. Clace. Finally. But also, did Jace seriously bring a condom into the demon realms? Really, Jace? But good job, Clare, for promoting safe sex!
Clary killing Sebastian was a good way for Sebastian to die. We all knew he had to, right? Ever since we found out he had demon blood in his body, we knew he had to die in order to solve all the problems he had created. But him turning back into Jonathan... I was not expecting that! And I think it worked really well - it was a nice ending without being cheesy or too neat.
Finally finding out who Magnus' father was was interesting. I'm so glad that Magnus didn't die, because he's been alive for so long and I really hope that he's an important character in The Dark Artifices series like he was in this one and The Infernal Devices trilogy. But Simon... I was devastated when he volunteered. Tears literally were pouring down my face as I read that section. His memories... I didn't think that Clary or even Izzy would be able to take it - not after everything they've both been through. I thought that would have broken them.
And while it was incredibly depressing and I was hoping Magnus was able to fix it somehow, I was annoyed when Clare allowed Magnus to let Simon remember things. I thought that ending was too clean. Seriously, how could a Prince of Hell not be powerful enough to wipe all the memories... Simon shouldn't have been able to have any flashes at all, and Magnus definitely shouldn't have the power to bring back Simon's memory like that. But I was happy that Clary and Izzy could start to rebuild their lives in that regard with a little bit of closure. I just think that the pain and torment Clare caused by removing Simon's memories would have been more effective if it was forever.
Seeing Magnus and Alec finally make up and get back together was great. I was so proud of Alec when Magnus offered himself to Alec and Alec said no, you need to change first. I thought that would have taken so much maturity from him and I was so proud because he's really grown a lot over the course of the series, even though it takes place across a short six months.
Having Tessa, Jem and Clary all be talking at the same time was incredible. Jem stealing Church was hilarious and was such a perfect plot aspect. Hearing that Te
ssa and Jem were headed to LA made me super excited, because it means that they're most likely going to play a part in The Dark Artifices!!!!!
Overall, I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was a great ending to the series and I was mostly happy with where my favourite characters ended up. I thought Clare has done an excellent job in her planning the writing the intricate details of all of her books and I can't wait to read more!!
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