On one hand, there were things I absolutely loved about this installation. On the other, I was disappointed. 
 Let's start with the things I loved. 
 1. Clace. Yeah, yeah, I know people have been complaining about how "boring" they thought the characters/relationship were getting, but I never thought that. After all the angst and heartbreak they were put through, I really enjoyed that unwavering loyalty and love they shared. Call me a romantic, but I believe that sort of unshakable togetherness exists out there, and it was very nice to see it in a YA book. I didn't find them boring or tired. I found their faith in each other refreshing in the midst of all that destruction and death. 
 2. Jace. Because he's my favorite. He just is. I've loved his character from the first moment he came onto the page in City of Bones. I've continued throughout the series, even when I was not sure what Cassandra Clare was thinking when she did some things to his character. I loved watching him go from that closed-off, snarky, rude boy to the one he became in City of Heavenly Fire. He still had that spark and bite to him, but he was much more mature, much more at peace. I was happy that he had gotten to have that after so many years of hating himself. 
 3. The cave/lake scene. I'm not going to spoil by saying what this is, but those who have read know and know it was a long time coming. Beautiful. 
 4. All instances of Jace on fire. This was beautifully done and so...majestic? I don't know, I can't think of the right word. Cassandra Clare has a habit of describing Jace in battle as an "avenging angel." In the scenes with the heavenly fire, he truly was and it was beautiful. I loved it and felt like it was very fitting for his character. 
 5. Sizzy. They were adorable. And angsty. And just cute. I really, really liked them together. 
 6. Simon. In the beginning of this series, Simon just annoyed me. I wanted him to go away. But in these last 3 books, I have really changed my thinking in regards to him. He is a very sweet character. Very loyal and very sacrificial. What he does in this book made me respect him in a whole new light. 
 Okay, now for the things I didn't like. 
 1. Plot. Honestly? I have never really understood this new plot from the beginning of COFA. It's just so all over the place. If that was Cassandra Clare's intention, then kudos to her. I'm not sure I've ever been so confused or like "wtf" before in my life. Some things just made absolutely no sense whatsoever. 
 2. Sebastian/Jonathan. I really didn't like him as the villain. He had no concrete goal. A good villain has a goal. Sebastian just never really did. He wanted to burn the world down. He wanted revenge on his mother. Oh, wait, now he wanted Jace. And Clary. And, oh, now I want this... And on and on and on. My head was bouncing around from one thing to another, and I never got a clear picture of just what Sebastian was doing and why. I don't know, maybe that was the point, but it didn't really work for me. 
 3. Holy description. Cassandra Clare can whip up some beautiful imagery, but she tends to go WAY overboard. I will admit that I'm not a very big description fan, but I do like a little. This series in just inundated with flowery description. To a fault. Everything is described down to the tiniest detail. Every. Thing. It makes it very hard (for me, anyway) to stay interested. 
 4. POV changes. There are way too many in this book. At some point I think every character had their turn. For me, this was unneeded and very distracting. I found that I was becoming extremely bored in any POV that did not focus on the central conflict/characters of the series (Clary, Jace, Alec, Izzy, Simon) I did understand why some of them were included--especially at the end, but I kept finding myself thinking "Oh my God, just hurry up so I can get back to Jace/Clary/Izzy/etc.." All of those POVs made it just too complicated and overly long. 
 5. Emma Carstairs. Now, I realize I am most likely in the minority here, but I was extremely irritated with her POV. I did not find it necessary. Everything that happened to her/the Blackthorns could have been told by a central/important TMI character instead. Even the prologue. How amazing would that have been in, say, Sebastian's POV? We got a Valentine POV in City of Ashes, why not Sebastian's here? Then, throughout the story, we'd get Emma's POV and it had almost nothing to do with the central plot of THIS (COHF) story. It was the ground work to Cassandra Clare's new series, featuring Emma as her heroine. It really kind of bothered me, because my interest in this book was in the TMI characters. I don't mind a brief introduction to characters that may show up in her next books, or even glimpses of characters from another completed series. But I do mind when these new characters' stories take up a third of the book I bought to learn the fate of the characters of THIS story. 
 All in all, I think I leave this story with a taste of disappointment lingering in my mouth. Don't get me wrong, there were things I truly loved (all the things in my "like" list) and if the rating were based solely on those then I would give it 5 stars. However, my dislikes were such a huge part of this book (this whole second cycle, really) that I just can't give it any higher than this. Which makes me very sad, because this was once upon a time my favorite YA series. Perhaps if I separate them out and just count the first 3 books, then yes, it still is, but I'm not a big fan of these last three. Be that as it may, regardless of my disappointment in this installment, Jace is still my #1 favorite hero. There is just something about that boy that captured my heart and will not let go. But I think I'm done with Shadowhunter books now. I saw through to the end of my favorites, and I just have no desire to read about any others. I'm sad this is over, but glad too. At least I don't have to wonder about the fate of my favorite boy any longer.