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vr_alyssa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
2013 review
There is only one reason I wanted to read this book, because the trailer of the movie interested me and I wanted to read it before I saw it. Just because I like picturing things before they are mapped out for me. I like comparing my imagination with those of others. Same reason I read Beautiful Creatures (though that movie sucked and I'm hoping this one won't).
I expected myself to like this book because it involves love between teenagers, maybe a love triangle and a lot of hate, confusion and frustration.
And I was right. I loved this book. More than I expected, but that's only a good thing. I adore the way Clary is. She's feisty, determined, loving and a fighter even though she's just a young girl. She wants her mom back no matter what. Lily Collins (she plays Clary in the movie) talks about it in an interview, she said: "You're cute and all but I have to find my mom!" Clary likes Jace but her mom still is the priority, she's not getting distracted from her goal.
She's introduced to a whole new world. Her world is turned upside down. Everything she thought she knew wasn't the truth. Her mom wasn't who she said she was. Clary's handling that really well. She's scared and confused but focused. She's a good set of eyes to see the story through.
I like the other characters too. How they surprise you, in good and bad ways. The story is unpredictable, unlike I expected. I thought I got the essence of the story before I read it. But I was wrong. I like being surprised.
Jace is also a very interesting character. He's an asshole. He might have a good reason to be the way he is, but it's no excuse. He doesn't listen to others. He is suicidal and doesn't think about what might happen. I was very irritated by this character. I fell in love with him, because Clary does. But aside from that I was very annoyed by his ways. Luckily he's a good match for Clary and vice versa. If it wasn't for Clary he would have been a lot worse.
I feel for his character. He seems lost because ever since he was ten, he didn't know where he belonged, and now that he does know he still feels lost because everything he thought he was, he isn't anymore. Nothing seems to make sense to him. I'm scared what might happen to his character later on.
There a few downsides to this story though. I read it a second time just to be able to see how it is without my blind love for the story and I was a little disappointed. A few aspects of the story remind me of another story I used to love. Namely, Harry Potter. The library, the uses of steles the fact that they are all teenagers trying to solve something that should be handled by adults. It was very Harry, Hermione, Ron -like. I loved it but it's just so familiar. At the end when they figure out who Valentine is, it's all a bit too confusing. You get a lot of information in a little time. And it annoyed me that no one seemed to listen, but me.
I was also very irritated by Simon. He's a nice guy and all but it irritated me to read about a love triangle again. Certainly because he could have done something about it before she had met Jace, now he only made her situation worse. Like she didn't already lost her mom and Luke before he walked out. I got why he felt that why but it just was cruel. I was very annoyed by the way Simon was in the story.
There is only one reason I wanted to read this book, because the trailer of the movie interested me and I wanted to read it before I saw it. Just because I like picturing things before they are mapped out for me. I like comparing my imagination with those of others. Same reason I read Beautiful Creatures (though that movie sucked and I'm hoping this one won't).
I expected myself to like this book because it involves love between teenagers, maybe a love triangle and a lot of hate, confusion and frustration.
And I was right. I loved this book. More than I expected, but that's only a good thing. I adore the way Clary is. She's feisty, determined, loving and a fighter even though she's just a young girl. She wants her mom back no matter what. Lily Collins (she plays Clary in the movie) talks about it in an interview, she said: "You're cute and all but I have to find my mom!" Clary likes Jace but her mom still is the priority, she's not getting distracted from her goal.
She's introduced to a whole new world. Her world is turned upside down. Everything she thought she knew wasn't the truth. Her mom wasn't who she said she was. Clary's handling that really well. She's scared and confused but focused. She's a good set of eyes to see the story through.
I like the other characters too. How they surprise you, in good and bad ways. The story is unpredictable, unlike I expected. I thought I got the essence of the story before I read it. But I was wrong. I like being surprised.
Jace is also a very interesting character. He's an asshole. He might have a good reason to be the way he is, but it's no excuse. He doesn't listen to others. He is suicidal and doesn't think about what might happen. I was very irritated by this character. I fell in love with him, because Clary does. But aside from that I was very annoyed by his ways. Luckily he's a good match for Clary and vice versa. If it wasn't for Clary he would have been a lot worse.
I feel for his character. He seems lost because ever since he was ten, he didn't know where he belonged, and now that he does know he still feels lost because everything he thought he was, he isn't anymore. Nothing seems to make sense to him. I'm scared what might happen to his character later on.
There a few downsides to this story though. I read it a second time just to be able to see how it is without my blind love for the story and I was a little disappointed. A few aspects of the story remind me of another story I used to love. Namely, Harry Potter. The library, the uses of steles the fact that they are all teenagers trying to solve something that should be handled by adults. It was very Harry, Hermione, Ron -like. I loved it but it's just so familiar. At the end when they figure out who Valentine is, it's all a bit too confusing. You get a lot of information in a little time. And it annoyed me that no one seemed to listen, but me.
I was also very irritated by Simon. He's a nice guy and all but it irritated me to read about a love triangle again. Certainly because he could have done something about it before she had met Jace, now he only made her situation worse. Like she didn't already lost her mom and Luke before he walked out. I got why he felt that why but it just was cruel. I was very annoyed by the way Simon was in the story.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia
asahome's review against another edition
2.0
A selfish young woman ignores warnings from those around her to fall for an arrogant young man. People hurt themselves to try to save her, but she doesn't listen.
Content Warning added by City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - Book Trigger Warnings
Content Warning added by City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - Book Trigger Warnings
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
lindsayerin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Violence, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia and Kidnapping
booking_along's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Let’s start with the two things i didn’t love since that’s faster:
i disliked the trope of two boys being interested in the same girl and behaving in ways that makes me want to smash their heads together to make them stop with their jealous postering.
and the second thing is the “forbidden” love trope that is mostly added as a shock valued. the shock could have been there without it the “love” part since being friends would have been an easier option especially with the amount of time those two characters knew each other at that point.
i just really dislike that particular trope since i have not read one book we’re it was used were it could have been done differently without issues and left the ick factor out of the entire thing.
moving in!
i liked the tiring even if the descriptions are sometimes very out there but not too extreme so that it doesn’t make sense anymore.
the world is well developed and explained for book one and gives a nice overview of what’s out there on that world and that was interesting.
the characters and the behaviors where sometimes a bit stupid but honestly they are 15-17 so i can let it slide by for the main characters even if i have to say that the adults - beside Magnus! that character deserves an entire 12 book series just for giving stories about that character and his shinanagangs please!- they behaved quite often more childish than the actual kids.
the entire book was a bit drawn out for the amount of plot it told overall but it wasn’t too bad and it kept me entertained and i wanted to keep reading so clearly nothing too bad.
so all in all?
it’s a good book.
i can actually see why so many people love it even if i strongly dislike the love-tropes used. the reader want too bad and it was overall very entertaining and a quick read!
i disliked the trope of two boys being interested in the same girl and behaving in ways that makes me want to smash their heads together to make them stop with their jealous postering.
and the second thing is the “forbidden” love trope that is mostly added as a shock valued. the shock could have been there without it the “love” part since being friends would have been an easier option especially with the amount of time those two characters knew each other at that point.
i just really dislike that particular trope since i have not read one book we’re it was used were it could have been done differently without issues and left the ick factor out of the entire thing.
moving in!
i liked the tiring even if the descriptions are sometimes very out there but not too extreme so that it doesn’t make sense anymore.
the world is well developed and explained for book one and gives a nice overview of what’s out there on that world and that was interesting.
the characters and the behaviors where sometimes a bit stupid but honestly they are 15-17 so i can let it slide by for the main characters even if i have to say that the adults - beside Magnus! that character deserves an entire 12 book series just for giving stories about that character and his shinanagangs please!- they behaved quite often more childish than the actual kids.
the entire book was a bit drawn out for the amount of plot it told overall but it wasn’t too bad and it kept me entertained and i wanted to keep reading so clearly nothing too bad.
so all in all?
it’s a good book.
i can actually see why so many people love it even if i strongly dislike the love-tropes used. the reader want too bad and it was overall very entertaining and a quick read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, and Gaslighting
psliz's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
idk. lots of info-dumping. weird dialogue for a bunch of teens. the pacing was fast yet slow at the same time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Minor: Child abuse, Suicide, and Blood
dosxhime's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Given that the Mortal Instruments series is rife with lore, world building, and characters, it makes sense that Clare stretches this series out. It was kinda a drag to read this and it makes me feel like we go from one event to another without pause.
It feels like a lot of details are just dumped onto you, without letting all this new information soak in. I would be normally fine with this, since I'm mostly into the characters for a good ol YA novel.
However, I felt that they fell flat and I really couldn't care what happened to any of them. It just felt meh. I can see the potential in the MI world and I love how Clare builds them up. So points for potential.
3.5 / 5 C-
It feels like a lot of details are just dumped onto you, without letting all this new information soak in. I would be normally fine with this, since I'm mostly into the characters for a good ol YA novel.
However, I felt that they fell flat and I really couldn't care what happened to any of them. It just felt meh. I can see the potential in the MI world and I love how Clare builds them up. So points for potential.
3.5 / 5 C-
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Violence, Murder, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
lim's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Homophobia and Kidnapping
jaynovara's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Incest, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Homophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
happilyeveralli's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was a whirlwind. There is literally no other way to describe it XD. The reveal in the last two chapters made my skin crawl I was rolling! It's not a masterpiece but it was a recommendable experience!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia and Injury/Injury detail
rosegoldrose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The relief that filled me when I closed this book for the last time is immeasurable. I swear I started to believe I'd never finish it during my lifetime.
I bought it three years ago because I suddenly remembered my friends being obsessed with the Shadowhunters franchise and wanted to learn what the fuss was about.
I had to have read the first half of the book at least three times at this point, so it went a bit easier. The world-building parts, however, felt like trudging through mud and sometimes made me put the book down for days. The chapters I enjoyed the most were definitely the ones focused on the characters and their interactions, but the pace picked up toward the end, too.
I also cannot fail to mention how annoying I found Clary in the early chapters. While I appreciate the diversity of main character personalities, she was the shining example of the "not like other girls" trope and I found myself rolling my eyes every time she'd want to slap someone for merely existing.
I figured out the plot twist midway through the book, but in a way, it helped fuel me because I just had to see if I was right.
I bought it three years ago because I suddenly remembered my friends being obsessed with the Shadowhunters franchise and wanted to learn what the fuss was about.
I had to have read the first half of the book at least three times at this point, so it went a bit easier. The world-building parts, however, felt like trudging through mud and sometimes made me put the book down for days. The chapters I enjoyed the most were definitely the ones focused on the characters and their interactions, but the pace picked up toward the end, too.
I also cannot fail to mention how annoying I found Clary in the early chapters. While I appreciate the diversity of main character personalities, she was the shining example of the "not like other girls" trope and I found myself rolling my eyes every time she'd want to slap someone for merely existing.
I figured out the plot twist midway through the book, but in a way, it helped fuel me because I just had to see if I was right.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, and Blood
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Homophobia