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frankyreadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Death of parent
emilywemily6's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Holy plot twists Batman. The last 50-100 pages were crazy full of twists and turns. Lots of betrayal, misrepresentations of the past, etc. Overall, this book felt a little more YA than I typically like. Clary is clearly 15 and while the shadowhunter teens are older it is not by much. Some of the things they said or did were stupid honestly, but not overly so (it was only sometimes). I like these characters, they are very distinct and I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes. Though with a title like City of Bones I would have thought that this book would spend more than 2 chapters in the actual City of Bones. Clary was kind of dense when it came to catching on to the plot twists too lol. This book is a bit shallow in terms of world building, etc. but I’m hoping I get more throughout the books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Racism
Minor: Homophobia, Incest, and Sexual content
emmatayy_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Incest, and Grief
singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
2.75
I wonder if I'm getting too old for these kinds of books. But despite its flaws, I kind of enjoyed it anyway.
The main character, Clary, gives off a “not like the other girls”-vibe and seems hostile towards other girls in this book.
What I liked: The banter was pretty good at places. The audiobook had a good narrator, but at times, she sounded very posh.
What I didn't like: The author has a case of thesaurus madness, sometimes, the word choices don't quite fit the context, in my opinion. Also, she likes adverbs very much. And the word ‘hard’ (e.g. “She hit the ground, HARD.”)... And there were a few throwaway comments that were quite insensitive.
About the ending…
Spoilers!
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
annikenr's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Abandonment
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Video review: https://youtu.be/yMwx5EMf4vQ?si=fEiP37QS3eW67hKf
Blended reading: audiobook and physical.
The Details:
Narrated by Ari Graynor
Unabridged
The Shadowhunter books have been on my tbr for so long, and on a whim, I finally decided to get to it, with book one.
I'm so glad I throughly enjoyed this. I thought I'd be super irritated by the old school YA and wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief or get over potential juvenile narrations but I felt really invested in the characters and the world of the demon hunters. Don't get me wrong, the inital few chapters probably would have dragged, had I not been listening to the audiobook, but once we got through that it was upwards from there.
City of Bones sort of gave me Percy Jackson vibes and when this became apparent to me, my enjoyment instantly increased more so.
Clary was pretty enjoyable to read from. She felt pretty immature at times but it was believable, especially recalling how I acted as a 15 year old. She did pretty well in the grand scheme of things, considering....
On thing I couldn't ignore about Clary, however, was that she was such an awful friend to Simon, consistently forgetting his whole existence... so much for 10+ years of friendship. It was almost like she was just waiting for something better to come along and it made me sad. Especially when Simon did himself a disservice by answering her beck and call after a major blow up, with no conclusion or conversation to really settle what happened.
I did love Simon though. I thought he was funny and a sweetheart but he wasn't over kill as a typical comic relief. It was fun to see his perspective as a regular person thrown into this world and I think, despite her ignoring him, he was a good person to humble and keep Clary grounded, but he lost himself in his love.
I loved that we had a cast of adult characters too. It took away some of the minor annoyances of following a group of young teenagers, and Luke was probably one of my favourite adults. However, when he said something like (and here, I paraphrase) 'don't call me uncle, I'm not old enough to be your uncle and I'm not reeeeally your uncle, just your mums long time friend.... ' rang super creepy to me. I mean I get it after everything that happened by the end, and understand the complex relationship he had with Clary's mum, but it initally felt so creeper alert.
Jace was so hot and cold, I felt like he was charming and the typical YA heart throb/swoon-y obvious love interest, but then he'd switch and be really spiteful. And then of course there's the big issue of... (see spoiler).
Overall, I had so much fun reading this and I'm hopeful the rest of the main series is an enjoyable one for me. It made for easy and fun entertainment, that had me really invested in particular character arcs, as well as the overarching direction of the plot and I'm eager to pick up book 2.
Blended reading: audiobook and physical.
The Details:
Narrated by Ari Graynor
Unabridged
The Shadowhunter books have been on my tbr for so long, and on a whim, I finally decided to get to it, with book one.
I'm so glad I throughly enjoyed this. I thought I'd be super irritated by the old school YA and wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief or get over potential juvenile narrations but I felt really invested in the characters and the world of the demon hunters. Don't get me wrong, the inital few chapters probably would have dragged, had I not been listening to the audiobook, but once we got through that it was upwards from there.
City of Bones sort of gave me Percy Jackson vibes and when this became apparent to me, my enjoyment instantly increased more so.
Clary was pretty enjoyable to read from. She felt pretty immature at times but it was believable, especially recalling how I acted as a 15 year old. She did pretty well in the grand scheme of things, considering....
On thing I couldn't ignore about Clary, however, was that she was such an awful friend to Simon, consistently forgetting his whole existence... so much for 10+ years of friendship. It was almost like she was just waiting for something better to come along and it made me sad. Especially when Simon did himself a disservice by answering her beck and call after a major blow up, with no conclusion or conversation to really settle what happened.
I did love Simon though. I thought he was funny and a sweetheart but he wasn't over kill as a typical comic relief. It was fun to see his perspective as a regular person thrown into this world and I think, despite her ignoring him, he was a good person to humble and keep Clary grounded, but he lost himself in his love.
I loved that we had a cast of adult characters too. It took away some of the minor annoyances of following a group of young teenagers, and Luke was probably one of my favourite adults. However, when he said something like (and here, I paraphrase) 'don't call me uncle, I'm not old enough to be your uncle and I'm not reeeeally your uncle, just your mums long time friend.... ' rang super creepy to me. I mean I get it after everything that happened by the end, and understand the complex relationship he had with Clary's mum, but it initally felt so creeper alert.
Jace was so hot and cold, I felt like he was charming and the typical YA heart throb/swoon-y obvious love interest, but then he'd switch and be really spiteful. And then of course there's the big issue of... (see spoiler).
Overall, I had so much fun reading this and I'm hopeful the rest of the main series is an enjoyable one for me. It made for easy and fun entertainment, that had me really invested in particular character arcs, as well as the overarching direction of the plot and I'm eager to pick up book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Incest, Violence, Death of parent, and War
annaae's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Incest, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
We all see what we want to see.
I didn't read The Mortal Instruments series when I was younger, but I'm glad that one of the Fable book clubs I joined will be reading the whole series in the next couple of months.
City of Bones was funny, mainly because of Jace's sarcasm. I was engrossed in the story because it was action-packed. However, there were times when I felt that everything was an info dump, and the dialogue was cringe-worthy. Nevertheless, I heard that the writing improves as the series progresses.
Despite these issues, I really enjoyed reading it and can't wait to read the rest of the series and become addicted to the Shadowhunters world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Animal death and Abandonment
soph22's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Meh. I mean, it was okay - if you like Percy Jackson then you’d probably like this - the anime and manga references were also very much appreciated. Overall it just so so, and I never felt that joy or pull making me want to go back and read more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Incest, and Abandonment
thatbookbitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content