City of Bones (Mortal Instruments, #1)

by Cassandra Clare

[nitzan_schwarz]

You can find this review and more on afterwords

Okay, believe or not City of Bones was the first ever review I've published on a blog, so you've got to admit, it's long over-do for a makeover!

My initial reaction to City of Bones was "it's alright". Yes, not the most enthusiastic response, but not the worst one, either. As far as books go, I didn't have too much to complain about, but at the same time... It was nothing unheard of, and that says something considering that at the time, I have read a very limited amount of books. So I didn't have too much to compare to, and still it felt oh-so-familiar.

And it wasn't memorable, either. I had to force myself through a second reading of the book because, despite owning all the books in the first trilogy at that point, I just didn't read them. And when I finally decided enough was enough, I couldn't remember almost a single thing of all that had happened. It just didn't stick to me in any way, shape or form.

Our main character is Clary, and as far as main characters go - she's okay. I wasn't in love with her or anything, and she pissed me off many times (I mean, she would say mean things to people just so they'd be as miserable as she is..) but I didn't hate her. And yes, that seems like a pretty low standard to reach, but it's the best way I can put it.

Then there's Jace, the love interest. I was surprised to like this character, because I expected a huge douche, and he... wasn't. I mean, yes, he's a bad-boy ladies man, but he wasn't the kind that made me think Clary was an inconceivable idiot to like him (and I think that more often than you'd imagine in YA).

The supporting cast surrounding these characters was colorful, relatively interesting, and likable... most of the time. You may recognize the names Izzy, Alec, Simon and Luke among those. In fact, I liked Alec and his story arc so much that it was the only reason I considered giving the second trilogy a go (but I decided against that, at the end).

Now comes the romance. Clare did wisely by spreading the plot in such a way that makes it appear as if more time has passed than actually does, because otherwise we might notice that this is pretty insta love. But we don't, so go Clare.

And, I'll be honest, I thought Clary and Jace were good together. 

But then came the twist at the end. To put it mildly, I hated it. It was just so unnecessary in my opinion (though well done)

Not to mention, it was painfully obvious this twist was a lie. I didn't need to read books two and three to know it was bogus, even though Clare did her best to build a misdirection with little "clues" designed to make us think they really were related. 

The final thing that has made my reading experience kind of meh, and continued on with all the Cassandra Clare books I've read is the writing style. I don't like it. #ThereISaidIt.  

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My old review, just because I don't want to erase my roots :P

Due to school, it took me way too long to read this; a whole 6 days! Arg...

After some considering, I lowered the starts to 3. I realized that really, I didn't connect or love this book as much as others, I just liked it. It was nice. But it doesn't compare to a few other 4 rated books I have, so it can't be with them. Simple logic...

This review sort of divides into three:

1.My Comments About The Book
So, this was a good book. Good plot, spread to enough pages and action that the fact Clary fell in love in a week or two didn't bother me nearly as much as it would've in other books. There weren't many dull moments, the conversations were funny and interesting,I liked the characters and thier wit, and the world created in this book was remarkably intriguing. It wasn't something unheard of; girl finds out she's part of a hidden world of magic, but something about it was fresh still.
I liked Clary and Jace, and while he was sort of a bad boy, he wasn't the kind that made me think what the hell does she find in him.
The cast of supporting characters were colorful, interesting and likable most of the time. I'm looking forward to learning more about Izzy who sometimes annoyed me, Alec who had his moments, Simon who I felt really sorry for, but was a kick ass sidekick (lol), Luke, who was really sweet and Clary's mom, whom I have no opinion about her. We met her once while she was awake, and then she was gone. It'll be interesting to see her next book.
Sometimes, though, Clary annoyed me. She could be really stupid and really hard on herself and really mean.
Stupid - why the heck would you run toward a portal just to "see where my mom would've gone" with people around you shouting "no!"? Doesn't she know you never grab for a magical object until you know everything about it? I mean, okay - it brought them to Luke, but could she maybe went about it more smartly?
Mean - all the parts when she wanted to hurt someone else because someone else deserves to hurt once in a while, or because she was angry they were evading her territory or something...
It might be human, but sometimes it got on my nerves. Thankfully she apologized and redeemed herself.
I can't say I like the twist in the end. It's better than a love triangle, which luckily Clare chose not to bring into the story (bless her) but I didn't like it still. It's like- wont they have enough problems as a couple being shadowhunters and all, you have to make them think they're related. And yes, they aren't really related. The first time I read the book I automatically knew that it was a lie. I told my mother so, she asked me "why do I think so" ("Just because," I answered. I didn't have any foundation for it, I just knew.) She said so far it seems like he is and didn't believe me, but later on, after the third book, revealed that I was correct. I did like how Clare made this misdirection, though. Putting all the little things that made us believe Jace was really her brother; His hair color, his name, the fact he got "scary-calm" like Jocyln, Valentine's birds, the cruelty in his father... She put everything together really well, making the readers think that all those clues meant he really is It, when he isn't. Quite brilliant.
Another thing - I would've liked to see things from Jace's POV more. We had one short part of this book from his eyes, and it was interesting. Too bad only one.
In general a really good book.

2.The Reason Why I Gave This Book 3 Instead of 4 Stars (and
This book would've gotten five start from me IF it was memorable.
Care to explain what you mean by that, Oh-Mighty-Reviewer?
Certainly, dear reader.
You see, I have read this book once before the dates listed here on GR.I even bought the 2 next books in the series right after reading the first, which only my mother got to enjoy so far due to school and tests. Basically, I forgot about the series. I had too much to do, and by the time I had time I began reading other stuff.
Then, after finding Goodreads, while looking for good reads (no pun intended), I found this book. I remembered that I liked it. I remembered buying the next books right away. What it was about, however? No clue. Which was why I marked it as to read instead of read. I have pretty good memory when it comes to plots, so the fact the only thing I could come up regarding the plot is a part of the ending that stuck because I told my mother something about it, sort of tells me the book isn't very memorable. It didn't strike me as amazing enough to remember.
I usually have exceptionally good memory when it comes to book plots, so the fact I drew blank pretty much means it didn't blow my mind. I mean, I had to read it a second time just to know what the plot was. But it was a good book, on which I don't have many complaints.
And this is the end of describing how it got 4 instead of 5 stars.

3.HP Comperison:
While reading this book,I kept noticing similarities between City of Bones and Harry Potter, enough for me to think to mention it:
*The "normal" people are called "Mundane", which strongly reminded me of JK Rowling's Muggles.
*A hero who finds out he's part of a world he never knew existed.
*The hero has some special connection to the villain of the book.
*The way Hodge spoke reminded me of Albus, and his entire position as a mentor of some sorts (though, that ended differently on HP)
*Then there is the Evil lord who looks nothing like he did when he was younger due to self inflicted abuse to his body and the hardness of time. Rings a bell? They even start with the same letter; v! (Voldi, someone's after your crown!)
This book feels to me like it's drawing a lot of inspiration from HP.

Peace out!