Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Book Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Mortal Instruments #1
First Published: 2007
Paperback
Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating:
When Clary heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered in odd markings. This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons--and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It's also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...
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)

SPOILER FOR THE FIRST THREE BOOKS 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. END SPOILER

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.  

4 comments:

  1. I remember liking the first 3 books when I first read them, but I never read past book 3. I don't really know why other than I was super annoyed by the obvious attempt to milk more money out of fans.
    I was annoyed by that twist at the end too. It definitely felt unnecessary and just a way to create drama between the couple.
    I reckon if I read the book now I'd probably dislike it. I'm watching the show and it's ... terrible!
    Great review, Nitzan! I love that you review these older releases! :)

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    1. I'll never go past book three too. I just don't like them enough to spend so much time on it. I'm not the biggest fan of the prequel trilogy, either.
      Exactly! It's like, there are so many things going on in this world anyways, why odd such an obvious ploy for some angst. Like, seriously.
      The show is really bad. It's more an issue of horrible script than anything else. If it was given to some better writers we might have had a shot. This is really depressing to me because this show could've been the gateway to many books I love becoming tv shows (especially books that had horrible cinematic adaptations like Percy Jackson, etc) but right now I don't see it lasting past the first season. I was really rooting for it.
      Thank you!! <3

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  2. I couldn't agree with you more. This book is good, but nothing special at all. Ugh, that twist!!! I can't even!

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    1. OMG YES! Finally someone agrees! Everyone around me loves this one to pieces :<

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