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City of Bones

(The Mortal Instruments #1)

Cassandra Clare (Goodreads Author)

4.10 · Rating details · 1,586,817 ratings · 61,003 reviews

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray 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 with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is not ...more

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Hardcover, 485 pages

Published March 27th 2007 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

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Start your review of City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)

Nov 29, 2010 a rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: NO ONE

Shelves: young-adult, annoying-character, wtf-is-this-shit, in-the-movies, asshole-hero, you-plagiarising-bastard, author-self-insert, dumb-heroine, love-triangle, ebook

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. IMPORTANT EDIT (1/14/18):
Fam, I wrote this review in 2011.

All of y'all commenting in 2018 need to get over it. I've moved to a different account. I've moved past Cassandra Clare and while I maintain that this book is a blatant rip off of about 1000 other books (and while a lot of you insist that she's an original author, like it or not, she does have a history with plagiarism/bad behavior), I haven't read any of her new stuff so I can't tell you if she's continued to toe the line with plagiaris ...more

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Apr 23, 2009 Tatiana rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: teenage girls, fans of angsty teenage soap

Recommended to Tatiana by: Heather

Shelves: ya, why-the-hype, tres-annoying, urban-fantasy, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 15-year old Clary witnesses a crime at a trendy New York night club. Interesting thing, nobody but Clary can see both the victim and perpetrators. As it turns out, there is an entire invisible to regular people world, and Clary is an unwitting important part of it.

"City of Bones" is one of those books that all my female friends and fellow readers simply love, Jace-mania all around. Needless to say, I had to jump on the bandwagon eventually and get me some Jace. Who am I to deny myself a pleasur 15-year old Clary witnesses a crime at a trendy New York night club. Interesting thing, nobody but Clary can see both the victim and perpetrators. As it turns out, there is an entire invisible to regular people world, and Clary is an unwitting important part of it.

"City of Bones" is one of those books that all my female friends and fellow readers simply love, Jace-mania all around. Needless to say, I had to jump on the bandwagon eventually and get me some Jace. Who am I to deny myself a pleasure to fall for a fictional hot, sarcastic and brooding guy? Imagine my disappointment, when I found out that this book was one big pile of hot mess! Sorry ladies, I said it, it's bad.

I had the hardest time sticking to the story and for quite some time I couldn't figure out why. Then gradually I realized that there were several reasons.

Let me start with the editing. I don't really think this book was edited at all, actually. Errors were endless and visible to even my untrained eye: wrong words ("noise" instead on "nose"); missing words in sentences; strange mix of POVs (the book is mostly told in 3rd person, from Clary's POV, but occasionally I saw both 3rd and 1st person narration in the same paragraph describing the same events, then there was a page from Jace's POV and a chapter from Luke's); Clary's father was called Jonathan in the beginning of the book, but John in the end. I can go on, but these were the things that I would normally overlook if the story itself was good. Unfortunately it wasn't, and the errors stood out.

I didn't think that the story was cohesive, it just didn't quite flow for me. It read as more of a series of events rather than a novel. I thought there were some parts in the book that served no other purpose but to give our hero an opportunity to act knight-like. I am talking about the entire rat-Simon/vampires extravaganza. This story line could have been edited out completely without any damage to the narrative IMO.

I couldn't quite relate to any of the characters either. What made my friends sigh with adoration, annoyed me. I hated the sarcasm, mainly because the jokes, although funny, felt often out of place, plus all of the characters attempting to joke, sounded exactly the same to me. I didn't feel the difference in attitudes of Clary, Simon, and Jace. If Clare had to make Jace a witty sarcastic type, she should have made the wisecracks his exclusive trademark, not everybody's.

The story itself was so ridiculously predictable! I do not normally see what is to come in the books, but in COB, I saw every "revelation" coming. Clare just doesn't have a skill to lead to them subtly, it's always in your face: "Valentine is alive" revelation (who in this book who was thought to be dead was actually dead? - a serious question), "your mother put a spell on you" revelation, the big "father/brother" revelation - I could see them all, and I am not the most astute reader out there.

Now, my biggest problem with this book - I've read/seen it all before! Clare borrows so liberally from "Star Wars," "Harry Potter" and "Buffy," it is simply impossible to overlook. Valentine - Voldemort/Darth Vader combo; Jace/Clary - Luke/Draco/Leia/Ginny (if it is possible) combo; the Circle - reversed Order of the Phoenix/Death Eaters combo; the Clave - Ministry of Magic; Luke - Lupin/Snape combo; Hodge - Giles/Wormtail combo. I can continue, but will stop here, you get the picture. Granted, there is nothing absolutely original in paranormal genre, but a skillful writer can re-work an old theme and make it new, fresh, and unique. Whatever is original in COB, is not quite thought through. As an example, let's take a "stele." After finishing this book, I still have no idea what exactly it does - do you only write runes with it? how exactly do you use it in a battle? why it can open some doors and not others? it can heal, but not everything? it can make you be able to see through a wooden screen, but is it because you write a special rune with it or you use it as a wand? It seems to me stele is pretty much used as a deus ex machina, convenient whenever a quick solution to a problem needed. And what's with all the shadow folk? There is just so much mashed up together - fairies, vampires, werewolves, pixies, jinns. You name any mythical creature, it is in this book. And what about magic? I read about spells made by a warlock, stele rune tricks, curses, where does it end? The limits of magic possibilities were never defined. Bottom line, all these inconsistencies make for one unoriginal and messy imaginary world. And this probably was the main reason why I couldn't connect with this book.

Finally, I was a little surprised by some of Clare's creative choices. I found both flirtations of at least 35-year-old warlock (he might be older, his age was never mentioned) with a gay teenage boy and reversed Leia/Luke extravaganza quite tacky, if not disturbing. Although I know how Jace/Clary "family matter" is resolved in the end, I don't find possibly incestuous relationships appealing.

This review might make it seem like COB is the worst book ever written. I wouldn't say so, after all, I've read "Breaking Dawn," and that book doesn't have any plot. There were some nice Jace/Clary moments, the greenhouse birthday party comes to mind. But was COB the most blatantly unoriginal book I've ever read? Absolutely (although I haven't read "Eragon" yet, but I heard a lot about it).

In all honesty, I shouldn't give this book more than 1 star, but I will add a second one as a dedication to one Mrs. Jace Wayland. Would I recommend this book? Sure, many of my friends enjoyed it immensely. Will I continue on with the series? I don't think I will be able to convince myself to waste any more of my time on being mad at a book. I think I will just check out plot summaries on wiki and be done with the series.

P.S. I just read that Cassandara Clare is an avid and famous in certain circles fanfiction writer. I guess that's where all the liberal "borrowing" comes from. Mystery solved. ...more

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Jun 30, 2009 Cara rated it really liked it

Recommended to Cara by: Tori

Shelves: series, recommended-to-me, fantasy, paranormal

Wow. I was reading some reviews on this and people either hate or love it. I am not ashamed to say I belong to the latter. Lots of opinions means there is lots of things to say...

Ok so I was practically splitting my head open thinking of what exactly I wanted to say about this book. In the end I just decided to go with what comes to mind. So here it goes...

Clare does a superb job of drawing you in. Maybe the plot isn't completely unique but the world she created is. I kept telling myself this is Wow. I was reading some reviews on this and people either hate or love it. I am not ashamed to say I belong to the latter. Lots of opinions means there is lots of things to say...

Ok so I was practically splitting my head open thinking of what exactly I wanted to say about this book. In the end I just decided to go with what comes to mind. So here it goes...

Clare does a superb job of drawing you in. Maybe the plot isn't completely unique but the world she created is. I kept telling myself this is sooooooooooo interesting. The whole shadowhunter thing oozes with coolness. I mean half angel, half kick butt people! It doesn't get much cooler than that. The story is full of action and yes sometimes there are things added for dramatic effect, but isn't that the point? If you were looking for something more slow paced read The Mill on the Floss (personally I'd rather pull more hair then read this but moving on...)I'm a sucker for action sequences so this totally delivered on that front. The author's take on werewolves was original, and I gotta say they give the vampires a run for their money. I actually guessed most of the twists but that's some of the fun. Finding the hints and feeling the satisfaction of saying YES! Score for me I got it right! Let's do a little victory dance. (Insert some break dancing moves I personally cannot do here) I think some people didn't get that guessing the twists is all part of the experience.

Some people claimed all of this to be fluff but I don't agree. Just look at Jace. The whole feeling about belonging has depth to it. Now for why I knocked off a star even though I REALLY didn't want to. I thought Clary would be more shocked about finding out her history. You'd think with how much her mother pounded in to her that there was not such thing as magic she would resist the whole idea more. Also I think the author tried to introduce too many fantasy creatures at once. Like the scene at Magnus Bane house was overdone for my taste. We could have done without so many new faces. Those are just little irks though, my main one was Valentine. I know this is going to sound outrageous but Valentine wasn't bad enough for me. I shouldn't feel this way looking at his track record he is evil. The thing is I wasn't scared of him. A good villain has got to be scary plain and simple. I'm hoping to see more evilness in him in the next book.

Well I think I've said enough. I'm so glad I'm reading this series after all the books are out. I totally expect to be blown away by the next installment:)

Later added: Guess what guys? They are making a movie and here is the trailer! ...more

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Feb 09, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it did not like it

Shelves: books-that-deserve-painful-death, kat-s-rants, just-plain-bad, ya-pnr-maddness, kat-s-book-reviews

***Warning: won't contain spoilers cause I didn't get far enough to give a fuck and discover anything worth spoiling.***

Okay, so let me get this out straight. I have never NOT finished a book before. Okay, I'm lying. The History of Sexuality Volume 1 by Michel Foucault remains unfinished as does Villette by Charlotte Bronte. Why? Because they were boring.

Because, as I read them, I wanted to take a cheese grater to my skull and rub vigorously just to have something to do!

But I have never NOT fini ***Warning: won't contain spoilers cause I didn't get far enough to give a fuck and discover anything worth spoiling.***

Okay, so let me get this out straight. I have never NOT finished a book before. Okay, I'm lying. The History of Sexuality Volume 1 by Michel Foucault remains unfinished as does Villette by Charlotte Bronte. Why? Because they were boring.

Because, as I read them, I wanted to take a cheese grater to my skull and rub vigorously just to have something to do!

But I have never NOT finished a Young Adult paranormal novel before. And I've read some BAAAAAD books. But I didn't finish this book because it goes beyond bad. It makes the History of Sexuality seem amazingly interesting and colourful.

To be fair to Ms. Clare, I was not actually "reading" her novel so much as listening to the Audiobook. The Narrator, Graynor, did a particularly craptastic job.

To be fair to Ms. Graynor, she didn't have much to work with. I tuned her out, I swear, I was focusing on the actual prose, taking in the story, trying to get interested. But the writing was terrible. It was painful. The characters were annoying.

Now, I've been fair to Ms. Clare and I've been fair to Mr. Graynor. So there's only you left to be fair to now.

And in order to do that, I have to admit that I wasn't EXPECTING to like this book. I was, however, expecting to be pleasantly surprised, and I'll explain why.

Many years ago, Cassandra Clare was Cassandra Clair - a VERY popular FF author in the Harry Potter and LoTR circles. I actually greatly enjoyed her Draco Trilogy. I've read it many times. I had heard that this book was very similar to DT and so I was expecting to find it to be a guilty pleasure. Something my moral compass told me to leave behind, but that I would actually enjoy too much to do so. But I was wrong.

Yeah, she plagiarized that work and I won't really go into it except to post a link because in the end, I'm not reviewing her, I'm reviewing her work.

But here's the problem. Jace is really just Draco from DT. Simon is really just Ron and Harry amalgamated into one. Clary is really just Ginny. The bad guys seems too much like good ol'Voldie. The plot is painfully similar to DT. It was like reading her old work all over again. And I think, because she was really just redressing her old characters, she didn't even both to give them any growth in this story.

To be honest, I didn't read far because the writing was boring (oh my lord, the similes! Someone save me from them) and poorly constructed; the characters were boring and poorly constructed and the plot was boring and poorly constructed.

I'd already read DT so I didn't need to read this. ...more

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Feb 19, 2014 Rick Riordan rated it really liked it

Okay, so I’m far behind the curve on reading this, but I very much enjoyed my introduction to the world of nephilim, Shadowhunters and demons. Clare constructed a vivid, believable parallel world with great characters, punchy dialogue, and a winning mix of humor, pathos and action. I like her take on warlocks, vampires, and werewolves, and of course I’m a big fan or urban fantasy, where these fantastic elements mix into the regular gritty city life of New York. Clary Fray is a sympathetic protag ...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Tomoe Hotaru rated it it was ok

Shelves: urban-fantasy, young-adult

19 Apr '16
Bet you're sick of my updates, now.

Just for reference, on the recent Sherrilyn Kenyon v Cassandra Clare.
Kenyon has filed a lawsuit against Clare, and also provides a list of alleged similarities between Clare's work to her own.

Read and decide for yourself.

15 Jun '13
update again! Saw some stills for the movie, and to be honest, despite being slightly spurious in my "casting" of City of Bones, I actually think my version is much better than the movie version.

I mean, look at Isabe ...more

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Oct 10, 2018 Nick rated it liked it

Clary just shut the hell up

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Jun 05, 2017 Khurram rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A great and interesting books. I manages to combine the infulences from many of top fictional series of our time. It combines hidden magic world of Harry Potter, the teenage drama of Buffy, and a couple of themes from Star Wars as well. The book is very well written and fast paces.

We follow Clary Fray, a 15 year old misfit trying to find heself, not quite sure if she is goth, cyberpunk, or just a temperamental teenaged artist. One night in the local club, Pandemonium, she realises she is a witne ...more

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Mar 05, 2009 Heather rated it it was amazing

I was instantly enchanted when I first read City of Bones, and that enchantment still holds four years, and at least half a dozen re-reads later in sptite of the fact that I'm older, wiser, and should know better. I've also read countless reviews, both adoring and loathing and have come to the conclusion that this book does not garner any type of middle ground, you either love it or you hate it.

I'm glad that I get to love it. What else can I say?
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For me, this book shines, and to th ...more

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Oct 09, 2019 Teodora rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, on-app, romance, fantasy

4.25/5 ⭐

Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺

HEY LOOK AT ME FINALLY PICKING UP THIS SERIES!

As a newbie in this whole Shadowhunter universe, all I can say is that this world is pretty weird. Maybe if I was reading this 12 years ago, things would’ve seemed to be different, but now as a 20-something year old I am not so into the world just yet. It is at the same time childishly simple and complicated. I’m sure it would grow on me, I mean, that should be the whole point of a series with t ...more

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Feb 28, 2016 Elle (TheBookishActress) rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: gen-sff-high-fantasy, 1-star, what-kind-of-plot-device-characters, trauma-abuse, what-kind-of-hype-hype-hype, gen-series-books, z-read-in-2015, yikes-character-writing, what-was-this-romance, why-are-you-not-murdered-every-hour

I was never expecting anything from this but an entertaining and maybe a little bit forgettable book. I was wrong; I found this completely unforgettable. For being a trainwreck.

To be quite honest, I think 75% of the hype for this series comes from nostalgia. Listen, I'm sorry, I know this isn't everything, but I really... don't get why these first three books are hyped, on any level. Not only do I have ten million problems with the tropey nature and the slutshaming and the etc etc etc, it's also ...more

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Dec 01, 2014 Katerina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal, fae, favorites, urban-fantasy

“Shadowhunters: Looking Better in Black Than the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234.”

I read City of Bones for the first time 5 years ago. I still remember that day. ~~The sun was shining, the birds were singing~~ It was during my first semester in Law School and I had to study History of Law, which was a complete waste of time because seriously, who is ever going to ask me whether women in Byzantium could get a divorce? (In case you are wondering, they could only if the husband was impoten ...more

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Apr 23, 2018 Melanie rated it liked it

Recommended to Melanie by: Paloma *The Romance Queen*

Shelves: young-adult, vampires, angels, shifters, fae, paranormal, fantasy, read-in-2018, demons

“Where there is love, there is often also hate. They can exist side by side.”

Hi, my name is Melanie, and I’m the last person on this planet to read anything by Cassie Clare! But I had too many best friends who promised me that reading this series would be worth it for me to finally get to Lady Midnight! Well, the other night I did an Instagram poll, because I wanted something fae and I was just going to pick up Lady Midnight, without reading any of Cassie’s other work, and some of my ...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Sasha Alsberg rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

The Mortal Instruments changed the way I looked a fantasy novels. I am a huge fan now. I defiantly recommend this book for any hunger games, divergent, harry potter, and twilight fans out there. It is truly a fantastic series.

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Jul 04, 2007 Shelley rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: no one

Pure and utter crap. I wish there were ways to give negative stars. I certainly want the time from my life back. I would compare its writing quality to a fanzine, except that comparison wouldn't be fair to fanzines. But I swear to God, it took every single bad fanfic writing cliche and published them. What were her publishers thinking??? Where was her editor?? It was horrible.

I would dearly love for a fanfiction author to make good and become a published writer, but I'd prefer one with talent, ...more

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Jun 23, 2017 Chelsea Humphrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I can totally see why everyone rants and raves over these books; while I'm only one deep (so far) and hoping to read City of Ashes in the very near future, I feel this is the type of book that teenage Chelsea would have flipped her turds for back in the day. ~~I'm just glad I can still enjoy them now.~~ While very teen oriented, City of Bones still had a classic feel that surpassed barriers of age and gender, and I have heard from many folks that they wish they had found these books while they were I can totally see why everyone rants and raves over these books; while I'm only one deep (so far) and hoping to read City of Ashes in the very near future, I feel this is the type of book that teenage Chelsea would have flipped her turds for back in the day. ~~I'm just glad I can still enjoy them now.~~ While very teen oriented, City of Bones still had a classic feel that surpassed barriers of age and gender, and I have heard from many folks that they wish they had found these books while they were still a young, gay teen, as this book was before it's time in it's courageous attempt to feature a homosexual couple before it was popular to do so. I was completely sucked into the action, drama, and mysterious intrigue that sweeps over the reader from the first page; I couldn't tell if I should be embarrassed to be so obsessed with such a cliche, teenage read, but honestly I don't care. I AM HERE FOR ALL THE TMI LOVE AND AM PROUD OF IT.

I ~~unfortunately~~ accidentally stumbled across the movie before picking up these books, so there are a few spoilers I already knew about before starting the books since the movie pulled a bit from the first 2-3 books? I think? I actually like going into beloved, hyped up series knowing some of the big things before reading them for myself; I found I can enjoy it more if the stress of knowing who to ship is already handled for me so I don't invest in the wrong coupling (view spoiler). Obviously this series features all types of supernatural creatures, but I like how Clare gave a feel of placing multiple religious/mythical/world views into a giant mashup that became her own. It was very clever and ballsy and I love it.

There's not really much I can say here that hasn't already been said thousands of times over the past decade, but I'm so glad I've officially experienced my first Cassandra Clare novel and I can't wait to continue on. I know there's some dissension among which order to read in, but I've decided on reading them: 1-3 TMI, 1-3 TID, 4-6 TMI, then follow with TDA series. Wish me luck; I have a lot of catching up to do! ;) Side note- I somehow scored a like new used set of all the books (except TDA) and they all are these gorgeous Australian paperbacks. That is all.
...more

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Jul 08, 2018 Maria rated it liked it

2.6/5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt.”

This book didn't leave a good taste in my mouth. Basically, it left no taste in my mouth. Or if it left a taste, it was like water taste. It didn't exist. But let's talk a bit about my history with the Shadowhunter world. But first the plot in italics cause we're classy as fuck.

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray 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 with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. 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 ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

This is the first Cassandra Clare book I have ever read. You would think I knew nothing of this world before and I just starting delving to it now. And you would be wrong. Many years ago the film "City of Bones" with Lily Collins was the shit. Everyone was watching it and I watched it too. I didn't like it. It didn't feel special to me. After that the show "Shadowhunters" started. I started watching it because of a dear friend who is obsessed with it. I watch more than 70 tv shows so it's hard for me to watch something that special. And that's the case here. It wasn't anything special. But I liked it a lot and I loved the characters. Then, I joined the book community about a year ago. This book was everywhere. EVERYWHERE. So, as always, I joined the hype train and bought it. And now here we are. So, even though I have never read anything related to the Shadowhunter world, I knew about it a lot. And this is important to note here, I'm not just a new fan of everything.

Let's start with what I liked. I enjoyed the banter and the humor in this book extremely much. Especially Jace's humor, I felt myself laughing out loud at times. The only moments this character was bearable. I also enjoyed the immersive world. The author created a very unique and beautiful but also gloomy world that is rich and full and has a huge history behind it. Many details about it bored me to death 💀 but it was exciting nonetheless. And now the juicy shit. What I didn't like.

This book felt so childish, juvenile and immature to me. Even when the plot was getting serious, I just wanted to laugh. It started off better but after the whole Simon-rat-vampires-werewolves-fucking-motorcycles-that-fucking-fly shit, it went downhill for me. I couldn't take ANYTHING that was happening seriously! I mean come on, they wasted 50 pages on the Simon-rat situation, which was ridiculous, and another 10 pages on what ride they would get to get to Clary's house! I mean come on man!

I hated Clary's perspective. I hated her insecurity, her hatred towards Izzy was unreasonable. You don't hate on someone just because they're prettier than you. Or because you think they are. She didn't even give her a chance at the beginning. Basically, the reason I think the book seemed childish to me was that we were seeing things from Clary's POV. The writing also didn't help the case, but Clary is a very immature character.

HOW DID THIS AUTHOR SUCCEED IN MAKING EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER IN THIS BOOK UNLIKABLE??? (except Simon, SIMON ILY YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN MY FAVORITE). Characters like Izzy, Magnus and Alec, who have been my favorites for years because of the tv show, felt so distasteful to me! Imagine if I didn't know the characters from before. I would hated the guts out of them. Clary and Jace weren't a surprise to me. I didn't even like them from the show. I don't think I will ever like these two characters. They have been on my black list for years. And it's a pity because we see things from Clary's eyes. A damn pity.

To sum it all up, I didn't enjoy this book. I wanted to, I wanted to add a new favorite series to my collection but it didn't happen. My dick was hard for this book series and it fell down real fast. I'm sorry, don't hate me. I think the show has done a better job with adapting this series. I know it's not the source material and it isn't that good but I prefer it. I will continue to read this series because I have heard the writing gets better, but it won't be a priority. So many books to read, so little time. Anyway... until the next one KBYE!!! ...more

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Aug 16, 2011 shady boots rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: People who have the hots for dickhead heroes.

Shelves: hot-mess, stupid-girls, dont-understand-why-its-hyped, get-that-thing-away-from-me, boooooring, why-do-people-like-this-shit

I had to do it. ...more

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Jan 20, 2016 The Burning Rose (Jess) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, fantasy, young-adult

2019 Re-read: 4/5 stars.
This book wasn’t as good as it was the first time I read it, somewhere at the time I was 16 years old. And yet, it was still interesting, intriguing and the reading was good. I’m glad I’m re-reading it because I want to finally finish this series.

2016: 4.5 stars.
Such a great book!

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Oct 04, 2018 Miranda Reads rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, us-ya

“You're an idiot."
"I've never claimed to be otherwise.”

Clary Fray goes to one little party with her best friend (Simon)...and there's a teeny-tiny littler repercussion by way of her life being absolutely and irrevocably ruined.

She witnesses an unusual boy being led to the back by figures cloaked in black, brandishing knives.

Curious, she decides to investigate...and stumbles upon an exorcism.

The Shadowhunters are just as surprised as she is - mostly because the only people who can see Shado ...more

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Oct 05, 2015 Kaylin (The Re-Read Queen) rated it liked it

Shelves: unpopular-opinions, memorable-male-characters, paranormal, young-adult, favorite-female-characters

3 Stars

Reviewing this is weird-- because I used to love it. When I was about 13, I remember finding this library book, taking it home and reading all 400+ pages in one sitting. Then I went back the next day and grabbed the next two books, devoured them, thought that was the end and (mostly) forgot about it. (Until that awful movie came out a few years ago)

So reading it now, as an early-twentysomething with a lot more reading and life experience, I knew the initial love wouldn’t be there. I had ...more

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Apr 18, 2019 jessica rated it liked it · review of another edition

CAN YOU BELIEVE its taken me this long to finally pick up my first cassandra clare book?!? because i can. lifes too short to read books you know you wont love implicitly, but i recently had a change of heart.

unfortunately, reading this went exactly how i thought it would. this is serving some major pre-teen juvenile cringe realness. the writing is a little bland. none of the characters are memorable. and there is a lot going on that isnt really worth obsessing over.

that being said. i didnt hat ...more

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Apr 03, 2014 Cristina Monica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, family, action, siblings, best-couples, witches, can-t-wait-to-read-the-next-one, fairies, love-triangle, romance

I didn't always love The Mortal Instruments.

In fact, the first time I read it, I found it quite immature and annoying. If I’m not mistaken, I read it for the first time three years ago, just before the release of the execrable movie. Well, 1) you need to know that, at that time, I wasn’t reading English books just yet (that came a couple of months later) and 2) some of the French editions look horrible (view spoiler) and those are the ones my library owned. So every time ...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Meredith Holley rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: ABOVE ALL ELSE, AVOID THE AUDIO

Shelves: punching-tour, young-adult, reviewed

I think this book is has some kind of mental disability. I kind of don’t want to make fun of it because, you know, it’s not playing the game with a full deck of cards. But, at the same time, it does not have such a significant learning disability that it needs to sit in a separate classroom from the other stories; it just has this confluence of creepiness and then some kind of mild mental challenge. So, I kind of do want to make fun of it because, you know, you probably don't have to be this unc I think this book is has some kind of mental disability. I kind of don’t want to make fun of it because, you know, it’s not playing the game with a full deck of cards. But, at the same time, it does not have such a significant learning disability that it needs to sit in a separate classroom from the other stories; it just has this confluence of creepiness and then some kind of mild mental challenge. So, I kind of do want to make fun of it because, you know, you probably don't have to be this uncomfortable to be around, book. It's a tough call. There was this guy in my high school graduating class like that. I’m going to tell you about him in this review. I really, honestly apologize ahead of time if I offend anyone here. I especially apologize to Cassandra Clare, who I see is a GR author. I'm not meaning to disparage anyone who has a learning disability, and I have great respect for people who share their writing with others. And I'm not equating learning disabilities with mental illness or with being creepy, just to be clear. I just knew a boy who happened to have a learning disability and be creepy, and he reminds me of this book. Also, this isn't to say that people shouldn't read The City of Bones. You actually should read it, maybe, and play the really fun game, Where Did the Mangled Body Part Come From?

Anyway, back to my story. For purposes of this illustration, I'm going to call the creepy high school boy David Caruso (any resemblance of that name to the name of a real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental, of course). I felt bad for David because he was so picked-on, so I tried to be nice to him. One day, he started leaving notes in my locker on notebook paper in a child’s scrawl, asking things like, “If I’m sad, can I have a hug?” He found out where all of my classes were and would be waiting outside them when the bell rang. He lived about a block away from me, so he would walk home with me from school sometimes. After the hug note, we had a serious talk about boundaries. That night, I had to take a makeup Chemistry test, which lasted about an hour. It was pouring outside, and he waited in the rain for me, standing under a tree. When I finally left, he followed me home, walking about ten feet behind me the entire way.

As I was turning to the road that led directly to my house, David desperately cried out something like, “Why don’t you love me?!!!” This was a relatively common experience with him. There was another girl he was following around for a while around that same time, and he went down on his knees outside of the cafeteria, saying something similar. She got a restraining order against him.

I’m not saying that I believe in originality, because I don’t, but The City of Bones made me realize that there is a line somewhere, where the flow of literary inspiration and use of traditional themes can turn into a Single White Female incident. Rather than being a fun re-imagining of Star Wars, this story was a haphazardly sewn together pop-culture Frankenstein. Eeeet’s ALIVE!!! Basically, the characters from The Gilmore Girls hook up with non-vampy, but still campy, versions of the characters from Twilight, and re-enact Star Wars. Seriously, there is a Luke Danes character, and his name in this story is still Luke. And, it turns out, it is very possible to make the Luke and Leia Skywalker relationship grosser. I'm not sure why you would want to . . . Also, I feel like there are a bunch of other stories that The City of Bones is stalking, and it seems like some other reviews list them, but I forget what they are right now. My point is that this book has killed them and is walking around wearing their skin.

The other weird thing is that I’m pretty sure there’s a misquote from Star Wars in here. Isn’t Han Solo the one who says, “I know”? This book says that Leia says it. And I don’t mean that the Leia/Rory character in here says, “I know” while re-enacting the Star Wars storyline. I mean the book literally says that Leia says, “I know.” If you’re going to SWF a story, at least get it right. Better yet, don’t SWF a story because that’s creepy.

I listened to half of this book on audio, driving to and from a wedding, then I read the rest on the page. Neither were good. Reading on the page is a little better because you can skip the boring parts. I’m not going to lie, though. It was actually a great experience. It was completely refreshing to read something awful. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m not sure why, but it renewed my hope for writing.

Still, all you young stories out there, if a stranger story with shifty eyes comes up to you and asks for a hug, it’s okay to say no. Set some personal boundaries, or you might end up the victim of this kind of literary massacre. I hate to be a fear-monger, and use your own judgment, but be smart. Some of these stories obviously waited too long to take out their restraining orders. ...more

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Jul 27, 2007 Jess rated it did not like it

Really, there's nothing very original, or satisfying in the book. She borrowed so heavily from Buffy, Harry Potter, and Star Wars that it sticks out like a sore thumb. It reads like altered fan fiction. And I love fan fiction, make no mistake, but it's not attempting to make a buck off someone else's world, either. Which is essentially what the book is. Cobbled fan fiction that has no cohesion.

I knew Clare as Cassandra Claire from Harry Potter fandom, I will admit, and that did color somewhat. B ...more

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Oct 30, 2013 Jessica Edwards rated it liked it

Shelves: angels-fantasy, paperbacks-i-own

I've actually been meaning to write a review about this book, and because I watched the film only recently, I thought why not write a review about it now.
I received the first 4 books from my sister but I never got around to reading either of them. I remember reading City of Bones, but I think I stopped midway because I realized that a movie had been made of it, so I watched the film instead.

City of Bones is about a teenage girl called Clary Fray who lives with her mother in Brooklyn.
Clary dis ...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Kiki rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Blue fairies

Recommended to Kiki by: A blue fairy

Shelves: angels-and-demons, awesome-heroine, ya, awesome-ya, favorites, decent-vampires

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 02, 2016 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-all, audio, library-book, paperback

So here’s the thing. I got rid of my copies of these books and The Infernal Devices series awhile back when I was having a clean out. The I enjoyed some of the newer books. Then one of my groups put up a challenge for the series. Then I decided to listen to them from the library. NOW, my thoughts have changed as they do on rereads sometimes. I love certain characters more so in the newer books but in this book I feel like I wasted precious time, AND time is precious people!! This went from 5 to ...more

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Apr 04, 2020 She-who-must-not-be-named rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

"The Law is hard, but it is the Law"

Okay, what did I just read? I wasn't expecting so many twists (especially in the last three chapters) and I feel so hysterical I wanna jump. As much as I am excited to share with y'all what I feel, I'm afraid I'll give away a few spoilers which I don't want to.
I love Clary and Jace. I don't care about anything else, I just love them.

"To love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be destroyed"

The writing style well, do I even have to say anything ...more

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Jun 16, 2011 Laurel rated it it was ok

Shelves: who-let-you-be-heroine, ya, um-what, meh, fantasy, uh-oh, sigh, wish-it-were-better

*Spoilers yeah*

I’m going to say this now so it’s out of the way.
No.
I’ve never read the Draco Trilogy by Cassandra Claire on fanfiction.net.

No.
I have no right to mention the plagiarism event around the Draco Trilogy in this review, because I have not read it, and so I will not go into the plagiarism event.

Yes.
I know of the plagiarism, and I find it despicable, but I’m not reviewing that, I’m reviewing City of Bones.

THE CITY OF BONES REREAD WITH PALICE AND GHIRARDELLI

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It started EPIC, then tapered ...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Jamie Campbell Bower is not that bad!	73	453	Aug 01, 2020 11:01PM
YA Buddy Readers'...: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare - Restaring August 5th, 2020	72	45	Jul 28, 2020 02:03AM
The YA Book Club: City of Bones Movie	239	786	Jul 20, 2020 12:46PM
Word Game starting on JACE!	53998	9144	Jul 15, 2020 08:20PM
maybe an odd question, but- do christians like these books?	83	880	Jul 08, 2020 12:15AM
SHOW V.S. MOVIE	39	485	Jun 30, 2020 02:46AM
Shadowhunters Chat!: City of Bones- (June 2020)	31	17	Jun 26, 2020 03:56AM

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About Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare

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Hello Goodreadsers. Here's my official bio:

"Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books. Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction. She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilo ...more

Other books in the series

The Mortal Instruments (6 books)

Books by Cassandra Clare

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3)

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2)

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, #2)

City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4)

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Quotes from City of Bones

“Have you fallen in love with the wrong person yet?'
Jace said, "Unfortunately, Lady of the Haven, my one true love remains myself."
..."At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland."
"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting.” — 24319 likes

“Is this the part where you start tearing off strips of your shirt to bind my wounds?"
"If you wanted me to rip my clothes off, you should have just asked.” — 12922 likes

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