City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Dec 05, 2009 Literary Ames rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1st-in-series, controversial-taboo, urban-fantasy, young-adult, read-in-2009, hunters-warriors-assassins, stage-and-screen, do-not-own, love-triangle, reading-experiments

I've just finished reading City of Bones. It wasn't as good as the hype. I skimmed most of it and only slowed down for Luke's explanation of events and when Clary finds Jace with Valentine near the end. It was a plot by numbers (like painting by numbers) sort of book and the characters were puppets to the plot.

Jace started liking Clary even before getting to know her though I tried to put that down to Clary being the first female to enter his life who wasn't like a sister to him. Poor Jace can' ...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Mari rated it it was ok

Hmm..I didn't like the book. But on the plus side; I do not think she borrows excessively. How can anyone with a straight face say that the Silent Brothers are borrowed from Bringers(BTVS)? In that case the Bringers are borrowed from monks. Or Dementors? HOW???? The only thing they share is a hood. Not evrything in a hood is the same. As for demon motorcycles and such, things like that are common in fantasy books. There is nothing wrong with that. The writing style was not great, but just fine. Hmm..I didn't like the book. But on the plus side; I do not think she borrows excessively. How can anyone with a straight face say that the Silent Brothers are borrowed from Bringers(BTVS)? In that case the Bringers are borrowed from monks. Or Dementors? HOW???? The only thing they share is a hood. Not evrything in a hood is the same. As for demon motorcycles and such, things like that are common in fantasy books. There is nothing wrong with that. The writing style was not great, but just fine. I liked the slightly cutesy quaint metaphors. I liked the dialogue, and I liked the humor. I thought she painted great pictures with her words, and that is a great skill.
Ok..what I didn't like....The characters. I hated Clarys rudeness. She yells at her mom, assumes that she should be allowed to make plans for her summer with no parental say at 15? I would kick her ass if it was my kid. She runs out like a baby when she is mad several times. Worst of all, people act like that is perfectly understandable. Her mom even apologizes to her. HUH? She hits Jace because of something he does to her. In no way can I respect a person who hits friendlies out of anger. Worse yet she does it knowing he won't hit a girl back. Nobody with confidence will ever love a person that isn't always kind and understanding to them. Nor should he. Most people find fickle behavior to be even less pleasant then constant dislike. Clary is so changeable she seems to be at least five different people. This book acts like men find rudeness and childishness an aphrodisiac. Also, Clary never once thanks the Shadowhunters for leting her stay. She had no place else to go, but all she does is whine. If someone offers you charity that you need, you don't sniff at it. You should be thankful. You should not pretend that you are too proud to accept, but if they beg you...maybe you will delight them by taking up their food and lodgings.
I lost what little respect I had for for Jace when he yelled at the psychic old lady who had the tarot cards. I could never like a guy who yells at an old lady like that, demeaning her and sneering. Especially as she was trying to help, and she was obviously a friend of Clary's mom. What a bitchy little shit.
I HATE it when people compare things to Twilight. I really do. Heh. But I have to say this makes me aware of just how much I comparatively liked Bella. Unlike Clary, Bella is polite. She always listens, and she doesn't yell or cry. She talks sense. She never whimpers that Edward has brought her into a dangerous situation. She doesn't blame people for what is not their fault. She is fair. Even better, Bella becomes a vampire by her own worth, ability to take a risk, and persistence. Her powers are something she worked for. Clary was simply born a Shadowhunter, and experimented on in the womb. She did nothing to get her special powers. Then she whines about how she just wants everything to be normal, and sucks her thumb. And, Claryis so immature, that she is in constant misunderstanding with Jace because she can't simply find out by talking how they both feel, and what would be best. So she hates him half the time, and loves him passionately the other half. Annoying. A real grown up can make up their mind.
I also see that the characters do most things with no real motivation. They are forced to act by the writer to further the plot. Examples; Chapter 3/4 Why does Clary keep on screaming that she needs to use the Sensor to call the police, even though she sees that it is not a phone, and is told several times that it is NOT a phone? She just keeps screaming that she needs to use it as a phone. That is a head scratcher, isn't it? Then she steals it to use as a phone, even tho she has been told that it isn't one. No one has any reason to lie to her about it not being a phone. So how can it be explained that she persists in assuming it is a phone? Worse yet, she hits and scratches Jace in the face because she is frustrated that he has no phone and upset about her mom and taking it out on him. So not only is old Cassy Clare forcing the plot, but she is again excusing abusive behavior as if it is spunky instead of just petty and creepy. And why does eating the Sensor kill the demon, exactly? And why do they then all act like Clary defeated it? All she did was hold up an unknown object in fear, and the demon killed itself by eating it. Then in the institute instead of being grateful for being healed she is angry that her clothing is ruined, and yells at then because she wants to rescue her mom and kill whoever took her. Of course expecting that they will stop everything they are doing to do what she needs, no need to ask for help. Just shouting and acting like a bratty kid will do it. And again everyone thinks thats normal.
Then Clary needs to go home, even though she could easily just buy some clothing, and she knows her mom will not be there, and that it is dangerous. For no reason at all. Again. Just to make the plot. Of course she has to take Jace with her. For safety. Sigh. They go, are of course attacked and wind up downstairs at Dorthea the psychic's. Jace treats her like no young man should treat an older woman, especially one who is a friend. So she shows him the portal, and Clary again does her thing. She just has to go through it. For no reason. She knows her mom is not on the other side. She knows its where her mom would have gone to keep themsafe, if Clary wasn't such a little snot as to runout cos she is mad. But Clary wants to see for sentimental reasons of some unclear sort. Like maybe to further the plot again? Ok, I think I have made my point. I feel better now, having pretty much proved that Clary is a somethingthtrhymeswithaunt and that there is no real motivation for her actions unless she is clinically insane. ...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Mafi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, pt, adaptado-tv-movie

Gostei muito! é um livro juvenil mas acho que prendeu qualquer leitor mais adulto! Gostei do twist final, ansiosa por ler os próximos volumes. :D

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Aug 26, 2009 Ashley rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-absolute-fave, hot-immortals, great-tension, teen-novels, a-fun-read

I can't believe I set this book aside for so long. It's a really good read. I needed something to read while I was on the bus, so I grabbed this and realized it was a good start.

Cassandra Clare can really animate her characters. She gives a great sense of humor to each character and my favorite in particular is Jace, a handsome Shadow Hunter who is arrogant, egotistical, and lively. I am normally not a fan of the female lead because they lead to some disappointment, but I'm actually fond of Cla ...more

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Dec 11, 2009 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2010, 1-in-series

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

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May 01, 2011 Asmaa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, series, z-2011-a-z-book-challenge, hahaha, paranormal, huge-disappointement, z-2012-reads

Je suis vraiment déçue, je crois bien que ma critique ne va pas faire de quartier (même si je suis trop gentille pour ça)

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Aug 08, 2009 Sarah Dizon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 4-stars, read-more-than-once, read-in-2017, own

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Aug 26, 2009 Felicity added it

Shelves: sept-09-challenge

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Shelves: read-2010, kindle, 1st-in-series, series, young-adult, urban-fantasy, owned, magic

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Oct 01, 2009 Sarah rated it it was amazing

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Feb 02, 2010 Dichotomy Girl rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, 2017, audiobook, 2010, fantasy

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Feb 13, 2010 Carys rated it really liked it

Shelves: bubblegum, 2012-books, paranormal-fantasy, fav-series, bestest-authors

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Feb 17, 2010 Cindy marked it as to-read

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Mar 23, 2010 Sallie(GeorgiaGirl) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: casssandra-clare, re-read, tcf-book-reading-insanity, mango-tango-reading-insanity, 2013, young-adult, paranormal-fantasy

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Apr 22, 2010 Dawn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

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Jul 24, 2010 Katharine marked it as to-read

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, for-the-older-kids

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Sep 13, 2010 Irene Hollimon marked it as books-i-didn-t-finish

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Oct 08, 2010 Judithe rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: e-book, uf, young-adult, pn-shifter, pn-vampire, pn-various-supes, pn-angels-demons, read-2011, pn-ordinary-humans-w-special-abilit, library-p-county

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