City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) in Once Upon a Twilight blog

Feb 18, 2010 Laura Kreitzer rated it liked it

Shelves: own-book

CITY OF BONES by Cassandra Clare (3 stars) This book needs buckets of edits. Oh yes. Horrific grammar. Yeah, she was definitely a fanfic author who just got lucky with good marketing. That's all it is. Just like I AM NUMBER FOUR.

But then . . . Clare goes all FORBIDDEN on our asses. The MC's romantic lead ends up being her brother? (Possibly/maybe/sorta, but they still want each other.) REALLY? That's super gross. Finding out someone you are attracted to is your brother is the equivalent of your ...more

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Feb 25, 2010 Danya Bakhbakhi rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, paranormal, young-adult, ebooks

I really liked this book once I started reading it, it was very different from how i thought it would be like. The characters were kinda funny and.. unexpected, especially the main character Clary, who is introduced as the average teenage shy girl at the beginning of the book and then dives into the world of Shadowhunters and starts to see behind the glamour.. to see the world the way it really is, with all its magic and creatures (Demons, Vamps, Werewolves, Witches. warlocks and all other downw ...more

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Apr 04, 2010 OpenBookSociety.com rated it really liked it

Brought by OBS staff member Farrha
http://openbooksociety.com/article/ca...

Book One: The Mortal Instruments

Review
Firstly, I want to say that this is a novel to be thoroughly enjoyed. Strap yourself in, sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s fast, it’s got highs, it’s got lows and when it’s over, you’ll be thankful for the ride… and that’s pretty much it.

City of Bones is a guilty pleasure. Both for the reader (especially if the reader is a fan of fantasy books, television shows and movies – like myself ...more

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Sep 29, 2010 Stacey (sassysreadingnook) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: re-reads

Wow this book was amazing! It took me into a world full of adventure, danger and passion. The characters you just fall in love with. Clary is just a strong and amazing character. Jace is just every woman's bad boy dream man. I gave this book 5 stars because from the first page i was hooked! I would recommend this book to everyone i know. LOVED IT!!

**Loved it even more the 3rd time I've read it! ...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Jesi rated it it was amazing

While at an all-ages club with her best friend Simon, sixteen year old Clary stumbles upon three tattooed teenagers murdering another teen and finds herself mixed up in the world of Shadowhunters, Nephilim who are charged with ridding the earth of demons and other dark creatures. The fact that Clary can see them at all is a signal that she is no ordinary human girl. When Clary’s mother goes missing, it is the Shadowhunters who take her under their wing and teach her about her mother’s past. She While at an all-ages club with her best friend Simon, sixteen year old Clary stumbles upon three tattooed teenagers murdering another teen and finds herself mixed up in the world of Shadowhunters, Nephilim who are charged with ridding the earth of demons and other dark creatures. The fact that Clary can see them at all is a signal that she is no ordinary human girl. When Clary’s mother goes missing, it is the Shadowhunters who take her under their wing and teach her about her mother’s past. She learns that her mother was taken by an evil rogue Shadowhunter, Valentine, because she knows where the precious Mortal Cup is. But Clary’s mother isn’t the only one who knows where the cup is…with the help of a warlock’s magic, her mother buried clues into her memory. Clary and her Shadowhunter friends fight to reach it before Valentine does.

My favorite part of this book was the snappy dialogue. Jace and Clary both wield sarcasm like swords. I really hope that if they ever make a movie of this series that they will use Cassie Clare’s actual lines and allow her to have a hand in writing the script.

The world that Clare has created here is fun, scary and full of wonder. Her descriptions of fairies, vampires, werewolves, warlocks and Nephilim existing in the modern world around us, made me long for it to be real. I also love that her nasty Valentine character is so calm and psychotic. The way he can justify and turn things around in ways to influence people into thinking he is right is almost scarier than a typical villain.

There is also a love triangle which starts out typical, but ends up being really interesting. Clary & Simon have been best friends since they were kids. It is obvious that he is completely infatuated with her and she has no idea. (There are actually several examples of unrequited love in this book.) When the incredibly hot Shadowhunter, Jace, enters the picture, it’s clear pretty quickly that Clary’s heart lies in another direction, putting her in between the two guys who don’t care for each other. Jace has an exterior that is tough as leather. Even thought you know that Clary is getting to him, he is not quick to relinquish his hold on his emotions. He flat out tells her that love makes people weak, something that a Shadowhunter cannot afford to be. No spoilers here or anything ,but there is a plot twist at the end of this book that completely broke my heart. Can’t wait to read the next book!

Overall, I give City of Bones…

Plot – 4 ½ bookmarks
Character Development – 4 bookmarks
World Building – 4 ½ bookmarks
Love Story – 3 ½ bookmarks, but I think it will get more interesting in the coming books)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Rachel Hurd-Wood (Clary), Alex Pettyfer (Jace), Luke Pasqualino (Simon), Zac Efron (Alec), Christopher Backus (Magnus Bane), Christian Serratos (Isabelle) ...more

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