Previous BOMs - Authors; A - D: Clare, Cassandra - City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1) - January 2011 BOM

[Lisarenee]

This topic is open for discussion of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. Be prepared for SPOILERS.

[Lisarenee]

Okay I have to admit I loved City of Bones. The brother/sister relationship wasn't original. I knew Jace was falling for Clary, but it wasn't until they revealed the name of Clary's brother, who had supposedly died, that I made the connection - J. C. = Jace. Definitely hinted that something like this was possible before the actual reveal by Clary's landlord and the guy who ran the institute (can't remember their names at the moment).

I liked the idea of the world within a world that only certain people could see. I liked tattoos not actually being tattoos but being Ruins and giving the bearer special powers. I thought this somewhat explained why Clary was inept in all the fighting.
I thought it ironic that after comments about Jace only being in love with himself he falls for his sister (the one person closest to himself).

I liked the fact that Simon stepped up to the plate and helped Clary even though he's human. Still not sure why they allowed him to tag around to all those dangerous place or to the institute. Thought it odd they got all crazy when Clary showed up at the institute, but not when Simon did.

Thought the rat episode was kind of funny. More descriptions on some of the Demons and other monster type creatures would have been nice. But it kept my attention, had a fast pace, and I found it fun to read.

[Cesya]

I was actually very upset that Clary and Jace ended up being brother and sister. At the end when her, Valentine, and Jace were in the room together I was hoping he was lying. Other than that, I thought this book was great. After finding out at the end of chapter 9 that Valentine was her dad, I couldn't put the book down. I just started with City of Ashes and I can't wait to see what's going to happen.

[Lisarenee]

Cesya, Each book in the series is better than the last. I absolutely love this series. I was so happy to find out she was going to continue it. Originally she was going to end it with 3 and do a couple of spin off series.

[Cesya]

Oh yes, the Prologue already has me hooked! I'm so glad she decided to continue the series also though I am excited about reading Clockwork Angel but I don't know if I should start it now or wait until I finish this series. Decisions, decisions. lol

[Heather]

Cesya, I agree with you. I didn't feel the need to read the rest of the series..

[Jessica B]

I wanted to love this book but I had a really hard time with it. I just felt like the author's writing was all over the place. I couldn't follow it at some points and found myself drifting.

However, what made me keep reading the series was the short glimpses of 'amazing devour the pages in a race to the death' writing.

[Dana]

I loved the book! But it did have it's disappointments...and talk about family Drama! I think anyone would enjoy reading it, althought I would reserve it for 13 and up due to the violence.

[Chelsey]

Cesya wrote: "I was actually very upset that Clary and Jace ended up being brother and sister. At the end when her, Valentine, and Jace were in the room together I was hoping he was lying. Other than that, I tho..."

i feelelt the same i still hope it a trick of some sort.

[Kayleigh]

I loved this book the first time that I read it. I would recommend to anyone that enjoyed it to continue on with the series, because there are many secrets to be revealed,and you will love every minute of it!

[Cindy]

Hi everyone. I loved this series i was alittle taken back that the author made them (jace and clary) siblings and when i continued reading the series i was actually praying that there would be a mistake and they were not related, it does have its drama but i can tell you the series was woth it i love it. Im anticipating , i just cant wait to see what happens. let me know what everyone thinks so far of the book, Simon started getting on my nerves after a while. I love Jace and Clary

[Jessica (BookRockGoddess)]

I am a huge fan of this series. It is in my top five all time favorite reads. I cant wait until the fourth book. I just finished Clockwork Angel and I loved it and I cant wait for book two. I know I should wait to read books that I am going to love closer together because the wait drives me crazy!!!!!

[Angela]

SPOILER WARNING - SPOILER WARNING
Okay, so I'm totally hooked on this series. I bought it for my niece and after hearing such great reviews from my goodreads pals, I decided to buy myself the audiobooks. OMG I loved this series from the beginning. I didn't think I could be affected by a YA romance, but I was wrong. I was devastated to find out that Jace and Clary are siblings. I keep telling myself that at some point we'll find out it's not true and they can live happily ever after. I'm half way through City of Glass and still waiting for their HEA.

[Lacy♪ ♫Movements of a Demigod ♪ ♫]

I really enjoyed this book. I'm on the same page as everyone else on be upset by how Jace and Clary are brother and sister at the end of the book. I would love to see them get their HEA so now I will definitely have to continue the series.

[Jex]

I seem to be one of the few that didn't really enjoy this book. I'm not saying it was horrible, but I felt it definitely dragged along in spots. There were times when I was reading that I wondered if there was even a real point to the book because there seemed to be so many side adventures and tangents. I see how in the end some of them tied in, but the book didn't do a good job of keeping my attention until the climax. I felt the ending was kind of predictable. I'm not sure whether I want to continue reading the series or not because the book caught my attention to the point that I kind of want to know what happens next, but I wasn't fully engulfed in the storyline or the characters in the way I'd like to be.

[Sashana]

Jessica wrote: "I seem to be one of the few that didn't really enjoy this book. I'm not saying it was horrible, but I felt it definitely dragged along in spots. There were times when I was reading that I wondered ..."

Jessica, I didn't like it either. I got halfway through and stopped and it wasn't for lack of trying either. I tried rereading this book on three different occasions and I still didn't like it.

[Angie]

I found the book to be a decent read. I had those two pegged for brother/sister the second the lady downstairs read Jace's tea leaves. She told him he was going to fall in love with the wrong girl. There were also other hints that when her mother was married to Valentine that she had a son. It became pretty obvious to me that these two would be brother/sister.

I do look forward to the next books. Should get interesting. They are still 'in love' with each other so I wonder if the author will try and get them straightened out in the next couple of books.

[Lisarenee]

Angie, Each book is better than the last.

[Amy J.]

I've really enjoyed the this series and I look forward to books 4-6. At least I think I read that she was going to do 3 more.

My favorite aspects of the books were the world within the world, (especially Idris, which isn't on any mundane map), the power of runes, and Magnus Bane.

I was totally icked out by the revelation that Jace and Clary were siblings. I'll admit that I didn't see it coming.

[Angela]

Clary was my favourite character in this book and I was intrigued by Luke. There was something mysterious in his character. Jace is a strong character who draws people in with his charm and pushes them away before they begin to care for him.

The bestfriend/boyfriend Simon and the crush/boyfriend/brother Jace are both excellent characters who love Clary and want her to be happy. It was tragic to find out that Jace is Johnathan Christopher.

A world within a world that only shadow hunters and down worlders can see is truly interesting. It took me a while to get a grasp of the ruins but once I got a hold of the idea, I loved it.

I loved the twists and turns, and trying to figure out what was coming. It was a great book and I couldn't wait to read the next one.

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol)]

This is a great story with horrible writing. It was so choppy, stilted and all over the place it was excrutiatingly painful to read. I felt as if I was trying to read a Picasso. I'm not sure I want to subject myself to the next in the series. Maybe I'll give it a try after I've read some other books.

Also, I thought the brother/sister thing was a cop out. Not to mention it was a rip off of Star Wars.

[Galla]

Carol wrote: "This is a great story with horrible writing. It was so choppy, stilted and all over the place it was excrutiatingly painful to read. I felt as if I was trying to read a Picasso. I'm not sure I want..."

Carol, I think I liked the writing more than you did, but I will admit that when I got to that point, I slapped my forehead and told my husband, "Crap, she pulled a Luke & Leia." lol

[Alicia]

I'm sorry, but I didn't care for this one. I found the writing really awful - full of cliches, dreadful cheesy one-liners, and overly verbose/flowery, simile-laden descriptions. The story was interesting at first, but it just ended up going all over the place with way too many creatures/races and types of magic that weren't adequately explained or developed. There was just way too much going on. Clary was a decent heroine, but I don't get Jace's appeal. I guess I'm just sick of love triangles and the whole sexy, brooding, arrogant guy who acts like a jerk to everyone because he's sooo damaged and only a beautiful heroine (who doesn't know she is beautiful) can save him. I'm glad others enjoyed it, but it definitely wasn't my cup of tea. I can't wait to read Poison Study because I know I will love that one!

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol)]

Galla~ I know! Arrgh!

Alicia~ The writing was awful. My husband would look at me and say: "Aren't you done with that yet? Jeez!" It was so bad, it was like walking miles through quicksand to finish it. I had to make myself read it and I allowed myself to be easily distracted. On the plus side, you should love Poison Study. It was a great read.

[Lisarenee]

City of Bones is becoming a movie. Here's an article:

http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie-new...

Cassandra Clare put a link to the following story about who fans would like cast in the City of Bones roles:
http://community.livejournal.com/mich...

What do you think?

[Alicia]

I think it will translate well to the screen, since it's very heavy on action sequences, fight-scenes, chasing after various characters/objects, etc. Even the dialogue should translate well, because there are a lot of one-liners that I found to be cheesy in the book, but that seem more like the kind of lines you hear in an action movie. Mr Pettyfer looks good to me (i mean he looks good for the role!), but not sure about Lily Collins.. I looked her up on imdb and she is definitely not a redhead.

[Lisarenee]

Alicia said,"Mr Pettyfer looks good to me (i mean he looks good for the role!)"

LOL

Did you ever notice most of the roles that call for redheads end up being given to those who aren't? Sounds like a dye job will be in the works.

[Alicia]

Lisarenee wrote: "Alicia said,"Mr Pettyfer looks good to me (i mean he looks good for the role!)"

LOL

Did you ever notice most of the roles that call for redheads end up being given to those who aren't? Sounds li..."

Lol.. well, redheads are a dying breed, or um, hair colour, so to speak. I don't mind a dye job for an actress, but she doesn't have the right look at all.. she doesn't have freckles or anything either. She just looks very much a tanned brunette, not at all the pale redhead pixie look that Clary has going on.

[Mira]

I liked this book! The fact that Clary and Jace were brother and sister is something that I did not see coming.

[Emma]

I really loved this book, I seen it many times in stores and just never picked it up. As soon as I started reading it I couldnt put it down and had to order the next 2 books. I love the whole jace and clary relationship and how it written is beautiful thumbs up xx

[Chelsey]

Emma wrote: "I really loved this book, I seen it many times in stores and just never picked it up. As soon as I started reading it I couldnt put it down and had to order the next 2 books. I love the whole jace ..."

i did the same... i had to go out and buy the other two books once i finished the first.

[Sandra]

I loved this book. i didn't like how Jace & Clary were brother and sister and I devoured the rest of the series in hope that there would be a way that they could be together. All through the stories my mind was busy trying to construct a scenario where they weren't actually related. I was thrilled to read that there would be a movie but movies from books you absolutely loved can always be risky.

[Lisarenee]

I wonder if Clare made the ending of the series the way she did based on the opinions of her readers or if it was planned out from the beginning when she decided to make it a series?