Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of City of Bones (Mortal Instruments, Bk 1)

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments, Bk 1)
ashleyhoffenberg avatar reviewed on + 25 more book reviews


** spoiler alert **

I didn't know what to expect with this series, honestly, and the first chapter didn't grab me. The plot of this series isn't completely unique but the world is really interesting and cool. Angels, Demons, Downworlders, Shadowhunters. Needless to say, after Jace showed up at the poetry reading though, everything changed.

Jace. *dreamy eyes* I will be honest. I can't stand pompous, conceited, asshats. However, it is quite obvious that Jace acts this way to hide his true emotion. He wants to belong. I do believe he thinks he is hot shit (and, he is), but it is a complete defense mechanism IMO. He softens up after he becomes comfortable with Clary, and finds himself feeling an new emotion. Anyway, his witty banter about himself were some of the best lines of the book!

Clary didn't strike me as a very interesting character, but obviously her past is uncovered and she begins to grow on you, and grow herself. However, she takes her "real" existence like it was another day in the office. I wanted more shock and awe, more reality there. Her mother DID pound into her head that fairy tales aren't real. And then she finds out that all the stories are true, and she takes it like a champ. Really?

And while Valentine is a mean SOB, he wasn't dirty enough for me. Maybe we haven't seen his best work yet? I am having a REALLY hard time dealing with the ugly twist that was thrown into the mix at the end, and I hope that Valentine is truly a lying SOB on that one.

Lots of drama and action, some tension between characters, a possible love triangle, and a devastating twist at the end that may send your heart into palpitations. Now I have to wait to find out what happens with said twist and PRAY that is isn't true