Reviews with content warning for War - Città di ossa

I’m not quite sure how I went so long before starting this series, because this book was great! This is such a captivating story, and the numerous plot twists throughout were actually insane! I had problems at times keeping up, because it felt like the world building was so large that it’s a lot to retain and figure out story-wise. I found myself at times getting confused with all the names being mentioned and the different types of beings. The transition from chapter 20 to chapter 21 (and the entirety of that background story chapter) was INCREDIBLE, probably my favorite part of the whole book! I thought it was a very unique take to share such vital information to the story, and it was done beautifully!!!

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augustinedreams's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Video review: https://youtu.be/yMwx5EMf4vQ?si=fEiP37QS3eW67hKf

Blended reading: audiobook and physical.

The Details:
Narrated by Ari Graynor
Unabridged

The Shadowhunter books have been on my tbr for so long, and on a whim, I finally decided to get to it, with book one.

I'm so glad I throughly enjoyed this. I thought I'd be super irritated by the old school YA and wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief or get over potential juvenile narrations but I felt really invested in the characters and the world of the demon hunters. Don't get me wrong, the inital few chapters probably would have dragged, had I not been listening to the audiobook, but once we got through that it was upwards from there.
City of Bones sort of gave me Percy Jackson vibes and when this became apparent to me, my enjoyment instantly increased more so.

Clary was pretty enjoyable to read from. She felt pretty immature at times but it was believable, especially recalling how I acted as a 15 year old. She did pretty well in the grand scheme of things, considering....
On thing I couldn't ignore about Clary, however, was that she was such an awful friend to Simon, consistently forgetting his whole existence... so much for 10+ years of friendship. It was almost like she was just waiting for something better to come along and it made me sad. Especially when Simon did himself a disservice by answering her beck and call after a major blow up, with no conclusion or conversation to really settle what happened.

I did love Simon though. I thought he was funny and a sweetheart but he wasn't over kill as a typical comic relief. It was fun to see his perspective as a regular person thrown into this world and I think, despite her ignoring him, he was a good person to humble and keep Clary grounded, but he lost himself in his love.

I loved that we had a cast of adult characters too. It took away some of the minor annoyances of following a group of young teenagers, and Luke was probably one of my favourite adults. However, when he said something like (and here, I paraphrase) 'don't call me uncle, I'm not old enough to be your uncle and I'm not reeeeally your uncle, just your mums long time friend.... ' rang super creepy to me. I mean I get it after everything that happened by the end, and understand the complex relationship he had with Clary's mum, but it initally felt so creeper alert.

Jace was so hot and cold, I felt like he was charming and the typical YA heart throb/swoon-y obvious love interest, but then he'd switch and be really spiteful. And then of course there's the big issue of... (see spoiler).

Overall, I had so much fun reading this and I'm hopeful the rest of the main series is an enjoyable one for me. It made for easy and fun entertainment, that had me really invested in particular character arcs, as well as the overarching direction of the plot and I'm eager to pick up book 2.

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