Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - City of Bones

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

49 reviews

cristina_reading24's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense 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? No

3.5

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kal517's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.75

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singalana's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I wonder if I'm getting too old for these kinds of books. But despite its flaws, I kind of enjoyed it anyway.

The main character, Clary, gives off a “not like the other girls”-vibe and seems hostile towards other girls in this book.

What I liked: The banter was pretty good at places. The audiobook had a good narrator, but at times, she sounded very posh.

What I didn't like: The author has a case of thesaurus madness, sometimes, the word choices don't quite fit the context, in my opinion. Also, she likes adverbs very much. And the word ‘hard’ (e.g. “She hit the ground, HARD.”)... And there were a few throwaway comments that were quite insensitive.

About the ending…

Spoilers!

Oh boy, the ending knocked the rating down. First of all, I didn't understand the scene where Valentine came to retrieve the cup. How did she not see Clary, or did I miss something? And there was so much explaining, and the ending seemed to drag on forever. Also, I didn't like the way Jace behaved in the end, it didn't feel believable. I listened to this as an audiobook, and finally, when I heard the word “epilogue” and I checked the time, I noticed the epilogue was AN HOUR long! That's not an epilogue, that's 10 % of the book! (It turned out that there's a bonus chapter of one of the author’s other books. But still, the epilogue was like 30 minutes long.)

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annikenr's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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bookthief's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I had read the infernal devices first which I know is not recommended to read before the mortal instruments, but it helped with my understanding of the world. I was able to get into the story quicker since I knew of the shadowhunter verse and understand the different species and laws. At the beginning of the book the plot felt a bit rocky and it was putting the main plot on the side for half of the book. But the plot was very interesting since Clary had her sight taken away by her Magnus due to her mum. Valentine was a good villian as he was name dropped throughout and no one really knew who he was an art from Luke and Jocelyn, making the ending intense when he appeared for the first time.

Clary was a curious and strong female main character, always wanting to follow the adventure to save those she loves even though she can get hurt. I was surprised when she discovered the mortal cup in the painting and she was the only one who could reach it. I would want her and Jace to be together if they weren’t siblings ( I already knew this plot twist and I already know they aren’t actually ).

Jace was a mysterious character, since he kept lots of things secret and his family is also very secretive. He was very brave risking his own life to save Simon when he was a rat and he always tried to rescue Clary no matter the risks.

I wasn’t to give a special mention to Luke. Even though he wasn’t a main character he was still incredible. I thought he was going to die at the end and I’m so grateful he didn’t because he is such a great character.

Overall I loved this book and I can’t wait to read the rest!

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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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