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376 reviews for:
The Mortal Instruments Boxed Set: City of Bones; City of Ashes; City of Glass
Cassandra Clare
4.07 AVERAGE
376 reviews for:
The Mortal Instruments Boxed Set: City of Bones; City of Ashes; City of Glass
Cassandra Clare
4.07 AVERAGE
All the stories are true.
I really must be the last person to read this book and the series in general but I am finally here! For the past few years, I have watched and loved the show, though, so I do know the characters! I have been meaning to read the book because I've wanted to get more background information on not just the characters but the world in general. Ancient runes are interesting and the concept of using them for fighting against the darkness is a yes from me.
For the most part, I was not let down with the book minus the ending. I already know what is to come since I've watched the show but it still threw me for a loop regardless. I was left with the whole seriously? going on. Beyond that I loved the banter with the characters and how they were trying to navigate all the sudden changes. Very quick changes since it's over a span a couple weeks? Something like that.
The book starts out with Clary and Simon just wanting to go to a club and dance around. Have some teenage hijinks but then Clary sees what she isn't supposed to see and everything goes from there. She's whisked into the shadowhunter world and learns how many of the stories are true. Yes, there are demons, angels, vampires, werewolves, the fair folk and who knows what else.
Clary is forced further into the world when her mother goes missing and she's attacked. Not the greatest introduction to the world in the least bit but she learns quickly how much stronger she is than she first thought. There are legends to come to terms with, battles to overcome and secrets to reveal. Oh my! If all of that wasn't enough, Clary gets another twist she never expected to have. Me either, honestly.
I can already tell I am going to love Magnus, Isabelle and Alec. They're my favorites in the show as well. It took time for me to come around with Clary and I went back and forth with her in the book as well. I felt the same with Jace but I did love his one liners. I felt for Simon and he doesn't annoy me as much as he seems to with others. I'll never get why he gets so much loathing. But I have a lot more to read here.
As for the adults, Luke deserves all the love, Valentine needs to go away and Hodge really was a surprise. It is difficult to say a good or bad one. I want the official introduction with the Lightwoods and other Circle members. It'll be interesting to see how that all plays out.
All in all, I was interested in the entire world and by the end of the book I was on board with nearly all of the characters. Minus Valentine but he's not painted for me to like him anyway.
But this time, Clary kept her eyes open, so she could see it all.
Never before have I regretted picking up a book as much as in this instance.
The characters are one-dimensional and impossibly cliche. The story line has potential but is developed in a way that makes me physically ill. Too much focus is placed on love and love triangles instead of the plot and character development.
Nonetheless, I supposed it is a YA paranormal book to the extreme "YA". There are definitely Twilight elements.
The characters are one-dimensional and impossibly cliche. The story line has potential but is developed in a way that makes me physically ill. Too much focus is placed on love and love triangles instead of the plot and character development.
Nonetheless, I supposed it is a YA paranormal book to the extreme "YA". There are definitely Twilight elements.
wow i liked this a lot less the second time around. i mean i knew that was going to happen but still.
Enjoyed the plot of this much more than the TV show, though still think this series is a little overrated. All the same, in the last couple of chapters there were shocking revelations that I would never have expected.
This was a very good book. Despite my forebodings, it had nothing overly 'racy,' and altogether was a well-contrived novel. There were times when I was deathly afraid they were all going to die, and times when I wished some of them would die if only to make it simpler. It was witty, entertaining, and the intermingled romance was pulled off beautifully. What's more, when she wrote about the terrible things- and there were plenty of terrible things to write about- she made it work. It wasn't cliche at all, and it kept me interested all the way. I'm looking forward to reading the second book.
I watched the movie because my (then) roommate wanted to support Godfrey Gao. I then decided to pick up the book because people (mostly) said it was good and I needed something to read at work. It's an easy read, the world is interesting. The writing is very mediocre though. Nothing mind-blowing. Average read if you ignore the subpar writing.
I finally get what people are saying when they say this should have been the last book. After reading this I can't possibly think of what in the world the next THREE books are about. Putting the next one off since I am NUMBER EIGHT on the holds list at my library. Real review to come.
*EDIT 03/09/16*
Well this was a lot better than I thought it would be. The Mortal Instruments weren't always my favorite series by Clare. I was actually a bigger fan of The Infernal Devices. But now that Lady Midnight is coming out (I know you don't have to read all of them before you get to it but my mind has to) I know I need to get a move on reading them.
Clary's mom still needs saving. Because of that, Clary wants to get to Idris. Jace, Alec, Isabelle, and other Shadow Hunters are all summoned to that same place. They don't want Clary to come, but it's for good reason. Unfortunately, something happens and Simon is taken along for the ride with them to Idris where certain people aren't welcome. And low and behold Clary makes it there as well...
I finally get the hype around this series. But I also get why some people say this series could've stopped here. To me it really seemed like all the answers were answered, all loose ends were tied up, and of course there were all the answers with the enemies. Im not sure when Clare decided to add more to this story, but I'm fairly certain it was after this book. As soon as I finished reading it I was confused as to whether or not I wanted to finish reading the series. What's it going to be about now? But just asking myself that made me realize I needed to read it. Just to make sure there are no spoilers in Lady Midnight.
The only thing I wasn't too fond of in this installment was the characters. Clary made dumb irrational decisions all the time and I was getting upset with the fact that she didn't want to listen to anyone that had been a Shadowhunter longer than she did. (Because that makes sense -__-) But then there was Jace. He was acting like he just hated the entire world. Basically he was acting like a small child. And it was very annoying. As for Alec, he has finally gotten on my good side! And let me just say... TEAM MALEC. I loved that one part and I can't wait to see more of them! Simon is finally getting a bit better, but that's only because he is no longer pining away after Clary. So glad he finally got the picture.
Also, I can't lie, I loved the action and the adventure that came in this one. So many times I had to go back and rewind the audio so I could make sure I heard something right. There were so many surprises that I could barely handle lol But the main reason I rated this one s well was the Valentine story. It was nice to finally get a back story about him. I really wish I could have gotten it earlier tho. It would have made me a little more invested in the overall story.
The main reason I will be continuing this series is mainly curiosity. I need to know what other problems she brings up after everything was so tied up and I need to see how Malec is finally getting along. As you can see, those things are of the utmost importance lol
*EDIT 03/09/16*
Well this was a lot better than I thought it would be. The Mortal Instruments weren't always my favorite series by Clare. I was actually a bigger fan of The Infernal Devices. But now that Lady Midnight is coming out (I know you don't have to read all of them before you get to it but my mind has to) I know I need to get a move on reading them.
Clary's mom still needs saving. Because of that, Clary wants to get to Idris. Jace, Alec, Isabelle, and other Shadow Hunters are all summoned to that same place. They don't want Clary to come, but it's for good reason. Unfortunately, something happens and Simon is taken along for the ride with them to Idris where certain people aren't welcome. And low and behold Clary makes it there as well...
I finally get the hype around this series. But I also get why some people say this series could've stopped here. To me it really seemed like all the answers were answered, all loose ends were tied up, and of course there were all the answers with the enemies. Im not sure when Clare decided to add more to this story, but I'm fairly certain it was after this book. As soon as I finished reading it I was confused as to whether or not I wanted to finish reading the series. What's it going to be about now? But just asking myself that made me realize I needed to read it. Just to make sure there are no spoilers in Lady Midnight.
The only thing I wasn't too fond of in this installment was the characters. Clary made dumb irrational decisions all the time and I was getting upset with the fact that she didn't want to listen to anyone that had been a Shadowhunter longer than she did. (Because that makes sense -__-) But then there was Jace. He was acting like he just hated the entire world. Basically he was acting like a small child. And it was very annoying. As for Alec, he has finally gotten on my good side! And let me just say... TEAM MALEC. I loved that one part and I can't wait to see more of them! Simon is finally getting a bit better, but that's only because he is no longer pining away after Clary. So glad he finally got the picture.
Also, I can't lie, I loved the action and the adventure that came in this one. So many times I had to go back and rewind the audio so I could make sure I heard something right. There were so many surprises that I could barely handle lol But the main reason I rated this one s well was the Valentine story. It was nice to finally get a back story about him. I really wish I could have gotten it earlier tho. It would have made me a little more invested in the overall story.
The main reason I will be continuing this series is mainly curiosity. I need to know what other problems she brings up after everything was so tied up and I need to see how Malec is finally getting along. As you can see, those things are of the utmost importance lol
God. That twist! Can't wrap my head around this!! Won't spoil a thing here though!
I enjoyed Cass's writing however the POV's were a bit off for me at times. It was a debut!
There were slow parts but I'm glad to have read it and will continue with the series!
Some great characters, I liked all the 'good guys'.
I fell in love with Jace, (shrugs) I'm hopeless!
'Our own Sleeping Beauty. Who finally kissed you awake?'.... haha everything he said had me smiling!!
I enjoyed Cass's writing however the POV's were a bit off for me at times. It was a debut!
There were slow parts but I'm glad to have read it and will continue with the series!
Some great characters, I liked all the 'good guys'.
I fell in love with Jace, (shrugs) I'm hopeless!
'Our own Sleeping Beauty. Who finally kissed you awake?'.... haha everything he said had me smiling!!
I read this awhile ago but forgot to mark it as finished on here, whoops. Relatively basic plot line without anything too special diction-wise; a mediocre book at best, but I don't think I'll stick around to read the rest of the series.
The whole "Jace being Clary's boyfriend/brother" thing threw me off, though. Ouch. That sucks big time.