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A review by savvyrosereads
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Updated Review (2022):
Rating: 4.5 stars (up from my original 4 star rating)
Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is plunged into the shadow world when her mother disappears and she learns that she is connected to a world of demons, Downworlders, and Shadowhunters, a mythical half-human half-angel race charged with saving the world from darkness.
I absolutely adore this entire series, and on a reread the first book holds up tremendously well. The characters are great—snarky, vulnerable, and well-rounded—and the plot is fast-paced and exciting, with lots of action and plenty of twists. Having read the entire series, I can say that the main TMI plot (from books 1-3) is not my fave (IYKYK, if not I’m not spoiling!) but it still sets up a lot of fun drama. I also loved the world-building throughout (truly, this is one of my favorite fictional worlds of all-time), especially the interweaving of mythology and religious history.
In short, if you like fantasy and you haven’t read this yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up!
Original review (2013):
Alright, let me just say: WHOA. Seriously. Just WHOA. I know that's a fairly vague word, but it's sort of the only way I can really sum up my feelings of this book. It started like WHOA this is awesome. And then went WHOA this is REALLYREALLYREALLY AWESOME. And then WHOA WAIT that literally cannot POSSIBLY be what's coming...and then WHOA WAIT it WAS what was coming. This book just makes me so confused, because there are literally so many parts that make it one of the greatest things I've ever read and so much that makes me so totally annoyed, sad, disappointed, disgusted, etc etc etc.
I guess I should break this down a little bit more, because a series of "WHOA" isn't going to help anyone decide whether they should read this book (and I DEFINITELY think everyone should read this book). Firstly, the world this is in. Or rather, the side of our world that this reveals. It's brilliant. I love the mythology, the legends, the logic behind everything. Usually there are parts of worlds like this that annoy me, but this book managed to stick very close to traditional myths while simultaneously seeming original. That's something to be commended. I'll admit, there were moments where I felt like I should have had more explained to me, but I certainly got enough to understand what was happening, so all in all I really can't complain. This was a world that was in-depth without getting annoyingly complex, and Clare can only get praise for that, in my opinion.
Now on to characters. They're flipping amazing. Clary is just...I love her. I want to meet her. And Jace is somewhere in my top ten male characters of ever. The supporting cast, for the most part, is a little less defined, but still really really awesome. As far as I'm concerned, a book of just dialogue between this cast of characters would be the greatest thing ever. It's witty, sarcastic, funny, intelligent, and overall just great. There's not a word that seems odd or out of place, and the characters feel like they're real...the dialogue is completely in-character, something that I know from personal experience is hard to make happen at times.
And now, drum roll please: the plot. I just...okay, right from the beginning I had some small issues with this. Clary, as awesome as she is, seemed insanely gullible, and while I realize it was essential that she quickly believe all the crazy things being tossed at her, it does seem fairly unrealistic. If I was in her shoes, I don't think I would be so quickly accepting. As equally unrealistic, Clary seems to not only ACCEPT what she's being told exceedingly quickly, but also able to UNDERSTAND it all so quickly that she's actually explaining it, actively participating in conversations about it, and generally seeming like this is information she's had for her entire life. It's not that I MIND an intelligent female lead who catches on to the situation at hand very quickly, I just don't think it's an entirely realistic reaction. Regardless, I would have been totally fine with all of this, and this book would have been rated a glowing 5 billion stars, if a certain massive revelation hadn't occurred in the ending of this book. I saw it coming, and I STILL hoped I was wrong, or that somehow what was revealed wouldn't be the case, because I just...I couldn't handle it. I still can't. I'm so torn between complete and utter amazement at the massive and unexpected plot twist, and genuine massive disgust and shock at the element Clare just created, and heart-breaking disappointment at the way things are going to go now, because they can't go how I wanted them to, barring other equally massive revelations.
So, in a nutshell: Characters - AMAZING, World - REALLY COOL, Plot - AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGHHHHHH WHYYYYYYY?!?!?!?! Still, I recommend this book to absolutely anyone who likes reading books, especially paranormal/fantasy/awesome books. And I'll be downloading City of Ashes on my Kindle as soon as I finish schoolwork today, because despite that ending...I can't wait to find out what happens next.
Rating: 4.5 stars (up from my original 4 star rating)
Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is plunged into the shadow world when her mother disappears and she learns that she is connected to a world of demons, Downworlders, and Shadowhunters, a mythical half-human half-angel race charged with saving the world from darkness.
I absolutely adore this entire series, and on a reread the first book holds up tremendously well. The characters are great—snarky, vulnerable, and well-rounded—and the plot is fast-paced and exciting, with lots of action and plenty of twists. Having read the entire series, I can say that the main TMI plot (from books 1-3) is not my fave (IYKYK, if not I’m not spoiling!) but it still sets up a lot of fun drama. I also loved the world-building throughout (truly, this is one of my favorite fictional worlds of all-time), especially the interweaving of mythology and religious history.
In short, if you like fantasy and you haven’t read this yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up!
Original review (2013):
Alright, let me just say: WHOA. Seriously. Just WHOA. I know that's a fairly vague word, but it's sort of the only way I can really sum up my feelings of this book. It started like WHOA this is awesome. And then went WHOA this is REALLYREALLYREALLY AWESOME. And then WHOA WAIT that literally cannot POSSIBLY be what's coming...and then WHOA WAIT it WAS what was coming. This book just makes me so confused, because there are literally so many parts that make it one of the greatest things I've ever read and so much that makes me so totally annoyed, sad, disappointed, disgusted, etc etc etc.
I guess I should break this down a little bit more, because a series of "WHOA" isn't going to help anyone decide whether they should read this book (and I DEFINITELY think everyone should read this book). Firstly, the world this is in. Or rather, the side of our world that this reveals. It's brilliant. I love the mythology, the legends, the logic behind everything. Usually there are parts of worlds like this that annoy me, but this book managed to stick very close to traditional myths while simultaneously seeming original. That's something to be commended. I'll admit, there were moments where I felt like I should have had more explained to me, but I certainly got enough to understand what was happening, so all in all I really can't complain. This was a world that was in-depth without getting annoyingly complex, and Clare can only get praise for that, in my opinion.
Now on to characters. They're flipping amazing. Clary is just...I love her. I want to meet her. And Jace is somewhere in my top ten male characters of ever. The supporting cast, for the most part, is a little less defined, but still really really awesome. As far as I'm concerned, a book of just dialogue between this cast of characters would be the greatest thing ever. It's witty, sarcastic, funny, intelligent, and overall just great. There's not a word that seems odd or out of place, and the characters feel like they're real...the dialogue is completely in-character, something that I know from personal experience is hard to make happen at times.
And now, drum roll please: the plot. I just...okay, right from the beginning I had some small issues with this. Clary, as awesome as she is, seemed insanely gullible, and while I realize it was essential that she quickly believe all the crazy things being tossed at her, it does seem fairly unrealistic. If I was in her shoes, I don't think I would be so quickly accepting. As equally unrealistic, Clary seems to not only ACCEPT what she's being told exceedingly quickly, but also able to UNDERSTAND it all so quickly that she's actually explaining it, actively participating in conversations about it, and generally seeming like this is information she's had for her entire life. It's not that I MIND an intelligent female lead who catches on to the situation at hand very quickly, I just don't think it's an entirely realistic reaction. Regardless, I would have been totally fine with all of this, and this book would have been rated a glowing 5 billion stars, if a certain massive revelation hadn't occurred in the ending of this book. I saw it coming, and I STILL hoped I was wrong, or that somehow what was revealed wouldn't be the case, because I just...I couldn't handle it. I still can't. I'm so torn between complete and utter amazement at the massive and unexpected plot twist, and genuine massive disgust and shock at the element Clare just created, and heart-breaking disappointment at the way things are going to go now, because they can't go how I wanted them to, barring other equally massive revelations.
So, in a nutshell: Characters - AMAZING, World - REALLY COOL, Plot - AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGHHHHHH WHYYYYYYY?!?!?!?! Still, I recommend this book to absolutely anyone who likes reading books, especially paranormal/fantasy/awesome books. And I'll be downloading City of Ashes on my Kindle as soon as I finish schoolwork today, because despite that ending...I can't wait to find out what happens next.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Kidnapping and War