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A review by boisdelaire
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
3.0
first read in 2021 : ★★★ ─── 3 stars.
second read in 2024 : ★★★ ─── 3.75 stars.
did i think i was going to enjoy it more than the first time around? clearly not. did i forget most of the tv show details so i could enjoy the book more? yes indeed. i just tried to put all my feelings and my knowledge about everything aside to start this journey anew and it was SUCH a good idea. of course, except for the final straw of clary and jace being [edited], i had a really great time!
i remember not liking jace as a character because.. i had my preconceptions from the tv show and i really hated him there. but now i could get behind him. he definitely has the bad boy attitude i’m not very fond of BUT he’s so witty, i love that every time he opens his mouth, it’s to pour out sarcasm and i find it fun most of the time. and he’s kinda complex too, he has suffered so much during his life yet he still stands for his people, protects them, he’s not a lone wolf but at the same time, he knows he’s different from the rest (izzy and alec) because he’s been adopted and he has seen horrors when he was a kid. i DEFINITELY have more empathy and fondness for him this time around. (which might come from growing up, being more mature lmao)
i have noticed from some of the other reviews that we all felt the same way. the pacing, the characters, everything was entertaining and we couldn’t put the book down until the last portion of the book. literally the expression “going downhill” because revelation after revelation, i wanted to finish the book quickly and never hear about it again. took out the 0.25 stars of the 4 stars this book would be if clace hadn’t been a thing before the THING.
oh and clary has so many internalized misogynistic thoughts it is VERY hard to read them and not throw the book down. this book is a product of its time in the "i'm not like the other girls" grand scheme of books, but still. do you think we're going to relate to your main character because she hates isabelle for clearly no reason and because she's different from clary so it's automatically a bad thing? nuh huh.
second read in 2024 : ★★★ ─── 3.75 stars.
did i think i was going to enjoy it more than the first time around? clearly not. did i forget most of the tv show details so i could enjoy the book more? yes indeed. i just tried to put all my feelings and my knowledge about everything aside to start this journey anew and it was SUCH a good idea. of course, except for the final straw of clary and jace being [edited], i had a really great time!
i remember not liking jace as a character because.. i had my preconceptions from the tv show and i really hated him there. but now i could get behind him. he definitely has the bad boy attitude i’m not very fond of BUT he’s so witty, i love that every time he opens his mouth, it’s to pour out sarcasm and i find it fun most of the time. and he’s kinda complex too, he has suffered so much during his life yet he still stands for his people, protects them, he’s not a lone wolf but at the same time, he knows he’s different from the rest (izzy and alec) because he’s been adopted and he has seen horrors when he was a kid. i DEFINITELY have more empathy and fondness for him this time around. (which might come from growing up, being more mature lmao)
i have noticed from some of the other reviews that we all felt the same way. the pacing, the characters, everything was entertaining and we couldn’t put the book down until the last portion of the book. literally the expression “going downhill” because revelation after revelation, i wanted to finish the book quickly and never hear about it again. took out the 0.25 stars of the 4 stars this book would be if clace hadn’t been a thing before the THING.
oh and clary has so many internalized misogynistic thoughts it is VERY hard to read them and not throw the book down. this book is a product of its time in the "i'm not like the other girls" grand scheme of books, but still. do you think we're going to relate to your main character because she hates isabelle for clearly no reason and because she's different from clary so it's automatically a bad thing? nuh huh.