City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

I debated reading this book for years. That sounds really dramatic when I say 'years' but literally it's true. I would periodically come across news about this book series, see it in the library or bookstores, hear the series recommended in book haul videos on youtube. I would always find myself slightly interested but not enough to actually read it. What changed my mind, you ask? Well, the television show the Shadowhunters did. I fell in love with one character Alec and also his relationship with Magnus. I found myself falling more and more in love with this show as I binge watched all the episodes on Hulu in about three days. So, I decided that it was finally time to pick up the books and begin reading. Now, the author herself seems to be shrouded in controversy as a fanfiction author and someone who has been sued for plagiarism. I saw so many mixed reviews on this book series that I doubted it and did not go into it with high expectations.

 

This is the first book in the mortal instruments series. I picked up the first four books from the library in this series and plan to read them all. I read this large book in two days. I do love large books. Despite being such a large book, I did find it to be a generally quick read. I thought the language was for the most part simple and easy to understand. I thought that the plot generally moved quickly. All of these are good things.

 

The writing itself was not the greatest, but not the worst. The characters were generally one-dimensional. There were a lot of cliche tropes in this book. The dialogue in general was also not the greatest and many of the descriptions needed improvement. There were several cases of info dumping that didn't make sense. The opening of the novel did not exactly hook my interest or seem realistic at all. Jace doesn't come across as a very likable character for me and Clary sometimes borders on Mary Sue levels.

 

While the friendship between Simon and Clary was sometimes not so great, it was also great at other times and I enjoyed it for the most part. I enjoyed the characters of Magnus and Raphael the most. I found Alec to be somewhat interesting.

 

My favorite thing about the novel is the whole world that is created here with angels and shadowhunters and demons and vampires and werewolves etc.... I found it to be very interesting and the world was created well. There's so much to it, so many layers, and it's definitely well thought out. I think that it's enough to carry the books despite the other not so great parts of it. It's what saves the books for me and makes me rate it three stars instead of something much lower, and what will make me read on. That and Magnus Bane.