This review is spoiler-free!
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #1
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Release Date: March 27th 2007 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Format: Hardcover, 485 pages
Rating: ★★★★☆
Find it here: Goodreads || Book Depository
Disclaimer: this isn’t the first time I’ve read the book, but it has been almost ten years since I have read it, so it’s almost like it’s new to me. Except it really isn’t.
I’m reading it with adult eyes, though, instead of teenager ones, so that definitely makes a difference. For example: I find both Jace and Clary much more intolerable than I used to, I previously only though Jace was a bit of a dickwad and Clary was somewhat relatable, but now I just find both really annoying. I like Izzy more this time around, and, like before, Magnus Bane remains my absolute favorite character, and I don’t expect that to change.
The storyline seems a little bit plainer this time around, and the shock value isn’t there now that I know what to expect, but I did still manage to find myself reading easily as I went. Clare writes with a very fluid prose, and, despite the obvious blips and somewhat cringe-worthy clips that were hip back in 2007, I really liked it. I definitely found myself really, really enjoying any scenes with Magnus in them and somewhat bored when Simon wasn’t present, but that didn’t ruin the book for me.
Having read this before, I think, actually makes it more enjoyable for me, as I have to focus less on the big details of the storyline, since I already know them, and I’m able to pick up on smaller things that I know I didn’t get the first time. Some of the things are very clever, and I really like how they’re slid into some of the scenes. And, as annoying as Clary is, I can’t wait to see her grow.
(She will grow by the time this series is done with, right? I mean, come on.)
This review, along with the ones that will come for City of Ashes and City of Glass, will all be comparison reviews, as I read those previously, but from then on the reviews will be first-time opinions.
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