So I’m late to the party. I just got around to reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, which is an 11 year old book. I found it to be… good. It’s not great, but it’s good.
I saw this book while looking through Goodreads 2018 releases, and found that Clare’s Queen of Air and Darkness is listed as highly anticipated. I can’t start in the middle of a series, of course, so I clicked around and found this book which started it all. Fortunately, my local library had it (although now I’m waiting to read book #2 and I’m tenth on the waiting list).
The book is about a girl, Clary, who stumbles upon a murder that only she could see. Shortly after that, her world is completely upended when she discovers that the world that she believed to be true isn’t all there is. Not only are there demons, werewolves, Nephilim, and vampires, but her family is a part of that world. Over the course of this book, she discovers the truth about this world around her, and about her family.
I did enjoy this book. Enough that I immediately got on the waiting list at the library to read the second book in the series. I’ll probably end up reading all of the books, although that might take a while, since there’s quite a few books in this series, and there’s a waiting list at the library for most of them. I didn’t enjoy the book enough to go out and buy the entire series.
There were a lot of things I liked about this book. I liked the characters and their relationships. I liked the imagery and the world-building. I enjoyed the plot and kept wanting to read more. The mythology was interesting.
There were some things that this story could have done better, however. This wasn’t one of those books that sucks you in and grabs you and won’t let you go. I’m not going to be fangirling over this book years from now after I’ve read it for the fourth or fifth time. There were a couple of things that I found a little odd — the main character’s life was uprooted over the course of 24 hours, nearly everything she had is gone — you would think she would have a stronger emotional reaction to it. The mythology was a little mishmashed, and that could have been better. The final thing that I think could have been written better was, towards the end, where the characters are finding out these big revelations and… I would think that their emotional reactions would have been a little more pronounced.
This being one of Clare’s earlier works, I’m looking forward to continuing on with the series and seeing her develop as an author. Since I’ve waited so long to read the first book, I can quickly catch up.
Brooke,
I love these books. But, I had come into the stories way back when, so there was a bit of a distance between each story. I think the emotional impact of things is better portrayed in later books, particularly with Clary and Jace. Plus, I think the more you read, the more there is an emotional weight to what happens to the characters, even if it’s on a karmic level, you know? Like, each family has secrets and parallels to later characters. It’s the fun of these books for me. And the humor. I liked Cassie Clare’s humor all the way back when she wrote fan fiction.
Looking forward to reading more of your blog! Nice to meet you, friend.
I love it how she started with fanfiction. That’s most of what I’m writing today (although I’m planning original fiction for NaNoWriMo this year). I’m looking forward to the rest coming available at the library.
Wow I do NOT miss the old cover of this book. I actually don’t know if I’ve gone back and reread this all the way through since picking it up… oh boy was it seven years ago? More? Something like that. I’m not sure how it would be for me reading it now… I know I had some issues with it then but I did continue with the series so I guess it did it’s job well enough?
Kelly @ Wandering Through Books recently posted…Review: Trail of Lightning
I’ve seen some of her more recent writings (passages she posts on social media) and it looks like she’s improved as an author. I think we all do though
I enjoyed this one, but didn’t love it. I still haven’t read further in the series and haven’t decided if I will. Maybe someday. I hope you continue to enjoy the series! I do think the premise is really interesting. I want to see the television show they made out of it at some point, even though I’ve heard mixed things about it. I did see the movie.
Literary Feline recently posted…Where Is Your Bookmark? (A Peek Into Bring Me Their Hearts)
I’ve heard the movie wasn’t very good. Did you like it?
It is funny. I own most if not all of the books in this series. I read this one and thought it was okay but haven’t read any further. I will have to get back to it at some point. I will be curious about your thoughts on the second book.
Carole @ Carole’s Random Life in Books recently posted…Stacking the Shelves #124
I definitely plan on reviewing it here when it finally becomes available at the library!
I for sure wasn’t in love with this book and after reading the series I unhauled the books haha. Even so I would suggest also trying The Infernal Devices. I found that one better. And for some reason I did start the next series as wel haha.
Annemieke recently posted…Book Shelf Tour 2018 – Part 2
Good to know. Goodreads suggested that we read the books starting with this one, so that’s what I did. If they get better (I’ve read some of her posts on her Tumblr account and like what I’ve read there) then I’ll probably end up reading the all, eventually. Since I’m far behind and the library has quite the waiting list, it might take a while.
Oh my gosh, City of Bones is an eleven-year old book? I’m feeling really old right now. It’s been a while since I read this one (an eleven-year old book?!), but I do think it could have been better. You can’t deny that it’s an addictive read though. Hope your library hold comes in soon!
According to Goodreads, it came out on March 27, 2007. I find it hard to believe that City of Ashes (a 10 year old book) has such a long waiting list. I’m #7 on the waiting list now, so at least the list is moving.
It’s been years since I read City of Bones but I really enjoyed the whole series. I know a lot of people thought it should have ended after the first three books but I totally enjoyed all six. Clare really has a way of worldbuilding that sucked me right in!
Tanya @ Girl Plus Books recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Series & Authors I’ve Given Up On
I hope I like them. I’ve liked a lot of her Tumblr posts where she posts stuff from latter books, so I think I will. I’ve been paying attention to the hold queue at the library because I’m trying to arrange it so all the books become available at almost the same time so I can read them back to back.
I want to start reading Cassandra Clare books, but not from this one. I would like to read The Infernal Devices trilogy, since many people say it’s better.
Cri Paperbacks and Pizza recently posted…5 Books Everyone Should Read || They are worth adding to your TBR!
I think you’re probably right about her later books being better. I’ve read books by other authors that just got better the more they wrote. One author I saw this with in particular was Joel C. Rosenberg, who wrote The Last Jihad series. I started (unknowingly) with the fifth and final book in the series. It was amazing. When I realized I had started at the end, I went to read the books from the beginning. The first book was no way as good as the fifth.