#she also once gave me a 12/15 for a drawing of a pencil sharpener with no explanation for why she deducted points

[ishiireviewer]

RATING: 4/5

REVIEW:

I’m so glad I gave this a chance. I had DNF’d it a few months ago because I found it to be boring But this time around, I found it really interesting. And after quitting The Infernal Devices, reading this book was such a relief because I had almost written off the author. But City Of Bones was really cool and interesting.

I loved how intricate the shadowhunter world was. The characters were pretty amazing and unique. And basically, the book kept me hooked. It was a page-turner.

Can’t wait to get on with the sequel.

ANNOTATIONS:-

1. “Meanwhile,” Simon added, “I wanted to tell you that lately I’ve been cross-dressing. Also, I’m sleeping with your mom. I thought you should know

2. Clary stared at him, then looked behind her, where Jace, Isabelle, and Alec stood, Jace still in his bloody shirt with the knife in his hand. He grinned at her and dropped a half-apologetic, half-mocking shrug. Clearly he wasn’t surprised that neither Simon nor the bouncer could see them.

3. Jesus!” Luke exclaimed. “Actually, it’s just me,” said Simon. “Although I’ve been told the resemblance is startling.” He waved at Clary from the doorway. “You ready? (haha. Goofy)

4. Did he?” asked Clary. “Tell me, is he always really rude, or does he save that for mundanes?” “Oh, he’s rude to everyone,” said Isabelle airily. “It’s what makes him so damn sexy. That, and he’s killed more demons than anyone else his age.” (Overselling the main lead. -.-)

5. I’m not your father, Clary. I’ve told you that before.” Tears burned the backs of her eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just—” “Don’t call me for favors again,” he said. “I’ve got my own problems; I don’t need to be bothered with yours,” he added, and hung up the phone (Aww. I feel bad for her)

6. I don’t want tea,” said Clary, with muffled force. “I want to find my mother. And then I want to find out who took her in the first place, and I want to kill them.” “Unfortunately,” said Hodge, “we’re all out of bitter revenge at the moment, so it’s either tea or nothing.

7. She’d never before known anyone who carried a handkerchief (Jesse de silva)

8. (Idk why I found this boring. It’s interesting. And I’m really enjoying reading it. It’s almost unputdownable)

9. There must have been something in her voice, because he turned to look at her. Her hand cracked across his face, a slap that rocked him back on his heels. He put his hand to his cheek, more in surprise than pain. “What the hell was that for?” “The other ten percent,” she said, and they rode the rest of the way down to the street in silence (Hahaha. Badass)

10. Haven’t you ever heard that modesty is an attractive trait?” “Only from ugly people,” Jace confided. “The meek may inherit the earth, but at the moment it belongs to the conceited. Like me.” He winked at the girls, who giggled and hid behind their hair.

11. Madame Dorothea shot him a dark look. “If you were half as funny as you thought you were, my boy, you’d be twice as funny as you are.” She disappeared back through the curtain, her loud “Hmph!” nearly drowned out by rattling beads. Jace frowned. “I’m not quite sure what she meant by that.” “Really,” said Clary. “It made perfect sense to me.” She marched through the bead curtain before he could reply

12. For the devil has no power,” said Dorothea softly, as if she were reciting an old rhyme, “except in the dark

13. Not necessarily. The most terrible things men do, they do in the name of love,” said Madame Dorothea, her eyes gleaming. “But it is a powerful card

14. Anything’ is such a general word, so unspecific,” said Pangborn, sounding melancholy. “Surely someone who owns so many books must know something

15. The moon hung like a locket over the city, casting pearly reflections on the water of the East River

16. Sometimes, when Jocelyn was really angry about something or was in one of her upset moods, she would get what Clary called “scary-calm.” It was a calm that made Clary think of the deceptive hard sheen of ice just before it cracked under your weight. Jace was scary-calm.

17. That’s sort of hot,” Isabelle argued, “that evil thing.” Simon tried to look menacing, but gave it up when he saw Clary staring at him. “So why does Valentine want this Cup so bad, and why does he think Clary’s mom has it?” he asked.

18. Silence itself seemed to flow from him like a dark tide, black and thick as ink

19. Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt,” she told him

20. Something about Jace sharpened him, brought him into focus. If she were going to draw them together, she thought, she would make Jace a little blurry, while Alec stood out, all sharp, clear planes and angles

21. She looked up from closing it to find Jace watching her through hooded eyes. “And one last thing,” he said. He reached over and pulled the sparkling pins out of her hair, so that it fell in warm and heavy curls down her neck. The sensation of hair tickling her bare skin was unfamiliar and oddly pleasant. “Much better,” he said, and she thought this time that maybe his voice was slightly uneven too. (Hot and sweet)

22. Last time I left you alone, a demon attacked you,” he pointed out. “Well, I’d certainly hate to interrupt your pleasant night stroll with my sudden death.

23. .” Magnus exhaled irritably. “As Oscar Wilde once said, ‘To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both seems like carelessness.’” Clary heard Jace make a small hissing sound, like air being sucked

24. Who cares about the stupid Law?” Clary screamed, grabbing hold of Isabelle’s wrist. “My best friend is a rat!”

25. Don’t bother,” Jace said. “Why mundanes always insist on taking responsibility for things that aren’t their fault is a mystery to me. You didn’t force that cocktail down his idiotic throat.”

26. What welcome?” Magnus asked. “I’d say it was a pleasure to meet you, but it wasn’t. Not that you aren’t all fairly charming, and as for you—” He dropped a glittery wink at Alec, who looked astounded. “Call me?”

27. that I hadn’t stopped believing in God. I’d just stopped believing God cared. There might be a God, Clary, and there might not, but I don’t think it matters. Either way, we’re on our own

28. Clary wondered if there were any ugly vampires, or maybe any fat ones. Maybe they didn’t make vampires out of ugly people. Or maybe ugly people just didn’t want to live forever

29. You’ve endangered other people with your willfulness. This is one incident I will not allow you to shrug off!” “I wasn’t planning to,” Jace said. “I can’t shrug anything off. My shoulder’s dislocated

30. Of course,” he said, without arrogance or pretension, “but I always thought that was the way things were, with us. You know.” She scrambled around to face him, puzzled. “What do you mean?” “I mean,” said Simon, as if he were surprised to find himself explaining something that should have been obvious, “I’ve always been the one who needed you more than you needed me.” “That’s not true.” Clary was appalled. “It is,” Simon said with the same unnerving calm. “You’ve never seemed to really need anyone, Clary. You’ve always been so … contained. All you’ve ever needed is your pencils and your imaginary worlds. So many times I’ve had to say things six, seven times before you’d even respond, you were so far away. And then you’d turn to me and smile that funny smile, and I’d know you’d forgotten all about me and just remembered—but I was never mad at you. Half of your attention is better than all of anyone else’s. (How sweet of him!!)

31. Here’ as in your bedroom or ‘here’ as in the great spiritual question of our purpose here on this planet? If you’re asking whether it’s all just a cosmic coincidence or there’s a greater metaethical purpose to life, well, that’s a puzzler for the ages. I mean, simple ontological reductionism is clearly a fallacious argument, but—”

32. “Just kissing?” Jace’s tone mocked her with its false hurt. “How swiftly you dismiss our love.”

33. Where there is feeling that is not requited,” said Hodge, “there is an imbalance of power. It is an imbalance that is easy to exploit, but it is not a wise course. Where there is love, there is often also hate. They can exist side by side

34. Hugin,” Luke said softly. “Hugin and Munin were Valentine’s pet birds. Their names mean ‘Thought’ and ‘Memory.’” “Well, they should mean ‘Attack’ and ‘Kill,’” said Clary. “Hugo almost tore my eyes out.

35. At last Jace looked at her. She saw the disbelief plain in his eyes, and around his eyes, the strain of maintaining that disbelief. She could see, almost as if she saw through a glamour, the fragile construct of his faith in his father that he wore like a transparent armor, protecting him from the truth. Somewhere, she thought, there was a chink in that armor; somewhere, if she could find the right words, it could be breached. “That’s ridiculous,” he said. “I didn’t die—there weren’t any bones.