I wish Goodreads allowed half-stars...if it did, I would have given this one a one and a half. But I decided to round up based on the simple fact that the book is readable, and the writing is okay. Not exceptional or even memorable, but okay. The author kept the tension going well enough to get you through the book. 
 My most immediate problem came in the form of the main female character, Clary, who I never did manage to care for or sympathize with. Right around chapter 4 I found her too stupid to live, and she never quite redeemed herself from that point onward. 
 By the middle of the book, I was firmly convinced that the entire concept was some cannibalized version of Harry Potter meets World Of Darkness.(Which isn't so bad, if it would have at least acknowledged this via the token geek character, who was otherwise quite handy with the geek-culture references. Instead, it seemed determined that I take it seriously.) 
 The clincher for this reader--which ensured I would never spend my time on any of the sequels--was the ending. I don't normally do 'spoilers', but in this case, I can't help myself. I must justify: (view spoiler)[ The protagonist's love interest ultimately turns out to be her long lost brother, of whom she'd previously had no knowledge. And if that weren't enough, they are both the children of the sanctimoniously evil Darth Vader-like villain. WTF!?! (And then, after putting me through all of his oh-so-savvy pop culture references, the geek character Simon didn't even have the decency to point out the blatant Luke/Leia issue.) (hide spoiler)]