So I never thought I was actually going to read this, but it was the only thing in the waiting room at the time and I was bored. This series seems to be very popular, but the subject matter has never really appealed to me. I did finish it in about a day, though, so that's something. There were aspects of the story that were really great and others . . . not so much. The old covers are kind of ugly in my opinion, the news ones are lot more intriguing and mystical. 
 The writing style wasn't terrible, in fact there were times where it was engrossing. But it feels very heavy and it gets weighed down by too many details. So many times I would be reading passages and wish the author would just get to the point already. I get that creating an elaborate fantasy world requires a lot of thought and I appreciate world-building, but this was too much. The other issue is that I feel like there's a lot similarities plot-wise, the main one being that Valentine feels like a less menacing copy of Voldemort. I really hate reading something that doesn't feel original, and City of Bones definitely falls into that category. 
 The last thing that bugged me really isn't the book's fault at all; I was spoiled for the main climatic point at the end (view spoiler)[Jace and Clary being siblings (hide spoiler)], and I guessed the other thing a few chapters in (view spoiler)[Valentine being Clary's father (hide spoiler)]. So I never really got that wow factor. I appreciate the twists and turns the story was trying to take though; I feel like I would be much more surprised in future installments because I haven't heard as much about those. I'll probably finish this series in the future but I'm not in a giant hurry to do so. 
 One of the good things was the humor; I cracked more than a few smiles at the wittiness of the characters, particularly Jace. He was a very charming hero, and I was really rooting for the romance between him and Clary. He was easily my favorite guy in the story (though I really liked Magnus too). That's why I was so upset when (view spoiler)[I found out about the sibling thing. I really hope that it's somehow not true. (hide spoiler)] The other love interest is Simon, and he was so annoying. I felt sorry for him a little, but for the most part he was always complaining and I just did not like him. 
 Clary isn't the best protagonist in the world, but she's alright. She can be smart when she needs to be, interesting at times. Honestly I preferred Isabelle and most of the other side characters to her, but I didn't hate her or anything. I don't think it's fair to feel that way at this point though, because it's only the first book in the series. The lore was pretty interesting and I liked how there was so much going on. Overall, it was an okay start. 
 3 stars