Although my expectations were too high for City of Bones, I have to say that the series has gotten better with every book, leading to a very satisfying City of Glass read. Questions get answered; plot points get tied up, and you're left with a happy fuzzy feeling in the end.
I really enjoyed the characters in the books, especially CoG. Each character has really come a long way, and even when I disagreed with a character, I felt that they were completely within character; their personalities drove the plot, rather than a having series of random events they were just responding to. I also love that - with a few exceptions (Malachi, Sebastian) - they were all so multidimensional, shades of gray in a morally ambiguous world.
On Jace and Clary - I'd give this a 4/5, mainly because I've always felt a little awkward about their relationship, and it's not just the sibling thing. There were some beautiful and heartbreaking moments - again, back to characterization, I was definitely thinking "That's so Jace!" sometimes - but I also got the feeling that their relationship was unnecessarily drawn out. Maybe it's because I never got a good sense of Clary's relationship to the Lightwoods (early on, Clary saying to Isabelle, "But I thought you liked me!" and then later confronting Isabelle about not liking her, for example). But even though I'm happy with how things ended up, I think Clary and Jace really shined brighter when they were apart in this book, than in their scenes together.
On the other hand, some of the "minor" characters were wonderful. Alec and Magnus are a riot ("Your city is under attack...The wards have broken, and the streets are full of demons. And you want to know why I haven't called you?"). Aldertree reminded me of Umbridge. Simon grows up, while still maintaining his nerdiness.
I was not as fond of the thematic progress of the book, possibly because I'm re-reading Harry Potter right now and it seems so familiar, and the same ideas are in almost every fantasy book. You are the sum of your actions, not of your birth. Do what is right, and not what is easy. Villians always end up defeated because they just had to show off, and forgot some key thing. People are never who they say they are, and never trust a death to be final.
So I tend to be an impatient reader, and this might just be my fault, but I also found that skipping pages in the book didn't really make me miss much. You'll get the whole story just from reading Joceyln's talk with Clary and then the last chapter. The middle of the book was great, with some great moments, but I didn't feel the same compunction to read every word, the way I do with some other books.
Overall, even with my negative points, I'm really happy with this book. You'll laugh (Cassie has some great lines, and I'm a fan of anything nerdy). You'll be frustrated with the characters. Sometimes, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it first. In the end, this book delivers a very satisfying read - I'd imagine it sort of tastes like butterbeer.
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