I must say, this series opened up a bit more in books two and three. What started out much more banal, finally blossomed into something worth reading. As the story line continued, I finally began to care what happened to these people, to invest myself somewhat in the outcome(s) of their plights. All in all, I believe the series is worth the read and, while she isn't one of my top ten authors, Cassandra Clare deserves a good read every now and then.