Review- City of Bones

Posted April 2, 2011 by Michelle @ Book Briefs in Reviews / 6 Comments

I have decided with the upcoming release of the fourth book in Cassandra Clare’s amazing Mortal Instruments series, I would review the first three books in the series. (I also thought it would be fitting for my first review to be one of my favorite series I have read in a long time.)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (link to Goodreads pages)

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder – much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing – not even a smear of blood – to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know….

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

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My thoughts: (There will be spoilers)

This book introduces shadowhunters, and their role in the world is to hunt demons. But humans (or mundanes) don’t know they exist. In this quasi-other world of shadowhunters and demons, there are also downworlders. Creatures that I see as a kind of go-between for the first two. They are things like werewolves and vampires, and they do not get along well with shadowhunters.

I really enjoyed all the characters too; Jace is super yummy.

I’m really glad that Alec started to come around to Clary by the end of the book, but I do wish the semi-niceness had happened earlier.

I have to say, I beyond hate that Clary and Jace are sister and brother. It kind of creeps me out and annoys me. That is my one complaint about the book. I’m going to try and get over it in the future books. But I am loving learning more about their world! Every time a new creature/demon/downworlder is introduced I want hear more on Ms. Clare’s take of them. She has such an interesting way of describing anything. She can make a rock sound fascinating.

The book was fast paced, and original and the world is addicting.