Book Review: City of Bones

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Released: March 27, 2007

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 485
Series: The Mortal Instruments #1

Rating: 5 stars

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…

Wow! What a great way to start out a trilogy. City of Bones is very original; I haven’t read anything like it before. Taking place in New York City, the plot is so twisted and full of surprises with each flip of the page. I was immediately hooked from page one all the way to the end. I felt as though the characters were very well-developed – even the side characters. You got Jace, Alec, and Isabelle, who are Shadowhunters and are invisible to humans. Except, Clary Fray can see them. From the moment she meets them, she gets sucked into the Shadowhunting world and from then on strange things begin to occur. Clary’s mother suddenly goes missing, and Clary finds herself being attacked by demons.

I most definitely recommend it for those of you, like me, who have a special love to explore the otherworldly. This book has it all! It’s fast-paced, funny, and dark, filled with twists and turns around every corner, and includes Shadowhunters, werewolves, vampires, angels, fairies, and warlocks. I enjoyed every minute of reading City of Bones and I can’t wait to read the sequel.