City of Bones

Title: City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

Published: 27th March 2007

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Young Adult, Fiction

Number of Pages: 485

Start Date: 30th April 2022

Finish Date: 1st May 2022

Summary

An evening at a New York nightclub takes an unexpected turn for 15-year-old Clary when she witnesses what looks like a murder - but the victim's body has vanished into thin air. What's even more strange is that her best friend Simon couldn't even see the attack take place.

The next thing Clary knows, her mother has disappeared and a hideous monster is in her apartment.

As she struggles to navigate a frightening new world in which werewolves roam the streets of China Town and vampires ride above the New York on flying motorbikes, Clary learns that she is one of the Shadowhunters; an ancient line of demon-hunters descended from angels.

In dramatic circumstances she is thrown together with handsome young Shadowhunter Jace and his friends Isabelle and Alec, and together they set out to discover what has happened to Clary's mother, as well as to rescue the Shadowhunters' ancient and powerful Mortal Cup which has fallen into the wrong hands. But Clary's interference in the demon world soon leads to some shocking revelations, and the uncovering of some long-buried secrets.

Review

From reviews I had read on this book it is a book you either love or you hate and I can happily say I loved it. I very much enjoyed my introduction to the world of Nephilim, Shadowhunters and demons. Clare constructed a vivid, believable parallel world with great characters, punchy dialogue, and a winning mix of humour, pathos and action. I like her take on warlocks, vampires, and werewolves, and of course I’m a big fan or urban fantasy, where these fantastic elements mix into the regular gritty city life of New York.

Clary Fray is a sympathetic protagonist, though I was equally drawn to the supporting cast. I especially like that the villains are believably three-dimensional. Even when you do not support them, you understand what motivates them. There is no easy black and white, good and evil dichotomy.

How much do you think I love Clary, Simon, Jace, Isabelle and Alec? The answer is: actually very much. Clary Fray is, to me, a bit of a head-in-the-clouds type of girl, a bit silly and naïve, and excepting the fact that she got so fast so cool with all this weird voodoo batshit happening in her life all of a sudden, she is really nice. Simon; I feel he is the same as Clary, maybe a bit sassier.

Isabelle is that type of superhot but super scary girl (the cool stuff, you know) that is a bit overly narcissistic but can dominate every idiot that dares to breath wrong in her presence. She is my type of cool girl.

As for Alec, Isabelle's brother and Jace's parabatai, I love him. I really do. He is the right amount of sexy, shy, awkward and badass, all that mixed with a big heart and a strong impression of not knowing how to express feelings. You just got to love him! Oh and I can already see something blossoming between him and Magnus and I am so here for that to happen!

In my opinion, Jace is the best part of (at least) this book and I am always going to be looking forward the parts where he’s being himself. He is charming and witty and selfish and cruel. But he has some of the best moments.

Clary Fray is a regular fifteen-year-old girl, who is just trying to go through life with her best friend Simon and find her way in the world; or at least that’s what she used to be like. After Clary runs into the intriguing Jace Wayland, Isabelle and Alec Lightwood, she realises that the world was about to get a whole lot more interesting. But when her mother is taken by a demon Clary realises that she has no choice but to trust Jace and the Lightwoods to help her get her mother back. Shadowhunters are a race that were created from the blood of the angel Raziel and who have sworn to protect the mundane world (that’d humans to you and me) from demons.

If you like a book that’s a mix of The Hunger Games, Divergent and Twilight, but with way more action, then you’ll love The Mortal Instruments series. This book is so captivating and never has a dull moment; seriously, I’ve searched for one but couldn’t find anything. If you haven’t read this incredibly written book, then you need to. Even if you think that you don’t like books with monsters in, The Mortal Instruments will change your mind.

There is no other book quite like this one; it is simply magnificent in every way possible. I love series books because you get time to grow with and learn more about the characters; this is certainly what happens with The Mortal Instruments. Well I guess the only thing left to say is enjoy reading it – I know that I did.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️