City of Bones by Cassandra Clare [Review]

3.5 out of 5 Robots!

  

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #1

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Release: March 27, 2007

Hardcover: 485 Pages

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

My Copy: Purchased

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:
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. (Courtesy of the Publisher)

 
Shannon's Thoughts:

I’ve put off reading this series because, well, it's 6 books long!  But I finally decided to take the plunge since it is so popular.  After reading it, I had the same feeling I did after reading Twilight.  I just don't see what all the hoopla is all about. I felt like it was a series you are either on board with or you’re not. Unfortunately, I fell more into the latter category.  I didn’t hate it, but I wasn’t blown away by it either.  I think my main problem is I felt that Clare was just trying too hard.  She just pushed the limits of the characters and plot until it just seemed a little desperate.  I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with me saying this, but I found Jace to be very tiresome. I know Clare was trying to make bad boy Jace funny and edgy, but it felt so forced. I wasn’t as amused by Jace’s quips as everyone else in the book seemed to be.  I also have a hard time getting behind romances where the guy is a total a-hole to everyone, but the girl falls in love with him anyways.  Not to say I’m against bad boys, but I need to see some kind of reason why a girl would be interested, you know? Clary was ok, but fairly uninteresting to me.  I think she has a lot of potential to develop into a pretty kick ass character, but in this book she was basically just argumentative and headstrong and constantly putting herself and others in danger.  (Another pet peeve of mine - being headstrong does not make you a "strong" character.  It makes you reckless.)
 
I did like the Shadowhunter idea and all the different supernatural beings, but the plot was a little slow for me.  I felt the book was overly long and started to lose some steam at the end.  I like some of the major revelations that come up, such as Valentine’s background and history.  But some of the plot took unnecessary turns, ESPECIALLY the big twist at the end. Um, WHAT?!  Ick.  

I know there are many out there who love this series and I can see the attraction, but for me it was not my favorite.  I just don’t think it held my attention enough to read the rest of the series.  

Books in the series in the order they should be read:
1. City of Bones
2. City of Ashes
3. City of Glass
4. City of Fallen Angels
5. City of Lost Souls
6. City of Heavenly Fire (expected publication 2014)