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Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Tuesday, October 09, 2012 § 4 Comments

Title: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments, Book 1
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Adventure
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release date: March 27, 2007
ISBN-10: 1416914285
ISBN-13: 9781416914280
Format: Hardcopy
Source: Purchased
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.



My Review:
This is my second time reading this book. I'd always been planning on re-reading the series to prepare for the upcoming movie. I didn't want to start them too close to the movie's release date (which is August 23, 2013 -- I've already got my calendar marked heavily in red), because I'd be comparing things like crazy. So when Marie's Paranormal Spooktacular came along, I thought this would be a good time as any to get to it.The story begins with Clary Fray and her best friend Simon Lewis heading to an all-ages club called Pandemonium, a place they seem to frequent in their home of New York. This night is different -- Clary witnesses a murder. Even more bizarre is that the act was done by three strange teenagers covered in odd tattoos who seem to be invisible to everyone but her. She knows what she saw, but she doesn't want to believe it. To make matters worse, her mother goes missing shortly after and her home is attacked by a monster. Now she's pulled into and very much involved in an unusual world that just escalates as the story goes on.

I was instantly drawn in by the characters, especially the Shadowhunters: Jace, Alec, and Isabelle. They have such a strong presence throughout that you can't help but be fascinated with them. Then there was Simon, who had me at "I wanted to tell you that lately I've been cross-dressing. Also, I'm sleeping with your mom." I'd have to say that the beginning scene in Pandemonium is one of my favourites. Right away I was intrigued as to where this whole story would go; there was action right off the bat. Personally, Clary as a character didn't jump off the page to me. Not that I didn't like her, I just found the others more interesting. I did enjoy the chapter with Magnus Bane's party (who is another one I've come to adore). Clare writes character interactions so well that I look forward to any and every scene where all of them are present, even Clary. It's like she's better when she's talking to the others. My only other qualm with the book was that by the middle, the plot was moving quite slowly. But I still couldn't put it down. It's worth it to keep reading though, because of the ending. Oh my goodness, the ending. I became so invested in these characters and their relationships, and then I reached the end of the book and let me tell you, I just had to go out and get the next one right away.

The world that Clare introduces is imaginative, well fleshed out, and written with vivid descriptions. She's created this universe that's so detailed that I noticed more and imagined more the second time around. It's like the further I went into the series, I noticed just how significant a lot of past details were from earlier books; these details had no purpose to me early on... but then I'd read about them later and a light bulb just goes off. The details are so intricate that I didn't even know they've made a space for themselves in the back of my mind. I'm glad I re-read this book, because it was nice to re-visit and recall a lot of these details in the narrative and in the characters themselves.

Before I read this the first time, I had glanced at reviews and saw that a lot of people either loved it or hated it. It seems that there's barely any middle ground from what I've seen. I fall under the category of loving-it-to-the-point-of-obsession. Seriously. I picked up this book about a year and a half ago but only read it in July of this year. After I finished it (I read during meals, before bed, during any spare moment I had), I got the other four right away and read them all in 6 days. I barely slept until I got to the end of the fifth book. When I found out that the next one isn't coming out until 2014, to say I had a bit of a breakdown would be an understatement. But, to conclude, City of Bones opens us up to a unique and mystical world of the paranormal that's nothing short of a great introduction to a series.

Note: Read for the Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge

My rating:

Visit the author:
Official website | Twitter | Goodreads
Buy this book:
IndieBound.org | Amazon.com | Indigo.ca

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§ 4 Response to “Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare”

  • Mia says:

    Great review! I've been wanting to read this series for months but just haven't got round to buying them yet. Definitely will now though as I didn't know they were bringing out a movie and I don't want to see that before reading the book.
    I also followed you via GFC =)
    Mia
    http://miahoddell.blogspot.com

  • Becky says:

    Well when you put it like that, it makes me want to finish the series lol. I read books 1 and 2, and I liked some aspects a lot. For me, though, there was just no hook. The incest element really bothered me as well. Great review!

  • I loved this series :) Im a new follower via GFC :)

    Tara-Jayne
    http://basicallybooks1994.blogspot.com/

  • EmA277 says:

    Luhved this book! I could not put it down!

    www.booknerdsjourney.blogspot.com

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