The Mortal Instruments Books by Cassandra Clare

So there I was talking to a friend on Facebook about the Twilight Saga books by Stephenie Meyer when she told me about another series called The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. She told me that being a Twilight Saga fan I would love The Mortal Instruments.

Curious to know what this series was about I went to the library to see if I could borrow the first book of the series City of Bones. To my luck, the book was not available in my branch at the time, so I left the library empty handed. I pondered about putting the book on hold, but I really wanted to browse the book, so decided against it. I didn't want to wait weeks to get the book in my hands. What was I going to do? The suspense was killing me ...

Instead of driving myself crazy, I went to a nearby bookstore (Borders) and looked for the books. Thankfully all three books in the Mortal Instruments series (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass) were sitting on the shelf waiting for me to open them. I leafed through the first book, the second, and the third, and read the book summaries, but put the books back on the shelf. The books seemed like they would make for an interesting and enjoyable read but did I want to take a chance on an unknown author I've not heard about? Did I want to spend a lot of money on these books as hardcovers are pricey?

I just didn't know what to do, yet I couldn't leave the store. I was standing there unable to move away from the shelf trying to make a final decision. I noticed that the first two books, City of Bones and City of Ashes, were in hardcover but the third book, City of Glass, was in paperback. I was disappointed about that because I prefer all books to be in the same format. I didn't want to have the paperback so was ready to leave the store

Then I remembered that The Twilight Saga had a boxed set, which included all four books in hardcover format. There had to be a hardcover boxed set for The Mortal Instruments too. I was then determined to find this boxed set at the store and wasn't going to leave home without it. I looked around but to no avail. No boxed set was in sight. I was about to leave the store disappointed when I spotted a Borders employee. I asked him if they had the The Mortal Instruments boxed set and in a few minutes I was holding it in my hands. It was in a place I didn't look.

Holding the boxed set in my hands I was happy that I'd have three hardcovers in my collection. And since the price tag was $49.99 each hardcover book would cost me under $20, which was a great price. I took the boxed set to the register and rang it up.

As soon as I got home I took the wrapper off the box. I noticed that on the box, and on the covers of all three books too, there were a few lines that read, "The Mortal Instruments Series is a story world that I love to live in. Beautiful. - Stephenie Meyer Author of Twilight" As soon as I saw Stephenie Meyer praise The Mortal Instruments series I had a feeling that these books were great and that I would love them as much as the Twilight Saga books. And that is exactly what happened.

I took out City of Bones (the first book from The Mortal Instruments series) and began to read. I was hooked from the very first page and did not want to put the book down. I finished City of Bones in only a few days and was left craving for more. The other two books City of Ashes and City of Glass had the same effect on me. I finished reading all three books in The Mortal Instruments series - City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass - in under two weeks. They were just that good.

I loved escaping into the world of The Mortal Instruments and was hoping that the story continued on at some point ... I really craved for more Mortal Instruments books, but would they ever be brought to life? Yes, my prayers have been answered. There are three more books in the series. The fourth book called City of Fallen Angels, and the fifth book City of Lost Souls, are already out. And the sixth book City of Heavenly Fire will be out soon.

By now you are wondering what The Mortal Instruments are about so read on to find out.

The Mortal Instruments is a series written by Cassandra Clare that started out with three books - City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass, all of which were New York Times Bestsellers. But now there is actually a fourth book to add to the series called City of Fallen Angels, which is set to be released in March of 2011. I can't wait for this book to come out and when it does I will be picking up a copy without a second thought.

The Mortal Instruments books are filled with thrills, excitement, danger, adventure, beauty, surprises, love, friendship, suspense, and more. You will find shadowhunters (demon killers), demons, vampires, fairies, warlocks, and other creatures in these books. Definitely something that will keep you on your toes and glued to every page from beginning to end. And there are actually three Mortal Instruments in this book that the three main characters - Jace, Clary, and Simon go on a mission to find before Valentine (Clary's and Jace's father) gets his hands on them and uses them to take over the shadowhunter world.

The Mortal Instruments series starts off with Clarissa (Clary) Fray being in a club and witnessing a group of teenagers killing a boy, whom Jace (the guy who actually does the killing) claims as being a demon rather than a mortal. After her first encounter with Jace, their worlds become intertwined and they discover that both of them are shadowhunters (those that kill demons) and they face many adventures throughout the three books (that involve battling many demons and other creatures) that seem to unite them closer together, even to the point where they start to develop feelings for each other. What makes things even crazier is that they find out they are actually brother and sister. How can that be possible when they had never met up until that night at the club? And what can they do about their feelings for each other knowing that they are actually siblings? And then there is Clary's best friend Simon (who eventually gets turned into a vampire able to walk in the sun without getting turned to ash) who loves Clary as more than just a friend. Clary loves him too, while at the same time having feelings for Jace. There is a bit of a love triangle forming here that reminds me of Edward, Bella, and Jacob from the Twilight Saga.

Want to find out what happens between Clary, Jace, and Simon and how they survive the demon filled world? Want to find out the adventures they have as they search for the Mortal Instruments and try to save the shadowhunter world from Valentine (their father) whose mission is to take over and rule it? Well, you'll have to get the books to find out. So what are you waiting for?