City of Bones by Cassandra Clare Review

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is the first book of six in The Mortal Instruments series.

"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..."

As described by the description on the back of the book, City of Bones is about a girl named Clary who can suddenly see people and creatures that most people cant, and it catches the attention of a group of people callled Shadowhunters. After witnessing the murder and meeting Jace, her life is unraveled as she discovers this new mysterious world and her why she is part of it.

To be honest, I actually read this book by accident. At the time, I asked my mother to keep her eyes open for a book I was interested in reading, and anthology that had a short story by a different author I was reading. She misread my email and thought I was asking her to look around for books by all of the authors in the anthology and Cassandra Clare happened to be one of those authors and thus my mother gave me the City of Bones.

After reading the back of the book, I wasn't too interested in it. I was very much into more paranormal romance and this book just didn't seem to do it for me by the description, but the book was a gift, I had nothing else to read, so I gave it a shot - and the shiny cover with the shirtless guy on the front was enticing for me. I found it very eye catching and though the back of the book hadn't caught my attention, had I seen this book in the book store I probably would have picked it up to see what it was about based on the cover alone.

Of course, there is more to a book than the cover and the back description and I was pleasantly surprised and genuinely glad I gave it a chance. The book was interesting from the get-go. The build up to an interesting and exciting scene didn't take long and it kept me wanting to know what happened next. The book never got to a slow pace or section that seemed to drag on like some seem to and I found it hard to put down.

Humor was a major bonus in the book, having tons of funny and memorable quotes which a couple had me laughing out loud. I always enjoy when a book, even if it is not meant to be solely a comedy, has humor in it. I find humor also adds another element to characters making them more defined and more likable. That being said, I found the characters very likable on their own and easy to relate to, even in this fantasy world.

There is also a romance between Jace and Clary, as suggested by the back of the book description, and their relationship dynamic is written beautifully to keep you wondering and wanting more. And of course Jace makes for an excellent love interest you cheer for Clary to end up with. Who wouldn't want an extremely attractive, mysterious, strong, and brave guy?

Many different creatures also make an appearance in this book, from vampires to werewolves so it has a something for everyone. However this book does not center around those creatures. If you are looking for a vampire that is solely or mainly about vampires, werewolves, etc.. than this book is probably not what you are looking for. This book does center around Shadowhunters and the creatures they run into are view through their perspective, which usually means in a more negative light.

Overall I found this book very enjoyable and it has found its way to being one of my favorites, despite some of its quirks and not exactly being the book I was looking for. I also continued to read the series and nearly jumped for joy when Cassandra Clare announced that after the first three had come out she decided to write another three, making it a six book series.

For the simple answer, do I recommend this book? Yes, I do.

The long answer? For anyone who is looking for a new supernatural-type, urban fantasy, mixed with a little romance, I definitely recommend you give this book a shot. It is a very different book from the usual teen fantasy types or books revolving around the supernatural in general and definitely captivating and interesting all of the way through.

This book also has some romance in it, but if you are looking for a book revolving around romance, this isn't the one for you. There is some romance and the romantic interest is definitely there but it's thrown in sparingly. For lack of a better current popular teen romance for comparison, I will use Twilight. While Twilight revolved around the romance of two people, this book revolves around a different plot and the romance is a side note.

If you dont have a problem with any of these aspects you might need in a book you want to read, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and its series definitely recommend it.