6/30: City of Bones By Cassandra Clare

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Read from February 01 to 06, 2013
Format: Ebook

From Goodreads: 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

Fantastic book! I devoured it and started the second one the next day. I couldn't put it down. The characters were well written and you really started to care for them all. I loved that even though this book is about good and evil, it wasn't based in one religion. It was a broad scope and didn't focus on a single one. I was riveted while reading the entire book from start to finish.

The world that Cassandra Clare built was beautiful. I could picture it very clearly. she provided just enough detail to not drag the story down but create this wonderful setting.

Clary was a great female character. She wasn't super whiny or annoying. She was thrown into a world she didn't know about and dealt with it well. She was focused on her mother and protecting those she loved. To find out her beloved city was hiding an entirely different world in plain sight was a lot to deal with.

Jace was a great character to balance. Sarcastic, protective and dangerous to himself and others. I liked that he was strong but knowing it was all a show to hide his pain. He had a lot revealed about and to him in the book and even though he is a Shadowhunter, a warrior, he is still a teenager with a lot to deal with.

The surrounding characters were rich as well. The descriptions were great, you really cared for them even if they were supporting roles. With a large cast as this book has, that's rare.

I realize that Valentine is the bad guy, but there is something about him I want to know more about. I have no idea what will happen in the rest of the series, but I want more of him in it. He seems like his heart was in the right place, but a turn of events led him down a dark path.

I will be reading the rest of this series and losing sleep staying up to finish them. Cassandra Clare is a fabulous writer and I'm sad it took me so long to get to her.

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