Book Review~City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments #1

Publisher: Walker Books

Pub Date: January 1st 2007

Format: Paperback

Pages: 506

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Links: Goodreads ~ Amazon/B&N ~ Book/Author Site

Synopsis: 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.

Rating: 6/10

Source: Bought

My Thoughts: I've had the first 4 books of The Mortal Instruments since, I think, 2 years and with the TV show coming in 2016 I decided to read this. I went in with very high expectations because this series has a HUGE fandom and I guessed it must be pretty amazing for people to love it this much. Sadly I didn't enjoy it all that much.

Writing: The writing was good but it wasn't the kind I like. The book was written in third person and it was highly plot driven whereas I prefer first person and the book to have equal proportions of plot and characters. The writing was actually good but as I said, it wasn't my type.

Story: The story was definitely interesting. The world building was really good and overall it was suspenseful and intriguing. But there were dull moments that I desperately wanted to skip.

Characters: The characters were my biggest problem, particularly Clary. Clary was so annoying, there were times I wanted to slap her! She was such a cardboard character. She just didn't feel real to me. More like a robot. A very irritating robot.

Jace was my favorite character. He was witty and funny but most importantly he was believable. I really enjoyed reading his scenes. Those scenes are the only ones I liked.

I honestly don't remember much about the other characters. I remember the names and personality traits but I didn't feel anything for anyone. They were just there.

Overall: I didn't like this book much. While I did somewhat enjoy the story, I couldn't feel anything for the characters. I do plan on reading the other books because I already have them plus maybe it'll get better. But I think in this case it was more my fault than the book's. We just didn't get along.

About The Author:

Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books. Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction. She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts.

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