Series: The Mortal Instruments Series, Book One
Publisher: Walker Books
Format: Paperback
Published: 2nd July 2007
Number of Pages: 448
Book: Bought
Genre: Paranormal, Dark Romance, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, YA
Recommended Age: 12+
Contains: Violence, Mild Swearing
Clary Fray is seeing things: vampires in Brooklyn and werewolves in Manhattan. Irresistibly drawn towards a group of sexy demon hunters, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City - and the dangers of forbidden love.
Review:
Clarissa Fray’s your average girl, with her artistic mother and her slightly-geeky best-friend Simon. Then, one day when she and Simon are hanging out at the club Pandemonium, she witnesses a murder. Only, no one saw the people she knows were there, the ones she saw walk through the crowds with knives, the ones she saw kill the blue-haired boy. When her mother is kidnapped, and Clary finds a demon in her house, she’s suddenly dragged into a new world; the world of the Shadowhunters, demons killers. And before she can get her mother back, Clary will have to accept some hard truths about herself, the people she loves and the world as she once knew it...
City of Bones has every supernatural being you could want in one book. Vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, faeries, super-human-demon-hunters: you name it, City of Bones has it. Then there’s the action, fighting, suspense, humour and – of course – the romance. I’ve never come across a book that’s quite so effective in making me laugh one minute and be scared for my characters’ lives the next. The world Clare created was so real, and – more than that – I actually felt like I was there. I even found myself wanting it to be real: I want to live in this world!
The mythology is absolutely incredible, and I loved the idea behind the Shadowhunters; they were intriguing, and I cannot wait to learn more about them and their legacy. As for the characters, well, they were outstanding. They were realistic, filled out and created so well that I ended up loving someone I hated, and hating someone I loved. I honestly felt like I knew them, Clary in particular, by the end of the book, and I was actually terrified for them at times. All this is a sign the author has done an amazing job, and that her characters are perfect.
I loved Clary, and how much she grew through the book: she went from a ‘mundane’ to a Shadowhunter. Even though she was sometimes the damsel-in-distress, she more than made up for it by being brave, loyal, determined and smart, as well as wonderfully witty and funny. A perfect lead girl. And I loved her best friend, Simon, with his adorably cute, dorky ways, and the way his sense of humour constantly had me laughing. Plus, he had a few surprises up his sleeve... Now, Jace was withdrawn, distant and unable to love, no, scared to love. He honestly believed that “to love is to destroy”, as his father told him when he was a little boy. Despite that, he was brave, self-confident, sarcastic, ironic and slightly cocky. Oh, and very, very, very funny. And I loved him!
All the supporting characters were amazing, and the villain was the perfect bad guy. To top it off, they were just as real-feeling as the leads, which is just how I like them.
This book’s amazing: I even found myself jotting down quotes, just so I could look over them later and either laugh or go “aww”. The writing is just that good. I could read thousands and thousands of pages about Clare’s world. Then again, I have the next two books, and the prequel... maybe that’s a thousand pages altogether...
Everyone said the ending was terrible: an OMG worthy event. I guessed it, quite a way before it was revealed. Nevertheless, I was still ‘OMG’ing when it happened for real... well, in the book. I may also have screamed a little.
Yes, the twist is just that bad.
A book that makes you laugh, cry, scream and shout, that is chock-full of paranormal beings and mythologies, and the writing is enough – I quote – to make Holly Black’s “toes curl with envy”. This book has put The Mortal Instruments onto my ‘Favourite Series’ list, as well as my ‘Amazing Worlds’ list.
I loved it, if you hadn’t gathered.
Oh, quick afterthought: do not, under any circumstances, read synopsises or reviews of City of Ashes before you finish City of Bones. Please, don’t: so many people have and then said it ruined the ending. Trust me, after reading this book, I know that it honestly would.
Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5
4½ Out of 5
Read this book if you liked:
The Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices, Book One) by Cassandra Clare
Night World by L.J. Smith
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Challenges It's Taking Part In:
Off The Shelf Challenge (Hosted by BA Reading Challenges)
Happy Reading
Megan
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