Review: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

SUMMARY 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.

MY TAKE:
I saw the movie before starting this series, and I can say without a doubt that this a hundred times better than the movie.

In City of Bones, Clary lives in ordinary life, until one day, her mother disappears and Shadowhunters enter her life and reveal that she might not know as much about her mother as she thought.

I put off reading this series for the longest time because I was aware of the whole Cassandra Clare-Harry Potter fanfiction plagiarism accusations. Now that I've read the book, well, Jace does bear a resemblance to Draco, and the whole wiping out the half-breeds was a very Voldemort thing to do. There were also some things and scenes that reminded me vaguely of things I've read elsewhere. Given these, though, I still enjoyed the story.

There were a lot of things going on here, and at times it felt like the book was trying to establish a lot of backstory quickly. This made me feel a little restless at times. Once I got used to the pace, however, it was easier to settle into the story. I like the idea of Nephilims and Shadowhunters, and all the other creatures and half-breeds as sometimes-enemy of the Shadowhunters. I also liked the use of runes like tattoos to serve a variety of purposes. I can't really say much about the plot twists since I already know most of them from the movie, but the ones I didn't were not bad.

As for the characters, Clary annoyed me sometimes because she's too emotional and impulsive, but when she isn't she's okay. Jace was meh for me, although it may have something to do with the fact that I keep imagining the actor who plays Jace in the movie. Simon had a number of funny lines, so he was entertaining for me. I liked Isabelle the most, I guess. I didn't really feel particularly passionate or attached to any of the characters at the end of the book.

THE GOOD:

1. The Shadowhunters are pretty cool.
2. It's a complicated world.
3. There are some really funny lines. 

THE BAD:

1. There's a lot of backstory and information here.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:

The meek may inherit the earth, but at the moment it belongs to the conceited. Like me. 

READ IT IF:

1. You like stories with angels, nephilims, vampires, werewolves, faeries, etc.
2. You like action scenes.
3. You are looking for a new series to read. 

RATING:


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