Book Review: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments)

It's time for book review Friday! I'm off for a girls' weekend in Austin- I've never been to Texas, so I'm excited! Hope everyone has a great Labor Day. :) If you're from the Hop, hello!

This week I'm reviewing City of Bones, the first book of The Mortal Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare. Now here's something interesting I learned- Ms. Clare is apparently a fan fiction writer- turned- real writer. Kevin is going to have a heyday with that one (his favorite thing to make fun of is fan fiction) so I'll leave it at that (though I personally have no problem with fan fiction). For a really entertaining, semi-depressing look at the drama that fan fiction writers can become involved in, look here.

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. 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....


City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I liked this book. It took awhile to get into, but the book got better towards the end, and always kept surprising me- I'd figure out one mystery ahead of time, only to be shocked by three more surprises I didn't see coming.

There were clearly plot lines very similar to other books/series, like Star Wars and Harry Potter- on the other hand, most paranormal books I read these days all have some things in common- werewolves, fairies, wizards, a really evil overlord-type character, etc. I felt like there was enough creativity in this book to stand on its own.

The writing- well, it wasn't great. The dialogue sometimes seemed really unnatural to me, and I agree with other reviewers that it reads a bit like fan fiction (unsurprisingly).

Nonetheless, I certainly enjoyed reading this book, and I'll likely read the next one in the series.

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