City of Bones by Cassandra Clare was a great read for me. After Buddy passed I needed books that I could escape into, even if only for a little while. I didn’t want anything I had to think to hard about and City of Bones was just that for me. It’s the first book in The Mortal Instruments series and it’s already been reviewed countless times but I’ll add my own thoughts to the pile.
At the beginning of the book we’re introduced to Clary Fray who by all accounts is just a normal teenage girl or so she thinks. One evening she heads off to a club with her best friend Simon and ends up finding out that she can see people that no one else seems too. Clary, not being one to skip investigating something strange, of course heads on after the people that only she can see and manages to see them killing another kid. To top it off these teenagers she sees murdering this kid are covered in all kinds of strange markings. Clary doesn’t know it yet but she’s been introduced to the world of the Shadowhunters.
Shadowhunters have one purpose and that’s to rid the earth of demons and to keep the werewolves and vampires in line. Upon meeting the Shadowhunters – Jace, Alec and Isabelle, Clary finds herself quite taken with the more than gorgeous Jace. Later when Clary heads home it’s to find her mother has disappeared and Clary herself is attacked by a monster. Thankfully Jace is with her and she doesn’t end up as a demon’s dinner.
However this opens a whole new world to Clary – the world of the Shadowhunters. It also opens up Clary to finding out that she herself has the Sight and is a Shadowhunter which in turn leads her to the upsetting knowledge that her mother has been lying to her all these years. As Clary thinks back it makes more and more sense to her as to why her mother was always so overprotective of her. Clary is immersed on a journey of trying to find her mother and trying to figure out just who and what she is.
I really liked the characters in this novel – there wasn’t anyone I can say I didn’t like. I liked the Shadowhunters – Jace, Alec and Isabelle. Jace of course is the one that all the girls moon over, Alec is the quiet one, and Isabelle is one of the first girls to fight as a Shadowhunter and she’s pretty impressive. Clary though is my favorite character. With all that she was faced with and all that she learned about herself, she still remained strong. She didn’t run from anything but faced it head on although sometimes at great danger to herself.
City of Bones definitely had me turning the pages quickly to find out what was coming next. I’m really looking forward to getting involved in the next novel – City of Ashes. I love when I know I have a few books in a series to read especially when I’m loving it. Be sure to check out Cassandra Clare’s website to learn more about The Mortal Instruments series.
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My copy of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare was purchased by yours truly.
Thanks for the review Darlene, this one sounds kind of cool.
This sounds great, right up my alley! Hope you're feeling better!
I'm not sure this is for me, but I can see where it would be the perfect book for you during a difficult time. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I still feel awful about Buddy and can totally appreciate where you are coming from in needing a book to escape to. My three cats, also referred to as "the children" or "the homeowners" all have various quirks that lead to perpetual vet visits. During the more riskier of vet visits I would find myself reading through out the night because sleep just would not find me.
The book, although not something that I think I'll pick up, has been quite popular in the tween scene, so it must be pretty good. Are you going to read the other books that continue the story?
Sounds like another good YA book, I would certainly liked to read it. Now if the library only had it in Eng or Swe
I think this series sounds interesting. My library audio on line only has books two and three. I don't understand why they do that. Maybe I can request book one.
I'm glad you liked the book.
Glad you enjoyed this one too! Escapist reading at it's best. The catacomb part really had me turning those pages. Haven't had a chance to read the next but eventually I will 🙂
I loved this one too!! I still have to read book three…need to get into gear soon!
I loved this book and will be reading it again soon for my book club. Hope to read the rest of the series soon.
Glad you enjoued it, it does sound like a good series.
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I have this! I haven't read it, though. I'm glad this book helped kept you engaged during a difficult time.
My kids love these books and have read the first three countless times. There is a new one out, and it is sort of a prequel, due to be a three book series as well. Just bought it for the kiddos and they loved it as well. I am glad to hear it was such a good read for you and that it helped during the stressful times. I am looking forward to seeing your thoughts on the other books in the series!
I'm really glad to hear that you enjoyed this one as it has been on my TBR list for awhile now. It sounds really good but I never got to it when I had it checked out from the library. Looks like I should grab it again. Great review!