City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments1) by Cassandra Clare

Hello to all,

         I'm glad i did a lot of reading this week ( relatively speaking of course)  because i'm starting to be sick again ( not a good start for 2013 but the rest will get better) and the headache is back full force. At least i had lot of pleasure before i take a little rest ^^.  There are some series that everyone seems to have read but not you. I lost count of how many time i 've read Mortal Instruments somewhere but for some reason i couldn't decide myself to try them even when i had the books on my shelves.

Why?  I'm not sure at all, perhaps it was simply not the moment because now i did read it and quickly even (if you know me you know that when i like a book i read it more quickly than those i don't like^^), perhaps i decided to read them before the release of the film so i could know what it was about  like the rest of the world? What it's sure it's that a friend really helped my decision and i don't regret it because it was also perfect for a challenge i've entered.

So here is my opinion of City of Bones first book of the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Walker Books Ltd

Publication: 2007

ISBN:  1406307629

Genre: YA, fantasy, Paranormal, adventure,urban fantasy, romance
Violence: strong
Language: normal
sex: none
Public: 16+

Source: bought

Short description 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 opinion:

          I heard a lot of things about this series but I was a little hesitant, reason why I must be one of the last to discover it but better late than never!

Now, this book isn’t completely original or unpredictable, some typical storylines are used in it but some part felt really new to me. I liked the idea of the marks that gave power but were also dangerous, I also really enjoyed the twists that came several time renewed the interest I had in the story. I spend a really good time with this book and I hope the rest of the series will only get better. I want to discover more about the shadowshunters, whose i don’t like that much by the way, there are a little too narrow minded to my taste and prone to treachery. I really enjoyed Luke, who is suffering more than it seems caught between two worlds and who must take actions with dire consequences. From what I’ve read of the different groups so far, I think it was always more wolf than nephilim, loyalty and force were important for him since the start.

 I loved to see several creatures in the story and not just vampires, though I kind of like this new kind of bikers vampires, and werewolves. Those are the most cited, with the nephilim, aka shadowhunters, and the demons, but we got a glimpse of several fairies and others that I would like to read more of.

The plot is interesting, to see how a group by fear of extinction become more racist than ever and start taking drastic measures is a little reminder of historical events transposed in a universes of fantasy and mystical creatures. Perhaps it will serve to open the eyes of some readers but it’s also something simply enjoyable to read, even if myself I can’t stop to see the parallelism between fiction and history.  I wasn’t completely taken by surprise by some revelations while others did surprise me.

I spend really a good time reading this and I appreciated the books being divided in distinctive parts because it will help if you need to take a break but that being said… once started I didn’t want to put it down so I didn’t put the division to use but it’s something I noted and loved. I’m really curious as how things will evolve but Valentine is a villain that I really dislike and I hope Jace and Clary will manage to create what they need, now Simon must be relieved too and he is moving character too.

I recommend this book if you want some YA fantasy and love paranormal.

Score:  4/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

Challenges: