City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN: 978-1-4063-0762-7
Pages: 442
Series: The Mortal Instruments #1
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

Clary Fray always thought she was an average girl until she started seeing people that no one else could. Clary finds herself dragged into a world of warriors and demons, revealing secrets about her past. When her mother goes missing, she finds herself reliant on a group of teenage Shadowhunters and begins a journey to discover the secrets hidden in her past.

This is a hard book to review. It has an addictive style and fast pace that makes the book great fun to read, but at the same time there is a huge amount of plot that with hindsight I can't figure out how it all fit in. This is one of those books that sucks you into the story and is full of twists and turns.

The author has managed to develop a believable world inhabited by all manner of paranormal creatures - vampires, werewolves, demons, angels - with it's own intricate political and cast systems. There is a large amount of background information that is revealed simultaneously to Clary and the reader so info dumping for the most part is avoided.The writing does contain a lot of pop-culture nods and expressions, which is understandable given that the author comes from a fan-fiction background.

Clary is a solid lead character and is portrayed in a realistic manner, although her cluelessness is at times a little annoying. Her friend Simon gives a sense of normality to the story, but it is Shadowhunter Jace that steals the limelight. Sarcastic and impulsive, Jace leads Clary on an adventure ending at a shocking revelation.

All in all, this was a great read and I'm looking forward to City of Ashes.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 8/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 45/50