City of Bones

Title: City of Bones

Series: The Mortal Instruments - book 1

Author: Cassandra Clare

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Number of Pages: 443

Publisher: Walker Books

Publication Date: 2007

Summary: It's after dark in New York City, and Clary Fray is seeing things. The best-looking guy in the night club just stabbed a boy to death - but the victim has vanished into thin air. Her mother has disappeared, and a hideous monster is lurking in her apartment. With her life spiraling into darkness, Clary realises that she has stumbled into an invisible war between ancient demonic forces and the secretive Shadowhunters - a war in which she has a fateful role to play...

First of all I think I should start off by saying that the Mortal Instruments is my favourite book series and Cassandra Clare is my favourite author, therefore anything and everything written in this post is totally bias :)

I picked up this book to read for two reasons. First I want to re-read all the books set in the Shadowhunter universe before the release of Lady Midnight in March and secondly because this months TBR challenge was to read a book that was either a TV or movie adaption and this series is both. The TV show premiered today and the movie was released in August 2013.

Cassandra Clare creates a fun and sexy world of Shadowhunters. Her characters are diverse, her plot lines filled with brilliant minor and major story lines. Even in just this first book of the series each of the characters face some major challenges, challenges that shape and change who they always thought they were. While most of the character development that occurs in this book isn't really seen in until City of Ashes the ending of this book doesn't just leave you with the cliff hanger of what is going to happen next, but how the characters are going to cope. And I have never read a book that has invested me in the characters as much as Cassandra Clare's writing does. This book is driven forward as much by a compelling story line as it is by an amazing set of characters.

Cassandra Clare's writing style, however, is what I love the most about her books. Cassandra has such a creative way of writing. She balance show and telling well and fills her writing with creative, witty and just plain funny metaphors and similes that brings the Shadowhunter world alive and off and the page. In fact all her dialogue is written in a fun and enjoyable way that doesn't take from the seriousness of the situation nor make what is happening unbelievable (especially from Jace).

“It wouldn't be my move," Jace agreed. "First the candy and flowers, then the apology letters, then the ravenous demon hordes. In that order.” 

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

“Just because you call an electric eel a rubber duck doesn't make it a rubber duck, does it? And God help the poor bastard who decides they want to take a bath with the duckie. (Jace Wayland)” 

“Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt.” 

“Sorry, are you telling me that your demon-slaying buddies need to be driven to their next assignment with the forces of darkness by my mom?”

And that is just a small taster of some of the good lines in the book - this list doesn't even include some of the best. Mostly because I couldn't chose.

If you love Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy, any kind of fantasy, adventure, kick butt characters and books about worlds colliding this is totally for you.