City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: McElderry Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
Release Date: March 27, 2005
Edition: Paperback
* Purchased on my own.

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. 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 Thoughts:

After reading Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, I felt that it was indeed time to pick up a copy of City of Bones. Although I can't say that I loved it quite as much as Clockwork Angel (for all things Victorian and English will forever hold a special place in my heart), I did enjoy it quite a bit. Halfway through, I could tell you that I was one hundred percent Team Jace. And then there was that one revelation that made me question my team loyalties--which I can't share with you without spoiling a potion of the plot. However, all in all, definitely Team Jace.

Clary (whose real name is Clarissa) Fray has always thought she was normal, just another girl in New York City with a thing for clubs. However, with her most recent visit to the Pandemonium Club she's not so sure about the 'normal' part. After all, everyone else seems completely unaware of the girl who lures off a boy with electric blue hair into a storage closet--and perhaps more importantly, the two boys who trail in after them. Originally intending to rescue the blue haired boy from a potential fight, Clary is shocked when he gets killed and then disappears, leaving no trace behind. From there, she stumbles into the world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders whilst Jace ponders the mystery of a mundane who can see into their world. It is revealed that she's not precisely a mundane and that she has Nephilim blood. The real humdinger is who her father is--and again, my lips are sealed.

Once the Shadowhunters learn that Valentine is back--having been thought dead for the past several, several years--they go on a hunt for the Mortal Cup which allows the making of new Shadowhunters via mundanes since well, Valentine is also after it (for the sake of raising an army). Clary's mother has also gone missing--kidnapped as it were--and this leaves Clary to ponder the mystery of the cup. I do feel terrible for Simon having gotten mixed up in all of it--although I do admire his dedication to Clary--and even worse that his competition is Jace. Throughout City of Bones Clary learns more about her past and about who she really is. Such revelations as this will lead them to the cup and hopefully, to stopping Valentine. And then things really get crazy and the main event--so to speak--occurs and worlds will be shattered (more so beliefs, but I thought worlds sounded better). Something else that seriously made me blink several times? Trigun was mentioned (once, but still, it was mentioned) by Clary! Trigun, by the way for those of you who don't know, is an anime (and a manga) that I'd definitely say is a classic--as in pretty much everyone who happens to be into anime has at least heard of it, if not watched or read it. I could go on about that for a bit--and the fact that I too was once a D&D playing girl, but I shall refrain.

Thus, if you haven't picked up City of Bones yet and you've liked Clockwork Angel, I'd probably push you a bit towards picking up a copy of City of Bones if it was the world that you liked--for if it's a matter of time period, I regret to say that this takes place in modern day New York City. Meanwhile, it's on to City of Ashes for me.

Overall Rating:  ★★★★