City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult - fantasy/paranormal

Synopsis: 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....

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review: Since this is a rather popular book and series, I decided to do my review a little bit different than usual. I'll simply list the pros and cons, and my overall thoughts on the book.

Pros: The author, Cassandra Clare, sure is a natural story teller. I think to me it was one of the book's greatest strengths. It's somewhat of a lengthy book, but I was never bored with it mainly because she just knows the right way to grab a reader's attention. Her writing simply flowed so well, almost without effort, and the pace was fast and perfect. I liked the characters a lot, and thought they were very likable, especially the main protagonist, Clary, and her best friend, Simon. Generally, I thought that City of Bones was a great introduction to a promising series, and was very entertaining.

Cons: One of the things I want most in a book about a fantasy world, is originality. I thought there were a lot of sub-plots in City of Bones that simply reminded me of other story lines I have read before. There are are just so many recycled ones, it just turns me off from the story somehow.
Second negative thing is Jace. I am very indifferent about his character. He's cool and all, but there's just something not very likable about him to me. Maybe I just don't find the whole "bad boy" persona appealing, and I don't even think the way he was portrayed as one was believable either. Then again, maybe that's just me.

Overall: Ultimately, while I don't think it's the "best book ever," I do think it is as entertaining and interesting as everyone says it is. I recommend it to YA readers, and fans of fantasy/paranormal YA as I think that particular audience will appreciate this story line the most. It's a great story world to live in, and while I'm not running to get my hands on the sequel, I'd still want to read it in the near future, and I do think it is worth your time.