City of Bones - Book Review

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)
by Cassandra Clare

What is it about:
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...

What did I think of it:
This is one of those series I was curious about, but that I wasn't sure enough about to pay 7 Euro for the first book, especially as there are so many other books I'm more certain about. It took finding the first two books (looking almost new) at a flea market for just 4 Euro total to give this series a try.

And this first book is a very entertaining read.

It's often very predictable, to the point that a certain event that is supposed to be a shock, didn't shock me at all, I already knew it would happen. Just as I'm pretty sure that the whole thing will turn out to be one big fat red herring in one of the upcoming books.

But predictable or not, the story is enjoyable, and I liked the world building and some of the characters, especially the three Shadowhunter teens Clary encounters. I will confess I really disliked Simon, Clary's best friend. He's too clueless and unthinking for words. Even a toddler would understand the things he can't seem to grasp. And of course: he turns into a love interest! *puke*

Still, the action, the characters I did like, and the overall story (predictability and all) made that I kept reading. I'll have to read the next book to see if I like this series enough to spend more money on it after these first two books, but all in all I'm liking it so far. I think I'll also give the movie a try on of these days.

Why should you read it:
It's an entertaining Paranormal Young Adult read.