City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Over the course of a single day, Clary’s whole life changes. When she goes to Pandemonium Club, she sees the murder of a blue-haired boy by three strange-looking teens wielding strange-looking weapons. But what she can’t believe is seeing the body disappear before her eyes, as if it was never there in the first place. And after that, Clary’s mom disappears and Clary is attacked by a mysterious creature, only to be saved by one of the strange teens from the nightclub. And with that, Clary is dragged into a dangerous world she never imagined existed.

Clary finds out that she’s connected to this new world not only by the teens who saved her, but by her mother and her mother’s friend Luke. But since her mother’s gone and Luke refuses to help her, Clary has nowhere to turn to except the mysterious teens, who reveal themselves to be Shadowhunters, an elite group of people whose job is to kill demons on earth. Soon, her best friend Simon is dragged in too, and Clary finds herself in the midst of a struggle to find the Mortal Cup before a very dangerous and unstable Shadowhunter named Valentine does.

It is very difficult for me to describe my initial reaction when I finished this book, but it goes along the lines of gasping, screaming, and ranting – but in a good way. City of Bones was one of the absolute best books I have ever read; it ranks up with Twilight and A Great and Terrible Beauty. It is a combination of some of my most favorite stories ever to create an awesome and unforgettable super-story.

I really love how Cassandra Clare incorporates the underworld into modern-day New York City. The world she creates in City of Bones is one of dangerous fun, and I was absolutely thrilled to go along for the ride. There is nonstop action throughout the whole book and I think that Jace is almost amazing enough to rival Edward Cullen in his sexiness. The only past of the book I was opposed to was how Clary and Jace ended up being related, because it ruined their chemistry.

City of Bones should be mandatory reading for every teen, and I would recommend it to everyone, especially fans of the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, the A Great and Terrible Beauty series by Libba Bray, the Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz, among other supernatural books. I guarantee that no one who picks this novel up will be able to put it down until they’ve finished this amazing story, and I know I cannot wait until I pick of the sequel, City of Ashes.

Rating: 5.0

Review copy from personal collection