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.
Details: "City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare, 485 pages, 4.16 stars on Goodreads
My Thoughts: I know, I know, where have I been? I was going to read this, like, four hundred years ago, but then a certain friend of mine was telling me how this was exactly like Harry Potter and how utterly obnoxious that stupid Jace was and how horribly cliché Jace and Clary's relationship was. So I thought, well, gee, I don't want to read a book exactly like Harry Potter with an obnoxious love interest and a cliché relationship. And I didn't. But then on someone's blog, there was a page filled with quotes from this book, and they were hilarious (cuckoo bird, anyone? yeah, yeah, I know, that's from "City of Ashes").
Twelve pages into the book, I emailed that certain friend.
This book was absolutely amazing. I mean, okay, there were some small similarities to Harry Potter, like the Valentine <-> Voldemort and Hodge <-> Dumbledore, but **spoiler alert** Valentine turns out to be Clary and Jace's father (which is so incredibly cruel of the author), and Hodge is more like that turbaned guy from the first Harry Potter book than Dumbledore and so **end spoiler alert** it's different.
And maybe Jace is a little bit obnoxious here and there, but it's all part of his uber-hot charm. Oh, yes, he's uber-uber-uber-hot. He's the embodiment of hotness. Squared. I love his clever comments (especially that cuckoo thing - I can't get over the awesomeness of that) and his witty remarks. They make great comic relief without getting in the way of the story. The only thing I didn't like so much about him was towards the end in that one scene with Valentine. I felt like he transformed way too drastically, but that was okay because he soon became uber-hot again.
Jace and Clary may have a somewhat cliché relationship, but I dare you to write a romance that isn't cliché in the least. It's impossible, right? Right. Besides, they're so insanely perfect for each other. The only relationship that could possibly be better is Jace and me. Hmm? No, why would I be kidding? Why are you LAUGHING? Hmph!
Clary was a good protagonist, but I didn't like how quickly she abandoned Simon. It was like, "Oh, look, uber-hot guy! Let's forget I ever had a life long best friend who needs me!" I kept feeling really bad for Simon, because Clary was abandoning him and everyone else was being so mean. And the kicker was when he had to watch the girl he's loved forever kiss the guy he hates most in the world. Poor Simon. I hope things improve for him in the third book.
Overall, this was a super amazing book! I'm probably the last person in the world who hadn't read it, but if you haven't, you must. It's not an option. 5 smilies out of 5!
