Author: Cassandra Clare
Publishers: Published March 27th 2007 by Margaret K. McElderry (first published March 27th 2005), Published March 25th 2008 by Margaret K. McElderry (first published January 1st 2008), Published March 24th 2009 by Margaret K. McElderry
ISBN- 1416914285 (ISBN13: 9781416914280), 1416914293
(ISBN13: 9781416914297), 1416914307 (ISBN13: 9781416914303)
Pages: 485, 453, 541
Quick Review: 4 stars (out of 5)
Why did I read it: Multiple friends recommended it.
Synopsis: City of Bones: 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.
City of Ashes: As readers of series starter City of Bones already know, teenager Clary Fray is a Shadowhunter, a demon slayer who has the gift of spotting Downworlder werewolves, vampires, and faeries. She is also an adolescent in an abnormally dysfunctional family: Her mom is in a magically induced coma and her father is probably insane and undoubtedly evil. All of which places Clary in situations that would challenge even the most talented average American girl.
City of Glass: To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.
As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?
Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the New York Timesbestselling trilogy The Mortal Instruments.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this series. It takes you into a fantasy world that co-exists with the world we live in now. Humans are called “mundanes” and they have no idea that a fantastical world is surrounding them. The main Character (Clary) discovers a world she never knew existed, consisting of angels, vampires, werewolves, and demons. As I read, I could identify with the quirky Clary as an awkward teenager that doesn’t know exactly where she fits into the world. It is easy to fall in love with her as she discovers who she really is, and what she was born to do.
I love how the author created her own twist on the mythological creatures we have heard or read about over and over again. I felt like this series seemed fresh and new even though it is not at all alone in this genre.
Clare is a wonderful writer. I’ve never been to New York, but Cassandra Clare describes it so vividly that I feel I can actually smell the city and its inhabitants. Her writing is descriptive enough that you can paint a pretty good picture in your head of the setting the people, but she isn’t really wordy in her descriptions, so I didn’t feel overwhelmed with details. Being a young adult fiction novel, it didn’t have much foul language; only a couple of swear words here and there. There are no sex scenes, but quite a bit of sexual tension between many characters.
I found myself thinking about the books even when I wasn’t reading them. That, for me, makes the series worth reading. It is full of action and adventure with romance intertwined. It is fast paced and I rarely found a “good spot” to put the book down.
Author Biography: Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Teheran, Iran and spent much of her childhood travelling the world with her family, including one trek through the Himalayas as a toddler where she spent a month living in her father’s backpack. She lived in France, England and Switzerland before she was ten years old. Since her family moved around so much she found familiarity in books and went everywhere with a book under her arm. She spent her high school years in Los Angeles where she used to write stories to amuse her classmates, including an epic novel called “The Beautiful Cassandra” based on a Jane Austen short story of the same name (and which later inspired her current pen name).
After college, Cassie lived in Los Angeles and New York where she worked at various entertainment magazines and even some rather suspect tabloids where she reported on Brad and Angelina’s world travels and Britney Spears’ wardrobe malfunctions. She started working on her YA novel, City of Bones, in 2004, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan, her favourite city. She turned to writing fantasy fiction full time in 2006 and hopes never to have to write about Paris Hilton again.
Other Reviews:
Review by guest blogger Heather.
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