Book Review: City of Bones

What i love the most about reading is how developed the world is, how complicated the characters are, and the summary of the choices of each character that leads to conflict or it’s resolution in the book. A good example of this is Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones. The book was a great read. Just a couple of pages in and you can see the wheels turning in the book. Clarissa or Clary for short, is the lead character of the book. She goes clubbing on her birthday and she meets both demons and angels. Well, the supposed children of the Nephilim called Shadowhunters. Who knew clubbing could be so hazardous to one’s health? Anyway, from there, the story unfolds when her mother is kidnapped by Valentine Mogernstern in an attempt to retrieve the mortal cup. Valentine wanted to use this otherworldly gift to raise an army of shadowhunters to wipe out all demons and possibly the downworlders too. Downworlders are vampires, werewolves and warlocks. There are also fairies somewhere in the mix.

Now, there has been a lot of spotlight on this book mostly because there has been a movie, which by the way was awful, and a series, which is more or less a black-outfit-only fashion show with a semblance of a plot. I still watch the show because somewhere inside my head, it is going to be good because the books were fabulous! It hasn’t happened yet! It is not the first time a book was adapted into a movie and lost it’s originality or uniqueness or plot based off of Hollywood interpretation. And it just saddens my heart, because just once, i would like for my favorite characters to come alive in the exact way they were specified in the book.

Anyway, there is a point to this. There are about six books in this series and each of those books were amazing to read. And you know the best part….. Drum roll please….. THE LAST BOOK WAS PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, this rarely happens with book series. I can’t even begin to count how many series i have read that somehow fell apart at the middle or end or something awful like that. This is one of those books with like a solid ending that kind of makes you go back through and think, wow! Of course, one would prefer some books to others, that’s pretty much a given. But it was really exciting and its pretty much a fast read. And Jace’s sense of humor just made even the most tense situation pass with ease. So please, don’t judge this by the movie or tv series. There is so much more to it.

Also, it is a YA Fiction/Romance, so the most you’d get out of it is like a make-out session, if it can even be considered as that. Even Disney approves of those. There are some sexual innuendos, although, i cant think of any. So virtually anyone can read it. And if you finish the books and just absolutely love Cassandra Clare, well she has the Bane Chronicles on Magnus Bane’s story that they kind of hint on in the Mortal Instrument series. There is also a book on the vampire Raphael in The Rise Hotel Dumort. The Shadowhunter Academy with Simon, and Lady Midnight about Emma Carstairs. Then there is also Infernal Devices about shadow hunters in the Victorian era. They are all great reads.

 

Tee M. Allison