The Mortal Instruments 1: City of Bones

This is a truly magnificent book which is the start to many more absolutely outstanding stories of the Mortal Instruments. :)show more

What can I say about this book? I can say Oh.Mah.Gawd!!! I was hesitant with this book. I didn't think I would like it at all so I put off and put off on getting it and reading it......but, I finally broke down and did it after checking it out from the library. Oh.Mah.Gawd again....... I am so pleased with every aspect of this novel! Clary's character is wonderfully created but Jace's character.......good lord, I loved every bit of him! The ups and downs that Clary and Jace went through was amazing and I felt like I was a part of every bit of it. The murders, the Shadowhunters, all of them added up to be one heck of a ride! Ms. Clare's work is wonderful and I am so glad that I finally listened to everyone and read this 5 star novel. Now, I'm literally dying to read book 2. I absolutely can not wait to get it from the library and continue one with these amazing characters and the Shadowhunters. Fabulously done, Ms. Clare! Keep up the fantastic writing and you definitely have a new fan in me! -- **Disclaimer: This book has been provided to Reviews By Molly free of charge by the public library in exchange for an honest review of this title. No money has been exchanged for this review. This review reflects the opinion of the individual reviewer and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any other RBM reviewer or this blog’s owner, editor or administrator.  show more

I thought that the Mortal Instruments City of Bones was an amazing book to read as I could not put the book down even if I wanted to. I was able to read it within 3 days and I was completely captivated by the plot and characters aswell as the twist and turns the story took me through to unveil revelations you would have never have thought of. This book does not follow the sterotypical supernatural themes that are displayed on tv, but goes beyond that introducing you into a new magical world hidden in the midst of New York City. I was amazed by how modern and relatable the book was in some parts. I am now determined to own the whole series and cant wait till book six is released!!! :)show more

I had seen this book pop up on my updates-feed on goodreads so many times, that when I came across it at my library, I had to take it home with me. I wasn't particularly looking forward to reading this book, but I wanted to find out what the fuss was about. It seems that people either hate or love this book. And I ended up kind of loving it. City of Bones is the first instalment in the Mortal Instruments series. What I really liked about this book from the start is that it is set in modern times in New York City. Of course, many books are set in New York City (the Princess Diaries for example, a series I absolutely love, by the way) but this is fantasy. I had never read fantasy before that's set in NYC, but maybe that's just me. Anyway, City of Bones is about a teenage girl named Clary Fray whose mother is super overprotective and whose father died before she was even born. When she goes out clubbin' with her homie Simon - who's like a brother to her - she sees three teenagers kill this creepy dude. These three killers turn out to be Shadowhunters. "What are Shadowhunters?" you ask? If you really want to find out, I suggest you read this book, but in short: Shadowhunters are part angel, part demon fighting warriors. They're pretty badass and they basically protect us humans - or mundanes, as they like to call us - from demons. Which is pretty nice of them, isn't it? Clary is pretty freaked out after witnessing a murder. Unfortunately, this isn't the last time Clary encounters Shadowhunters, because soon her mother disappears and she gets attacked by a demon herself. This book is filled with hilarious dialogues and fast-paced action sequences. Perhaps it's just me, but I thought the action scenes were rather bloody. I didn't mind it, but I guess I'm not used to it. What I also really liked about this book were the characters. I must admit that not all of them were very original, but more on that later. I really liked the fact that so many characters dropped by in the storyline. You've got your five main characters: Clary, Simon, Jace, Isabelle and Alec. But there are also many characters that are only present for like a chapter or two, like Magnus Bane and Raphael. And I hope that, if those characters survived the first book, they'll reappear in one of the others books in the series as well. Those who hate on this book say, amongst many other things, that this book is very predictable. Now I did feel for the first half of the book, that I knew exactly what was going to happen. And I did predict several developments of the plot correctly. But the last 100 pages or so completely made up for that, because it contained one big plot twist and a couple of small ones. My mind was pretty blown after that plot twist. And I really enjoyed that. Another thing the haters argue is that many elements of City of Bones were copied and slightly altered from the Harry Potter-series. I did read somewhere on the interwebs �?????�????�???�??�?�­- and we all know how reliable that information is - that Clare originally started writing Harry Potter fan fiction. And that some paragraphs from those works were altered and used in City of Bones. Furthermore, I am able to recognize elements from Harry Potter in this book if I pay close attention to it. But I don't really want to. And I recommend you to not do so either, if you just want to get a good read out of this book. I really enjoyed reading this book and I'm definitely going to read the other ones in the series. I love reading about fantasy worlds that exist in our "real" world and the world of the Shadowhunters is a good example of that, although it might resemble the world of Harry Potter a little. Maybe that is exactly why I liked this book so much. After all I love the Harry Potter-books with all my heart and more!show more

In one night Clary saw people who weren't there, witnessed a murder and watched as the dead boys body disappeared. One night later and Clary found herself face to face with the invisible murderer as he saves her from a demon, her mother already gone, and her home no longer safe. It would be three days before Clary would discover where she was and what had happened to her. Clary had never heard her mother speak of her past, indeed it was almost as though her mother didn't start existing until she was born, and Clary knew even less about her father. But all the secrets her mother kept have now left Clary confused and alone. With only the murderous strangers left to turn to will she survive long enough to find her mother and discover the truth? City of Bones brings together the supernatural world in a new and inventive way. Where angels fight demons and half-human being roam our cities; with vampires in nightclubs, werewolves running Chinese restaurants and faeries dancing in Central Park. There are so many twists and turns in this new world to explore to keep you occupied to the very last showdown.show more