By Cassandra Clare
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…
Official Summary
Clary Fray, a girl who gets thrown into the deep end of the Shadowhunter world after her mother goes missing. Clary wants to find her mother with the help of, Jace Wayland, Alec and Isabelle Lightwood, who are Shadowhunters. They hunt and kill demons to protect the human race.
This book is written in the third person’s perspective. I’ll be honest I have never been a big fan of books that have the third person’s perspective. I prefer the first person’s perspective, that way there are more emotions in a story and you can get more invested in your main character.
Clary Fray: I found Clary to be super sweet and kind. Although I must admit at times I really couldn’t stand her. For example, when she got mad at Isabelle because Simon was stupid. I just don’t know what she expected taking Simon with. He is human and yet you bring him to a whole house full of downworlders and think he is going to be fine? I didn’t understand that, if Clary cared about Simon as much as she said she did then she never would have put him in danger like that. Just send him home, like I understood she needed someone but I felt that was selfish.
Simon Lewis: I’ll be honest Simon could die and I wouldn’t even shed a tear. I know that is harsh, but I felt he was trying way too hard. I felt his character was trying its best to be likeable but just came off as annoying. Simon Lewis also needs to learn how to read a room and realise that there is a time and place to say certain things. Overall, he was my least favourite character, I even liked Valentine more than I liked Simon, I think it’s because at least Valentine’s character has a purpose, I felt Simon was just there to annoy me.
Jace Wayland: The best Shadowhunter of his age. Jace is super arrogant but it just adds to his charm. Jace is seen as this warrior who will die for the cause. I found his character instantly likeable. I loved how he was shamelessly himself. He says what he thinks and does what he wants. I honestly loved it every time he made fun of Simon.
Alec Lightwood: Alec is shy and awkward but at the same time he is still badass and scary. I loved how this character was written, he was the most human of all the characters. Alec was kind and you could tell that everything he did came from a good place. It was obvious how much he cares for his sister, Isabelle and his parabtai, Jace. You could tell that this character was going through something and I’ll be honest all I wanted to do was hug Alec.
Isabelle Lightwood: Isabelle is underrated. She is so sweet and you can tell she tries her best to be kind even when being brutally honest. I sort of found it annoying how Clary’s jealousy of Isabelle almost paints Isabelle in a bad light. When Clary got angry with her because Simon went missing and blames her, I don’t know it made me like Clary less and like Isabelle more. I loved the badass, I don’t need any man to help me vibe we got from Isabelle. I loved how strong her character was and how independent she was.
Magnus Bane: I love Magnus. He is by far my favourite character. I love how honest he was and how overdramatic he was about everything. I thought he was hilarious and cunning and wise. He just had that extra something that made him stand out from the rest of the characters.
The first time I read the book was about a year ago. I recently reread it and I found it was a little slower the second time maybe it was because I knew what was going to happen but otherwise it was amazing.
There were however a few things in the book that made me facepalm.
For example, Simon when he was a rat, he gets snatched out of the bag by accident. Let’s be real there is no way someone reaches into someone else bag and takes something by accident. To me, that made little to no sense. I know they said they thought it was Zeke but then why take him out of Clary’s backpack?
Also, another thing that made no sense was Simon drinking the blue drink that turns him into a rat? So you honestly telling me that Simon went into a warlock’s house, he knew he was surrounded by downworlders and he decided it would be fine to eat the food and drink the beverages? What? Is he stupid?
The last thing that made no sense was Alec who has never killed a demon before. What is it he does on the battlefield then? Does he just stand there or something? I don’t know, I found it funny that the demon slayer has never slain a demon.
Overall I think this book is amazing, I loved the plot and the overall idea of a whole world that we couldn’t see. The characters were written well, except for Simon, but that’s just me.
I would defiantly recommend it. It is a fun and interesting read.
Author: Cassandra Clare – ISBN: 9781406307627 – Publisher: Walker Books – Pages: 510 – Source: Private Copy
books in the Series:
About The Author
Author Bio from the Author’s Site
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.
Cassie’s first professional writing sale was a short story called “The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord” in a Baen anthology of humor fantasy. Cassie hates working at home alone because she always gets distracted by reality TV shows and the antics of her two cats, so she usually sets out to write in local coffee shops and restaurants. She likes to work in the company of her friends, who see that she sticks to her deadlines.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you thought in the comments below.
Goodbye my little book nerd…
