City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
This is actually a reread but then I wasn’t able to make a review of the book before so here it is now.
Imagine this: For sixteen years, you have lived a perfectly normal completely average life with your mother, in a typical apartment. Your mom, too, is living a simple lifestyle being a very talented artist. You only have your mom since your father died before you were even born. You have a great and loyal guy best friend who always accompany you to any bar or club, even though he hates being in those places. This is your life, and you know who you are. But then one thing happened, and suddenly, you discover that half your life has been woven by strings of lies.
And this is basically the story of Clarissa Fray. All sixteen years of her life, she thought she was normal. But one night, in a club called Pandemonium, changed everything. The people she followed, who she thought were up to something dangerous, were something else. Something entirely different, and something only she was able to see.
Suddenly, all her beliefs came went crashing down on herself. Worlds she did not believe to exist were now facing her in flesh. All those fantasy worlds she thought were only present in books and TV was real. Shadowhunters, vampire, werewolves, faeries, and demons—they all exist. And what’s worse is that Clary has suddenly become a part of all these, right in the middle. Her mother was also dragged into trouble as she was abducted by the most feared person in the Shadowland. Of course, Clary must do something in order to get her mother back.
And in comes Jace Wayland, one of the Shadowhunters Clary met, the strongest and most skilful one. Jace is the one who helped Clary through it all. His reason is simple, the same people who are serving Valentine—the one who abducted Clary’s mother—are the ones responsible for his father’s death. For Jace, it was revenge. Finally, he can give justice to what has been done to his father.
And thus began their journey to fight for what is right and good. In the process, the two have grown closer and developed feelings for each other. But one revelation changed everything. One simple truth caused their lives to crumble down on themselves. How could they possible go on when they learned that something was entirely wrong?
Honestly, I did not pick this book the first time I saw it because of Stephanie Meyer’s recommendation plastered in the cover. My aversion of the Twilight series made me a little more judgmental of those kinds of books. What changed my mind is my friend, who I trusted very much when it comes to book recommendations. He told me that this book is better than half of what Twilight ever imagines to achieve. And that’s when I bought my copy and started reading.
City of Bones is the first book in The Mortal Instrument series written by Cassandra Clare. It has pretty much the same elements found in other books of the fantasy genre. But that doesn’t mean that the book is not worth my time. City of Bones is the first book in The Mortal Instrument series written by Cassandra Clare. It has pretty much the same elements found in other books of the fantasy genre. But that doesn’t mean that the book is not worth my time.
The way the half-demons are presented is different in a way that they are seen as half good, that they can live among people and Shadowhunters freely. I like the fact that there was an Accord to keep peace between the species. I do believe that there is always a good side to people or, in this book’s case, half-demons. On the other hand, some Shadowhunters were portrayed as evildoers, the complete opposite of being half-angels, which are what they are. It just goes to show that there aren’t any perfect being in this world. It tells us that even the good ones have the tendency to fall prey on the temptation of evil.
I also love the wit and sarcasm present in each of the characters. It made the book different from others since the supposed damsel-in-distress developed into a strong and determined fighter. It’s not like Bella who constantly depends on others to protect and save her. No. Clary is way more than that. She seeks knowledge and tries to stand on her own strength. She is a tough girl, not letting her infatuation get in the way of things.
All in all, the book is a pretty good read. It’s the third time I read the book and I still enjoy the adventures and mysteries it gave. But of course, it’s different this time because I already know what will happen during the next three sequels. But nevertheless, it’s still a nice read. I give it a 3.75/5.
