City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)

Discover this first installment of the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series and "prepare to be hooked" (Entertainment Weekly).

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.

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496 pages

Average rating: 7.93

142 RATINGS

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9 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Mrs. Awake Taco
Nov 13, 2024
2/10 stars
Don't steal stuff from the greats. Quit with the tortured metaphors. And finally, can we finally get a heroine who doesn't suck? Clary is dumb, unobservant, magically great at all stuff she shouldn't be, and selfish. She isn't flawed in a sympathetic way, she's just lame. I gave it one star because it's not possible to give it less and those tortured metaphors did make me laugh. Would not recommend.
rvenfrost
Jul 28, 2024
10/10 stars
I saw the movie first, dumb me.... So I was constantly comparing the two and I knew some of the plot twists already. I LOVED the book. Way better than the movie! Can't wait to read more of the series. The benefits of coming into a series late is that you don't have to wait for the books to be released one by one.
Shahna
Jul 18, 2024
10/10 stars
This books was great. I love fantasy adventure stories. Vampires. Werewolves. Warlocks. Demons. Awesome.

The characters are easy to get attached too and I love being able to see everyone point of view. There is so much to follow and so many different things it just makes the story really great. All the details and twists and turns. It's the making of an epic story.

I really want this to be made into a movie. Like really really badly.
Anonymous
Dec 03, 2023
8/10 stars
Not the best book ever, but I really enjoyed it. ♥
Anonymous
Aug 01, 2023
8/10 stars
What do you get when you cross Buffy with Harry Potter? In this case, you get something that's actually fairly original. The influence of Buffy comes through often (Clare used to write fan fiction about the show), such as when one of the characters gets turned into a rat (she couldn't even pick a different animal?) or simply the fact that the core characters in the book are high school kids with an older mentor, all of whom, except for one, are Shadowhunters (Scoobies, anyone?). There are hints of Harry Potter as well, as the non-talented are scorned by a group who wants to wipe them out (although non-Shadowhunters are called mundanes, rather than Muggles) the leader of which was thought to be dead, but apparently isn't... There's even some Star Wars thrown in, with a modified "Luke, I am your father" moment, which, by the way, I saw coming from miles away.

So, yes, lots of similarities, some of them fairly glaring. And yet, Clare does make a new story out of it all. There's unexpected bravery, betrayal (unexpected and expected), and even a hint of gallantry. In short, it's a pretty good fantasy story. But I think I'll go watch some Buffy now.

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