"City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare

I finished another YA book last night, it was a page turner that I could not put down. The book is "City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare. I have mixed feelings on this book, but mostly it's all good, my problem is how to do this review without spoiling it for anyone who hasn't yet read the book. Anything I mention is going to reveal something that the author has carefully hidden in the story to reveal slowly as the story unfolds. This is one of those books where you probably don't want to know ANYTHING that is going to happen because I truly might spoil it for you.

Back blurb: "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. . ."
So let me say, it's a good YA book, lots of action, teen angst, first love, unrequited love, loaded with twists and turns, and full of demons, vampires, werewolves and of course the Shadowhunters and more. That said, if you don't want to know the details in the book you have to stop reading my review right now. For everyone else, you've been warned...

*spoiler warning*

The book starts off with Clarissa "Clary" Fray and her best friend Simon going to an all age dance club. While at the club Clary sees a group of teens that no one else can see, then she sees them murder a boy - only he's not a boy because he 'POOF!' disappears into thin air when the teens kill him. The teens are not pleased that a "mundie" (in Harry Potter's world it would be "muggle"-plain old human) can see them and Clary isn't too pleased she can see them either as they are strange, covered with 'Marks' (runes burned into their skin) all over their bodies. Simon sees nothing, but he's a devoted friend and believes that Clary saw something, he just doesn't know what as he didn't see a thing

Later when Clary has a fight with her mother and bolts out of their New York apartment she meets up with Simon and again runs into one of those strange teens. Jace. Jace tells her he's a Shadowhunter (demon hunter) and that he lives at the Institute with other Shadowhunters (Isabelle and her brother Alec and Hodge their tutor and Church the cat). Jace knows Clary isn't any ordinary girl because she can see him, but neither Jace nor Clary know exactly why she can see them. The Shadowhunters can 'glamour' people and the environment to make themselves and their Institute invisible to humans.

Shadowhunters are Nephilim - half human, half angel - they can be born to Shadowhunter parents or they can be created by drinking blood from 'the Mortal Cup' and surviving the transition (most don't survive). The "Downworlders" in the trilogy are all the supernatural beings like vampires, werewolves etc. they come from evil- magic, demons etc. But they aren't necessarily evil themselves, so the Shadowhunters tolerate them as long as they behave and don't harm humans. Shadowhunters are human guardians to protect humans from demons in all their forms.

There is a lot going on in this book, first there is Clary and her family and just what she is. Then there is the disappearance of her mother, the Shadowhunters- their lives and history, there is also the history of the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders. The quick version is a little Harry Potter-ish (like Voldemort and his Death Eaters wanting to rule the world). In "City of Bones" we find "Valentine" a one time great Shadowhunter who wanted to rule the world. He wanted only pureblood humans in the world and set out gathering his followers (an army) to kill off all the Downworlders to make the world pure. There was a terrible bloody war between Valentine, his followers (the Circle) and the rest of the Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Valentine was thought to be dead, along with his toddler son Jonathon leaving behind a pregnant wife who was leaving him and going into hiding.

After Clary's fight with her mother (while she's off with Simon and meeting up again with Jace), Clary's mother disappears. Now Clary has to figure out what is going on, who is telling the truth and how to get her mother back. After Clary is attacked by a demon and manages to kill the demon, she is wounded and that is how Jace finds her and saves her life. He brings her back to the Institute to heal. As Clary and the Shadowhunters begin to put things together, Clary and Jace begin to fall in love. These two have chemistry together - good chemistry.

This was a great part of the book for me as I really loved both these characters and enjoyed watching them fall in love. Jace is a hard-ass who puts up a front and keeps people at a distance because of his own personal scars. He doesn't want to get close to anyone, but he can't help feeling things for Clary. And Clary is upset with herself for feeling anything when her mother is missing, but she can't help being drawn to Jace. Sounds good right? Wrong - sort of in a major way. BIG spoiler at the end of the book about these two.

The book is not all dark demon fighting, its got funny banter and humor threaded through out it. One of my favorite scenes is the Shadowhunters take Clary out to lunch at a diner that serves everyone so it has a rather interesting menu. The menu includes things like a toasted bat sandwich and assorted bloodtypes. Here's one of my laugh out loud moments from the book. Clary is reading over the menu while the other Shadowhunters are deciding what to order.

"Who eats raw fish?" she inquired aloud.

"Kelpies," said Alec. "Selkies. Maybe the occasional nixie."

"Don't order any of the faerie food," said Jace, looking at her over the top of his menu. "It tends to make humans a little crazy. One minute you're munching a faerie plum, the next minute you're running naked down Madison Avenue with antlers on your head. Not," he added hastily, "that this has ever happened to me." (page 192, City of Bones)

So while Clary and Jace have numerous close calls, get wounded several times and slowly unravel the mystery surrounding Clary they find out Valentine did not die and he's back and trying to raise an army to defeat the Shadowhunters and Downworlders once and for all. To do that Valentine needs the Mortal Cup - but Clary's mother has hidden it and Clary must find it before Valentine. There are several relationship issues that need to be sorted out, Simon/Clary, Clary/Jace, Alec/Jace and Clary with her parents (and Luke) and Jace with the history of his.

Clary figures out where her mother hid the Mortal Cup and she gets it back, then she finds out she's the daughter of Valentine - as if that isn't enough **SPOILER** she finds out the boy she's been making out with, Jace, is her long lost full blood brother. If you're grossed out just think how Clary and Jace felt! Now this plot twist REALLY ticked me off because these two have a cute first love romance and you want them together, then the author tosses incest in and well...you have to want them apart because anything else is just gross right? But something about this doesn't ring true for me.

First, I don't buy that the author set out on purpose to make the reader love these two characters and their romance only to yank the rug out from under us (that's sadistic for YA readers!).

Secondly, Jace and Clary look nothing alike and aren't anything a like. Now I know that is a weak point, BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT it was clearly pointed out in the book more than once, so my suspicion is its deliberate to the plot because the author has another twist up her sleeve for these two young lovebirds. I hope so anyway, or I'm really gonna be ticked off about this book!

And my last theory is because of Jace himself. He's never let anyone close to him, never allowed himself to love anyone after his 'father' was murdered before his eyes until Clary comes along. She's become everything to him and I don't think the author will take her away from him. Again that would be too sadistic for a YA book and totally depressing to leave such a hero with nothing as he's had so much ripped away from him in his young life. He's suffered numerous betrayals, let downs and mental abuse from his "father" - to have Clary yanked from him would be over the top and too much. I really don't think the author is going to do that.

My guess is these two are going to be tormented by their feelings for each other and then relieved to find out something - a switched at birth storyline or something! I am hoping that the real "Jonathon" died some unfortunate death in childhood and was 'replaced' by Jace by the twisted and sicko Valentine or something - anything so that these two teens are not blood related.

There is a lot packed into this book to set the foundation for the trilogy and parts were sometimes hard for me to remember what was what and who was who ('the Circle', the Brothers, Nephilim, Shadowhunters, assorted Downworlders, numerous demon types etc). The author created an extensive world, full of fascinating gadgets and too many plots to count at this point, but she hooked me. I have to know how it ends - mostly I have to know what happens between Jace and Clary in the end. So I will be purchasing the second and third books in the series: "City of Ashes" and "City of Glass".

I rate this book 4 stars - would have gotten 5 stars IF Jace & Clary weren't brother & sister- that plot twist ticked me off and very nearly made me put the book down.