City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

When Clary heads out to a local club with her BFF, little did she know that her whole life would be altered. She definitely wasn’t expecting to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and yielding bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. No body, no blood and it seems that no one in the club can see these kids other than her. This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters. Shadowhunters are warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons.

One of them is Jace, a Shadowhunter, who thankfully is around to help Clary when her world is turned upside down within 24 hours of meeting him. Her mother has disappeared from her home (which is turned inside out) and Clary finds that she is under attack by a creature that she didn’t believe in a few minutes ago... a demon. She can’t go to the local law enforcement and has been turned away by her Uncle Luke. With nowhere to turn she finds refuge with the Shadowhunters. But that is just the beginning of her problems. For one, why would demons be interested in ordinary “mundanes” like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight - enabling her to see Shadowhunters in the first place... normal mundanes are blind to such happenings. So many questions are unanswered and it is up to Clary and Jace to uncover what is going on.

If you’ve seen Star Wars - you might find a lot of similarities in this book. I’m not sure if it’s meant to be seen as fan-fiction, but once I was a couple of chapters in I was having a lot of déjà vu moments. Sure, it was in a different world and there were different scenarios, but in the end it felt like a very familiar plot.

With that said, I still enjoyed this very much. I loved Clary as a protagonist - she was somewhat mousy but at the same time held quite a punch when needed. The dialogue was thoroughly entertaining and on more than one occasion brought a smile to my face. The world that they live in was very neat and I especially liked that it had a dark, gritty feel to it.

Hold on tight to your seats with this one as you become immersed in a world where every mythical creature you thought was fictional is real. From vampires who drive flying motorcycles to werewolves who turn at the full moon.... not to mention an ending that will leave you in shock.

There is romance, mystery, loads of suspense and drama, with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. It’ll have you at the edge of your seat and ready to head out and get the next installment in the trilogy.