A book you won't put down (City of Bones - Cassandra Clare)

Member Name: Sachenka

Product:	City of Bones - Cassandra Clare
Date:	08/07/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Epic adventure, awesome fight scenes, really cool protagonist

Disadvantages: Addicting. Seriously, you'll have to buy the other two books immediately!

I bought this at work when a customer suggested it to me. I was intrigued by the front cover to begin with, but my customer assured me that the book was even better than the front cover. Happily my customer was right, and I've subsequently been recommending this like crazy to all my customers who are into the fantasy genre.

This is Cassandra Clare's first novel, although she has been writing Harry Potter fanfiction for years. Usually author's first novels are mediocre, but this one oversteps that mark completely. It's directed towards a teenage market, but I would recommend it to older audiences too, especially those who remember and still love the television series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'.

We are introduced to the novel via our protagonist, Clary Fray. Clary seems a fairly mundane character until she discovers that the earth secretly houses demons by witnessing a band of demon hunters (known as Shadowhunters) kill a demon at a local nightclub. After this discovery, strange things begin to happen to her; as Clary is drawn into the Shadowhunter's world, she finds out things about her past and her family that may have been better off buried in the dark. However, with her best friend Simon beside her, and her strange friendship with Jace the Shadowhunter, Clary manages to battle her way through her difficulties and hardships.

As mentioned before, I would heartily recommend this to anyone and everyone. Be warned though: it is a very addicting series, and you'll have to buy the second book (City of Ashes) and the third book (City of Glass) immediately so you can read them all in one go!

Summary: Girl discovers that demons and demon hunters are real.