City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

So I bought this book like a year ago while checking out at a bookstore. I had heard that the Mortal Instruments Trilogy was supposed to be uh-ma-zing and possibly the next Harry Potter! So I picked it up and put it in the cart and succeeded in forgetting about it almost immediately. Hey, every book written lately seems to be "The Next Harry Potter" so you can see why I wasn't that excited.

And, contrary to my deep adoration of the HP Series, I'm not typically your YA Fantasy-ish girl. Especially when Paranormal romances are involved. I will admit to getting sucked in to the Twilight Craze momentarily (See what I did there?), but all in all, I'm usually okay without it. So I put it off.

I picked it up on a whim about a week and a half ago. After Ragtime, I needed something light. Now, the next Harry Potter, it is not. But it was a pretty stinkin fun read.

We follow the story of Clary who is introduced within the first few pages to the Shadowhunter world that she has never known. No human has ever known, actually. What follows is a 490 page rollercoaster that has us battling all sorts of demons and rushing all up and down New York City. The book covers a fairly short amount of time, but the action keeps coming and I found myself up very late at night reading quite a few times.

I loved the setting of New York. As someone who lived there for several years, I often get frustrated with authors who place their books in the Big Apple but clearly don't have a knowledge of the city beyond the touristy aspects. C. Clare clearly knows this city like the back of her hand. And it's no surprise - her bio shows that she lives in Brooklyn.

There was one HUGE twist. I won't give it away but it absolutely stunned me. I'm not entirely on board with it yet, but at halfway through book two of the series, I clearly can't stop reading.

Verdict - A- : It's been a very long time since a book pulled me in as much as this one did. I found myself daydreaming about it at work and itching to get back into Clary's world the moment I got home. I just hope the rest of the series keeps up. And, as much as the twist irks me, it truly shocked the heck out of me and that's hard to do. For these reasons and more - definitely check out this book.