Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I don't know how this happened, but somehow us ladies at YAF & WS have never done a proper review of City of Bones.  With the movie out (GS was very excited....) I thought it was about time.... spoiler free of course.

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.

Originality: 6.  Teenage angst? Check.  Vampires, Werewolves and every other creature/demon/fairy? Check.  Love triangle? Check.  It almost feels like everything including the kitchen sink is in this book, and I probably could have done with without the vampire/werewolf aspect and stuck with the demons and shadowhunters.  Still, NYC was gritty and cool, and the shadowhunters themselves were a fresh take on the demon world.

Absurdity: 10.  Je-SUS.  At the end of this book I was gasping outloud and g-chatting GS frantically.  AMIRIGHT FOLKS?  High levels of craziness, I was unprepared.

Level of Paranmormal Romance: 7.  O Jace.... I was routing for you in a big way (Simon really needed to step up his game)

Level of Harry Potterness: 6.  I crushed this book, but then again, football has started and I came home sick yesterday, so it was a deadly combination of free time.  While the story plowed forward, sometimes the cheesy-ness and plot were just high roll inducing, yet overall? enjoyed the story.  100% renting this when it comes out.

The real important question is... do I devote time to the rest of this series??