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.

Review:

I don’t think I’ll ever grow up! At least, when it comes to stories and books. 🙂

Where were books like The Mortal Instruments when I was growing up? Correct me if I’m wrong, but there weren’t many books that were as entertaining as these are.

I mean, yes, there’s Anne of Green Gables (if she’d been half angel) and Lord of the Rings (if my attention span was any greater than a goldfish). But I can’t think of one book, let alone an entire series, that had me on edge and searching for my old banana clip as much as this YA series!

There are five books in this story and each one builds upon the other so well that I found myself bouncing in my comfy pants to get my hands on the next. Yea, it was that good.

Let’s discuss the first in Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series.

Clary is a normal teen, living in New York, who finds herself a human girl one day and something altogether other-worldly the next. Turns out, she’s half-angel! I know… Sounds cheesy, right? It’s not! Stay with me here – it gets good!

So, there she is, minding her own teenage business, dancing the night away, when she witnesses an attack. Her best friend, Simon, doesn’t notice a thing. Neither do the other dancers. Is she losing her marbles? If it were my world, then the answer would be yes, but that’s the awesomeness of fiction!

That one night in a club, a witness to what she thinks is a crime, Clary’s entire world is opened up to *da da daaaa* Shadowhunters! And downworlders. And demons. And… What I’m trying to say is, what Clary thought was a normal life, turns out to be so much more.

I love what Ms. Clare has created. The people are vivid and complex. The world that you step into is so close to the one we know that you’ll look up and wonder if that fleeting movement in your peripheral vision wasn’t your imagination.

The book was adapted into a movie, which I liked, but instead of creating a sequel (remember there are five in the series!) moviemakers are turning to a television series to make the world of Shadowhunters come alive.

If you liked Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments, then you’ll love the prequel – The Infernal Devices, adore the follow-up books – Shadowhunter Academy, be excited to see things from the High Warlock of Brooklyn’s perspective – The Bane Chronicles, and so much more!

There’s a whole world out there full of magic!

*P.S. If you like Cassandra Clare’s shadow world, then go check her out on Pinterest. It’s a birds-eye view of an author’s mind. You’ll get lost in the boards she’s created and see how she may be setting up the next novel in line!

The Rating Breakdown
Plot
Characters
Writing
Pacing
Cover
Overall: