So…I haven’t read anything new this week. I’ve been really busy, help honestly! I have a big exam in my art history class coming up…I just had a big exam in children’s literature…my best friend is getting married…all sorts of things!

So I’ve started some new books, I’m currently reading The Eyre Affair by Jaspar Fforde, Anne of Green Gables and a book called The Demon King by Cinda WIlliams Chima. I literally will have a TON of books to review and share with you guys very very soon, and I know Jackie will too. This week…we got a little lazy…and that’s okay! Sometimes that happens.

And today, today is a VERY big day. Its Harry Potter Bowling Night! If you live in Southern Californa, you need to be at this event tonight! Its going to be epic and see if you can spot me, I’ll be a Helper Elf all night :D

So because of all this busyness and whatnot, I’m doing one of my absolute favorite books today. I’m sure those of you who read this blog know my absolute obsession with Cassandra Clare and her two series, The Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices. However, some of you may little to nothing about these books at all and are wondering what the heck I’m talking about all the time!

Plus I’m getting my MI tattoo on Monday, so I’m really really excited about this!

So this week’s book of the week is:

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

 This book is the first book in the Mortal Instruments series, which up to now, has 5 books, the 6th one slated to be released sometime in 2014. Now I went to the bookstore, I needed something new to read and this book caught my eye. The premise sounded interesting, it had Holly Black’s recommendation on it (I adore Holly Black!) and to top it off, it was fairly inexpensive (10 dollars for a fat paperback? I’m sold…) so I decided to try it.

I finished City of Bones that day. I went out and bought the second book, City of Ashes the next day and finished it that day. I went out and bought the third book, City of Glass the day after that and finished it that day. I spent 30 bucks in 3 days because it was so good! I had to wait about five months for the next one, City of Fallen Angels to come out but it was okay. I was hooked.

The basic premise of City of Bones is this: Clary Fray is a normal, every day girl living with her mom, Jocelyn, in New York City, hanging out with her best friend, Simon. That is, until one day, Clary sees people that no one else can see: Jace, Isabelle and Alec. She learns that they are called Shadowhunters, a group of humans who have a spark of angel blood and are trained to fight demons. When her mother is kidnapped and she is attacked by a demon, she gets wrapped up in this world. She soon finds her that her mom is a former Shadowhunter, and was kidnapped by her father, Valentine, a very rebellious and evil Shadowhunter. She has to figure out a way to save her mom, and help Jace, Alec and Isabelle figure out what Valentine is up to…and try and discover who she really is.

The Good or The Bad: 

Obviously this book has a ton of good. Its one of my favorite books, and I’m obsessed with the MI series so yeah, definitely a lot of good going on here.

I love the urban fantasy of it. I love true and high fantasy, don’t get me wrong. Just put the word fantasy there and I’m going to read it. I really like, however, with this one that it takes place in modern day, in modern New York City but it brings that fantasy element of demons and fae and vampires and werewolves and warlocks to the front. It seems so real and believable. Who knows what could be going on around us? Like Muggles, mundanes don’t notice whats going on most the time. So Cassandra spins a world in our world that’s just awesome.

I want to be a Shadowhunter. I want to be one. I know the life is dangerous and the life expectancy isn’t great but I want to be one. Cassandra Clare makes you want to be a Shadowhunter. I want seraph blades and a whip to fight demons. I want Runes on my skin to make me faster or stronger or fearless. I want to be part of that world. It sounds so magical. I’m getting close enough as I can, getting a fearless tattoo and putting together a cosplay outfit of Isabelle Lightwood.

The characters are great. I love Clary. Clary has been getting a lot of comparison to Bella Swan lately but I’d say Clary takes the cake there easily. Clary has no idea anything about her life, really, or her mother and father’s. She is suddenly thrust into this world, learning she is of Shadowhunter blood, but I feel like she takes it in stride. Sure, she’s surprised as hell. But she is so concerned for her mom and the safety of Simon that she runs headlong into everything.

The supporting characters are so great as well; I love them all. Isabelle, Simon, Alec, Hodge Starkweather, Luke, Magnus, even Church the cat. You just have to love them all. They are such dynamic characters in that…they’re all struggling with something and they all change through out the series. They don’t stay the same, not one of them. That is a sign of well-written characters. They are all so different as well. I also like that Alec is gay, and he and Magnus eventually have a relationship. It is awesome to see a gay couple in a novel, so openly, and having them deal with that. I like seeing it again with Aline in the later books.

Oh, but Jace. Jace Wayland. We all know my crush on Jace Wayland. He’s such a pain in the ass but he’s sexy as hell, as Isabelle puts it. He’s got this wry and sarcastic charm, and he’s physically good looking and he’s funny and quick and clever and a badass Shadowhunter. His dynamic, his attitude, everything about him drives you insane. But damn, do you want him and Clary to get together. I’m usually not a big rooter for relationships, I am more like STAB THAT GUY! But I wanted that one badly.

Which leads to me to the villain, Valentine. Valentine isn’t in your face evil like a lot of villains that you read. He’s slick, he’s cunning, he’s conniving. He’s sick. He hurts because he enjoys it. The further along in the books, the better you see this. I will say this, SPOILER ALERT: But he tells Jace and Clary at the end of City of Bones that they are brother and sister, and by this point, both of them are hooked, gone, in love. You learn later in City of Glass, that this is a lie, a complete lie. He tells this lie simply for the enjoyment of watching them suffer. He’s a damn good villain. Ugh, Valentine.

The only little problem that I had was the love triangle. We alllll know how I feel about the love triangle. I’m just not a fan of it. I feel like it takes a lot away from the plotline. Like, ugh, stop worrying about the two boys and go fight these people or go save this person and whatnot. So the whole love triangle thing between Simon, Clary and Jace was like AGGHHH. But I will say, its not as bad as most books go. While Clary is like, Simon or Jace?, she doesn’t focus on it all the time. Honestly, her main goal through all the books, what she does everything for, is to save her mother. So there’s that.

I could go on and on and on and on and on about this series for days. I love it that much. But I won’t do that to you. It’s not nice. But seriously, I recommend you picking up these books and enjoying them! I have, I love them and they’re great. They come from a super awesome author, who I had the chance to meet a few years ago, right after City of Fallen Ashes came out.

She was the nicest lady, and a serious inspiration for a budding writer like myself. She signed each and every book that her fans brought to the signing (I have CIty of Bones signed as well, but I lent it out to a very trustworthy friend). Since then, I’ve become pretty obsessed with her companion series, The Infernal Devices, following Shadowhunters in the Victorian Age. She also has a series, the Dark Artifices, planned to take place in modern day Los Angeles, which I am so excited for because I’m a Southern California girl and that is AWESOME.

Also, the movie adaptation, starring Lily Collins as Clary Fray and Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace Wayland is hitting theaters this summer, August 23rd 2013 so definitely check that out.

So click the link above, it’ll take you straight to the book on Amazon and enjoy! See you next week for the Book of the Week.

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Cassandra Clare’s Books

The Mortal Instruments Series
City of Bones
City of Ashes
City of Glass
City of Fallen Angels
City of Lost Souls
City of Heavenly Fire (due out September 2014)

The Infernal Devices
Clockwork Angel
Clockwork Prince
Clockwork Princess (due out March 2013)