Quirk Review: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

From Goodreads:

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....

Like everyone else in the blogsphere, I've heard and seen a lot about this series, including the news about upcoming film adaptation. While I may wind up watching the movie(s), I don't know that I will ever finish this series.

To start with, it has been a while since I actually read this. But the more I try to remember, the more I realize how much was going on in the book. And it was a lot.

Parts of the story I found interesting. The action sequences, for instances, really pulled me in.  Seeing characters fight for their lives can really tell you a lot about them. I liked the urban fantasy vibe and felt like the descriptions of each setting and location were detailed enough to really give the atmosphere through the words. There were lots of intriguing tid bits about the world and the magic and the creatures and as I particularly enjoy the lore of books like this, it suited me.

But on the other hand, parts of the story really didn't go well for me. I felt like the flow of the story was off, with the characters literally jumping around from this to that and it made everything feel slightly disjointed. There were also so many things going on, it really was overwhelming and didn't help keep my attention. I would get interested in one thing only to get shoved into another subplot and I would lose interest altogether.

As for the characters...eh. I know that this is one of the most popular YA series with some of the most popular characters, but I really wasn't feeling them. I could see the attraction of Clary and Jace and the others, but I thought most of them made dumb decisions when they should have known better. They did have their moments and were likable enough for the most part, I just wasn't swept up into the story or their drama.

Speaking of drama, the romance angle between Clary and Jace, especially considering Jace's initial surliness, felt forced. Jace is so much of a jerk that it is cute? Clary softened his heart by almost getting him killed and being snarky to him?  I didn't really get that except that I understood that they were supposed to start falling for each other so the end of the book could be what it was (which frankly, was stupid. You're really not going to question the integrity of the person telling you this crap, Clary and Jace?)  

As for the other characters, I felt like some of the adult characters were more like caricatures, but the supporting YA cast was okay. They all felt like individuals who were different and had opportunities to change and grow.  I also felt that there was a lot left to learn about the world of the Shadowhunters.

Still, I tried to read the next book in the series, City of Ashes, and just couldn't get into it. The writing is fine, and, as I said above, there are lots of interesting things within the world Clare has created, but I don't feel drawn into it in such a way that makes me anticipate what's coming or suffer and rejoice with the characters. It seems like a lot is riding on the romance, and the quest/goal aspect is under-developed.  Maybe sometime in the future I will try again (perhaps after the movies?) but for now, I'm leaving The Mortal Instruments be.