Book Review and upcoming movie notice: The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones

Through Crowdtap.com I received a book from the The Mortal Instruments series. City of Bones is the first book in the series and describes how the heroine, 15-yeard old Clary Fray, gets introduced to the Shadowhunters. The series is aimed at young adults, but even adults can enjoy the series. Because let's face it  that too many of us pretended to read Harry Potter since our kids wanted them, but we secretly enjoyed them as well. It is no different with the fight that the Shadowhunters wage for the survival of the humans, who they must continuously protect against demons.

available on amazon.com here

And this book starts off with the bang. Outside a night club in New York City, Clary Fray witnesses as the Shadowhunters, more specifically Jace Wayland, kill what looks like a wild teenage boy. It is only when the boy is dying that the reader and Clary realize that he is not quite as human as he initially seemed. From the darkly colored blood that covers his body to the hissing threat voiced against Jace, we realize that the accusations by the Shadowhunters were true. While Clary was initially defending the boy against Jace and still is shocked by the brutal killking she witnessed, she is soon drawn deeper into the mystery involving the fight against demons. Her mother disappears the next day and Clary herself is almost killed by a creature that she realize is as demonic as the teenage boy killed by Jace.

The rest of the book delves into the secret that Clary was harboring and that explains why Clary is all of a sudden attracting the attention of the demons and also why she has the ability to see the Shadowhunters. Maybe Clary and her mother are not as mundanely human as initially thought? Clary joins forces with the half-angel warriors Shadowhunters and immerses herself into Downworld, an almost parallel New York that is filled with demons, including vampires, werewolves and warlocks.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - the first book in the series describing the war between Shadowhunters and demons.

Set in contemporary New York City,

Crowdtap provided the book to me and a digital party kit because at the end of August the movie version of the first book is coming out. City of Bones is premiering August 21, 2013 and has an all star cast including Aidan Turner (from The Hobbit) as Luke Garroway, Jonathan Thys Meyers (The Tudors) as Valentine Morgenstern, Jamie Campbell Bower (Twilight Saga and Harry Potter) as Jace Wayland, and Lena Heady (Games of Thrones) as Jocelyn Fray. Clary is played by relative newcomer Lily Collins, who American viewers may remember from the TV series 90210.

So if you like fantasy stories, especially vampire-based mysteries, this movie should be perfect for you. With the actors listed, you can anticipate the acting should be superb and the book is truly action packed. You can also sense some similarities to Harry Potter. Another human, who realizes through interaction with a special group of individuals protecting earth that they are not really human - see the first book in the Harry Potter series. But unlike Harry Potter, this series is a lot darker and geared towards older children, such as teenagers. This also makes it easier for us adults to justify reading this book, whereas with Harry Potter is seemed a little bit more difficult.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - the upcoming movie is for the book of the series, more books are already out!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book and a digital party kit through Crowdtap in exchange for an honest review and hosting a party with friends to discuss the book and the upcoming movie. The opinions expressed in this post are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.