Book Review- City of Bones

I finally finished reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

From Goodreads.com:

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.
 
Wow.  I can't remember the last time it took me a week to read a book.  The book is really big and while I enjoyed the story, I found I had to spend a lot of time thinking about what things were and who was who. 
 
I feel mixed about the characters.  The main girl character, Clary, was just okay for me.  I never really connected to her like I wanted to, or felt any warmth from her.  But I did like two of the male characters- Jace and Simon.  I loved Jace and his arrogant ways--and how he was soft- hearted when he wanted to be.  And I thought Simon seemed to be one of those totally dorky guys that are hot when you really look at them.
 
The story was fun.  There was lots of elements to the plot that were new to me.  And there were a bunch of surprises.  Some I saw coming, and some I didn't--especially a big one at the end of the story.  I have the second and the third books in The Mortal Instrument series and look forward to reading them soon!
 
I gave this book a rating of 3/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2010 100+ Reading Challenge: 19
2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 15
 
*FTC Disclosure: I traded this book with a friend.