City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

It all started when 15-year-old Clary Fray witnessed a murder inside Pandemonium Club in New York City. But the problem was that she seemed to be the only person who witnessed this murder, along with the body disappearing into thin air.

One night later she has a run-in with one of the murderers, the beautiful, golden-haired, and impossibly-egotistical Jace. But Jace isn't your average teenage boy: He's a Shadowhunter, a group of Nephilim whose job is to kill demons and other "downworlders." So when Clary's mother disappears and a demon suddenly shows up in her apartment, Clary can't help but wonder: What does her mother have to do with all this? And why can Clary see things that other people can't?

The premise of this book was very good, and I did enjoy it. However, it felt extremely disjointed to me: It seemed like it just jumped from scene to scene sometimes without a whole lot of flow, and I thought some parts were unnecessary to the overall story as well. I can sort of see why there's a lot of hype surrounding this book and the rest of the series, but I'm not sure if I'm buying into it.

I will say that I love Clary. I think she's a great character with some great wit and fearlessness. Jace's arrogance felt incredibly forced, and while I know there was certainly some depth there, it just made him feel so flat to me. It's a shame because I think he has the potential to be so great, so I'm hoping Clare is able to really bring this character to new levels in the next books in this series.

One other problem I had with this book I can't really discuss because it's a major spoiler. However, I call it the "Star Wars Syndrome." This book has it in spades, and I really wish it didn't because it really detracts from the rest of the story.

I will continue with the rest of the series because Cassandra Clare really has made an incredible fantasy world come to life in these books. I figure since this is the first, they can only get better from here... right?