This fantasy novel appears to be aimed at the upper end of YA books with main characters who are 15-17. The story takes place in New York City and involves the world of Shadowhunters, hunters dedicated to eliminating the demons that invade our world. But there are divisions in that world and much of the action centers on the remnants of the the outlawed Circle who wanted to kill all the supernaturals and even the Shadowhunters who disagree with them.

This is the first of a series (a trilogy?) and I will be looking for the sequel.

Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray thinks she is just a normal teenager. I mean, of course she is a normal teenage, she lives in Brooklyn with her artist mom, and spends most of her time with her best friend, Simon. One night when Clary and Simon are at a club, Pandemonium, she figures out that she can see people that nobody else can. Wham! Not so normal, I guess. The people that she can see are called Shadowhunters. They go around killing demons and such, you know the bad guys.Not too soon after Clary makes her big discovery, her mom is kidnaped. Clary is entering this new world pretty much blind, except for the Shadowhunters which happen to be three teenagers. Jace, Isabelle and Alec must help Clary to find her mother. It seems that her mother is the only one who knows the whereabouts of the Mortal Cup, which can turn other people into Shadowhunters. But the man that kidnaped Clary’s mother plans to use to cup for evil purposes, of course. So Clary must help figure out where the cup is to rescue her mom, fight to keep her friendship with Simon and figure out the complicated feelings she has toward Jace.Whew! This book was fast-paced and fantastic. I couldn’t stop myself from turning the pages to see what would happen next. There is a whole world not only of Shadowhunters but werewolves, vampires. demons, and faeries too! Although, not as to ruin the surprises in the book, I did have a couple things figured out way before they were revealed in the story. ( )

This contemporary urban fantasy is a page turner with plenty of action and interesting characters. It revolves around Clary, who believes she was raised in a fairly normal household, but finds that her mother has mislead her and she has abilities and lineage of which she was unaware. The cast of characters includes shadowhunters, demons, vampires and werewolves, with an occasional human thrown into the mix. This is the first of the Mortal Instruments series, which includes City of Ashes and City of Glass. Though it is marketed as a teen book, it would be enjoyed by both teens and adults.

http://www.mortalinstruments.com/mort... ( )

There are so many urban young adult books these days about vampires, werewolves and magical creatures inhabiting our world but unseen to the normal eye so I was pleasantly surprised when this series really held together.

The writing is slightly better than average, which makes for a better story. I love how the characters interact with one another. In the end the premise is pretty simple, a bit similar to Harry Potter in that the main character doesn't know she has magical abilities until she finds out rather abruptly. And then she has a pedigree that cannot be paralleled. ( )

The Mortal Instruments series is awesome. It has something for everyone - action/adventure, romance, vampires, fairies - you name it. The dialogue is fast and smart as are the characters who drive the story. ( )