City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

  I'm not quite sure where to begin with City of Bones.  In a nutshell, an ordinary teenage girl discovers their magic in the world.  In fact, there's a shadow world populated by vampires, werewolves, faeries, various types of demons, and shadowhunters.  Shadowhunters are warriors who fight to keep the world safe for humans.  Clary Fray, the teenage girl in question, is introduced into to this world when she witnesses a murder.  She quickly realizes no one else can see what she sees.  In short order, Clary's mother goes missing, Clary herself is attacked by a demon, and so the adventure begins!

Over the last six months I have read a few young-adult paranormal series - The Secret Circle, Beautiful Creatures, and now City of Bones, which is book one of The Mortal Instruments series.  This wasn't planned, it just sort of happened.  I picked this up after it was recommended by two work colleagues.  Of these YA paranormal series, I have enjoyed City of Bones the most.  It isn't the best written book.  There are a few issues with awkward shifts between points of view and character development.  And, it certainly isn't the most original.  Pretty early on I couldn't help but think of the Harry Potter series, among others.  (The humans are called "mundanes" for goodness sake.)  Based on the family twist near the end, I'd guess the author is also a fan of Return of the Jedi.  Maybe that's why I liked City of Bones.  I like the stories the author was clearly influenced by, and I liked her interpretation of those stories.

The Mortal Instruments is definitely a series I'll read more of.  City of Bones was an enjoyable and exciting beginning.  Quite a few ends were left dangling loose and I'm looking to find out what happens next.  That being said, I couldn't recommend this to everyone.  That has a very specific type of audience - fans of young adult, paranormal romance.  It that's your cup of tea, you'll find what you're looking for here.