I typically don’t read a lot of fantasy, but recently I’ve been trying to get out of my comfort zone and read more of it. I’ve heard so much about this series and the many spin-offs that I just had to give it a try.

This book, the first in a series of six, follows Clary, a teenage girl in NYC who stumbles across a group of teenagers that other humans can’t see while at a night club. The very next night, Clary’s mother goes missing and she is thrown into the world of Shadowhunters and demons. The Shadowhunters want to know why Clary has the Sight but she just wants to find her mom.

I will say that the writing wasn’t the best that I’ve read this year. I found some events to be predictable and some of the writing and exposition to be very on the nose. However, this is a YA novel and I’m not the target audience. If I would’ve read this book as a preteen or teenager, I think I would’ve loved it.

All of that being said, I was completely sucked into the Shadowhunter world that Cassandra Clare created. I enjoyed learning more about the different worlds and beings through Clary’s eyes and getting to know all of the side characters. Even though it was one of the longest books I've read this year and some of the writing wasn’t my favourite, I wasn't ready for it to be over. I’ll definitely be picking up the second book in the series.