City of Bones

This is pretty much everything a guy could ask for in a YA novel (especially if that guy is a cynical adult – not at all the intended audience for this work). It's fast-paced, action-packed, with a decent cast of characters (not too clichéd . . . maybe just a tad). The world-building and magic system are inventive, well-thought-out. The plot is intricate without being complicated. The budding love triangle is nipped early on (in the first book!) and in a fairly satisfactory way – technically that may be a spoiler, but if you ask me, it's a selling point. City of Bones is a story into itself, while setting the hook (and setting it deeply) for the next installment in the series.