Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel 

Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices, Book One
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 496 pages
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries


Synopsis: 

After the death of her Aunt, sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother in London. Upon her arrival, she is kidnapped by the Dark Sisters, members of an organization called the Pandemonium Club. She soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder who possesses a rare ability; she can transform into another person at will. The Magister, a mysterious figure that runs the club, wants Tessa for himself, to use her power for some dark purpose.

Tessa fears for her future and takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute who promise to help find her brother if she will help them in return. She begins to form a relationship with Will and Jem, best friends, and is torn between them. Jem is kind and compassionate, but seems to be hiding something and Will is beautiful, but volatile and sometimes cruel. He keeps everyone at arm’s length, but begins to slowly let Tessa in. As their search for her brother reveals a sinister plot to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa will have to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends, a choice she isn’t sure she’s ready to make.

My Review: 
 
Clockwork Angel was intriguing and romantic. It was a little slower-paced than the Mortal Instruments books, but I feel like it fit with the time period this book is set in (1878). As far as action goes, that was definitely present in the book. When I say slower, I mean romantically. Tessa has just suffered the loss of her Aunt and is on her way to London at her brother’s request. Upon her arrival however, she is greeted, not by her brother, but by two strange women who claim that her brother sent them. She soon learns that she has been kidnapped for a strange gift that she never even knew she possessed. The Dark Sisters, as she learns they are called, teach her how to use that gift and transform into any person at her will. But when she finds out the mysterious Magister’s plans for her, she flees, taking refuge with the Shadowhunters.

Tessa reminds me of Clary. She has been completely clueless about the Shadow world until now, and is not only trying to grapple with the fact that vampires, werewolves, faeries, and warlocks exist, but also the fact that she is one of them. She wants to belong somewhere, but no one really knows what she is, just that she is some sort of Downworlder. Tessa struggles as she learns more and more about the Shadow world. She desperately misses her brother and will do anything to find him, but the closer she gets to finding him, more of the Magister’s evil plot is revealed. At first, Tessa is timid and quiet and behaves very much like a proper lady, but as the book goes on, she develops into a strong, fiery individual who is not afraid to speak her mind and defend the people she loves.

Will is one of the Shadowhunters living at the Institute. He is exactly like Jace, although I believe something darker lurks below the surface. He is a Herondale so some distant relative to Jace and I liked that we got to see where Jace’s sarcastic personality comes from. Although at times, he was so much like Jace that it kind of bothered me. I liked that Clare made some similarities between them, but at times I think it went too far in the sense that it was hard to separate the two characters in my mind. Will was really frustrating to me because it is clear that he has feelings for Tessa, but he continues to pull away or say cruel things that he knows will hurt her. Something is going on beneath the surface that we aren’t seeing and I can’t wait to find out what it is.

Jem is Will’s best friend and parabatai. He is kind-hearted and compassionate. At first I thought he would be like Alec since the other characters reminded me so much of those in the Mortal Instruments series, but he really isn’t anything like him. He immediately accepts Tessa and answers the many questions she has. He trusts her with his secret and, I think, begins to develop feelings for her. I really couldn’t figure out if she returned those feelings or not. She is clearly more into Will, but I think she feels a small something for Jem. No one ever goes for the nice guy. Poor Jem.

I want to mention Jessamine very briefly mostly just to complain about her. She is the other young Shadowhunter at the Institute, but she has no desire to be a Shadowhunter and complains all the time. She wants to be a lady, meet a man, get married, and cook and clean for him. Now, I understand that that was the expectation in that time period, but she is a Shadowhunter! None of the other female Shadowhunters act like that and it made me want to strangle her.

I loved knowing all the family names and who their future descendants were. The Lightwoods were painted in poor light in this story which surprised me after knowing what a great family they were in the Mortal Instruments series. Magnus Bane, of course, makes an appearance. I love him so much, as well as Camille Belcourt. There is mention of her subjugate Archer which I believe was the same subjugate in the Mortal Instruments which I found interesting. Camille and Magnus are together in this book which was great since their previous relationship was revealed to Alec during their future relationship. I loved getting a small glimpse of that and want to know more about Magnus. Which is why I am so excited about the Bane Chronicles that Clare is releasing over the course of this year. It will be ten short stories released as e-books only, but according to her website, once all ten are published, they will be bound in one book and sold in print edition. I will likely wait for that to happen. I’m not a huge fan of e-books. I like the smell of paper when I’m reading.

Overall, Clockwork Angel was excellent. The writing of Clare is flawless as usual. She foreshadows events so well. There has not been a twist in any of her books that I have seen coming, and I am pretty good at figuring things out. This was a great prequel. We got to see beloved characters from the Mortal Instruments and get to know a little bit of why characters like Jace are the way they are. Beautiful story and writing as usual. I can’t wait to start reading Clockwork Prince, as Clare left us on a cliffhanger as usual. Happy reading all! 

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