Book Review: Clockwork Angel

Title: Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices #1)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publication Date: August 31, 2010
Genre: Young-adult, Fantasy

Summary (by Goodreads):

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

My Review:

“There’s plenty of sense in nonsense sometimes, if you wish to look for it.”  -Will

Cassandra Clare has put up quite an impressive reputation in writing novels with her Mortal Instruments Series, so when I heard about this book, I did not hesitate to read and review it. 

The Clockwork Angel is the first of a trilogy of Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices. It is written as a prequel of The Mortal Instruments and the setting was in a Victorian London. 

I’ve read TMI series and I was really curios with the cover of this book. I was already guessing that the setting is some sort of Victorian and I wasn’t wrong. What I love about both TMI and ID series is how Clare crafted such interesting and intriguing characters in her novels. There’s just something with the characters that captures my heart and fall in love with the hero and admire the heroine. 

What I like About the book: 

• The cover is compelling. It tells a lot about how the story revolves around a Victorian setting. 

• The characters are interesting and very intriguing. I would have to say that I like Will more than Jace of The Mortal Instruments. He’s witty and charming and his sense of humor never fails to make me laugh. He’s also well-read and inclined in literature that makes him attractively sensible and smart. He made a great hero in this book. 

• Reading this prequel enabled me to pick up things that I didn’t notice earlier while reading the Mortal Instruments Series. There are answered questions and mysteries unveiled in this part of the Shadow Hunters’ history that all TMI fans should not miss.

What I don’t like about the book: 

• One thing that I don’t like about the book was that there were times that I found myself bored and skipping pages just to get to a more interesting part. I guess it’s because I have read all of the TMI series that I have a lot of information about Shadow Hunters that make CA a little less interesting for me. 

• The ending is indeed a cliffhanger but I kind of expected that since it’s the first of a series. So I don’t take that as a negative thing about the book. What I don’t like is there were a lot of issues that were raised while the story was moving on and they stayed unresolved until the book ends.